Chapter 13 Gabe
GABE
MAY PRESENT DAY
Iwas drinking at the clubhouse when JT talked me into ditching to go to the bar.
It’s packed. We order a couple beers before settling into two stools with our backs to the bar.
It’s not often that we step away from the club and go out, but it’s nice to be able to relax.
I don’t have to worry about Shane doing something stupid, or a fight breaking out.
This place isn’t my responsibility the way the club bar is.
That is, until I scan the room.
My eyes spot a blonde straddling some guy in the corner. His hands are in her curls, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I grind my molars.
Fuck me. There goes my stress-free night.
“Yeah, I’m not staying long.” I lean toward JT.
His eyes find the exact spot mine seem to be glued to. “Is that Shane’s sister?”
“Sure looks like it.” My nostrils flare.
“Who’s the loser with his tongue down her throat?”
I glare at him. He spins in his stool with his eyebrows raised, propping his elbows on the bar.
I return my eyes to her. My blood is boiling, and I think I might actually be vibrating.
He hands her another shot when they finally come up for air, and she stands, stumbling in the process. After taking the shot, Ash lazily falls back onto his lap.
She’s trashed.
Throwing her head back onto his shoulder, a warm laugh leaves her lips, and I swear, I can almost hear it even over the loud bar. I grip the beer can so hard it crackles. Then, he pulls down one side of her jacket and kisses her shoulder.
Fuck—I can’t watch this. If I sit here, I’m going to explode. “Listen, man, I’m sorry, but I gotta go.”
JT nods as I start toward the door, trying not to stare, but I can’t help it. She’s a magnet. When I glance back one last time, my eyes catch the guy sliding his hand across her stomach. She doesn’t flinch. As she tries to lift her head from his shoulder, it rolls to the side.
Goddamn it.
No! She is not your problem. This is not your fucking drama. You’re no one to her.
Then his hand moves a little lower, and I’m moving. A familiar feeling washes over me. One that I felt a long time ago in a situation not dissimilar to this one. My feet are racing in her direction without my mind telling them to.
The thing is, I’d probably step in no matter who it was. I don’t like guys like that. But it’s not just anyone, is it? It’s Ash, and I’m on fire. I rip her from his arms, flinging her toward Nik, who’s racing in our direction.
“Are you blind or just stupid?” I yell as the guy stands.
“What’s your problem, man?” He throws up his hands.
I grab the front of his shirt and grind my teeth. “You can’t see she’s too drunk to hold her head up? Or you think it’s cool to grope her anyway?”
“Is she your girlfriend or something? What the fuck!” he yells back, trying to shove me away.
“Put your fucking hands on her again, and I’ll cut the goddamn things off. You hear me?” I shove him back.
“Hey—” JT barrels across the bar in our direction, but I don’t stop until he steps between us. “Enough! They will call the cops. Walk away.” He grabs my shoulders, pulling me back.
I can’t think. I want to rip this fucker apart. My chest rises in short, sharp bursts. “I don’t give a shit. They better call more than the cops because I’m about to kill this piece of shit!”
“Yeah, we’re not doing that.” He turns to the weasel. “Now would be a good time for you to get the hell out of here.”
“I didn’t do anything. She was all over me!”
That’s what does it. Those words set something off in me, and I lunge for him.
“Now, or I’ll let him go!” JT shouts, his grip tightening on me.
The guy damn near takes out a table as he scrambles away. The room around us comes back into focus, and I realize Nik’s yelling. I whip my head around to see a pair of gray tear-filled eyes.
“What are you doing here, you fucking caveman?” Nik shouts.
“What are you doing? You just leave your friends with creeps at a bar?” I shout back at her.
I don’t even know who I’m mad at anymore. I’m just pissed. I’m a pretty reasonable guy. I don’t lose control of my temper often because once I do, I can’t focus. I’m ready to burn the damn building down.
“I was in the bathroom!”
I groan. “Your bathroom breaks are really becoming a problem for me.”
“What’s it have to do with you anyway?” Nik yells as Ash sways, glaring at me.
“I’m not gonna just let that happen!” I grab Ash.
“What are you doing? Get off her!” She tries to pull Ash away from me.
