Chapter 16 Lyric
LYRIC
“You’re not gonna go after her?”
My eyes never leave the door of the clubhouse as I shake my head. Quake slaps me on the back before moving past me and heading inside.
“That was brutal,” Copper comments as he passes next.
“Fucking whore needs put in her place,” Undertaker states, stepping up next to me. “Want me to send her to Death’s Door?”
I chuckle dryly at his question. “No. Savvy’s gonna handle it for now.”
“If you say so,” he says, stalking toward the door.
Zombie enters my peripheral. “Want me to talk to her?”
“Jesus,” I mutter. “Savvy’s taking care of Peach.”
“I was talking about Mellie.”
I shake my head before walking inside. It doesn’t take long to find Mellie because she’s at the bar downing a shot.
“Hey, Pres,” Junior, the prospect serving drinks, greets. “What can I get ya?”
“I’ll have what she’s having,” I say, nodding at Mellie.
She turns slowly to glare at me. “I wanna be alone.”
I glance around the room and then focus on her. “Pretty hard to do with all these people here.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t. Why don’t you spell it out for me?”
She growls and stomps her foot like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. “Another shot, please.”
Junior coughs in an effort to cover up a laugh. “Comin’ right up.”
She throws the shot back and slams the empty glass on the bar top. “Again.”
With my arms crossed over my chest, I watch as she does this three more times. I know I should stop her. She shouldn’t be drinking while her brain is still healing, but I don’t. That probably makes me a bastard, and I’m fine with that.
Mellie sways on her feet, grabbing the edge of the bar to steady herself. When she burps, her eyes narrow, and I chuckle.
“I’m guessing the fact that you’re a damn light weight is a victim of the amnesia,” I say casually.
“Junior, another,” she demands.
“That’s enough.”
I slide my eyes to Sawbone, who lifts the empty shot glass and throws it against the wall, shattering it.
“Why’d you do that?” Mellie asks.
“Because drinking never solved anything,” he barks. “And because I’m not in the mood to bury someone else I care about.”
With that, he stalks away from us. Mellie’s face falls at his words, and I drop my arms to my sides.
“He’s right,” I finally say, hating that it takes one of my brothers stepping in to make me stop being a dick.
“I don’t care,” she huffs.
“You’re so goddamn stubborn,” I accuse.
“Am I? I wouldn’t know.”
“That’s it.” I grab her hand and start dragging her toward our room. “We’re gonna hash this out because I’m not spending the rest of the day fighting with you for whatever fucking reason you think we should be fighting.”
“Let me go,” she demands, trying to free herself from my grasp. “I don’t wanna hash things out.”
“I don’t care,” I snap, throwing her own words back at her.
“You’re an asshole.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Sonofabitch, now I sound like a child.
I slam the door closed after we enter our room, and she jumps at the sound. Finally releasing her, I put some distance between us.
“What set you off?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“Dammit, woman, talk to me,” I plead. “Why are you pissed off?”
“I don’t know!” she shouts.
I soften at the uncertainty in her voice. She knows exactly what sent her into a drinking frenzy, and I know she’ll spit it out when she’s damn good and ready, so I cross the room to sit on the couch and wait her out.
It takes longer than I expect, but eventually, she’s standing in front of me. When she grips the hem of her black top and pulls it off, my cock jerks.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I wanna feel good,” she whispers. “Make me feel good, Lyric.”
There is nothing I want more, other than for all of her memories to return, but I’m not so much of a dick that I’d take advantage of her when she’s clearly not thinking straight.
Rather than cup her tits like my body is begging me to do, I tug her forward, so she straddles my lap. I pull the soft blanket from the back of the sofa and drape it around her shoulders to cover her.
“What had you downing shots?” I ask gently.
She rolls her eyes as she tries to stand, but I hold her in place. “I told you, I don’t know.”
“Bullshit.”
“What do you want from me?” she counters.
“I want you to talk to me,” I say. “I know you don’t remember, but we’ve always been able to talk about anything.”
Mellie chews on her bottom lip, and tears fill her eyes. Before they can spill over, she swipes them away. “You said that you love me.”
Her voice is so low, barely above a whisper, and for a moment, I wonder if I heard her right. When she doesn’t continue, and refuses to look at me, I know I did.
“Because I do love you.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you love me?” she asks. “I’m broken, not at all the girl you say you fell in love with.”
“Aw, baby, no,” I croon. “You are exactly who I fell in love with, whether you remember or not. And the last thing you are is broken.” I run my thumbs across the apples of her cheeks.
“We might not have gotten to our actual vows, but that doesn’t mean I’m not living them.
I will love you through the good, the bad, and everything in between.
You’re mine, no matter what, and I’m yours. ”
“What if I never remember?”
I shrug. “Then you don’t. The past doesn’t have to dictate the future. We’ll make new memories.”
“It’s not fair to you,” she says. “Maybe I should get my own place, figure myself out before dragging you farther down this road.”
I clench my jaw so I don’t lash out at her ridiculous suggestion. She’s scared, uncertain, and likely very overwhelmed. The last thing she needs is shit from me.
“I don’t think that’s the solution.”
“Then what is?” Mellie demands.
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. “What do you want to do?”
“I just told you.”
“No, you told me what you think is best for me. I want to know what you, Mellie Elizabeth Kensington, want and need.”
She hesitates for a moment as if really pondering how to answer. When she opens and closes her mouth several times like a fish struggling to breathe, I grin.
“Spit it out,” I encourage.
“I want my life back,” she blurts. “More than that, though, I want to recognize it as my life.”
“Okay. What do you need?”
“Space,” she replies quickly, and I do my best to mask the hurt that one word causes. “I know you’re trying your best, and I appreciate it, I really do, but…”
“But what?”
“I need to get to know you again. I need to relearn who we are to each other without any pressure. You moved me in here, and I didn’t really question it because I didn’t know where else to go.
You’ve been there through all of this, even when your focus should probably have been elsewhere, and that matters.
I just don’t know if it matters because I’m grateful not to be alone or if it’s because my heart and soul recognize you despite the fact that my brain doesn’t. ”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that I tried to give her space by putting her in another room. Mellie’s the one who chose to return to our shared quarters. I’m not a stupid man, though, and keep my mouth shut about it.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I can do that, all of it.” Urging her to her feet, I stand. “But first, we celebrate Rowdy and his legacy.”