True Me (Fallen Brethren MC #6)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cash

I T’S TAKEN SEVERAL conversations over the last few days with Rebel to assure her that Chad, the loan shark asshole, and Fawn are no longer breathing. Zoey even came in to tell her about beating the shit out of Fawn and then pulling the trigger and killing her while we killed Chad and the other guy. Rebel hears what we’re telling her and understands rationally that we’ve done what we promised her. In some part of her mind, Rebel can’t process the information we’ve given her. It’s lost in her head somewhere and doesn’t seem to be the truth of the situation in her mind. I understand where she’s coming from, but it doesn’t mean this isn’t hard as fuck to watch as she breaks down repeatedly because it kills me when she breaks in front of us. Rebel is the sweetest girl and doesn’t deserve to continue living in this hell she’s been through for the past several years as she has tried to deal with because of Chad entering her life and pretending to be someone he wasn’t. He’s manipulated her for years and she’s the only one still paying the consequences of his actions. That’s not fair to Rebel at all.

Today, we’re finally getting her out of the clubhouse and taking her home where she belongs. Rebel deserves way more than a room in the clubhouse and we’re going to give that to her. We have several things planned for her today because she deserves nothing less than the best and to have everything her mind and heart desires. So, the first phase of our day is getting her to the house and giving her a tour of the place we’ll make a home together. The place we’ll bring our babies home to and raise them to be the best versions of themselves they can be.

“Doll, are you ready to head home?” I ask, walking in Eagle’s room to find Rebel sitting on the edge of the bed while watching Eagle get dressed for the day.

“I’m more than ready. Are you guys sure you’re ready to leave the clubhouse and all the partying here?” she questions me, her voice barely above a whisper as she lowers her eyes to the floor in front of her.

“Sweet Girl, we’ll always have time to party and be here at the clubhouse. It doesn’t mean we don’t want to be home with you instead of here. The only time we need to party is when we’re all in the mood for a party. That shit became old as fuck a long time ago. Honestly, the only reason we’ve been here for them is so we could spend time with you while you worked the bar. Now we can all come here when the three of us want to party and go home when that’s where we want to be,” Eagle promises her as he leans down and presses a kiss to her lips.

“He’s not lyin’, Doll. We don’t need to be here for every party or spend all of our time here. None of the other guys who have an ol’ lady feel as if they’re missin’ out on anythin’ because they spend more time at home with their family instead of bein’ here for every party,” I promise her as she looks up at us. “All we need is you. If you want to come here and party, we’ll party. The times you want to stay home and just hang out, that’s what we’ll do. We can have a few beers at home and relax with you instead of bein’ surrounded by the chaos at the clubhouse. We’re not young guys who thrive on seein’ sex out in the open and gettin’ blackout drunk like we used to when we were younger.”

“Okay. I’m sorry you’re both dealing with the aftermath of the shit I have going on right now. I’m so back and forth with everything and it’s hard for me to believe that they’re really gone after everything they did to me when I was in the cabin with them. I really don’t know everything and I’m sure it’s blocked in my mind so I don’t have to deal with it. However, at some point, I have to deal with it all. Maybe it would be a good idea for me to talk to someone and get help to truly work through this and everything I’ve been trying to show you both that I’m okay and not suffering. The only time you truly see me suffering is when I’m sleeping and can’t stop the nightmares from happening,” she tells us, looking between Eagle and me as she tries to gauge our reaction to the news that she’s ready to talk to a therapist or counselor about everything Chad and Fawn have done to her.

“You’ve got nothin’ to be sorry about, Sweet Girl. If you feel you need to talk to someone about all of this to help you work through this, then do it. Follow through and we’ll support you the entire time. Whatever you need to do, we’ll give you our full support because Cash and I both know you’d give us your full support no matter what the hell we do or want to do. That’s one of the many reasons we love you,” Eagle says as he bends down and lifts her in his arms while I close the wheelchair and lift it in my hands to bring home with us.

We make our way down to the common room where everyone is sitting. We’ll have a cookout at the house later with them. For now, they’re giving us space to get Rebel home and show her around before we move on to our second part of the day. Thankfully our home is all one floor and we don’t have to worry about taking her up and down the stairs every day if she wants to remain in bed. It’s not a chore to carry our girl from upstairs to downstairs at all. However, we want to ensure she’s comfortable in our home and everything is all on one floor in order for her to move freely in the wheelchair the best she can with one hand in a cast for the next month and a half.

