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When Josie opened the door she didn’t expect to see Reese standing there. Before anyone could speak, she slapped him across the face. As hard as she could, probably hurting her hand more than his cheek.
Josie then punched at Reese’s chest. Hitting him over and over, growling as she did so. Reese backed up and Josie stayed with him, still hitting him.
“I hate you,” she said. “I hate you. I hate this life. I hate everything.”
Reese grabbed her arms and stopped her from swinging again. He looked into her eyes. “I know you do.”
Josie gritted her teeth as tears filled her eyes.
“Fucking Christ, sweetheart,” Reese said. “I’m so sorry.”
Josie tried to get away, but Reese wouldn’t let go.
“You know what I just told Steph?”
“What?”
“That it’s better this way,” she said. “Because she can be free. Without this life bearing down on her. Because he’s dead, he can’t follow her. He can’t track her down. He can’t harass her. He can’t scare her. Because that’s what you all do to people. How fucked up is that?”
“Nobody had any idea,” Reese said. “It was a bad situation.”
“And someone had to die?”
“That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
“Sometimes? How about all the fucking time.”
Reese nodded. “Right.”
“Tell me what happened, Reese? At least give me that.”
“Sweetheart…”
“Don’t give me that sweetheart bullshit, Reese,” Josie said. “I’ve been around this longer than some of the guys out there. And you’re going to saysweetheartto me as though that’s going to melt my heart and panties. I’m not some club whore looking for a quick fuck.”
“I never said you were.”
“Then tell me,” Josie yelled. She attacked his chest again, knowing it was useless because of how built he was. “Just fucking tell me, Reese.”
Reese gently held her elbows and turned, putting her against the wall. He hurried and put his hands to her face, thumbs stroking her tear filled cheeks.
“You don’t know what this club is up against right now,” he said. “Even before we started… you and me… again…”
“What? What does that mean? You’re choosing the club over me? Over Steph? What happened to family?”
“You’re all family,” Reese said. “Steph is going to be okay. I’ll make sure we take care of her. You know I love you, Josie. I don’t want anything bad to happen…”
“Too late,” Josie said. “I’m taking Steph and leaving. She doesn’t need this. Neither does the baby. You saw the look on her face. She could end up getting hurt. She now has to face the fact that no matter what, her daughter has no father. Worse yet, she has to figure out what to tell her daughter years from now. That’s a lot for an eighteen-year-old to take on.”
“I know it is,” Reese said. “So, stay. Let’s figure this out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out,” Josie said.
She slid along the wall and broke away from Reese. He stood there and looked down. There was a part of Josie that wanted him to grab her. Pull her toward him. Kiss her. Throw her against the wall -hard- and do more to her.
But they weren’t young anymore. This was as real as life could get. Back then, there was a sense of wildness and innocence all mixed together that made it fun. It made it super sexy. Maybe now it was still fun and sexy, but there were other variables.
Josie opened the door to Reese’s room and Steph was on the corner of the bed, crying.
