When I round the corner, I’m met with essentially two Nightmares—one big version and one mini version. They’re sitting at the kitchen table, both staring into the living room at cartoons while they eat cereal. Surprisingly, there’s no mess either.
“Hey,” I mumble, heading for the coffee machine. It’s a fresh pot. Neither of them glance in my direction, zoned out onTransformers. I pour myself a cup, adding in a splash of cream and two scoopfuls of sugar.
Throwing away the empty sugar container, I come across what looks like an entire roll of wet paper towels in the trash as well. My gaze lands on Nightmare.
“Did Maverick make breakfast?” I ask, curiously, and Nightmare finally glances over at me and nods.
“Yep. I woke up when he yelled, ‘Oh shit.’ Turns out the milk was a little heavy for him.”
And being a typical man, he used every paper towel in sight to clean it up versus just grabbing the mop. But one thing stands out; he got up, helped Mav, and then cleaned up the mess. He actually cleaned it up and let me sleep.
Checking the clock, it reads nine a.m., and it makes me giggle.
“You all right?” His eyebrow tips up, concerned with my weird behavior. He doesn’t understand the only time I ever get to sleep in is when Princess visits every few months, and I rarely do it then too. I could jump up and down and cheer right now.
“Fine.” Grinning, I bring my cup of coffee with me and sit in the chair between them. I have cartoons to watch with my son and my baby daddy. Never in a million years, did I imagine I’d ever be able to say that.
She dreams more often
than she sleeps.
- Jonny OX
“When wiw he be back?”
“We’ve been over this Mav; he had to go home to where he lives so he could work.” He, meaning Nightmare. We’ve been over this daily since Nightmare left.
“But when wiw he be back?”
“Soon.”
“Soon,” he grumbles, copying me as his gaze turns out the window to watch the scenery as we drive. It’s weird, but I miss him, too. Sure, there were many nights I thought of him over the years, but this past weekend went well—really well.
He was a dick to me Friday when he first arrived, but then I cooked him dinner. The next night he held me when he didn’t have to. It was nice and different. It felt like we were a family, and that’s the scary thing, because I loved it, and I know I can’t have it. He may have offered me comfort, but he still hates me.
We get back to the apartment, and I give Princess a call. She’s another one pissed at me. She has every right to be; it still sucks, though.
“Hey.”
“Hey, you still mad at me?”
“I told you, I’m not mad. I’m disappointed; it’s different. I wish you would’ve told me from the beginning. It almost feels like you didn’t trust me enough to have your back.”
“Of course, I trust you. You have to look at it from my point of view, too, though. I had just found out I was pregnant. I was tripping, freaking out over my life changing, and Nightmare’s words hurt me. Of course, I took him at face value; I didn’t know him well enough not to.”
“And you do now?”
“Hell no. I wish I could change how I went about things, but if I’m honest with myself, I would probably do the exact same thing again. I didn’t have options when Maverick’s existence surfaced. I had to bite the bullet, grow the fuck up and take care of the both of us, so that’s exactly what I did.”
She sighs. “I know. It’s just…now Viking thinks I kept this from him and is questioning me on what else I’ve kept from him. You need to start coming down here and being around the club.”
“Why would I do that? Those guys despise me for keeping Maverick away from Nightmare. I’m the bad guy, remember?”
“They only see it from his side of view; they don’t know you or your story like I do. Start coming around so they can see for themselves you’re not trying to keep him away any longer. Trust me, you’ll want them on your side. It may suck for a little while, because, I’ll be real with you, they most likely will be jerks. Not to Mav, but to you. Once you choke through it, they’ll have your back. Most of all, they’ll have Maverick’s, and I know how important family is to you, B.”
“I don’t care if they support me in any way, but you’re right about one thing. I do want my son around family, and I know the club is loyal to their own. I don’t necessarily want Maverick growing up to be a biker, but I do want him surrounded by people who’ll have his best interest at heart.”
“That’s us.”