Chapter 8
I was surprised to get a FaceTime call from Briar, so I answered immediately. The fear in his eyes was alarming, and when I heard his voice, I knew something terrible had happened. I didn’t wait for him to explain before making an illegal turn and heading toward Rue’s house.
I noticed the furniture on the porch was in disarray and didn’t bother ringing the doorbell before letting myself inside. When I entered the family room, Sage was holding up an empty vase, ready to smash it over someone’s head, while Violet, Briar, and Rue looked on in fear.
“Oh, thank God!” Violet said. “Is Deacon still knocked out on the porch?”
“He must have woken up and left. The door was open. Y’all good?”
“Mr. Rocky!” Briar cheered, hopping from his mother’s lap and running toward me.
I kneeled, allowing him to run into my arms and hugging him.
“Are you okay, buddy?”
He nodded as he spoke. “I’m okay, but my daddy hurt Mommy. Can you check on her?”
I stood and looked at Rue. Our eyes connected briefly, but she looked away.
“Sure, I can check on her. Would you and your aunts mind letting me talk to your mom alone?”
“Nope! Let’s go, y’all,” Sage agreed quickly, waving her sister and nephew out of the room.
Once they were gone, I headed to the couch.
“Your shoes,” Rue reminded me. I slipped out of them and continued in her direction.
Instead of sitting next to her, I kneeled in front of her and took her hand. She tried to avoid my eyes with her tear-filled ones, but I gently grabbed her chin and forced her to look at me.
“You okay?” She nodded. “Tell me what happened.”
Through tears, she shared the evening’s events. It was hard for her to talk about the parts that included Briar, but she managed to get through it.
“How often does he hit you?”
“We’re not together.” Her response was defensive.
“That’s not what I asked you.”
“He used to hit me a lot when we were together. My sisters didn’t know about it until it got really bad.”
“It was really bad the first time he put his hands on you.”
“I can do without the judgment right now.”
“I’m not judging you. I’m making a point.”
“Anyway, we broke up not long after they found out. I avoid him if at all possible, but…he still gets aggressive sometimes.”
“How often?”
“Just when?—”
“How often, Rue?”
“I don’t know. Maybe twice a month.”
“Does he hit Briar?”
She shook her head adamantly. “Never, but today, if I hadn’t jumped on his back, he might’ve.”
“Do you still have feelings for him?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, but he’s Briar’s father, and I encourage him to maintain a relationship with our son.”
“If he wasn’t Briar’s father, would you want a man like him around your son?”
“Hell no!”
“Then why does him being Briar’s father matter? If you ask me, it makes it much worse. You don’t want him to think it’s okay to treat any woman, let alone the mother of his children, the way his father treats you.”
This was the most she’d opened up to me, and I could tell by the shift in her demeanor that my words hit home.
“Briar was four when I finally broke things off. He was so young. I didn’t think he’d remember anything.”
“I guarantee he remembers and knows more than you think.”
“How do you know? Did he say something to you?”
“Not in so many words, but I see things in Briar that remind me of myself at his age.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father abused my mother. He’s serving a life sentence for beating her to death.”
“Rocky, oh my God! That’s terrible! I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. I was ten years old when me and my two brother’s lives changed forever. We lost both of our parents in one night because my father thought my mother was a punching bag."
“Wow! My father loved my mother to the ends of the earth, so I can’t relate to that part…but I can relate to losing both of my parents in one night. I wouldn’t wish that kind of loss and pain on my worst enemy.”
I sat next to her on the couch and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Surprisingly, she leaned against me and rested her head on my chest.
“Damn, I didn’t know. How old were you?”
“It was a little over four years ago. I was twenty-one.”
“What happened?”
She cleared her throat. “My dad was a member of the Westside Riders in his twenties and thirties, until they started getting involved in stuff he didn’t agree with. Leaving the club didn’t stop his love for motorcycles, though. He loved them almost as much as he loved my mother and us. She hated them, but they made him happy, so she got used to them. One night, she went for a ride with him, and they were run off the road and killed by someone in a pickup truck. The person was never found.”
“Damn,” was all I could think to say. I finally understood why she flipped out on me about taking Briar for a ride. “I would’ve never guessed your father was a member of the Riders. Is that how you met Deacon?”
“I knew of him long before we dated because he’s a Rider, but I didn’t really know him. Before you even think my father let him get away with hitting me, I hid it from him and everyone else. My father would’ve killed him, and at the time, I was dumb and in love. I probably never would’ve forgiven him.”
“What’s your father’s name?”
“Ezekial Abrams, but he was known as Eazy.”
“Holy shit! Eazy the Enforcer is your father?”
“The one and only. Look around. There are pictures of him and my mother all over the house.”
I scanned the family room and saw a few pictures I hadn’t noticed before. I’d only seen him in old pictures from when he was young. He looked familiar, but off top, I wouldn’t know it was him. In the family pictures, he looked nothing like the legend he was known to be.
