Wrecker
I should have taken the faster route, I’m a fuck up. An hour into our drive, we passed by the diner where that waitress I titty fucked worked. I knew it bothered Harlee as she stiffened behind me. Feeling her bothered had me feeling like a piece of shit, so I sped up. Making better of our time. When we get close to the clubhouse, Harlee taps me on the shoulder. I pull off to the side of the road, again, and ask what she needs.
“Can we uh make a small stop first. I need to talk to my mom.”
Seeing the pain on her face there is no way I can deny her. Her mouth is tight and unshed tears are sparkling in the corners of her gorgeous eyes. Damn it they are too damn pretty to hold so much sadness.
“Whatever you need, Princess,” I tell her as I get us back on the road, driving to the cemetery.
The place of her mother’s grave isn’t too far out of the way. Demon can wait another hour or so.
I haven’t been here since the last time I was here with Harlee. The day they buried Ellen.
She was a beautiful woman. Harlee takes after her in a lot of ways. She had always held her mother up on a pedestal, her father too, but Ellen was so perfect in every way in her eyes. Hell, we all thought she was a damn Stepford wife she was so perfect.
Every time I went to her home there was freshly baked cookies and the house was spotless. I could have eaten off the bathroom floor without a worry. We used to joke that she probably had the cleanest pussy in town. She’d wash and polish Demon’s motorcycle every Sunday. Damn, she was so proud to be his ol’ lady, even though she knew exactly the kind of man he really was. I can only hope that one day Harlee is just as proud to be mine.
“Do you need a moment or would you like me to come with you?” I question her as we both remove our helmets.
She takes my hand without a word, squeezing it tight. Finally, she says, “I haven’t been back here since…” She breaks off in a sob.
I tilt her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes. “Hey, it’s all right. She wouldn’t want you to be upset.”
“I don’t want to let her down.”
“Baby, the only way you could ever let her down is if you weren’t true to yourself. She wouldn’t want you living your life based on a promise you made as a kid when you were grieving.”
She chews on her lip and I kiss her forehead. “Go on and say what you need to. I’ll be right here waiting for you.” She nods and walks in the direction that Ellen lay resting and sits down in front of her headstone.
I stay back from her, but still close enough to make sure she’s safe. I hear her talking quietly, only picking up a few words here and there. Wanting to know what she’s saying I move a bit closer.
“I don’t know what to do, momma. I don’t understand how you could do it. I want to trust him, so badly, my heart aches without him, but I don’t know if I can. Please don’t hate me for saying this, but I can’t be like you. Knowing my man is cheating, that’s not who I am. I want to be loved fully, mind, body, soul. I need it to be only me.”
I don’t want to hear anymore and step back away from her, once again only hearing her mumbles. I hate that I caused her this pain, this distrust.
My phone rings, and I fish it out of my pocket, while still looking at Harlee. “Wrecker.”
“Where are you?” Demon demands.
“We had to make a pit stop, we’ll be there as soon as Harlee’s done.”
“Pit stop where?”
“Harlee wanted to visit her mom.”
There is so much silence that I thought Demon hung up on me. “Take your time then,” he says gruffly. “When you get here, just go get some rest, and once you’re good find me in my office.”
Putting my phone back in my pocket once he hangs up, I rub at my neck, kicking the dirt around. My head snaps up when I hear Harlee giggle, talking so happily. I’m about to go back over to see what caused the turnaround in her, but stop as I see her lean forward, blowing a kiss to the headstone and get up. I watch her face as she turns around, and she almost looks free.
“It go okay?” I ask her.
She gives me a smile, a smile so bright it holds no sadness. “Yeah, I got the sign I needed.”
Pulling her into me, I kiss her forehead. “Love you, Harlee.”
She squeezes my waist, but says nothing.
Disappointed she doesn’t tell me she loves me back, I step away, clearing my throat. “Ready to get to the clubhouse now?”
Letting out a loud sigh, she says, “Yeah, let’s go.”