Chapter 3 Bear
BEAR
“Hi, Teddy Bear,” Margot said, smiling.
I leaned back against my old, rickety bike before I reached out for her.
“Hey there, gorgeous. Come here,” I said, grinning.
I pulled her into me, and she hopped onto the bike.
She straddled it, her lips coming down onto mine as I held her closely.
School was out. I’d skipped another class.
And Margot looked more beautiful than ever.
Her brown hair was piled high on her head in a messy ass bun, her hazel eyes reflected the sunshine shining above our heads just before I captured her lips, and her tanned skin glistened for me as our friends poured out of our high school.
And holy fuck, was I in love with this girl.
“Ready to go?” I asked, murmuring against her lips.
She hummed before she pulled back, and I watched that cheeky grin drift across her cheeks.
“Where are we headed?” she asked.
“Why don’t you hop on back and you can find out?”
“Or, you could just tell me.”
“Now, what would be the fun in that?” I asked.
She giggled as she slid off my bike. The rest of the senior class stared at us as they poured out of our classes.
I was sure teachers wondered where I’d been.
Wondering where my homework was. Wondering if I’d ever get my life together.
The great thing about it was, I had already been accepted to the community college up the road.
Even if I fell on my face and flunked all my damn classes, it was those grades that mattered the most. It was the grades I made during my automotive mechanic technical degree.
So, fuck high school.
I wanted to spend my time with the woman I had fallen desperately in love with.
“Ready when you are,” Margot said.
She planted a kiss between my shoulders and I shivered.
I’d set up the most romantic evening for us.
An evening fit for the queen she was. I revved my engine and sped off, leaving the principal who was running for us in our dust. She leaned her head back and whooped out.
She hollered as she thrust her arms into the air.
I adored it when she clamped them down around my waist, though.
When she wrapped herself around me tightly and buried her face between my shoulders.
Especially when her hands got a little… handsy.
Like they were now.
“You’re gonna get yourself in trouble with that!” I exclaimed over the rushing wind.
“Oh, I hope so!” she yelled back.
I smiled as a chuckle fell from my lips.
I raced us to the ocean’s side, taking my bike as far down the ramp as I could.
The beach was deserted. Not a soul was in sight.
And my picnic basket and blanket were right where I left them.
I hopped off my bike and offered Margot my hand.
She smiled brightly before her palm slipped against mine.
The rush of electricity up my arm sent goosebumps scattering across my body, and as I picked up the picnic basket and blanket, I led her out into the sand.
“Wow. This took planning. I’m impressed,” Margot said.
“What? You don’t think I can plan out a romantic date?” I asked.
“I didn’t think you had a romantic bone in your body.”
“I could give you a romantic bone, if that’s what you wanted.”
She playfully slapped me. “You know I’m not ready for that kind of thing yet.”
I whipped around quickly and slid my arm around her, trapping her hand locked with mine.
I pulled her closely, gazing down into her eyes as the afternoon sun flirted with the horizon of the ocean.
Her hazel eyes sparkled with blue flakes.
Like the waves of the ocean, ebbing and flowing within her soul.
I bent forward and softly kissed her lips.
I sucked on that plump lower lip of hers until she moaned, collapsing into me.
Then, I pulled back and kissed her forehead.
“And you know I’ll never push you into something like that. Ever,” I murmured.
Because I loved her. And when she was ready, I’d be ready for her.
Pain shot through my arm and it pulled me from my dream. A dream I’d had frequently after Margot and I split. After our argument that night that ended in her packing up the next day and leaving early for Stanford.
Had I really heard her voice yesterday?
“Bear?” she asked softly.
My eyes flew the rest of the way open and my head whipped over.
I squinted my eyes, ignoring the pain rushing throughout my system.
It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. My gut burned and my arm felt as if it was ignited in flames.
I watched as a woman, short and stout, stood up and reached for a needle.
“No,” I grumbled.
“It’s just some pain medication. I can tell you’re in pain,” she said.
Holy fuck, was I still dreaming?
I moved my arm slightly, and the pinch of the needle made me groan as my head dropped back to the pillow.
There was one pinch. Then, two. The pain slowly subsided and all that was left was a dull ache deep within the pit of my soul.
The woman sat down and I turned my head again.
I tilted my eyes to face her, and those gorgeous hazel eyes came into view.
Still reflecting those flakes of blue I’d fallen so desperately in love with as a teenage boy.
