Asher
EPILOGUE- PART TWO
Three Years Later…
A lot can happen in three years.
Here are the main things, the most important events: Jade and I got married a year into living together. Calling her my wife brought me pride I didn’t know I could ever feel. That was, until ten months later when our pride and joy was born.
Tyler Tristan Lee. My baby boy came into this world as fast as a bullet after contractions started, surprising all of us when he was born in the hallway of the hospital. He was healthy and happy, with strong lungs and a mop of dark hair. Now that he’s a little older, life is even busier, but I’m so fucking happy. Even the middle of the night feedings make me happy. Jade decided to go to art school shortly after we started living together. She worked at the shop during the day and attended art school at night, until she got far enough in the program that she needed to go to school during the day.
We made it work, though. She worked doubles on the weekends and a few hours every night. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she insisted on paying me rent. That the space felt like ours, not just mine.
I just wanted her to be happy.
The shop has been prospering and Jade started tattooing clients in the extra booth. I added it years ago, hoping she’d be able to start when she was ready. It’s an amazing thing that we can work together every day, parent together, and still want to spend all our time together.
I’m very fortunate and I don’t take it for granted.
Today is one of those days that Tyler’s daycare is closed. Usually we just bring him into the shop with us and he hangs out in his playpen while we're working. It’s pretty sweet being the boss. But Tyler’s been sick so Jade decided to move her clients since I have three four-hour long sessions on my schedule.
I get to ride my motorcycle today, so that’s the only plus. Pulling into the spot next to the building where I always park, I immediately notice something. There’s a hooded figure standing by the front door to the shop, and that’s enough to raise my alarms.
Who the fuck is that? They’re not a customer, otherwise they’d already be inside. I called Roxie to go in and open the shop since Jade had to stay home. So, I know there are people there.
But they’re just loitering, looking nervously from side to side.
Fuck.
I cut the engine, pull the keys out and storm to the front.
“Hey man, you can’t just stand there,” I snap, pulling the guy’s shoulder so I can get a good look at him.
Then my jaw clenches. My fingers curl into fists and I feel rage flood my system.
You can’t knock him out right here. You can’t kill this motherfucker out here.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I sneer.
Hunter stands up straighter, pulling the hood off his head. He does not look good; nothing like how I left him the last time. The bruises and broken skin have healed, but there’s a scar under his eye that I vividly remember putting there.
“Is that any way to speak to your baby brother?” He puts his hands in his pockets, shrugging slightly.
“Go away, Hunter. And don’t come back.” I push past him, ready to ignore him and his evilness for the rest of my life.
“Wait, Ashe,” he pleads, grabbing my hand. It feels like he burned me. I rip my arm away quickly.
“Don’t you fucking touch me.” I point my finger in his face aggressively and his eyes go to my thin silver wedding ring.
I don’t like that. I don’t want to give him any sort of information about my life. About Jade. About Tyler. Fuck that.
“,” he says softly, like he’s pained. “Please, I… I need to make amends. You don’t know how hard it’s been for me.”
“How hard it’s been for you ?” I repeat his narcissistic and insensitive words right back.
“I know I messed up, and I’m sorry, but please. Help me make it better.”
“You’re joking.” I want to spit in his face. There’s absolutely no way he thinks that what he did is forgivable.
“No, I’m… I’m trying to be better.”
“Tell me this, Hunter,” I say, rubbing my chin mockingly. “Did you do that to anyone else? Before Jade or after?”
Hunter gulps, taking a step back and breathing sharply. His eyes immediately dropped to the ground.
“There’s my answer.” Shaking my head, I realize he’s never going to change. He’s never going to become the brother I thought I raised, the one I used to have. I will never feel safe having him around Jade or our child. Maybe even future children.
So, there’s simply no place for him in my life. “I should report you to the cops,” I snap.
“Someone already did,” Hunter admits. “I spent the last two years in jail.”
“Fucking good.”
“, I know we left things on a bad note,” he starts, but I interrupt him.
“You’re damn right. I don’t know what your goal is here, but I can tell you that you’re wasting your time. Jade and I have spent so fucking long trying to heal and recover from what you did to her, from what her mom did to her, what trauma and undeserved responsibilities I had to endure growing up. I’m not going to let you fuck up all the progress we’ve made.”
