... and Forever (Next Generation: Chaos Bleeds 1)

“Noted.”

“Yes, we’re still clear. Then he tells me that he’s going to get his shit together. He’s just killed someone.”

“And in his defense, the bastard had to go,” Daisy said. “He gets points for that.”

“We need to deduct him points for how he did it.”

“If you feel that is absolutely necessary?”

“Yes, I do. Completely necessary. He needs deducting points.”

Daisy laughed. “I’ll keep a score. Does a tally chart sound appealing?”

“Stop being sarcastic.”

“Okay, okay, so he left for killing someone. Move on. What else?”

“And he is supposed to be making himself a man worthy of me, but instead, all he actually does is kill more people. He becomes an underground fighter. How is that finding himself?”

“I don’t know his reasoning. I haven’t spoken to him in years, Tabs, but I’d say, seeing as he is back, and has claimed you once again and Nathan, that whatever he needed to go and find, he found it.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“Your side and we both know you’re looking for any excuse to hate him, and if that’s what you want, I’m good with that. I honestly don’t mind. I love you, and you know I’ll help but, but we both know for you, Simon is it. He has been since we were kids. The guys in high school, you shot them all down. Even Luke and Niles said so as well. He asked about you.”

“He did?”

“Yep. I said you moved out of town.”

“He wasn’t so bad.” Tabitha sighed, leaning back against the wall. She’d dropped Nathan at the school with Simon right beside her. Afterward, he’d dropped her off at work so he could go to the clubhouse. It was all very domestic. Kind of scary at how easy it was for them to fall into a sense of a routine. It was her lunch break and she sat outside in the freezing cold, curled up in Simon’s jacket that he’d given her. She wondered how his prospecting was going. Simon was due back at the clubhouse today, but the rest of the guys were there on Monday. She wondered how they would all fit into Chaos Bleeds.

The clubs were constantly expanding. They were all just one big happy family.

“Wasn’t so bad?” Daisy asked. “You got into a fight.”

“Miles said the same thing.”

“Oh, get this, Constance is back in town and oh my, she is stunning.”

“She is? She was always gorgeous.”

“Yeah, but you should have seen Miles and half the male population. The other half is The Skulls and don’t care about any other than the one by their side.”

Tabitha listened as Daisy caught her up to speed on Constance’s sudden appearance, how beautiful and curvy she looked. They’d all been close out of high school, but Constance had been the one to get out of town, all with Miles’s and The Skulls’ help.

Now, she was back, after traveling.

“So, Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks. Have you talked to your mom?” Daisy asked, changing topics.

“No. I’ve got to phone her after you. Between us, I’m hoping to stay on the phone with you so I don’t have to deal with her. She just makes things kind of difficult.” She sighed. “Is it going to be one of The Skulls’ big get-togethers?”

“You got it. Angel is already organizing everything. She’s in the kitchen baking all the time. The guys are constantly being sent on errands.” Daisy giggled. “Anthony brought back the wrong chocolate chips four times. It was so funny.”

“I bet.”

“You’re moody.”

“I’m not moody. I … they’re going to be having a big club get-together here. All the family, and well, you’re my family, but if I come there, Simon will follow.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Yeah, and that whole the-Dogs-want-to-kill-him thing. Fuck, I hate that club.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re having fun and I’m being a downer.”

“For good reason. I didn’t even think about the Dogs and Simon.”

“It’s been a long time without him. Why would you think of him?”

“He’s still your husband.”

Tabitha rubbed at her temples, feeling the start of a headache. “I think it might be best if I stay here this Thanksgiving. It’ll be good for Nathan and Simon.”

“How did he handle that? We’ve talked about everything but that.”

“He’s … he’s amazing with him. Simon is a fantastic father. Nathan is so lucky.”

“But you sound so unhappy.”

“My head is a mess right now. I’ve just got a lot to figure out.”

Daisy was silent on the other end.

“I’ve known you most of my life and your silences mean you disagree. Spill it.”

“Okay, to be clear, you don’t have a whole lot to figure out. Break it down. You love Simon or you don’t. You either stay with him or leave. You come back home, or you stay there, or you move elsewhere. It’s not complicated. You don’t want to make the wrong decision and regret it. I get that.”