Page 82 of Mouse
“What’s going on, Mouse?”
“Amber’s gone,” I said.
There, it was out and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take it back or not.
“She’s been gone for a while now, man.”
“No, Chris. She’sgone. And I have a kid. There was some kind of complication and Amber didn’t make it.”
All the air rushed out of his lungs as he sunk back into the cushions.
Yeah, I felt the same.
“She’s still in the hospital but she’s doing alright. She’s a little fighter,” I said.
Chry settled against my chest, his head resting on my shoulder. It was about that time for his nap and I felt bad that I’d messed things up for him.
The room stayed silent for a long time. Chry’s fingers had a death grip on the neck of my shirt as I felt him give up the fight to sleep.
“What? No advice for me, man?” I asked trying to joke the best I could. Chris was good and handling shit and keeping a level head.
“You have a daughter?” he asked like he hadn’t just heard what I fucking said.
“Yeah,” I answered softly.
“And Amber is dead?” he asked bluntly.
I swallowed hard and gave him an affirming nod of my head.
“I’m a little pissed at you right now,” he told me and I could tell he meant it. “I can’t keep this from him. I won’t.”
Fuck.
I knew that and I should have seen this coming. And deep down, I knew it wasn’t fair for me to ask him to keep this from Ky. From my brother. Really, it should have been me that told Ky but I just couldn’t handle the club right now. Yeah, I knew it was a shit thing to think.
“Tell him something but let me have a little bit longer to figure some stuff out. Please,” I pleaded.
“Fine,” he said but didn’t seem happy about it.
He got to his feet and came over to me. As carefully as he could, he took Chry out of my arms.
“Go take a shower, you stink. I’ll get you some clothes. I need a bit to process all of this,” he told me as he walked off. I knew he was going to go put Chry down in his bed. His footsteps paused behind me and I knew he was about to say something I probably couldn’t handle right now. “She’s a mess, Mouse. She doesn’t have a clue where you’ve been and I know she’s thinking the worst.”
My chin met my chest as the shame washed through me.
Chris was fiercely protective over Ingram and Chry. I shouldn’t have expected anything else.
I didn’t have an excuse that was good enough so I stayed silent.
Moments later, Chris brought me some clothes. I could only guess a pair of Ky’s jeans and one of his own shirts. I glanced down and noticed the surf logo on the front and then gave him a pointed look. To which he just fucking smirked at me.
I used the downstairs shower, knowing just where to find everything. Back in the day, I may have crashed here a few times.
That was before Ky and Chris got together.
And before Ingram and Chry.
I tried to picture those times and though they weren’t that long gone, it felt like forever ago. Things sure had changed but I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing.
