Page 106 of Bullet
“It is,” he agrees easily.
“Mom would be so fucking angry with you.”
“I know. I’ve done a lot of shit recently that would really piss her off,” he says sadly.
“I can’t lose him, Dad. I can’t do that again. You want to banish him? I will go with him. I won’t be without him. You better hope he lives through this.”
“You would leave me for him?” he asks, sounding wounded.
“I would. I looked to you after Mom died. I needed you to show me how to move forward, and I guess you did. You showed me to bury my grief in alcohol. I was doing drugs, Dad. Bullet would pull me from parties barely conscious. You left me long before I could ever leave you. He is the one who pulled me out of the dark hole I was hell-bent on dying in and made me see that there was more to life. He is helping me heal. I won’t lose him. I can’t. I won’t survive.”
“Oh, Harlee…” Dad says, his voice cracking. “He loves you. He told me he loves you.”
“I love him more. I’ve loved him for a long time.”
“I know, Harlee. I know. Your mom and I talked about it.”
“You did?”
Dad laughs softly. “Yeah, she told me that you two were inevitable and that we needed to prepare ourselves. I just didn’t believe her.”
My mom knew. She knew that I loved him.
Mom, please don’t let him die. Please. I need him. I can’t live without him either.
“Harlee, breathe,” Dad snaps at me.
Blinking, I realize my hands are clammy, I feel lightheaded, and I’m breathing roughly.
“Is she okay?” a deep voice asks.
I look up and see a man I don’t recognize jumping out of a truck.
“She’s fine. It’s her man in there. Evelyn needs you,” Dad tells the man.
The man gives me one final glance before he heads in to try and help save Bullet’s life.
“I’ll make this right, Harlee, I promise,” Dad murmurs softly.
Still, I don’t move. I stay right there on the ground in front of the clubhouse waiting. For hours we sit on the gravel, not speaking. When the sun starts to go down, one of the brothers brings me a sweatshirt, but I don’t put it on. I need the cold to feel alive.
My ass is numb, and my legs are asleep. I don’t care, though. The only thing I care about is him.
“Harlee…” a voice says softly.
I look up and see a bloodied Evelyn approaching.
I stumble as I jump up, but my dad catches me.
Once again, like we did years ago, we hold on to each other as we wait to find out if someone else we love lives or dies.
“How is he?”
“Easy…” Honk murmurs.
“Will you stop babying me?” I snap as I drop into my chair without thinking about it.
I hiss in pain as my stitches protest.
