Page 9 of Creed (Satan’s Fury MC- Little Rock #6)

DEVIN

L aura and I had ended up drinking more than we planned.

Just a couple glasses of wine turned into a bottle and a half, and it was after three when the Uber finally dropped me off at the house.

I laughed more than I had in months. We spoke with a few men here and there, and it was fine.

But I enjoyed my time with Laura more than anything.

She was my dearest friend, and I loved spending time with her.

I also loved getting out of the house and out of my own head.

I needed that more than I realized. I got up, and after a quick shower, I made myself some coffee and piled up on the sofa.

I was tired and a little hungover, so I didn’t push it. I just laid back and enjoyed the quiet.

As I lay there, my thoughts drifted back to a day I hadn’t thought about in years. I was still pretty new on the force, maybe a year or a little less, but I’d already seen enough twisted metal and crumpled bodies to last a lifetime.

The motorcycle wrecks were the worst. They were always so violent and never ended well.

And yet, that didn’t stop me from climbing on the back of Jameson’s bike and riding all over the city.

I had my arms wrapped around his waist, and the wind was flying through my hair like I didn’t have a care in the world.

I should’ve been terrified. Every logical bone in my body told me I was being reckless, but I was anything but afraid. I felt freer and braver than I ever had. That was Jameson. He always made me feel invincible. I knew he had me. I knew if I fell, he would be there to catch me every single time.

I missed that.

Not just the thrill or the rush of being with a man like him.

But the feeling of beingtruly desired.

I missed being touched like I was more than just a mother or someone barely holding it all together. I missed the quiet ache in my stomach after he’d kissed me long and hard. I missed the way his hands knew every part of me like a map he knew by heart.

I could still hear him say, “You’re mine, Devin. Every inch of you.”

I kept hearing him say it over and over in my head until it was overshadowed by Austin’s voice shouting, “Hey, Mom! We’re home!”

The door slammed, followed by the sounds of footsteps shuffling down the hall.

And just like that, all thoughts of Jameson faded into the background, and I was catapulted back into the present.

A smile was already tugging at the corners of my mouth as I jumped up from the couch and rushed to the doorway to greet them.

But when I rounded the corner, I was disappointed to find that Austin and Chrissy had already disappeared into their rooms.

No hugs.

No hello.

No ‘Missed you.’

Just silence, and not the, they were just tired kind of silence .

This felt different. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

Austin was hard to get to open up, especially when it came to his father, so I decided to start with Chrissy.

I tapped on her door, and when I stepped inside, I found her yanking her clothes out of her backpack and angrily tossing them on the floor.

“Hey, sweetheart.” I stepped over and placed my palm on the small of her back. “How was your weekend?”

“It was okay.”

She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Looked like it, too, so I pressed, “Are you sure? Because it seems like something is wrong.”

“It’s just…” She let out a breath, then turned to me with annoyance. “Dad brought her to the lake.”

“Who?”

“His new girlfriend .”

The words hit like a slap right to the face.

I knew the time would come when Brian would start dating again, but I thought there would be some kind of warning or mention of him being interested in someone.

But there was nothing. Not even a hint of someone else, and now, he’d suddenly brought a woman to the lake with the kids. It made no sense.

“Oh, honey…”

“He didn’t even tell us that he had a girlfriend,” she muttered, tossing another item of clothing into the hamper. “He just pulled up to some random house and told us a friend of his was coming with us. A few minutes later, this woman came out and jumped Dad like a hungry hippo.”

“A hungry hippo?”

“She was all over him, Mom.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetie. That must’ve been hard.”

“I didn’t want to be mean, but I really didn’t like her… at all.” She fell back on her bed with a thud. “And Dad left us with her and acted like it was all no big deal, but it was a big deal. It was a very big deal.”.”

“Left you with her?”

“He had to drive back here Saturday night for a few hours, but it seemed like an eternity. I finally just went to bed.”

God. I wanted to scream.

The Momma Bear in me wanted to call him right then and tell him what an absolute asshole he was for blindsiding them like that and leaving them with some stranger.

But I would have to wait to ream him. Right now, I needed to focus on Chrissy. I sat down next to her and reached for her hand. “You’re right. It was a big deal.”

