Addison reaches across the console and squeezes my hand. “She’ll be okay, Roxie. It’s going to be hard, and she’ll have days where living seems impossible, but with time, she’ll start to move forward and heal.”
I scoff. “Is that what you would do if Crow died?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. A life without him… It’s unimaginable.”
“Exactly.”
Silence surrounds us for a few minutes, and I think about Saint and Rae. Shit, they were so in love. He’d happily have given his life for her, but to give it because of me… It’s not right.
“So,” Addison says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You and Screamer, huh?”
“There is no me and Screamer,” I say.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“We don’t even know each other.”
“Let me ask you a question.” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “How would you feel if that had been Screamer and not Saint?”
I contemplate how to answer that. The truth is, I don’t know. An image of Screamer lying on the road with lifeless eyes flashes in my mind, and I shudder.
You do know.
All of my arguments about us barely knowing each other, all of my fear and doubt and trust issues melt away. I’d be devastated if Screamer died. How I got to this point, I don’t have a fucking clue. Maybe it started when he told me about Ally. Or maybe it was when he asked me who broke my ribs because at that moment, I knew he cared enough to look beyond the surface, despite having just met me.
“Roxie?” Addison prods.
“Sad,” I say. “I’d be sad.”
The rest of the drive passes by in a blur. When we reach the clubhouse, I spot my brother’s bike, as well as Bear’s. The rest of LTMC seems to have left.
Addison and I walk inside, and I immediately scan the room for Screamer. Relief washes over me when I spot him at the bar with Crow and my brother. As if linked by an invisible tether, he turns, and his eyes land on me.
He sets down his beer and closes the distance between us.
“You okay?” he asks.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Addison says before I can answer, and she crosses the room to Crow.
“Answer me, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
I burst into tears, shaking my head. “No.”
Before I know what’s happening, Screamer scoops me into his arms and carries me to his room. He kicks the door shut behind him and sets me on the bed. Then he straightens and stares down at me.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful. Even when you’re crying.” The sound that passes my lips at his assessment is a cross between a snort and a laugh. “Tell me what to do,” he pleads.
I rub my eyes, and my breath hitches. “Hold me?”
He doesn’t hesitate. Lifting me with one arm, he yanks his comforter back with the other, and then he sets me back down and slides in next to me. I curl into his side, and he wraps me in his embrace.
“How’s Rae?” he asks after several minutes.
“Broken.”
“Understandable.”
I nod and push myself back so I can look him in the eye. “I don’t know how she’s going to get through this.”