“Mar—”
“You’re going to hurt for a few weeks, Bear,” she said.
My eyes searched hers as she stood up. Her brown hair fell into her face, that had been etched with just the softest bit of age.
She filled out nicely. With a womanly body rather than the teenage body I’d finally gotten her to allow me to enjoy.
Her cheeks were tipped with a rosy sheen.
Her plump lower lip glistened with lip gloss.
Her brown hair wasn’t long anymore, though.
Like it had been back in high school. It sat just below her jawline with a fringe across her eyes that made them look mysterious.
“I like your hair,” I whispered.
But when she smiled that beautiful smile of hers, I knew it was her. Margot. The young girl I’d fallen in love with my senior year of high school. She was here. With me. In this very room.
Wearing a white doctor’s coat.
“I’m so prou—”
“You took three gunshots to your abdomen and one to your side. The one on your side Piper and I had to cauterize in order to get the bleeding to stop. Those are going to take weeks to heal, but that should match up well with the recuperation time your collapsed lung is going to take,” Margot said.
She sat on the edge of the bed as I continued staring at her.
“You’ve got some bruising, but nothing major other than the lung and the bullet wounds. Most of the bruising is around the ribs. And one of your eyes is very black. So, if you struggle opening your left eye for any reason, that’s why,” she said.
“How long is my recoup time?” I asked.
“Five weeks, at least. Mostly for your lung. Your bullet wounds will stop hurting after one or two. Then, the wounds will simply be topical. Waiting for the proper time to take out the stitches. But a collapsed lung is a serious thing. There’s major risk for it collapsing again, so someone will have to keep a close watch on you. ”
“Are you going to do that?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Plain and simple answer.
Reminded me of the fight we’d had all those years ago.
“What are you doing here, Margot?” I asked.
She snickered. “Honestly? I could ask you the same thing, Bear. What the hell are you doing running around with these people?”
“These people are my family. They took me in after—”
“And I see the big lug is up,” Piper said.
Margot quickly got off the side of the bed and turned to face Rock’s wife.
I watched the two girls hug before Piper took my hand, holding it within hers.
I wanted Margot to come back. I wanted her perfume to overwhelm me again.
It was a new scent. Her voice had a new huskiness to it.
There was so much about her that had changed, and I wanted to learn all of it.
But instead, Piper took my hand and replaced her on the edge of the bed.
“I walked him through about how long recuperation will take. Mostly because of his lung,” Margot said.
“Good, good. Maybe now that means you can enjoy that beachfront property you purchased a little while back finally,” Piper said, quirking her eyebrow.
“What makes you think I don’t enjoy it now?” I asked, coughing.
The coughing didn’t stop, though. And the more it happened, the more pain I experienced. Someone rushed off and stumbled down the hallway. The coughing continued, and it felt like my chest cavity was being ripped open.
“Here. Drink,” Margot said.
And when her palm slid behind my head, I felt myself already falling into her again. Despite the time that had passed.
She brought my lips to the edge of the mug and I chugged the cool liquid.
I sputtered every time my body wanted to cough, but I managed to get it down and keep it there.
I drank as much of the water as I could while Piper cleaned up the mess I made off my beard and my neck.
And the second Margot pulled away, I wished with all my might I had the power to pull her back to me.
Holy hell, I’d missed this woman. No matter how awkward things were between us right now.
“Can we come in?” Cage asked.
My eyes slowly panned toward the door as Piper stood.
“Depends. He can’t get out of this bed right now. He needs rest. If you guys are gonna talk, I suggest doing it within the next ten minutes before I give him another dose of heavy pain medication,” Piper said.
“I’m fine. I’m good. Let them come in,” I grunted.
“You heard the man,” Diesel said.
The men filed into the room and I looked over at Margot.
She was pushed up into the corner, her hands pressed against the wall.
She looked terrified, and it killed me. I wanted to explain to her that we weren’t bad people.
That we’d gotten our act together—mostly—years ago.
That we weren’t the stereotypical crew that ran around terrorizing people’s lives.
But Piper whisked her out of the room too quickly for me to even open my mouth to say her fucking name.
“Bear?” Diesel asked.
My eyes slowly panned over to him as my head sank deeper into the pillow.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“What the everloving fuck happened to you?” he asked.
“And did you, by any chance, get a look at the men who did this to you?” Cage asked.