“We didn’t want to spend the whole weekend with someone we didn’t know, but he didn’t care about that.” Her lip trembled, and she curled up to me, resting her head on my shoulder. “He didn’t care about anything, except being with her.”

“I see… So, does this woman have a name?”

“Brooklyn.”

“Okay.” The name didn’t sound familiar, so I said, “That’s a nice name.”

“I guess.”

“What was she like?”

“I don’t know.” Chrissy sat up, and I could tell she was about to unload. I could feel it coming. It was like she was going to explode if she didn’t get it out. “She was really pretty, but the fake kind of pretty. You know? She had blonde hair and wore a lot of makeup, and she had ginormous boobs.”

“Chrissy,” I giggled.

“Ah, Mom. I’m not kidding. They looked like two big ol’ balloons, and she was wearing this string bikini that had to be two sizes too small.” She grimaced as she told me, “I mean, she bent over, and her entire butt came out. It was so gross.”

My stomach twisted.

Not because I cared what this woman looked like or what she wore.

But because I could hear the hurt and disappointment in Chrissy’s voice, and she’d had enough hurt and disappointment to last a lifetime.

I wanted to do or say something to make it better, so I tried, “Well, sometimes, people dress different than we’re used to, and that’s okay. But was she at least nice?”

Chrissy looked at me then, and there was this flash of hurt in her eyes that made me want to cry. “She was nice to dad.”

“But not to you guys?”

“She didn’t really talk to us.”

“Well, I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her either. I bet she was nervous and didn’t want to say the wrong thing.”

“Mom, you don’t have to defend her. She was awful.”

“Okay. Give me an example of her being awful.”

“Well, whenever Austin and I were talking and minding our own business, she’d lean over to Dad and whisper something. And then, he’d look at us and tell us to ‘Quiet down,’ or ‘It’s late. Get to bed’ or ‘Get off your phone and be in the moment.’ What does that even mean?”

“Oh, well…”

“Dad told us to come, but they both acted like he really didn’t want us there.”

I was furious with Brian.

I thought he was a complete asshole for not being more thoughtful of his kids. But Chrissy didn’t need to hear that. She loved her father, and she was hurt by his actions. I didn’t need to add to her pain by calling him vile names and telling her how awful I thought he was.

So, I tried to comfort her the best that I could.

“I’m really sorry, sweetheart.” It was hard, but I managed to keep my voice calm and low.

“He should’ve told you about her and that she was going to be there this weekend.

And she should have been nicer to you both.

But regardless of all that, your father loves you, and I have no doubt that he wanted you both there. ”

“I don’t care if he has a girlfriend.” Chrissy shrugged like she was unbothered, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was struggling to keep from crying. “I just didn’t think he’d ever treat us like that… like we don’t matter.”

“Oh, Chrissy. You do matter,” I whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “More than anything. I don’t know what’s going on with him and this new girl, but I do know he loves you. And you know it, too.”

“There’s something else.”

“What?”

“I don’t think she’s all that new.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think he’s been seeing her for a while.”

“Okay. Well, that’s his prerogative.”

“You aren’t getting it.” She crossed her arms. “They were talking about the last fourth of July, and it sounded like they were together.”

“ O-kay … Maybe it was for work or something like that.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. I think there was something more to it than that.”

“Well, even if there was, it doesn’t matter. Things with your father and I were over long before then.”

“Yeah, for you. But I didn’t think it was for him.” She lowered her head. “I thought he still loved us… I thought he still wanted us to be a family.”

“Chrissy, you have to know that none of this is about you or Austin. Your father and I adore you both, and we want to be with you as much as we can. Nothing will ever change that.”

“I don’t know if Dad feels that way. He sure didn’t act like he did.”

“He did, and he does. I promise.”

She nodded, and I pulled her into another hug.

Brian could’ve handled this so much better, and honestly, I was surprised he hadn’t.

He was always good to the kids and mindful of their happiness.

It was one of the many things he used against me when I told him I was leaving him.

He said I wasn’t thinking of the kids and what this would do to them, but he was wrong.

I had thought about them. I’d thought about them nonstop, and I still thought about them every second of every day. They were my children, and I loved them more than anything. I gave Chrissy another kiss on the head before asking, “Feel any better?”

“A little.”