Eagle walks out through the open door of the clubhouse and past Hawk as I follow behind them closely. He loads Rebel up in his truck while I put her chair in the bed before getting in the backseat behind her. When Eagle gets behind the wheel, he starts the engine and we head for home by moving around the clubhouse and following the paved road up to the houses on the compound. Rebel watches the scenery because she’s never been this far behind the clubhouse because no one who doesn’t have a house back here is allowed to just randomly show up. She’s never attended the cookouts because she felt as if she were overstepping her bounds and didn’t want anyone to feel as if she didn’t truly belong with the rest of us.

Rebel leans forward when our home comes into view. She takes in every single detail of the outside in the bright light of day. We’ve had flower gardens put in front of the house, a porch that wraps around the house even if there are no steps leading up to the door. Rocking chairs and a small table already fill the space because I know she’ll want to spend time out here first thing in the morning or late at night.

We get her out of the truck with me carrying her this time and Eagle carrying her chair. He rushes in front of me to open the door and we step inside and give Rebel a few minutes to look around. Our home has an open floor plan so she can see everything but the laundry room, our shared office, and the bathrooms. With the help of the guys, we got the entire house furnished with things we know Rebel would want. We’ve gone through her boards and showed her everything before we bought anything. The walls are painted in neutral colors that we also asked Rebel about before putting the final touches on the walls. Every single part of this house has been decorated and filled with her input because that’s the only way to start building a home together.

“Do you like it so far, Sweet Girl?” Eagle asks, stepping up next to us as he places her wheelchair down and opens it up before putting it off to the side for right now.

“I like it very much. What I really want to see right now is our room. You said we’re gonna share a bedroom here, right?” Rebel asks as I start moving toward the room we’ll share.

We make our way down the hallway toward the room at the very end of the hall. Walking through the doorway, I let Rebel look around until her eyes land on the massive bed directly opposite of the entry into our room. Her eyes bulge out of her head and don’t move from the bed until Eagle steps in front of her.

“What’s the matter, Doll?” I ask her, looking down as she turns her face up at me.

“That’s the largest bed I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Couldn’t you find one even bigger than this one?” she asks, a smile on her face to let us know she’s teasing us.

“We can always find a bigger bed. It just takes a few clicks online and then we’ll have this one replaced,” Eagle answers her and her mouth drops open in shock.

“No. I wasn’t asking for a bigger bed. This one will be more than big enough for us to share and still have plenty of room between us if we need it. I was trying to be funny,” she says, lowering her eyes once again.

If I’ve noticed anything about Rebel since she woke up in the hospital, it’s that her confidence has been completely destroyed. She’s constantly second-guessing herself and hardly looks us in the eyes if she’s unsure of how we’re going to react to something she’s saying or doing. Chad has broken our girl and I don’t know how to start building her back up again. Eagle doesn’t know either. This is something she might have to work on with her counselor. Or maybe we can bring up the subject with her at some point when it’s just the three of us.

“Sweet Girl, you can laugh and joke. You can move forward with your life and be the truest version without feelin’ as if we’re laughin’ or judgin’ you for any reason. When the three of us are together, I want your tears if that’s what you need to do. If you need to laugh and joke, then laugh and joke with us. We want every side of you and will do everythin’ in our power to ensure we bring you back to where you were before Chad brought himself back in your life and tried to destroy you completely. Chad doesn’t get to destroy you if you don’t let him,” Eagle says as we move toward the bathroom of our room.

Once again, Rebel’s eyes bulge out of her head as she takes in all the details of the room we’re now standing in. The shower is a walk-in with only a thin piece of glass in the middle to prevent the water from spraying everywhere. It’s been done in a black marble with several cubbies for the various shampoos, conditioners, and body washes we’ll have in here at some point. There’s plenty of space for all of Rebel’s girly stuff.

Off to the side is a huge tub that will be more than accommodating for all of us to share when she’s in the mood for a bath instead of a shower. There are three sinks along a counter with plenty of space for all of our stuff like toothbrushes and Rebel’s make-up. I don’t even know what kind of stuff will be left on the counter of the bathroom yet. The toilet is in a separate room of the bathroom so Rebel can have some privacy if she needs to use it while one of us is in the shower or something.

