22. Chapter 22
Leigh
After getting violated by Sam, he gave me some ointment for my back. I couldn’t help but keep flinching and he yanked my shirt up.
“You can tell your cousin you liked his handy work,” I told him. When he found out it was Hammer, he kept his mouth shut and told me to use the ointment to take the sting out and heal the welts faster.
“I don’t need that shit. Just need to be sure I’m all clear.”
He excused the nurse, leaned on the counter, and put his hands on his hips.
“She’s still fragile, Leigh. I’m not gonna tell you not to touch her, since you already have.
” He paused, putting his hand up when I opened my mouth, “But the last thing either of you need is any complications. Keep it wrapped up.”
“Just do the tests, doc. I need to get in touch with Manny. He can come get that hospital bed.”
“Last I heard he was still suspended but I don’t imagine it would be much longer.
They stay understaffed. Just shoot him a text.
Wasn’t he prospecting? Anyway, she’ll be in shortly to draw your labs.
I need to get to the next patient or I’ll be here all night.
” He grabbed the ointment, handing it to me. “And take this.”
I took the small tube and waited for the nurse to return.
Once she was done, I pulled the bandage off my arm and tossed it on my way out.
I walked back into the waiting room and there she was, reading a magazine, her foot shaking a mile a minute.
“Everything all good?” I asked.
She smiled up, but it seemed forced. “Yeah. Everything’s great.”
She tossed the magazine down and stood so I took her hand. She threaded her fingers into mine, and I gently squeezed. It felt so natural but also still unbelievable. Glenda was walking hand in hand with me, in public, her body close to mine like she wanted to be near me.
I opened her door as we made it to the truck and she climbed in. I walked around and did the same, starting the engine.
Once we were back on the road, I finally asked, “You sure you’re okay? You seem tense.”
“Just don’t like doctors. Doctor’s offices. Medical stuff in general, I guess.”
“What did Sam say?” I asked.
“Well, he probably told you already anyway, so still no driving for now, and no bike rides. He wants me to go a while without an episode.”
Looking at the time, I noticed it was already after five. “We’ll call that other doc first thing, get you scheduled.”
“Leigh?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Can we go by the grocery store?”
Nodding, I said, “Sure. You need something?”
“I appreciate all the takeout but I need some normalcy. A routine. Sam did say I can do chores and stuff, so cooking is a good start.”
“You’re not my maid and you don’t need to be working at the clubhouse.”
“Okay, so I’ll get a job then.”
Glancing over, she was staring, her hazel eyes calm and her face neutral.
“You’re not serious. You’re not getting a job.”
“Um, I’m sorry. When did you become my boss?” Her pitch went up a notch.
My head jerked back in her direction. “Your boss? I didn’t say–”
She put her hand up. “You just did. You didn’t ask me if I wanted to not get a job, you said I wasn’t. I didn’t just have this epiphany to fall right back into some fucked up relationship where I have no say over anything, Leigh.”
“Look,” I said, blowing a heavy breath. “I’m not trying to boss you around. I’m trying to tell you I’ll take care of you. Everything. I’ll cook, I already clean my house so I don’t need you to do that. And I have plenty of money. You want something, you can have it.”
She sighed, then stared out the window, not speaking.
Jesus Christ.
The rest of the ride was quiet. I wasn’t trying to boss her around. But saying that again didn’t seem smart. She was already edgy when we left the clinic and was quick to argue. I replayed it all as I drove to the store, as she requested.
Honestly, I was glad to go get groceries, regardless of who was prepping food.
I ate out sometimes, but not like the last couple weeks.
I didn’t want to leave the house when she was still out, and couldn’t leave once she was up.
Sure, Linny came by, but what the fuck could she do if Glenda fell or something, besides call someone for help?
Bruce would need more food again soon and could use some treats for all the excitement.
He was a good dog, but not used to all the company.
She was still going through a lot of shit and she chose to be with me. I was gonna have to let this slide until we could really talk.
We finally arrived at the grocery store, and it was busy as shit. “There’s no good parking spots. Want me to drop you at the door and I’ll go park?”
She was still staring out the window. “I can walk.”
Goddamn. “Fine. I’d rather you walk with me anyway.”
I parked in the first space I found then jumped out to go open her door. She jumped down without taking my help. I slammed the door but grabbed her hand.
She didn’t fight me. Instead, she held my hand and walked at my pace, which was moderately funny because she was so short and had to move those little legs fast to keep up.
We made it to the front and I grabbed a buggy so I had to let go of her hand. I hated every minute of it, but neither of us could push it around holding hands. Plus, I was going to do things for her if it killed us both.
“Where to first?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I guess we can just start over there and work our way around.”
I turned the buggy to the right and headed to produce as instructed.
She thoughtfully looked over items, so I had to encourage her to grab whatever she wanted.
Once we were halfway through the store, she added some baking supplies to the buggy.
Once I pushed it, she was standing a bit closer to me than before.
Annoyed at the distance, I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, then put our clasped hands on the bar to push.
“What are you doing? I’ll just have to grab something”
I said, “You can tell me what you want, and I’ll get it with my other hand.”
“You’re so ridiculous.”
But when I looked over, she was fighting a grin, those dimples giving her away.
She loosened up a bit, and we made it through the store. I did have to let go for the dog food, but immediately fixed that before we kept going. Once we made it to checkout, though, we both let go and started adding things to the conveyor belt.
“Sheesh, how did we even get this all in the buggy?” she asked.
“It was pretty barren back at the house. Good thing we came by.”
It took ages to be rung up and the person bagging did a good job, but packing it back in the buggy was a sight. I started to wonder how we managed to get it all in, too.