Hunter’s head drops and he looks miserable, but I just can’t find it within myself to feel bad.
I’m protecting my peace and the peace of my family.
There’s nothing more important than that.
When he doesn’t say anything, I turn to go inside again. Roxie’s standing behind the desk, watching us intently. I see Ty put his hand on her waist, pulling her close to him.
The hell is that about?
“,” Hunter snaps and grabs my arm again, pulling me around roughly. “You fucked up my life . You tattooed that shit on me and left my face marked up.”
“You deserved that, and you know it,” I bite back.
“But I haven’t pressed charges. I haven’t gone to the police, and I even kept Kyle from doing it. I let you keep your little shop by doing that. For you. Now… Now, you’re going to pay for it. Literally.”
His eyes narrow and his fingertips tighten on my arm, like he’s trying to scare me. He should know I’m not one to be intimidated. Especially when I have people to protect.
“Oh really?” I scoff. “Hunter, I think you’re trying to play with fire. And you should know by now… If you try to light me on fire, I’ll make sure you’re burned as much as I am. If not more.”
“I just need some cash to get myself on my feet,” he barters, giving up on the line of threats pretty quickly. He knows as well as I do that he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. The moment they ask why he was tattooed or beaten, he’ll go to prison. I’m assuming they didn’t have significant evidence on whatever happened when he was sentenced to jail, so he got minimal time. Stupid.
He should be in prison. The guys there would definitely make sure he’s taken care of once they saw my parting gift.
“No, Hunter,” I snarl. “You’re very, very lucky that I don’t call the cops right now. Just get out of my life and stay out.”
“Don’t you even care that I’m your brother?!” He screams this loud enough that I see Ty push past the front desk to back me up.
“The brother I knew and cared about, the one I sacrificed so much for, the one I loved…” I swallow the lump of emotions in my throat, and try not to let the tears build. He’s not worth it. “Well, it turns out he was never truly there.”
Hunter looks like he’s shattered for a moment, before he quickly turns angry.
“Fuck you, ! Fuck. You!” He points at my chest aggressively, spittle spraying from his mouth. “You know what, she wasn’t even that good. All this fucking bullshit for a shit lay! You’re a dumb ass motherfucker for this!” he yells at me and my fist flies, popping him right in the cheekbone.
Hunter groans in pain and cradles his cheek. I lean over him while he cowers back, tossing my backpack to the side and grabbing his shirt.
“Don’t you ever talk about my wife like that again!” I scream roughly in his face and shove him back. I pick up my bag just as Ty walks out. “You’re not welcome here. Leave us alone and don’t ever come back.”
“You married her? Goddamnit, .” Hunter screams, sitting up. “I didn’t think you would betray me like that. Fucking her is one thing, but choosing her over your own flesh and blood? That’s not the brother I had.”
Ty steps forward, ready to hit Hunter himself, but I stop him.
“Get this through your dumb, narcissistic, evil ass brain.” I lean over, speaking slowly and very clearly. “I will choose her every single time. You’re nothing to me. The next time you come around here, I’ll call the cops and make sure they know the whole story . Got it?”
Hunter scoffs, but his eyes widen in understanding. We stare at each other for a few loaded heartbeats before he nods.
I straighten out my shirt. “Good. Now, get away from my shop and stay away from my family.”
Without saying anything, or waiting for Hunter to say anything, I turn away from him and let this chapter close.
I don’t need him. His decisions are his own; I’m not responsible for him or how he lives his life.
But that also means I don’t need to have him around me. I don’t need his toxicity in my life. I don’t want him in my life.
In our lives.
Ty follows me into the shop and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Are you okay, brother?” he asks.
Taking a deep breath, I try to push away the lingering feelings of anger, guilt and doubt. I haven’t thought about Hunter in years. So, seeing him now, like this… it was alarming.
“I’m okay,” I reply with a nod. “I will be.”
* * *
“Go home, . We’ll clean up your station. Go talk to Jade, love on my godson and just relax. Today fucking sucked,” Roxie demands as she takes the rag out of my hand. She’s not wrong. After Hunter left, glaring at the front window like he was personally offended, the whole day had been messed up.
