Page 30 of Unbound

The scream of Rawley’s bike redlining down the road draws my attention to the gate. It confirms what I already knew, Rawley left.

It’s not unexpected. He said it himself it’s what he does, but like a fool, I hoped in the last year and a half he would have grown up some.

Standing in the backyard, I stare at the gate he charged through. You never know when your life is going to change. Sometimes it hits you when you least expect it and knocks the breath straight from your lungs, chest heaving and heart pounding as you try to rationalize your thoughts and make sense of what just happened.

That’s me.

“Well, that didn’t go well, did it?” Tyler says from behind me, shaking his head.

The breeze rustles my hair, strands swishing around my face. I turn around just in time to see Raven throw her elbow into his midsection “Shut up!”

There’s a pause in the air where we all stare at one another, an awkward moment of held breaths and wide eyes.

Tyler glances to me and I notice a flicker of apology in his eyes. Poor guy looks incredibly uncomfortable, and I can see he’s looking for a plan of escape.

“Yeah, well I’m gonna go and refill my beer.”

Red snorts under his breath. “Dude, you’renotdrinking beer. You’re drinking water.”

He clears hit throat. “Then I’m going to refill my water, asshole.” Tyler walks into the house and as I watch him, tears sting my eyes.

“This couldn’t have gone any worse.” I shake, my whole body trembling, thinking of Rawley’s expression and the look he gave me when I told him. It was an emotion more than a look. One of complete devastation. Hot tears fall from my red-rimmed eyes and down my flushed cheeks. Goose bumps march across my skin, the temperature dropping considerably since we’ve been outside. “I should take Lyric inside.”

“I will,” Mia offers, her brown eyes piercing as she tucks her hair behind her ears and reaches for her grandson. My eyes squeeze shut as another gust of wind tickles my face.

Mia takes him inside with Nova and Chevy. I turn to Raven, Lenny, and Red standing beside me. Just being in their presence, his family, makes me tense.

“What the hell am I gonna do?” I’m asking, but honestly, I don’t expect any of them to answer. There’s no easy solution to this and I knew it going into it. Rawley just found out he has a baby and his first reaction was to run. What do you say to that? I knew I’d regret not telling him. I knew I would.

Red steps forward with a look of determination on his face and gives me a long look. “Sophie, you’re going to do nothing becausenothinghas changed.”

What? Did he not just witness the shit show that just occurred?

I frown, wondering why he’d suggest that. “How can you say that? Rawley knows about Lyric and in case you didn’t notice, he’s pissed,everything’schanged.”

Red takes another step forward bending slightly at the knee so he can look me in the face, and he places his hands on my shoulders. “That’s my point. Rawley just proved nothing has changed. He’s the same selfish little shit he’s always been. He’ll stay until he decides it’s time to go, and you and Lyric will be all the better for it.”

Lenny gasps at his statement. “Red, don’t say that.”

Red stands up straight and glares at his soon-to-be wife. “Are you actually defending him?”

Nervously she bites the corner of her lip and shifts her weight to one side. “No, but I don’t think you’re helping things.”

Red growls out a breath, shaking his head in disagreement and turns his body to hers. “You don’t get it, honey. Helping is exactly what I’m doing. Everyone was so fucking worried about what would happen when Rawley found out about Lyric. Well, now we know and big surprise, he acted like the fucking asshole he always is.” Red glances over his shoulder at me. “Now you can move forward.”

Move forward?

I don’t… I don’t want to move forward without him, and I hate that for the briefest of moments when I saw him smile at Lyric, I wanted it so badly my chest literally ached for a sight I didn’t know I wanted. Tears spill over my cheeks. “I guess part of me was holding out hope I wouldn’t have to do this alone.”

Mia returns, closing the sliding glass door behind her and makes her way over to me. I don’t know if she heard what we were talking about, or maybe she knows by looking at me. “You’ll never be alone, Sophie. You’ve got us and that willneverchange.” Wrapping her arm around my shoulder, she draws me into her side affectionately. I don’t look at her. I can’t.

With a deep breath, I pull myself away from her, wiping my tears aside with the sleeves of my sweatshirt. “I need to find him. I should explain things to him.”

Raven steps forward, her hands raised in caution. “No. That’s a really bad idea. You need to give him space.”

My eyes burn again, the tears returning as my mind scrambles to find an outcome that won’t leave Rawley running away from me again. “I just can’t let him leave angry like that. I need to explain.”

Raven shakes her head, as does Mia. “I understandwhyyou want to talk to him. I really do, but I’m telling you, I know Rawley and the smartest thing you can do is give him his space tonight.”

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