“How old ghosts never stop haunting you, amigo. They never do.”
“Beth wouldn’t want you to live your life like this,” I tell him, knowing it’s true. Beth loved Skull, she’d want him to move on and be happy.
“Love is a funny thing. It starts with a touch and burrows down under the skin, infecting your blood and ultimately your heart. It never lets you go hermano, never. It can feed you and make you strong, nourish you and make you whole, or it can slowly destroy everything inside of you until the person you are withers and you are left but a shell. A sad, empty, old shell with nothing but memories of days you should have cherished more.” Skull sets the locket down on the fake wood nightstand by the bed, lays down, and turns out his light. It jars me, I know today’s meeting has destroyed him.
“Do you wish you hadn’t met her?”
“At times, si. Then I remember.”
“Remember?”
“That before Beth, I had no life anyway. Hold on to your woman, hermano. Hold on tight and enjoy while you can. El tiempo es corto.”
Skull’s mother was Spanish, not his dad. But, she raised him, he knows the language well. He sounds American as hell, but most of the time he slips into the other language. The club has become fluent, or at the very least has a grasp on what he is saying. Time is short. I lie in the dark and listen as, eventually, Skull’s breathing evens out. I pull out my phone and text Annie.
Missing you tonight, sweetheart.
There’s a brief lull. I figure she’s already sound asleep. I’m just putting my phone down when a message comes through.
Miss you too, Sabre. Please be safe. Love you. Xoxo
Love. I don’t know what that is really. I’ve never had it. Yet, I like the idea of Annie loving me. I like it a fuck of a lot.
Before I met Beth, I had no life anyway. I think on Skull’s words. I think I’m starting to understand exactly what he means. I’ve never had someone to come home to before. Someone to worry about me and take care of me. Annie does all of that and more. I need to appreciate that, cherish it, and make sure it’s safe. I sure as hell don’t want to be grieving like Skull does. I grab my phone and text Latch, a patched in member of the club who doesn’t go on runs and shit. He’s got a little sister at home he takes care of; she’s only sixteen and Latch is her only family. They lost their mother a year ago to breast cancer. Latch and I are tight. We have a connection the other brothers don’t know about and would never understand.
Me: You keeping an eye on my woman?
My phone vibrates a few minutes later.
Latch: Outside her house right now. Never fear.
Me: Everything cool?
Latch: She got a visit from an uncle, today. Carl something. It seemed to freak her out. I’m keeping a close eye.
Me: Do that. I’ll check in tomorrow.
Latch: I’m on it. Later.
I don’t like the idea of Annie having problems with me so far away. If her uncle is anything like her father, I know why she is upset. I’ll have to call her in the morning. I roll over in the bed to get some shut-eye. Tomorrow is going to be a long-ass day.
Chapter 12
Annie
How does someone you barely know feel like they own your soul?
I lie there holding my phone after Sabre’s text. I can’t sleep. I may have only been with him for a short amount of time, but I’m used to the way he spoons me and wraps his arms around me at night. He always takes one hand and wraps it around my breast, kisses my neck, and whispers goodnight in my ear. I’ve become addicted to that and have found that even one night without it and I’m wide awake. I crave him like an addict craves his next fix. I even want to cry after his text. That’s how far I’m gone. I get up out of bed and walk to the bathroom, it’s almost morning, I might as well stop pretending I’m going to sleep. The hour nap I had will be it.
After a quick shower, I stumble into the kitchen to find coffee. It’s going to take a lot of coffee to get through today. It’s just finishing up when there’s a knock on my door. That single-girl-all-alone-it’s-3 a.m. panic hits me. I walk cautiously to the front door, afraid it’s Carl. He came by earlier today, said he heard talk I was living with a man. There was no sign of Sabre though and his old truck was hid in the garage, so I think I covered. Still, I know there is trouble coming on that front and I have no idea what I’m going to do about it. I go quietly to the door and glance through the peephole. Latch is standing on the other side. He’s the man that Sabre has watching over me while he’s out of town. He seems like a nice guy.
“What’s up?” I ask, opening the door. I’m worried something happened since it’s the middle of the night and he’s here.