“I’m taking her home.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Ash slurs, trying to shove me off.
“Well, you sure as hell aren’t staying here,” I growl, dragging her toward the door by her arm.
“You’re not supposed to go near her.” Nik chases after her. “I’ll call Shane.”
I spin on her. “Go for it. He’s probably too fucked up to pick up the phone by now, so good luck.”
I shouldn’t have said that considering his reason for getting high tonight probably has something to do with the fact that his best friend fucked over his little sister and now he’s stuck in the middle for all of eternity.
Nik rolls her eyes. “You’re a son of a bitch. You know that?”
“Yeah. I know.” I turn my attention to Ash, who’s got tears running down her face. Grabbing her shoulders, I bend down to eye level. “Look, I won’t even talk to you, but please let me give you a ride home.”
She gives a slight nod, dropping her eyes to the ground. Nik glares at me.
“Do you need a ride too, demon?”
“No, my cousin Kara’s here. I’ll ride with her.” She points her finger at me, stepping closer. “Do not lay a finger on her, or I swear I will kick your ass, and then watch while Shane murders you.”
“Got it.” I grab Ash by the hand, leading her out the door. Throwing my bike keys to JT, I say, “Let me borrow your truck. Her drunk ass will fall off the back of the bike.”
He nods, tossing me his.
“Come on.” I pull her by the hand toward the truck while she stumbles over her own feet. With the passenger door open, I pick her up and put her in before leaning over to buckle her.
When I climb into the driver’s seat, she’s tucked her feet under her with her arms wrapped around her knees, and her head down. She’s older now, but she looks like the fifteen-year-old that opened the door all those years ago.
As we pull out of the parking lot, she lifts her head to stare out the window and says, “How pathetic. Ash is back and needs saving again.”
“Not pathetic.” I swallow, trying to calm the rage still brewing. “It’s not wise to drink that much in a bar full of strangers, but this wasn’t your fault.”
She sits in silence before finally saying, “Why are you doing this?”
“Why am I doing what?”
“This. Taking me home. Bailing me out again.”
I glance at her and then back to the road. “There’s no world where I’d let anyone do that to you.”
She lets out a deep breath, closing her eyes. “What? You’re the only one allowed to hurt me?”
I grip the wheel.
“Nothing to say to that?”
“Ash, don’t.”
“No. What happened?”
“Let’s not do this.” I shake my head. “Not now, anyway.”
“Why? It’s been six years, Gabe. Don’t you think I deserve answers after everything? Don’t I deserve a little more than a fucking text message?”
My eyes stay trained on the road and my jaw clenches.
“Whatever,” she scoffs. “You’re worse than that guy at the bar. Do you know that? What you did is worse than anything he could have done.”
My knuckles are turning white.
“You owe me answers, but by all means, keep acting like you didn’t do anything wrong.” Her words come out slurred.
I finally snap. “Yeah, Ash. You deserve answers, but I can’t give them to you. Especially not while you’re shitfaced, so let it go.”
She rolls her eyes and drops her feet off the seat, crossing her arms over her chest, not saying a word the rest of the drive.
When we pull up at the house, she’s passed out. I round the truck and dig through her purse for her keys. Her driver’s license falls out. I pause, staring at it.
It doesn’t say Ashton Michaels, it says Ashton James.
She’s fucking married. Or she was. Her left hand has a tan line where a wedding ring used to be.
I can’t explain why, but that feels like someone’s run a stake through my chest.
I grab her keys and pull her from the truck, cradling her in my arms. After carrying her up the steps, I traipse through the house to her room and lay her down, covering her up before taking in the room.
It’s all exactly the same.
My eyes catch on the corkboard above her desk. Our memories are still splayed out across the wall. My mouth goes dry, and I think that stake in my chest turns. They look like different people—just a couple stupid kids, too in love to see how bad things could get.
Plucking one down, I stare at a picture of us outside the club the day before it all went to hell. She’s wrapped around my waist and smiling from ear to ear.
Fuck me. I glance at her, fast asleep on her bed. This girl might actually kill me if she doesn’t go home soon.
I fold the picture and put it in my pocket before leaving her room and closing the door. It’s been years and I still can’t manage to stay out of her goddamn drama.