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“Why?”

“Bathroom.”

He carefully picks me up and takes me to the bathroom instead. With even more care, he places me on my feet.

“You need help?” he asks.

“No. I can handle it.”

“Okay. Just call out for me when you’re done,” he says as he closes the door.

After he leaves, I take a look at all the stuff the doctor gave me that will be bathroom staples for me for the next couple of weeks – a peri bottle for squirting warm water over ‘the area’, gauze pads, and paper wipes.Fuck my life. All this just to pee.I sit gingerly on the toilet and do my best to follow the doctor’s instructions. It still burns like hell. I bite my lip and suffer silently through it. All this pain and soreness...God, please let it be over soon.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I try to make my way back to the bed but only manage to get as far as the doorway. Gage rushes to me, picking me up before I fall flat on my ass.That would have been great.

“I told you to call me,” he chastises.

“I thought I could make it. I didn’t realize it would hurt just to walk.”

“Next time, you call me.”

“I will.”

Trust me, I will.My legs felt like jelly after just one step.

He places me back on the bed then sits on the edge, reaching for a bowl on the table. I watch him with a small smile as he scoops up some of the soup and blows on the spoon gently. I let him feed me, not only because I think it’s cute but also because I probably wouldn’t eat it otherwise. His phone rings just as I have the last spoonful. He answers it but doesn’t say much. When he hangs up, he takes a deep breath.

“That was Santini. He’s on his way here...with your mother.”

Shit. I can’t believe she’s actually coming. What was I thinking? Why didn’t I postpone it?The first time I meet my mother, I’ll be in a hospital bed, recovering from a rape.Great.That should leave a lasting impression.

It’s not too late. I can have Gage call Santini and tell him to wait until I’m better.

“You’ll be fine, Raven. If anything, you need her now more than ever. I’ll be right here with you.”

I need her. Ineedher? I never needed her before, and I certainly don’t need her now. She can run back to Mommy and Daddy, for all I care. When she gave me up, she gave up any chance of being in my life. That’s exactly what I’m going to tell her when she walks through that door.

CHAPTER 4

***Raven***

Gage emerges from the bathroom with neatly combed hair and a clean-shaven face. In his biker gear, he’s the picture of the man your mother would warn you to stay away from. Right now, he looks like the kind of man your dad would be proud to have as a son-in-law.

“So, this is what it takes to get you to comb your hair?”

“Hey,” he shrugs. “It’s not every day you meet your girlfriend’s estranged mother.”

Girlfriend. It sounds so strange coming from him. Strange but wonderful. “Yeah. Don’t get too attached.”

“Promise me you’ll at least give her a chance.”

“Why?” I ask. “Why do you want me to play nice with her?”

He takes my hand as he sits on the edge of the bed. “She’s alive, Raven. She’s here, and she’s trying to connect with you. I’d give anything to have my mom here.” He drops a gentle kiss on my knuckles as he continues, “You have a second chance. Don’t waste it.”

His mother. He lost her at such a young age. At least I didn’t know what I was missing; I never had that mother-daughter bond. He had years with her before she was taken from him.

“What was she like?”