“We have one more thing to show you in this room,” I tell Rebel as I carry her out of the bathroom and to a different door across the room on the opposite side of the bathroom and walk-in closet.

Opening the door with one hand, Eagle walks in behind us as we make our way into the nursery. Rebel looks around and I know she can’t figure out what this room is.

“This can be a nursery, Doll. We had this added on because it will be the easiest way to have a nursery without takin’ up one of the other bedrooms. When our little one gets old enough to be moved out of the nursery, we’ll be able to decorate it the way he or she wants before this room becomes empty again,” I say, looking around the room that’s completely bare with white walls and no color at all. Even the carpet is a neutral color so it doesn’t clash with any color we put on the walls of this room.

“I love this. This would make the perfect nursery for any babies we have in the future. I’m not ready to have a baby right now though,” she says, hastily adding on about not being ready.

“We’re not pressurin’ you to have kids yet, Rebel. When you’re ready for kids, we’ll be ready for babies. This hasn’t changed about bein’ on your timeline and at your pace. That won’t ever change because you’re the most important person in this relationship,” Eagle says, taking her from my arms and carrying her back into the bedroom. “We’ve got one more thing to give you before we move forward.”

“What do you mean?” Rebel asks, her voice full of confusion as I walk over to the closet and pull out the box at the very top of the shelf in the back where she didn’t see it.

“Chad didn’t just kidnap and torture you. He took the one thing we gave you that he was never supposed to get his hands on. It was destroyed by him. The guys found it in the cabin before they lit it on fire. While we brought the pieces back here to the clubhouse, there’s no way we can save the rag and have dealt with it,” I promise her as I walk out of the closet and hand the box over to her.

Rebel unties the ribbon on the box and lets it fall to the sides before she lifts the top and moves the tissue paper to the side. I keep a hold of the box so it doesn’t fall off of her lap with only being able to use one of her hands still. It’s too hard for her to use the one with the cast on it. Rebel’s working on it, but it’s going to take her time to get used to everything. Especially when she’s just started to wean herself from the pain medicine. She can’t stand taking it for any reason and will suffer instead of taking something that can help her.

“Sweet Girl, you’re already our ol’ lady and nothin’ will ever change that shit. You wore our rag and it was taken from you. Our love for you will never change and we want to represent it to the world around us. Everyone will know you belong to us and we belong to you. That we love one another and will support you in everythin’ you want to do for life,” Eagle says, looking to me as I bend down to kneel in front of our girl.

“Doll, I love you. The worst time in my entire life was when you were taken from us. You own my heart and soul and have for far longer than I’ll ever be able to pinpoint. One day Eagle and I just started seein’ you in a different light. We saw you as the amazin’ woman Pound recognized when he first found you. You’re not a woman who needs to be saved from herself or anyone else. Rebel, you don’t see how sexy and strong you truly are. We want to show you this every fuckin’ day for the rest of our lives and show everyone how much we love you and how much you mean to us,” I say, looking up at our girl and dragging her lips down to meet mine in a deep kiss full of all the longing and love I have for our girl.

“I’ll always be your ol’ lady, Eagle and Cash. I love both of you more than I’ll ever be able to show either one of you. I want to show the world how much I love you and what our relationship means to me,” she says, her voice soft and gentle as she looks between the two of us.

“Love you, Sweet Girl. Why don’t you get some rest while we start gettin’ food ready for the cookout. Everyone is comin’ here for dinner tonight. When you get up, you can come help us out,” Eagle suggests as I stand and help pull Rebel’s flip flop off of her foot and help her move up the bed.

Eagle and I remain in the room until Rebel falls into a deep sleep. Neither one of us will be too far from her while she sleeps so we can stop a nightmare from pulling her under too long and locking her in the memories she doesn’t need to think about or deal with on her own. In the meantime, we’ll start preparing the meat for the grill and getting everything for the salads cooked and starting to cool down so we can put them together when Rebel wakes up. If she can’t do something to help out, she’ll be pissed at us because we did everything without her. Rebel loves to help out and contribute to every aspect of our relationship. Even if it’s the simplest things we do on a daily basis she wants to be there right alongside us.