She sees me and her face lights up.
"Hey," she says.
"Hey."
I pull her close and kiss her, needing the grounding.
"You okay?" she asks.
"Yeah. Just talked to your dad."
Her eyes widen. "And?"
"And it went better than expected."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He still doesn't trust me but he's starting to see I'm not the same kid I was."
She touches my face. "I told you."
"You did."
Chloe grins. "This is progress."
"Yeah, it is."
We sit down and Everly leans into me. My arm goes around her shoulders automatically.
I think about everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours—Diesel confronting me, Ciara making her comments and the anger stirring, simmering below, but also this, Everly beside me, choosing me even when it's hard.
I'm done letting other people define who I am. Diesel can have his opinions, the club can watch and judge, Ciara can worry, but at the end of the day I'm the one choosing who I want to be.
And I choose to be the man Everly sees when she looks at me. Not perfect, not healed, but trying. I’m fighting myself every day to be better than my worst moment, protecting her without becoming a monster, and loving her without destroying her. That's the promise I'm making—not to Diesel, not to the club, but to myself—and it’s one that I’m going to keep.
Later that night, we're back at Everly's flat and she's in the shower. I'm sitting on her couch still thinking about the conversation with Diesel; the way he looked at me when I told him about Ruby, about Octavia, about juvie.
He saw the fear underneath the control, and instead of using it against me, he acknowledged it. That means something.
My phone buzzes and I glance at it. It's a text from Ciara.
Ciara: I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you.
I stare at the message and guilt hits again.
Me: It's fine. I was on edge.
Ciara: I know. Just want you to know I'm here if you need to talk.
Me: Thanks.
I set my phone down and Everly comes out of the bathroom in my shirt.
"Who was that?" she asks.
"Ciara, apologizing for earlier."
"For what?"