17. Autumn #2
I’ve never been as comfortable with someone as I am with him. Never been so confident in my body as I am now because he worships it so thoroughly. Never been so happy because he and Winnie bring me joy everyday.
“Fuck yeah. I’d drink your piss if you let me.”
Pop. And just like that, my happy glowy bubble bursts. I wrinkle my nose. Men. “That’s disgusting.”
He winks at me, and I roll my eyes, loving that it still makes my stomach swoop.
I sit on the toilet, avoiding eye contact while I take the test, and then cap it before putting it back on the counter.
As soon as I finish washing my hands, his arms band around me and he rests his chin on my shoulder as we stare at the test.
“What do you want? Boy or girl?” he asks.
I shrug softly, tilting my head to lean against his. My hand wraps around his on my stomach. “Either one. Boy maybe, so then you have one of each.”
“We,” Dodge says, and it makes my heart stutter for a second. Our eyes catch in the mirror. “We’d have a boy and a girl.”
I swallow roughly, pushing down the emotion growing in my throat. “You’re right. We. ”
His lips quirk, and our attention falls back on the test.
“I wouldn’t mind another girl. Maybe this time she could look a little more like me. Next thing I know I’ll be in a sea of blonde.”
I snort. “Hey, some people kill for this color. Appreciate it.”
I know whatever is about to come out of his mouth is going to be dirty, but it’s interrupted by the beep of the test. My hands shake as I pick it up, and he holds me up when I nearly collapse. Tears flow down my face as I turn and jump into his arms.
His mouth is on mine, and I drop the test back on the counter. We don’t have to say anything, our happiness is too much to contain. We need this, need to celebrate that we made a life, that we’re having the baby we both so desperately want.
The few times we’ve visited the library, Winnie and I have never received the vitriol that Dodge swears the MC gets. Five minutes in this grocery store, and I can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching me…and th ere’s a malice to it that has my knuckles turning white on the cart’s handle.
Winnie babbles happily, reaching to swipe at random items sitting out on the shelves.
I grab her little hand, kissing it and setting it back down into her lap as I push down the aisle slowly.
The mental list of what I need is forgotten about as I determine what to do.
It feels a little silly to call Dodge over just a feeling, but after I pass a third person that returns my smile with an upturned nose, I do it.
If anything were to happen because I ignored my gut, and these snotty-ass people didn’t help, I could never forgive myself.
“Autumn?” he answers.
I blow out a breath. “I think I’m losing my mind.”
“What’s wrong?” There’s a clang of metal, and I assume he’s scrambling to get out of whatever car he’s working on.
My eyes track over the happy baby in my cart, and I can’t dismiss what I’m feeling. “I’m at the grocery store, and I just—can’t explain it, Dodge. I feel like someone’s watching us. ”
“Trust it, whatever you’re feeling. I believe it, okay? Get back home. I have a brother nearby. I’ll send him to escort you home. Text me whatever you need and I’ll pick it up now.”
I nod, even if he can’t see it, but it’s an immense relief that he didn’t dismiss my feelings.
Pulling Winnie out of the seat, I abandon the cart in the middle of the aisle and rush toward the front door.
When we’re outside, I sprint toward the car, glancing over both my shoulders and not seeing anything.
The keys shake in my hand as I get to the car and unlock the back door.
I buckle Winnie into her car seat and slam the door shut just as hands grab me and push me against the car. I let out a scream in surprise.
“You one of those biker’s whores?” The man sneers down at me.
He’s so close to me, his fingers dig into my flesh. He’s so close to Winnie, and that snaps me out of my frozen state.
I push, slap, and kick at him. “GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP!”
My shouts echo in the nearly empty parking lot .
He tries to shake me, and my head snaps back to hit the window. The glass pings as black dots pepper my vision.
“Shut up!” he yells in my face. My heart is hammering away, and I’m not even afraid for myself. I’m worried he wants Winnie, and he’ll have to kill me if he does. I can only hope that help arrives before then.
“I saw you, whoring yourself out to one of those losers. They’re messing with something they shouldn’t be.
Small town fish thinking they can play with the big dogs.
They’re about to be taught a lesson.” His words make no sense, but in the next second, I flinch as a loud crack booms beside us.
The noise rings in my ear as a wet, warm substance hits my face.
I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, afraid to confirm what I think happened.
As the man who had been holding onto me slumps to the ground, I steady myself and yank my arm back to not fall with him since his fingers are still tight on my elbow.
Winnie’s muffled cries behind me tug at my soul.
“Don’t open your eyes, Autumn. Let me clean your face.”
I swallow, trying not to cry.
“Creed?” I barely open my lips as I ask. He’s one of the few brothers, outside of Gage, that stops by the house frequently.
He grunts. “Yeah. Don’t talk. This is me.” His hand brushes my shoulder, and I withhold a wince, but flinch when I feel the rough material that he drags across my face.
“Alright.”
When I open my eyes, I start looking to my left without thinking, but Creed blocks my view. “Don’t. Grab some of Winnie’s wipes and finish cleaning your face. Then get you and your girl to the clubhouse.”
I nod, finding his precise instructions calming as I walk around the car to open the driver door and reach across for her diaper bag.
“Shh, Winnie Poo. Everything is okay,” I tell her, my voice shaky as I keep my head tilted away.
When I drag the bag out, my heart hurts to shut the door on her cries before kneeling to look into the side mirror.
Bile rises in my throat when I see the red speckles, and I scrub them hard.
My hands shake, and when I stand, I look over at Creed.
He’s watching me with a stoic expression.
“Get gone, Autumn. He would have hurt you a lot worse. ”
I nod because I know he’s right. I know that man more than likely deserved his death. It doesn’t make the feel of his warm blood leave my skin; it doesn’t make the ringing of the shot stop in my ears.