Chapter 14 - Karter #2
“I’m only going to say this once, so spread the word to the others who ain’t around.
Who I fuck is no one’s business. I don’t get in your bed and start shit, so don’t get in mine.
I appreciate you all looking out for Ruby, but last I looked, she’s grown.
And from the way you guys are talking, or what you ain’t saying, it sounds like she’s got a man in her life.
One who can deal with her issues. She doesn’t need all of you going after me.
Her man can do that, or he ain’t a man at all.
So respect her, respect her man, and for fuck’s sake, respect me.
I might not be an officer, and I get that we’ve got no clue as what I am to this club, but I’m not a traitor.
I didn’t turn over my patch, and unless Casper takes it, it’s staying right here.
” I smack my vest, crest over my heart, to prove my point.
“If you’ve got opinions on my life, keep them to your damn self.
I’m tired of coming over to a place that should be my home to have half of you gossiping behind my back and the rest not making eye contact with me.
Either deal with shit or take a goddamn vote and take my patch. I’m done with this shit.”
I give General a nod. “Thanks for having my back,” I say, and then I’m out. On my bike and driving away without a second glance back. I already know where I’m going, and I don’t give a shit that I’m doing it. I need something good right now.
I park close to the hospital entrance, then make my way in and up to her floor.
Once I get there, I see Nurse Vicky behind the nurses’ station.
She gives me a pinched look, like a nun who sees me chasing after a girl in church but keeps it to herself because she took a vow of silence.
Instead, the old bat just says, “Room 314.”
I raise my eyebrows in shock but say nothing as she lowers her head and gets back to work, dismissing me.
Turning left, I head to the room she mentioned.
I’ve been here enough that I know which direction to go.
I won’t go into a stranger’s room, though—who the fuck knows what’s wrong with them that brought them here—so I usually stand outside the door.
Thankfully, I don’t even make it that far before my girl’s coming out with a smile on her face.
One look at me and she’s rushing over and wrapping me in a hug.
One I return instantly and just hold her as I breathe in her scent.
She usually doesn’t wear anything but the sterile shit hospitals prefer to keep patients from reacting to certain scents.
But when I bury my head in her neck just so, I can smell her unique scent. The one that makes me feel calm.
“You okay?” she whispers in my ear.
I nod. “Just needed you, Babygirl.”
She pulls back enough to let me see her smiling face. “Well, don’t you know how to make a girl feel special?”
“Just telling it like it is,” I say with a shrug.
It’s the truth, and that’s what I plan to do in this relationship—be honest. Not sure what I did in my last ones, with Special K or Ruby, but I plan to tell Diana anything she asks.
I might not tell her all at once, but if she asks for details, I’ll speak up.
Holding shit in isn’t what I want to do anymore.
I couldn’t speak for months while in a coma.
Not saying I crave talking, but I remember a void before I woke up.
One that I screamed into, and no one responded.
And the weight of holding in things sat on my chest, making me wake with an ache.
It was the only thing I remembered about the coma.
I never told anyone; not sure how to really talk about it.
But if she asked, if anyone does, I’ll tell. I’ll tell them anything.
Okay, not everyone. But Diana? My Babygirl? She’ll get it all from me if she wants it.
“Want to get some awful coffee with me in the cafeteria?”
“Rather take you home.” I brush a few strands that escaped her braid behind her ear.
“Me, too, honey. Got three more hours, though.” She rubs her hands up and down my arms, and I love that she’s okay with me wanting to bring her home, but also able to say no to me to get her job done.
My girl is not one to just roll over and take it.
She fights for what she wants and what she likes. And her job is something she loves.
“I’ll wait.”
She shakes her head but smiles at my words. “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
She purses her lips as she looks me over. Figuring out that I’m not going anywhere, she gives in. “Okay. But first, the terrible coffee. And it’s on me.” She wraps her hands around my arm and turns me to walk to the cafeteria.
“Fine. But only because I don’t like to waste my money on crappy things.”
She laughs, and all the shit from the club fades away. Everything does when she laughs like that and has her hands on me.
Diana might not have been the one to save me, but she has nursed me back to health, both in body and spirit.
And I’m not letting anyone get between us.