I wish I could help her. I’ll make her take extra meds and use a heating pad. She won’t like it, but she’ll do it for me.
Mom and I have a special relationship. That’s probably why I don’t really stutter that bad around her—at least not normally. I’m completely at ease when she’s around. It helps that she isn’t constantly trying to fix me. It allows me to breathe and just be.
It’s also another reason why I turned Dad down about the road trip with Dom and the rest of the club next week. He didn’t try to talk me out of it either. I know what Mom just said, but I think she’s wrong. I just don’t think Dad looks at me as someone who can take charge and know what to do when needed. He loves me, but I think he sees me as weak. I see it in his eyes. The same goes with Dom and a few of my uncles. Crusher and Dancer don’t, but the rest? It’s there in their stares and actions.
“Are you coming, Thomas?” Mom calls from the kitchen. I smile as I spring into action. Time to wash my hands and spend some quality time with Mom. She’s another reason—maybe the biggest now that there’s no Gabby—as to why I haven’t packed my bags and said goodbye to Kentucky. Maybe it’s time I talk to her about my future…
Chapter 8
Dom
One Week Later
“What’s got you so pissed, Prospect?”
“Dealing with bullshit,” I mutter, twisting the cap off my beer as I sit down. I stretch, putting my feet on the table while looking over at Breaker. “What time are we heading out?”
“I heard Dad tell your old man it’d be about an hour, but you know them. It will probably be sooner. You look pissed. Is Gabby giving you shit again?”
“When does she do anything but?” I growl, taking a long swig of my beer, hoping it will settle the anger brewing inside of me.
Breaker is the only person who has known about Gabby from the beginning. I haven’t told anyone else. I originally planned on revealing the truth to Thomas a few months after Gabby and I started up. Then I just kept putting it off. I suppose I was trying to figure out where we were headed and if it was worth hurting my brother. Maybe it makes me a son of a bitch, but I had spent so much time imagining a life with Gabby and listening to her promises that I just thought that once we got together it would be perfect. Once we took that step, it felt so good. I thought everything was as it should be. After the new wore off? That’s when I began to notice things—like shit she would tell me didn’t always check out. It was like she could be two different people. I loved her, though. So, I pushed past my doubts.
Hell, there were times when it started to feel like she was pretending to be what I wanted. Right now, I’m confused as hell. Something Thomas said keeps sticking in my mind. He talked as if he had been with her, too.
Have I been played for a fool?
I’m not sure I know the real Gabby. Sometimes, I wonder if any of us do. Thomas sure as fuck doesn’t. I love her—but I love the woman I thought she was. I’m not sure that’s who she truly is at this point. I gave my heart away when I was a kid. I gave it to a girl who had spirit and grit but was also sweet and kind.
She’s not like that at all lately. About the only person I’ve seen her be straight with is Jazz—and that’s not saying much. Jazz is screwed up, too.
No, I can’t keep doing this. It’s time to clean house and let the chips fall where they may. I’ve known it for a while, but I kept denying it and remembering the girl I loved. Hell, I can admit it. I’ve been led around by my dick. After seeing the pain on my brother’s face, it has to end. I dread it. It’s going to hurt. I can admit that, and it will hurt Gabby, which is something I don’t want to do. There’s also the fact that I can see Gabby giving me enough shit that it might cause problems between our families.
Of course, that ship has sailed.
Thomas won’t talk to me at all.
Gabby called the next day. I didn’t say a lot. I mostly let her do the talking. She spewed out a lot of shit, and I doubt she even realized what she was saying. The more she chattered, the more things were revealed—like the fact she was stringing Thomas along and getting some fucking douche to take her to a bar when I wouldn’t. She tried to twist it and say I forced her to do that because I wouldn’t choose her over all the bullshit. God, I think she truly believes it, too.