I turn on my heel and charge towards the SUV.
“Cade, take her home,” Spike orders. “I’ll talk to Reign.”
Cade nods and follows me to the car, getting in after I do.
“Time will fix this, Tia,” he says looking over at me.
“I wish I could believe that.”
~*~*~*~
I have Cade take me to Addison. I don’t want to go home, and I can’t get hold of Autumn. The minute he relays to Addison what happened, she takes me into her arms and holds me close. “We’ll get her back for hitting you, that horrible, selfish woman.”
I shake my head. “I’m done, he can have her. He deserves her.”
Cade brings out a glass of iced water and hands it to me. “You need to calm down from this and then talk to him, Tia. You can’t pretend this doesn’t exist. You’re pregnant with his baby.”
I shake my head. “You don’t understand, I can’t...I just...can’t. How can I bring a baby into the world with a woman that so easily hit me? Imagine what she would do to my baby if he or she was with Reign.”
“Reign would never let anyone hurt that baby,” Addison says softly. “You know that, honey.”
“Do I?” I whisper. “Because I thought he’d never let her hurt me either, but he did.”
She gives me a sad look. “All kids need their fathers.”
“I know that,” I say, my voice shaky. “But right now it’s the most terrifying thing in the world for me to offer up my child to him when he’s around...that...thing.”
“You don’t have to make a choice now. Does Reign have any family that you can maybe talk to?”
I shake my head. “Reign’s parents are dead, he’s got no siblings. I think it’s why he holds on so tightly to Selena. I think she was literally all he had.”
Addison nods, understanding.
The front door opens before she manages to answer, and Spike walks in. “Thought you might be here,” he says to me, walking over.
“I didn’t want to go home.”
“You need to,” he says simply, stepping over the coffee table and sitting in front of me. “You need to talk to Reign.”
“What?” I gasp. “You saw what happened?”
“He heard the tape.”
“So now suddenly he wants to talk to me,” I croak. “No, Spike.”
“If you gave him a chance to talk, you would have known he’d already made his choice. You need to talk to him, to hear him out.”
“To hear him tell me he’s chosen her,” I protest.
“You owe him this,” he barks. “Now I’ve had your fuckin’ back 100% on this, but he’s not in the wrong right now. You’re going to have his child and you can’t run from that. You need to go and talk to him, because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Jesus,” I say standing. “You don’t hold back.”
“Trust me on this, Tia,” he says, leaning back. “For once in your life, just do as you’re told.”
“Why?”
He glares at me. “You’re a smart girl, I’d like to think you’re not one of those chicks that’s going to hide from him for two weeks, not talking to him, even though you know you have to. You’re mature and you’re a damned good girl. Don’t be that girl, in the end you will still have to speak to him and you’re not goin’ to escape that. If you trust me with anything, trust me when I say you need to hear him out.”
Bikers.
They don’t go easy.
“Fine,” I say, turning and walking towards the door. “You’ve made your point, biker.”
“As I said,” he yells after me as I step out. “You’ll thank me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Autumn lies beside me, running her fingers through my hair. She’s been with me since Cade brought me home. I haven’t gone to speak with Reign yet, regardless of Spike’s words. I will, I just...I need to get myself sorted first. My emotions suck right now. My head pounds, but it’s nothing to match the ache in my heart. I hurt so much; I can’t even begin to process the feelings washing around inside me.
“Are you hungry, sweetie?” Autumn asks, sitting up.
I shake my head.
“You need to eat something, for the baby at least.”
I stare down at my still flat stomach, wondering how I’m going to get through the next few months alone. Wondering how I’m going to pay for this baby, to give him or her a decent life.
“Sure,” I finally whisper. “Maybe just a few crackers.”
She nods and gets up, rushing through the kitchen to get some crackers and a cup of tea. I sit up, tucking my legs beneath me. She’s just finished making the tea when the door swings open and Reign steps in. He’s soaking wet, fists balled, and he’s panting. Autumn puts the cup of tea down and storms over to him before either of us gets the chance to speak.
“Leave, Reign,” she barks. “Now.”
“No,” he growls at her, his eyes fierce.
“She’s hurt, she’s heartbroken, and the last thing she needs is you coming in and fucking her up again.”
Reign ignores her and turns to me. “I heard the tape. I need to talk to you.”
I stare at him, my heart trying to take me in two directions. Part of me wants to scream at him to leave, but the other part is weak and doesn’t want him to go. The baby growing inside me isn’t going away and he’s a part of that, whether I like it or not.