Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
THE REAPER
When Ariel said we’re going home, I could feel this flutter in my chest. I never thought I would be sharing my home with someone else, let alone a girl I met today.
I want her to feel comfortable here and make her space her own.
Once we pull into the garage, I hop off the bike and take off both of our helmets.
“Home sweet home,” I say as we make our way to the door.
That hesitation that was written all over her face earlier has gone away, and I'm shocked to see a slight smile on her face. Once we get inside, I show her a tour of everything she needs to know.
"Here's your bedroom," I say, pointing to the spare room.
I can see a slight sense of disappointment at the thought of the spare room.
“Thank you for showing me around. What am I going to do about clothes?”
That’s a good point. I guess she does need those. We talk through what sizes she needs, and I send a text to Suzie to see if she can grab some things she needs.
Me: I'm dumb and forgot all about Ariel needing clothes. Can you grab size Medium in everything for her, please? Tell Reed to manage the bar.
Suzie: You got it. I’ll drop them off once I have them.
"All taken care of. Suzie should bring them in a little bit. Can I get you anything in the meantime?"
I never have people over unless it's Baine and Bam Bam, so I always have a hard time entertaining my guests. With them, it's natural because they are pretty simple, but with Ariel, I don't want to mess anything up.
“Can I get some hot tea and maybe watch a show until Suzie comes by with clothes so I can take a shower?”
“Of course. Let me get that for you. I can always give you a t-shirt and boxers if you want to hop in the shower now.”
I can just imagine how she’ll look in my clothes. It’s definitely a scene I want to see.
"Yes, please. I would love to get out of these clothes and wash off today. I'll drink the tea after, if that's fine."
“That works perfectly.”
I head to my bedroom and grab what she needs before she heads into the shower.
About thirty minutes later, Ariel finds her way into the living room, and I'm in complete shock. Her body is covered in bruises of various colors. I can't believe that bitch did all of this to her.
“It looks worse than it feels now,” she says.
I didn’t mean for her to catch me staring, but blood boils through me at seeing her like this. I stalk my way over to her with a cup of tea in my hand.
“Baby, it might not hurt, but this still isn’t okay. With me, you’ll never have these marks on your body. I’ll cherish every part of your body and make sure you don’t feel harmed again.”
I can feel this unexplained tension between us that causes me to put the tea down and lean in for a kiss. She deepens it before the doorbell goes off, pulling us away from each other.
Suzie is standing there at the door with bags in her hands.
“Come on in,” I say.
“What the fuck,” she yells out as she looks Ariel up and down.
“Y’all are overreacting. It’s not that bad.”
“Girl, do you not see what I see? You’re covered.”
“Suzie, I said the same thing, but let’s give her a break. We’re going to work through the healing journey to make sure she’s okay. Let’s not make her feel worse, though.”
I look over to Ariel, and she's sipping on the tea I made.
"Everything's going to be just fine. We're going to figure things out together, and I'll introduce her to the club once she gets acclimated. You know they'll have her back, too."
“You’re right. Ariel, is there anything else you need from me right now?”
She looks for a moment, debating whether there really is anything she needs.
“I don’t think so. I’ll be fine with this big bad man,” she lets out a laugh.
We all start laughing, and for once, I see a smile come across her face. I know from here on out, I want to keep her around and see where this goes from here.