My first client completely changed their design at the last minute. Nothing I couldn’t handle, but it pushed everything back.
My second client started crying twenty minutes into a three-hour session. And she didn’t stop, even after I asked multiple times if she wanted to stop or take a break.
The last client just talked non-stop. He talked and talked and talked . And he wasn’t the kind of person that could just talk and not expect any input from me. Nope—he actively wanted a conversation, and I just didn’t have the brain power or mental energy to keep up a banter. I probably offended him multiple times, but it was just such a hard day.
“Thanks, Roxie,” I say with an exhausted smile. “I know you opened today and I appreciate it.”
“You got it.”
“Will Ty wait with you and make sure you get to your car okay?” I ask, nudging the question innocently enough.
And imagine that, Roxie’s cheeks blaze. “He doesn’t have to do that,” she protests. “I’ll be fine.”
“Ty!” I call out, doing everything in my power not to smirk. Ty’s head pops up from the tattoo he’s working on and he nods. “Hey man, Roxie offered to let me go home after all the bullshit from today. Would you be okay hanging out until she’s ready to go home? It makes me feel uncomfortable having one of the girls walk alone to the parking lot in the dark.”
Ty looks from me to Roxie quickly, nervously for a moment, then slips into a ‘trying too hard to be cool about it’ look.
I’ve seen that look many times before.
He likes her.
He really likes her.
Still.
Good.
“Yeah, Ashe. Of course.” He shrugs and gets back to work.
“Thanks, man.” I turn back to Roxie, and her cheeks are lobster red.
“That was not necessary,” she protests harshly under her breath.
“I think it was,” I reply with a knowing smirk.
“Fucker,” she mutters half-heartedly and playfully punches me on the shoulder. “Now get out of here. Tell Jade she owes me a girls night.”
I give my pseudo-sister a hug before leaning over and picking up my bag. “Will do.”
Stepping out into the night air, I take a few deep breaths.
This day.
Fuck this fucking day.
I need to hold it together until I get home. Just a little while longer, and I can try to figure out how to piece together the healing I’ve fought tooth and nail for.
My bike comes into view and I could cry. I just want to be home with my woman and my son. My family.
The family that the love of my life and I created. Kicking my leg over, I start the engine and it roars to life.
Only a few more minutes, baby.
* * *
I hear her singing before I even open the front door. We’re still living in my first apartment. If we have another baby—which I very much hope we do—then we’ll have to look at getting a bigger place.
She’s singing the alphabet to Tyler, and he’s giggling so loudly, it warms my heart from here.
As fast as I can, I unlock the door and join my family. The moment I step inside, the warm light and energy bathes me and the shitty day melts away.
“Dada!” Tyler calls loudly, clapping and crawling towards me. I drop my bag and pull him into my arms.
“Hey baby!” Jade turns to me with a warm smile and kisses me chastely. She must immediately clock my stress because her eyebrows furrow with worry. Before she can ask anything, I shake my head with a chuckle under my breath. I can’t hide anything from this woman.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, holding onto my bicep with worry.
“Nothing that can’t wait,” I reassure her. I shift Tyler in my arms so I can hug her too, breathing her scent in.
My whole world in my arms.
* * *
Jade has become…such a radiant beauty. Way, way out of my league.
She has always been beautiful, but honestly? Every single day we’re together, she just grows into her naturally good looks. And since she had my baby, she’s been positively glowing.
In the last three years, Jade’s caught the tattoo bug and now has two full sleeves and is working on her first thigh tattoo. We basically match now, but she still has quite a few to go to catch up with me.
Leaning against the doorway to Tyler’s room, I watch the long blonde braid swing slightly as she rocks back and forth with my baby in her arms, marveling at the sight. She gained some weight with the pregnancy, but honestly, I love it. She’s curvy and thick, and she looks like I could throw her around in the bedroom.
I do—quite frequently, actually.
“Shhhh,” she soothes Tyler and leans over the side of his crib, putting him to bed. “I love you, baby,” she whispers and walks away.
“Go, go, go, before he wakes up,” she hisses quickly, pushing me out of the nursery and toward the living room.
