AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Butch squeezes his eyes shut tightly, and I ignore Hazel's sobs, returning to Mel, where I'm about to tear her world apart.
Chapter 12
Melanie
I look up to see Travis walking back to me and grin.
I told Annalise I don't expect him to get me a puppy; although I would love one, we've only been together for a few months, and I just wanted to play with him a bit. This week's been hard, and being around my man and seeing this fluff ball has finally brought me back out of my shell. Messing with him was just the icing on the cake for me.
I sigh as my mom comes to mind again.
Last week, while I was on shift trying to dodge a still pissed-off Cassidy, an emergency overdose rushed into the ER with Dr. Shell shouting for me to meet him in triage. When I walked into the room, I instantly froze while the doctor screamed at me to not stand like a 'fucking statute.' When I told him she was my mother, he paled because he's one of the few doctors aware of what she did to me. After all, he treated me after her drug dealer's cousin beat me up. I tried to call Doc, but he was out of town, so I called Mary, and she brought Dr. Shell with her.
When he snapped out of his shock, he told me to leave and get Cassidy, which I did, and she bitched about it until I said she was my mother. That was the first time I saw compassion in her eyes, not that I needed it. I'd spent most of the week with the police after I called them to let them know she'd been admitted, and they're now holding her handcuffed to a bed, ready to escort her to a cell once she's recovered. It did drive me insane a little, and I did pull back from Travis, not because I wanted to, but because I didn't want to burden him. You see, I love him so much. He's become my center, and I can't lose him because of my baggage.
He's become the reason I breathe; I need him.
When he gets closer, I notice how tense he is around his eyes and furrow my brows at him. He takes the dog, and I instantly start to whine, "Trav, not the puppy; I want the puppy."
A few people around chuckle while Travis gives me a fake smile before passing the dog over to Axel, whose eyes are full of concern. I drop my playful whining and look at them both.
"What's wrong? What's happened?"
Axel leans forward and presses a kiss on my head before going to Annalise, while Travis takes my hand and says, "Come walk with me, Precious."
I nod with my brows furrowed, but he smiles at me before kissing my lips once, twice, three times, then wraps his arm around my waist. He walks me out the back door, which leads to a large open field with picnic benches and a climbing frame set with swings, and I smile seeing it.
These big bad bikers are really all hearts.
Travis walks me over to the bench, and we sit down before he looks at me sadly. He moves my hair out of my face, and I smile at him and say, "Just spit it out, Trav, whatever it is." I can tell he's struggling, so whatever he needs to say, he needs to say it and hopefully not break my heart because right now, my mind is going to the worst-case scenario, which is him ending things. He just agreed to get me a puppy even though I was only joking, so he wouldn't leave me, would he - right?
"Shit baby, I don't know how to say this, but a club brother named Butch has just admitted to being your biological father after I confronted him for openly staring at you." I instantly freeze. Out of everything that could come out of his mouth, I wasn't expecting that. He carries on while I slowly die inside when I realize that mom is why my dad left; shit, my dad? No, not my dad? He must be wrong, right? He's wrong?
Please.
"Baby, his wife Hazel admitted to offering your dad $100,000 to sign his rights over to Butch when you were four."
When I was four?
When my father, Callum, left us, when I became my mother's punching bag!
"He said. Shit. He said he didn't want to put a strain on his marriage. It's why he didn't claim you, Precious."
I bink, not saying a word.
"You, uh, you also have a half-brother, Lucas, but he goes by Gunner in the club; he's our enforcer; he, uh, keeps us safe."
I finally look at him and clear my throat when a door opens. We turn to see a man, the same age as Travis, with blonde hair and gray eyes, looking at me intently, and my heart races in my chest. I can't deal with this right now because I'm sure that's my half-brother. We don't even look alike, but he's looking at me like he wants to wrap me up in cotton wool. I look back at Travis again and clear my throat. "I, uh, I need to leave, but um, I'll call you."
I stand off the bench, and he stands too, his face full of panic, and I hate that I've put that look on his face.
"Baby, I drove you. Look, why don't you come to my house that I have here? You said you wanted to see it today."
I shake my head and say, "I just need some time, and a walk will do me good; I'll call, I promise."
I lean on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek before walking around him towards the gate that leads to the parking lot. I don't look at the man near the door. I keep my head down and walk away, my mind reeling.
I walk for over an hour and find myself standing outside the hospital, staring at the doors. I don't know how long I stand here, but the longer I do, the angrier I get. She blamed me; she punished me for her own wrongdoings. She lied, cheated, kept someone else's baby, and passed it as her husband's child.
