Page 18 of Healing Souls

I haven’t left Harley’s side since the night she was shot. Well, after I beat the shit out of Daniel, that is. It’s been about three days, and she is finally awake. There are so many fucking things to talk about. But of course, Rage has decided that since she won’t listen to him, we all have to leave so some fucker from wherever she ran off to can come talk to her.

I didn’t like it, and I was fully prepared to fight them, but I know I can’t show my crazy in front of Harley yet, so instead I stormed out of the house with Gray hot on my heels.

As soon as I was outside, I started walking further out onto the property in the opposite direction of the clubhouse. I heard Grayson behind me, and I stopped walking to whirl around and face him. “I need a few minutes. I need to be alone. I am just going to walk.”

His face dropped, but he agreed. I turned and walked away, not understanding why I felt my heart sink slightly at the expression he wore.

When Harley showed up here, when I saw her, my first reaction was to go straight to her. But then I really watched her, the way she showed pure determination, no emotion. She looked so much better than she had before. She was clean and healthy. Her face had more color to it.

When she was at school, she was so pale and fragile. But the girl walking into the club was strong and determined.

I wanted to go to her, but then Noah stopped me. Before I could even open my mouth to yell at him, she pulled out a gun, a look of pure fury coming over her as she pointed it at Rage.

Watching her get shot was like watching my mom die all over again.

There’s a certain way that a person’s face contorts. It’s not a look of fear, but of acceptance and even happiness that all their pain will be gone once and for all.

I’ve now seen that look on both my mother and Harley. And both times, a part of my heart broke off and went to hell.

Watching Grayson take off, heading straight for her, I knew he had her. So all my attention turned to him. The fucker who shot her. I know my anger got the best of me—something I have to work on—especially considering I don’t even remember beating him. I must have blacked out, it wouldn’t be the first time.

I just remember Stone pulling me back while whispering something in my ear—that I now can’t recall—before I headed over to join them. Not leaving Harley’s side again.

Until now, three days later.

I wander out towards the back gate. We rarely ever use it, so it’s pretty overgrown, but I just needed to get away for a few minutes. Breathe.

I glance down at the stupid fucking monitor that is still on my ankle. Part of me wants to take out all of my anger on everyone here. How dare Rage tell us all to leave? They filled me in on everything that happened the night she got shot. Atlas and Lincoln showing up, who I haven’t seen yet, all the stuff with Rage’s past and his history with Harley’s mom.

I get why Harley showed up and did what she did. But I also want to yell at her for putting herself in danger.Would you have done it any differently?Nope. I would’ve done everything the same. If not something worse.

But instead of taking out my anger on everyone here, I’m taking a walk. Letting Cade’s words from last week play in my mind.

And believe it or not, you do have a fucking family here. These people want to help you. They aren’t your dad. They are not trying to manipulate you or lying to you at every turn. You have to trust them in order for them to ever trust you.

I constantly try to remind myself that they aren’t like my dad. Letting Cade’s words play in my mind on repeat. I never realized how much I assume everyone is just like him when they aren’t. I guess it’s something I need to work on.

I come out of my thoughts when I hear a sound, like a branch breaking. I spin around to look where I came from, assuming someone followed me out here, but no one is there. So I slip over to a large tree that is next to the fence but blocks me from the view of anyone outside of the fence, waiting a few minutes before I hear the sound again.

Someone is out here. It sounds like they are walking by the gate but on the outside, which is weird because it is mostly just woods out there. I slowly peek around the tree before stepping out and trying to keep my steps silent as I work my way towards the gate.

When I get close enough to see clearly through the bars, I catch a glimpse of someone standing out there. I can’t quite make them out, so I grab my phone out of my pocket and use the camera to zoom in. Before I can snap a picture, she moves, her head snapping in this direction, and she walks up closer to the gate, but she can’t see me behind the overgrown shit back here.

She’s young. Probably a few years younger than me. What the fuck would she be doing out here? I debate whether or not to step out and show myself, and for a split second I almost do, but then I stop.

If she gets spooked and runs, I won’t be able to catch her with the gate in the way. So instead, I just watch. I snap a picture when she turns towards where I am hiding and wait.

She paces around for about ten more minutes before spinning on her heel and heading back through the woods. If I remember correctly, the direction she’s going in will take you back out to a side road that connects to the main road that we used to get to our main entrance.

As tempted as I am to follow her and figure out who she is and what the fuck she’s doing, I also feel the need to get back to Harley, which outweighs everything else.

So, I turn back and head toward Rage’s house. When I get close to the backside of his house, I see Gray sitting on the back steps, his elbows on his knees while he stares at the ground. I walk to him and sit down next to him. Neither of us talks for a few minutes.

“She was screaming,” he whispers finally, breaking the silence stirring in the dark.

I whip my head in his direction. “What?” I ask more aggressively than I mean to.

Gray shudders and draws in a deep breath, his lips set in a deep frown. “After we left. You took off, but I just sat here. She screamed. I ran back in, but Rage said it was a nightmare or something, and Atlas and Lincoln were calming her down.” He sighs before dropping his head into his hands. “I felt so helpless. There’s this feeling in my chest of someone raking their claws over it as I watch her struggle. I don’t fully understand it.”

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