“Shit, he looks like the everyday family man in those pics. The few times I saw him, he didn’t look like a man who was married with six daughters.”
“Yeah, he got that a lot. People were even more surprised when they found out he owned a flower shop. He loved flowers almost as much as he loved bikes.”
“That explains why all of his daughters are named after flowers.”
“Bingo!”
“So, if you were twenty-one when you lost your parents, your sisters were pretty young too.”
“Rose was a few months shy of eighteen and in her last few months of high school. I had to file for custody of them, or they would’ve been put into the system.”
I shook my head because I couldn’t imagine being tasked with raising my younger siblings at such a young age.
“You were dealing with the death of your parents, raising your sisters along with Briar, and being abused. That’s a lot, Rue. How is your mental?”
She didn’t answer immediately, but when she did, I could relate.
“As long as I stay busy, I’m fine.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s how I cope with the loss of my younger brother, RJ’s dad.”
“Rocky, I’m so sorry. I assumed RJ enjoyed hanging with his uncles. I had no idea his father had passed away.”
“He does enjoy hanging with us, but me and Russ got custody of him after my brother died from a severe case of pneumonia.”
She struggled to sit up and face me. “You’ve been through so much, and I apologize for misjudging you.”
“I can say the same about you. I understand why you’re so guarded and protective of Briar. I want to genuinely apologize for taking him for a ride on my bike without your verbal permission.”
“Thank you. Umm, my shoulder and back are throbbing. I need to take some meds and get some ice.”
“You mind if I take a look?”
“Are you in the medical field?”
“No, but I grew up with two younger brothers, and I’m raising a seven-year-old boy. Lots of accidents have happened on my watch. Let me help you.”
She slowly moved to the edge of the couch and attempted to remove her arm from the sleeve of her shirt.
“It hurts too much.”
“Can I slip my hand into your shirt?”
“You didn’t ask if you could put your face between my legs, but you think this would be a problem?”
“Touché.” I grabbed the neck of her shirt with one hand and slipped the other hand into it. “It feels like your shoulder is out of place.”
“Do I need to go to the hospital?”
“Let me check. Hold your breath for me.”
“What are you—Ah!” She screamed when I pressed her shoulder back into place. “Oh my God! You could’ve warned me.”
“I did. Roll your shoulder and see how it feels.”
She did as I asked, squinting from the discomfort. “It’s sore but feels better. Thank you.”
“Does anything else hurt?”
“My back is a little sore, but I’ll take some ibuprofen.”
“That should help. Let me help you up.”
The feisty Rue I was used to must have been on a break. When I extended my hand, she took it and allowed me to help her.
“Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
She looked up at me, and I winked.
“Are you always this polite and helpful?”
“My grandmother would throat punch me if I wasn’t.”
“Oh, were you raised by your grandmother after…after everything happened?”
“Her and my grandfather.”
“That’s amazing. I’m glad you all had somebody.”
We’d made it to the kitchen, and I leaned against the counter and watched her move around slowly.
“Yeah, my family is my world. My brother’s death hit us hard. Soon after, RJ’s mom decided motherhood wasn’t her thing, and that’s how we got custody of him. We bought a house big enough for the five of us, and being together has been very therapeutic for us.”
She stopped what she was doing and stared at me introspectively for a moment. Our eyes were locked, and it felt like she was trying to look into my soul.
“You’re really nothing like I thought.”
“I know, and you shouldn’t make assumptions about people.”
“You made assumptions about me too.”
“I didn’t assume you were mean, beautiful. You’re actually mean as fuck.”
“I’m not, but you’re entitled to your opinion. I was about to invite you to dinner, but since you think I’m mean, you can eat elsewhere.”
“Does elsewhere include between your legs?”
She gasped, and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally spoke.
“Does your grandmother know you talk like that to women?”
“Nah, and if you snitch on me, I’ll have to punish you.”
Her brows raised. “Punish me? How?”
“If I tell you, you’ll have to let me do it. I promise I won’t hurt you…Well, maybe a little, but you’ll like it.”
She inhaled before swallowing slowly. “Umm, I’m making baked chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, and grilled zucchini.”
“That sounds delicious, but unfortunately, I have to go. Can I take a rain check?”
“Sure.”
I took a few steps and stood in front of her. She craned her neck to look up at me, and I couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. Her eyes were so mesmerizing I could get lost in them for hours.
I cupped her chin and lowered my lips to hers, causing her breath to hitch. Her lips were as soft as they were a few hours ago at the flower shop. I took a chance and slipped my tongue between her lips, and she welcomed it.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but my dick stiffening in my pants forced me to end our connection. I was pleased to see she looked as disappointed as I felt.
“Lock your number in,” I requested, giving her my phone.
Again, she didn’t give me a hard time and took my phone without any back talk. After adding her number, she slipped my phone into my sweats.
“Thank you.”
“You’ve already thanked me, but you’re welcome.”
I planted a kiss on her forehead and walked away. If I lingered any longer, I’d never leave. Besides, it was time to go to work.