Page 3 of Unveiled Wounds

“Right after your release from the hospital. I was so grateful you were alive, I stopped. You hate it, and I wasn’t about to make you run from me when I had just gotten you back. Baby works.”

Chapter 2

There Goes The Neighborhood

Grizz

I watched the numbers flip over on the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand. It was eight in the morning. If I sat here any longer, I’d fall asleep. This was the first time since I’d earned my patch that I didn’t give a fuck about church, but there would be hell to pay if my ass wasn’t in my chair.

“Baby,” I leaned over and whispered, sliding Meredith’s blonde hair off of her shoulder. She had spent most of the night laying on my bicep on the bathroom floor. Pulse must have made an appearance, and whatever he had said to her still lingered. Every so often, she had whispered to let her go, and I hadn’t bothered responding. We were already past the point of no return. Instead, I had locked our fingers together and had never let go, hoping the touch would soothe some of the hurt.

“Baby, it’s Monday. I have to head to church.” I lightly kissed her cheek, ran my hand over her hair one more time, and quietly slid off the bed. Grabbing my boots, I waited until I was out in the hallway before putting them on. She’d had a rough night, and I didn’t want the noise to wake her accidentally.

There wasn’t enough coffee in the world that was going to keep me awake. As I approached the kitchen, the smell of fresh grounds hit my nose. Someone was up, and they’d already started the industrial strength pots. Brothers would stop and pour a cup before heading to the meeting. Grabbing one of the large travel mugs, I filled it to the top and sent a quick prayer to anyone that was listening to get me through this. Once it was over, I was heading back to my wife in bed. Fuck breakfast. If she was hungry later, I’d take her out.

It was eight-thirty by the time I sat in my chair and placed my mug in front of me. I closed my eyes, hoping to get a few minutes alone, but I heard the door open. A pair of boots walked past me, and there was only one person whose seat was ahead of mine. Sabre was the last person I wanted to speak to. Our friendship was strained.

“You look like fucking shit,” he said to me. His chair scrapped along the floor.

“Good morning to you, fuckface,” I replied, not bothering to open my eyes.

“When’s the last time you actually slept? You look like you’ve been on a five-day bender and you’re finally detoxing.”

I couldn’t remember. If I had to guess, it would have been the night before Grace had moved out of her marital home into her aunt’s pool house. I’d slept on a park bench after Meredith had thrown me out, and it had started my string of sleepless nights. The hospital chair. My side of the bed as I watched over her nightly. The bathroom floor. I couldn’t fucking win, but I also wouldn’t cause harm to an already volatile situation.

“I asked you a fucking question.”

“Did you ask as my president or my best friend?” I couldn’t hide the disdain in my tone. We had been best friends since we were teenagers, but this was the first time we had ever been at odds. I had no issues with Grace or their relationship, butSabre couldn’t understand why I put up with Meredith’s antics. It caused friction between us when she didn’t behave the way he expected her to. He’d get angry, and it only gave the other brothers permission to shun her. Most people saw the brat, but I saw the woman underneath, who just wanted to be loved.

“Talk to me, Grizz.” Sabre’s tone gentled, as if he was talking to a wounded animal.

I opened my eyes and sat forward in my chair. Laying my forehead against the redwood table, I started talking. “I’m lost, Sabre. I don’t know which way is up, and if I can’t find my way forward, how the fuck is she supposed to?”

“You’re allowed to grieve. She didn’t get pregnant on her own.” He chuckled lightly.

“If telling her I’d knock her up again would fix everything, I would have already done it. The pregnancy is the least of our issues right now.” A dark laugh escaped me. “DeadZone told me she was grieving Pulse. He said it wasn’t her fault, but until she could let that shit go, Pulse would always have a hold over her. Dead was right, but I was too afraid to listen. It doesn’t matter, in the long run. I’m losing her.”

“Grizz...”

I wasn’t in the mood to hear some fucking bullshit when he didn’t give two shits. “Don’t. You have your own family to deal with. If we were talking about Grace, everyone would be up your ass. Fuck, even Emily gets more respect than Meredith, and she’s only been here a few weeks.” I picked my head up off the table and grabbed the mug. I needed coffee.

“The club never got a fair chance to meet Meredith. Everything they’ve heard has been secondhand, and none of it was good.” He tried to placate me.

“No, they don’t get a pass.” I slammed my hand against the table and stared at him. “She screams bloody murder every fucking night. I can hear an orgasm from the other side of thefloor through my door, so don’t fucking tell me they can’t hear her.” Sabre opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “They don’t fucking care because it’s Meredith, and you only give a flying fuck right now because she’s Grace’s sister.”

He watched me over the edge of his coffee cup as he took a sip, neither confirming nor denying. “What happened to taking her to therapy?”

“I called a few places that advertised pregnancy loss, thinking it would help if she talked some of it out. They asked too many questions, and I wasn’t sure some of them were even necessary. I played it off, but I wasn’t comfortable booking an appointment. Do you really want the hospital to catch wind that Scrub buried the accident records?”

“No, you’re right. We can’t put Scrub’s license in jeopardy. Is there anyone we could bribe?”

He was trying to help, but he wasn’t throwing out any new ideas I hadn’t already thought of. I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. “Do you love Grace?” I asked, turning my head towards him.

“What the fuck are you talking about? She’s mine.” Sabre crossed his arms and leaned forward in his chair. If I didn’t get my point across soon, he’d jump over the table and beat my ass.

“If all of this shit had happened to Grace, how far would you go?” I already knew he’d move Heaven and Earth for her, but I needed him to understand I would do the same thing for Meredith. She was mine, and I wasn’t walking away because it was hard right now, no matter what anyone thought was best for us.

He didn’t answer me, but I watched the planes of his face shift as he took another sip of his coffee. I didn’t know why I was trying so hard to get him to understand, but I’d already opened this line of conversation. His brow furrowed as he gripped the mug’s handle a little tighter.

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