My chest eased a fraction.
I thought of Clove.Of her counting.Of her fear.Of her mouth against mine when I promised.
Always.
Wrecker fired up his engine, the sound ripping through the stillness like a promise of its own.
He looked back at us.“Let’s go home.”
Cole’s bike roared to life.
Mine followed.
And as Wrecker led us out of that parking lot, away from that motel, away from the last loose thread of a nightmare, all I could think wasI’m coming, baby.
I’m coming home to you.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Clove
I was sitting on the long wooden bench on the porch of the clubhouse, my legs pulled up beneath me, my shoulder pressed against Star’s.The night air was warm, the kind that carried the smell of cut grass and gasoline and summer dust.The kind that usually made everything feel normal.
Tonight, nothing felt normal.
Ender had texted me an hour ago.
Coming home.
Just those two words.
Star had gotten something similar from Cole.We didn’t need more than that.Those words carried everything.Relief, tension, fear, hope, promise.All wrapped up in something small enough to fit on a phone screen.
“Did you ever picture this for your life?”Star asked quietly.
I turned my head to look at her..
“Being with a guy from the club?”I asked.
She nodded.
I shook my head slowly.“No.I didn’t think I’d be that lucky.”
Star huffed out a soft laugh.“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m serious,” I said.“I thought maybe I’d get… normal.A job.A place.A guy who wasn’t scared of my parents.I didn’t think I’d get this.”
She tilted her head.“Didn’t you have a crush on Ender forever?”
I laughed quietly, leaning my head back against the wall.“Yeah.I did.For years.But just because you want something doesn’t mean it’s yours.”I swallowed, staring out into the dark parking lot.“These guys… when they love, they love hard.They don’t half-ass it.They don’t leave.It’s everything or nothing.”
Star was quiet for a moment.“So what did you think you’d get?”
I snorted.“Honestly?I never really thought about it.”
She laughed with me, soft and real.
“And you?”I asked.“What did you think you were going to get?”