“Ah,” Jade sighs as she stretches, and I watch with heated eyes as a sliver of her stomach shows. She has vertical stretch marks from pregnancy. I know she doesn’t like the marks, but I think they’re amazing. I'd kiss every single one every night before bed if she’d let me. Anything to show her just how much I love her, how much I love her new body, and how I’m so incredibly thankful for what she’s given me.
“So, my love, what happened today?” she asks, not beating around the bush as she plops down on the couch.
Fuck, I really don’t want to get into this right now. But I know we need to talk about it. Sliding down to the ground, I start picking up the mess our little one made to keep my hands busy. I don’t understand how someone so small and cute can make such a mess.
After debating how to tell her, I end up doing it in the worst way possible.
“I saw Hunter today,” I blurt out. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“What?” she gasps.
“I saw Hunter. He was waiting outside of the shop when I got there. I’m so happy you decided to stay home. I would’ve truly killed him if anything had happened to you,” I lament.
A quick glance tells me that Jade’s not absorbing this information very well. Her face is blank and so pale, like all the blood vanished. Her hands are shaking.
Fuck, I should’ve been a little gentler about it. I should’ve known this would hit her so much harder than it hit me.
“Damn it, Jade. I’m sorry,” I profess, abandoning the toys and climbing onto the couch next to her.
“What did he want?” she asks. Her voice is shaky and cracks as she speaks. This is… so bad. After years of being together and trying to work through all of this trauma, I’ve seen all the panic attacks, all the breakdowns. I’m such an idiot for telling her so bluntly.
“He wanted money. Said I ruined his life. Said some choice things that I’m not going to repeat. He got punched in the face and threatened. I told him where my loyalty lies. He left.”
“Where your loyalty lies?” she repeats. “I knew this would happen, . I knew one day that you’d have to choose! Fuck, we have a child now, . I can’t let him into our life, I can’t!”
She’s starting to hyperventilate, and I react quickly. Grabbing her hand, I place it over my heart, then stack our free hands like a sandwich over the first.Her panic attacks are less common now than they used to be, but I hate being the reason why she’s thrown into one now.
“Breathe, baby. Breathe,” I plead softly, watching as her breathing levels out and the wildness in her eyes dim. “I think I misspoke. I told him straight out that I will choose you over everyone else. That he and I being related by blood means nothing. That you, and only you, are my family. I didn’t tell him about or bring up the baby in any way. I don’t think he’d try anything, but I don’t want to take the chance.”
Jade sniffles and looks up at me. “You chose me?”
“I choose you, Jade. Every day, every moment, every lifetime. It’s you and me, baby. You and me against the world,” I whisper, cupping her chin with my hand and kissing her forehead. “I’m so fucking in love with you, and I will be until we’re old and gray. Even then, I’ll be choosing you and loving you as fiercely and as loudly as I can. That’s never going to change.”
Jade smiles softly, a quiet gasp leaving her lips as she sees and feels the truth in my words. I chose her back then, when I found her in that laundry room. I chose to take her and keep her safe. And I’ve been choosing to do that every single day since. It’s been my privilege. And no one is going to take our love from us.
Tyler cries out, and both of us go silent. We strain our ears to hear if he needs us or if he’s just moving in his sleep. Jade pulls the baby video monitor out of her sweatshirt pocket and props it up on the coffee table. Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her into my side and hold her tight.
The comfortable silence stretches on while we watch our baby boy on the monitor, and I think through the storm raging in my head.
“We’re stronger now, aren’t we?” Jade asks suddenly.
“What?”
“All the shit I went through, all the shit you went through, and all the terrible things that happened. We went through all of that, hit rock bottom and somehow pulled ourselves out. Now look where we are. We’re married, extremely happy, we have our dream jobs… you own your business with your best friend—our son’s godfather. We have a beautiful, smart, loving baby, and great friends…” Jade counts off all our blessings, and with each thing, I feel lighter.
Better.
She’s right.
“All that shit we went through… it made us stronger, didn’t it?” Jade asks, looking at me with those beautiful, soulful green eyes that I love so much.
I kiss the top of her head, thinking about just how lucky I am.
“Like phoenixes rising from the ashes, baby girl.”