After paying and managing to make it to the truck without dropping anything, I loaded the bed up and she climbed in.
The ride back to the house was still quiet, but the air between us was less tense. She rolled the window down and turned her face towards the opening. Her eyes were closed and her dirty blonde hair whipped in the wind.
It wasn’t dark but the sun was setting fast and the sky was a mixture of orange, pink, and purple. The air was cool. The radio was playing hit after hit. Everything was perfect.
Or would be, if I knew what was bugging her.
Once we pulled in, I asked her to go let Bruce out since he’d been cooped up all day and gave her the keys.
I got half the load, filling my arms with bags and trudged up the steps. I dropped those off and went back for the other bags, then made one last trip out for the dog food and drinks.
She was unpacking bags as I dropped the huge bag of dog food then put the sodas and beer on the counter.
“Why don’t you go sit down. I’ll bring you a beer in a minute, if you want one.”
“Leigh, I can put away groceries.”
“Okay.”
“And I can get a job.”
I stopped pulling things from the bag I had and stopped her from going for more. Grabbing her hips, I put her on the counter so she couldn’t move. “Glenda. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I told you. I’m not looking to be bossed around.”
Pressing myself between her thighs, I looked up at her. “Okay. Is this about money?”
“No. I get a check from the military and have very few bills.”
“Talk to me, then. Explain it.”
“Well for one, you can’t just sit here with me all day forever. You have to go back to work and I’m sure Hammer is not okay with you missing so much club stuff all this time.”
“True. But what’s wrong with me wanting to take care of you? I’ve wanted you for so long, Glenda. Is it crazy for me to want to give you a soft life?”
“You’re a Royal Bastard. You can’t promise a soft life for me.”
I cupped her cheeks. “I will make it as soft as I possibly can. I just want you to be happy.”
“Well, being around the girls does make me happy. And I like having something to do.”
Sighing, I said, “Okay. You can hang at the clubhouse and do whatever then. Okay? But something was buggin’ you before that came up.”
Her eyes went down, but I moved her face up. Her eyes still stayed low.
“Look at me. You can tell me anything. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
She bit her lip, then said, “I know all the things you said. But how do I… what if you… I don’t know if….”
“If what?”
“Will you…” Her face was beet red. “Do you think it’s okay to have other girls?”
“I don’t want any other girls.”
“Right now. But maybe on a run, or if I’m sick, or–”
I let go of her face and ran my hand down my own. “I really fucking hate Reggie.”
Her brows pinched. “What?”
“He really did a number on you.”
She shrugged, her palms up. “It wasn’t just him. Nearly all the guys do it.”
I couldn’t argue that. “Look, I didn’t wait around for you all this time and do all this to have you a few times then switch up.
I’ve been waiting for you to be mine. All mine.
Only mine.” I stepped closer. “You said you wanted to be mine and just mine. And you wanted me all to yourself. And I promised. You remember?’
“Yeah, but–”
I leaned in closer, one hand on her hip, the other on her neck. “My heart is yours, always, Glenda. I loved you even when you hated me. Nothing is gonna change that.”
Her eyes were glassy. “How can you be sure?”
“Because I am. And I know you can’t understand because you’ve had nothing but bad shit until now. But I’ll prove it to you every day. You’ll see. But I need you to promise me you’re mine.”
“I don’t want anyone else.” A tear finally rolled down her cheek. “I never hated you, Leigh. I wished it was you for so long but I wasn’t supposed to. I hated myself for wanting what I couldn’t have, what I shouldn’t have.”
I crushed my lips to hers. Those words both made my heart swell and break at the same time. I hated that we wasted so much time. I hated I didn’t stand up to Reggie and take her from him. I hated I didn’t just tell her what really happened all this time.
As the kiss intensified, her hands went over my chest, then around my shoulders. When her fingers squeezed at the welts, I flinched.
She jerked away. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Are you okay?”
With furrowed brows, she tried to move the collar of my shirt but couldn’t see down my back. “Turn around.”
“Baby, I’m fine. We got all this stuff to put away and I still need to get your boxes from the truck.”
She pushed me, then slid off the counter and flew around me, lifting my cut and my shirt. She gasped. “What the fuck is this? What the fuck were you doing when I was packing?”
After everything she just grilled me about, I realized her tone was because she thought something totally off base.
“Listen.” I turned. “Hammer told me–”
“Hammer? Did you get in trouble?”
Shrugging, I said, “It happens.”
“Why? I thought he was fine with you taking care of me.” She paused. “Wait. You two fought when I left.”
“It’s done. Let's get this put up. You need to eat and my stomach is growling.”
“Leigh, fucking tell me what happened. Why does your back look like that?”
Scratching at my scruff, I told her, “We did fight when you left. And he told me if I went to the clubhouse before he gave me the thumbs up, I’d be fined and flogged.”
“So he beat you because of me? Because I asked you to come get me? But why didn’t you just-”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, so I grabbed her. “Baby, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I knew what would happen and I didn’t care. I went today willingly to let him. What matters is you’re safe, you’re here, and that’s all behind us. And it’s not your fault. It was mine.”
She fell to my chest, gentle sobs shaking her body. “Even when I don’t try, I hurt you.”
“Glenda, you didn’t do this. Hammer did this. And I did this. Okay?”
She nodded, pressing her face against me harder.
“Please don’t cry. I’m fine. I can take the lashings, but I can’t take you upset.”
She blew out a heavy breath, then nodded. “I’m still really sorry.”
“Don’t be. Now let's get this shit put away and get you moved in.”