Hawk
I leave Tessa with Bianca before she has a chance to object. Sin is acting like a child throwing a tantrum. The screen door squeaks as I push it open and head outside. The wooden steps creek under the weight of my boots as I make my way towards him.
“What’s your issue, man?” I ask as soon as my feet hit the concrete of the back patio. Sin is standing next to Lick who’s watching his niece and nephew in the yard on the swings. Savannah has Grace in her arms and Sam at her side while she introduces him to the kids.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He doesn’t look at me, and it only pisses me off. “Jesus, Sin. You’re acting like a child.”
He turns to face me. “I’m acting like a child? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me that you got in contact with Tessa, Hawk? All these months you were supposed to be working shit out with your mom, but instead, you’ve been in LA playing fucking house with a woman who left us at the point in time when we needed her most!”
“Come on, kids. Let’s go out front and let the grown-up man-boys yell it out.” Jenni ushers the kids towards the side gate to the front of the house.
Sin takes a step closer. “And she comes back with a kid. Have you even asked her who he belongs to? Come on, man. Pull your head out of your ass. Remember your loyalty.”
I have no idea where this is coming from, but I don’t take the time to think. Before I know it, I’m throwing a fist and connecting with my best friend’s jaw, catching him completely off guard.
“Holy shit!” Lick howls in laughter next to me. “That was fucking epic, kid. I didn’t know you had the fucking balls to ever do that.”
“Fuck you, Lick,” I tell him as I watch Sin spit a mouthful of blood on the concrete.
“You better tread lightly, Hawk.” Sin wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “I don’t know who you think you are.”
“Me? Who the fuck do you think you are? Just when I think you’re finally getting your shit together, you start this poor me act. Get over the past, Sin. Move the fuck on. You’ve got more than most people have and you still live in the fucking past.”
“Enough!” Bianca's voice roars over us.
I look around the backyard and see that everyone’s watching us.
“Mama, go back inside.”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do, Matthew. There is no fighting, not between you two. You’re brothers.”
“Family doesn’t keep things from each other,” Sin spit back.
“I’m sure Hawking has a good reason for not telling you about Tessa and Samuel.”
His eyes narrow in on his mother. “But of course, you knew didn’t you?”
“Si. Tessa called me when she found Rose. I’m the one who told Hawking about both of them.”
“But you didn’t think to let me know?”
“Why did you need to know?” Cut says as he approaches the group from the front of the house.
“She abandoned our sister when she needed her the most.”
“You know that’s not what happened, Sin. Don’t you dare start re-writing the past. Tessa had no hand in what happened to Sienna. You know that. We know who was responsible for her death, Sin and we’ve taken care of that.” Cut defends Tessa.
Sin turns towards me. “Why, after all this time, is she back?”
Before I can answer, the screech of the backdoor and Tessa’s voice breaks through the tension.
“Because I’m sick.”
I turn around and see her standing at the top of the steps. Her face is void of emotion. The words she said aren’t registering. Her eyes are trained on Sin as she continues down the steps. When she reaches Sin, she lifts her chin and straightens her back.
“I have leukemia, and I need Hawk to take my son if anything should happen to me. That’s why I’m back. That’s why I came back to the one place that destroyed me. It took more from me than just my best friend. It ripped Sienna from me, shattered my spirit, and shredded my family so much that they turned their backs on me, leaving me with no one. I ran all those years ago because I had more than her death chasing me. More than you know right now. If you take the time and pull your head out of your ass and ask me what I mean, then I’ll tell you. Until that time comes, grow the hell up.”
She turns her back on Sin, and I watch her go. Before she reaches the steps that lead back to the house, she makes her way towards Dyke and throws her arms around his waist. He closes his eyes and hugs her back. She steps away from him, wipes her eyes, and heads back inside the house.
“Did you know?” Sin asks me.
“No.” my voice breaks so I clear my throat. “I didn’t. We ended things months ago because she didn’t want to move back here, and I couldn’t stay in Los Angeles. This is my home, the club is my family, and it was never an issue of me having to choose between the two.”
“So she came back here because she’s dying? Sin asks.”
“I don’t know.”
“She’s home where she belongs,” Bianca adds.
“But she’s here and not with her family.” Sin’s tone is harsh.
“That is where you’re wrong, mijo.” Bianca looks at me and takes my hand in hers. “She is with her family.”