Page 145 of Running from Drac

“This isn’t over,” she says, voice ice cold. “You’ll see.”

Then she’s gone, the door slamming behind her with an aggressive bang.

A man sitting in the chair whistles loudly. “I bet that one fucks like a madwoman.”

Blake huffs out angrily, hand aggressively combing through his hair until strands appear in his palm. This man sheds more than my mother, and that woman has been experiencing hair loss for the last two years. “You’d be correct, Sir. That one definitely fucks like a madwoman.”

Silence stretches for seconds before we all bust out laughing.

“Sorry about that,” Blake mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. “My ex is about as stable as a gas leak.”

“No worries,” I say. “We all got our demons.”

Rich and I exchange another look, but this time his eyes are filled with pity. He knows I’m still fucked up about Amber leaving me the way she did.

He mouths the words,“You good?” and I nod, doing my best to strip that woman from my mind.

Blake claps his hands and smiles. “Alright, let’s get this class going, shall we?”

We spend the next few hours going through our class, learning all the important safety protocols for riding a motorcycle, and fulfilling a portion of the hours we need to get our licenses. One more class after this should do it.

After we’re done, Blake flags us down. “Hey, wait up.”

We stop just short of our bikes.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“That club you’re thinking about putting together. I can’t shake it. I’ve been thinking about it this whole time. I love to ride; it’s in my fucking blood. Riding with others makes it even better. I know a lot of shit about motorcycles, enough to get us started. If you’ll have me, I’d love to join.”

“Even if we end up outlaws?”

He shrugs. “I feel like I live like an outlaw every day I try to shake off that woman. Eve and I have been off and on since high school, and the bitch just won’t let go. Sadly, I feel like I can’t letgo of her either. We’ve just got one of those toxic relationships that’s highly addictive.”

“Yeah, I got one of those too. Mine jilted me at the altar though, about a month or so back.”

“Damn, that fucking sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” I exclaim, suddenly wishing I had a beer in my hand. “She just fucking up and left, and I haven’t heard from her since.”

Rich slaps me on the back. “That’s why we gotta get this club going. Chicks dig a guy on a motorcycle.”

“You think you’ll ever be able to move on?” Blake questions.

My eyes migrate to the sun above me, allowing it to blind me momentarily as I think about the girl who could be halfway across the world staring at the same sky as me.

“Eventually,” I grumble, my voice slightly shaky. “But not for a while. Maybe in five years or so.”

“Five years is an awfully specific time…” Blake counters as I shake off Rich’s knowing look.

Five cards.

Numerous Deaths.

Five long years of torturous pain.

I shrug. “Five years feels like enough. If she comes home before then, then maybe there’s hope for us. But if that five-year mark comes and goes. I’m done. No use hanging onto a relationship where I’m the only one fighting for it.

Rich nods slowly, respect flickers in his eyes before he turns towards me and Blake. “Then let’s build something in the meantime. Something worth fucking fighting for.”