Shattered & Scarred: The Sacred Hearts MC by A. J. Downey

everything ingloriously off the bed into a pile at the foot of it and stretched out.
    “Come here.” He said.
    I crawled up the bed and sat beside him. He patted his chest and I lay down, snug against his side cheek resting on the flannel of his shirt.
    “I like holding you like this.” He said, truth was I liked it too, “I’m going to miss it when you’ve got your own room.” He said, I nodded against him and closed my eyes breathing deeply his smell. He smelled like antiseptic from the tattoo shop and working machine parts from his motorcycle, he also smelled of fresh clean air and faintly of cigarettes. He smelled like he lived and I could appreciate that after years of overpowering aftershave and sterile lifeless suburban living.
    “You did good Sunshine. I’m proud of you.” He said quietly and my heart swelled from the praise.
    “Only because you were there to hold me up.” I whispered.
    “Naw, you could’ve done it on your own. You were fan-fucking-tastic today.” I sat up and looked down into his face.
    “Only because you were there to hold me up.” I reiterated and I took a deep breath and I kissed him.
    His lips moved slowly, sweetly over my own and I closed my eyes. I pulled back gently and whispered “Thank you,” and laid back down. His arm around my back tightened holding me to him, his fingers on the hand opposite stroked my hair back from my face. He sighed and relaxed into the mattress.
    “You’re welcome.” He said and we stayed like that, warm and comfortable until both of us fell asleep, though mine was uneasy, plagued by Chadwick’s threat.

Chapter 9
     
    Trig…
    I woke up and she was gone again. How she managed to move around the room and not wake me up was a fucking gift from the gods. I sat up and sure enough, the room was immaculate. I was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. We’d fallen asleep and I think had stayed asleep. It’d been a long time since I felt so well rested. I went out into the hall and heard music, well, singing…
    Loud and clear it came from the common room. I padded it sock covered feet down the hall and found Dragon and Reaver standing in the common room looking into the kitchen.
    “What’s up guys?” I asked and Reaver put a finger to his lips in the classic sign for shush and waved me over to stand with them. I stood by Dragon and felt a slow smile overtake my lips. I’d never heard anything but hushed tones and faint whispers come out of my Sunshine girl, but there she was, standing at the stove, voice loud and clear as a bell singing her little heart out.
    “ I dreamed a dream in time gone by, when hope was high and life worth living! I dreamed that love would never die! I dreamed that God would be forgiving… Then I was young and unafraid and dreams were made and used and wasted! There was no ransom to be paid! No song unsung, no wine untasted!”
    Her voice was high and clear and perfect but the song was incredibly sad… We stood there dumbfounded and continued to listen as she sang and cooked at the stove. Her voice dropped and deepened…

“But the tigers come at night… With their voices soft as thunder! As they tear your hope apart… As they turn your dream to sha-aaa-ame!” she poured everything she had into the song and it was both beautiful and heart breaking at the same time.

“He slept a summer by my side, he filled my days with endless wonder, he took my childhood in his stride but he was gone when autumn came… And still I dream he'll come to me. That we will live the years together! But there are dreams that cannot be! And there are storms we cannot weather!”
    “Bull shit.” I caught myself muttering and Reaver elbowed me in the ribs.
    “Quiet man I want her to finish.” Dragon whispered harshly and I bit back a laugh.
    “I had a dream my life would be… so different from this hell I'm living! So different now from what it seemed… Now life has killed the dream I dreamed…” Her voice softened