Road Chosen: Sequel Book 2

Chapter 15

Elena

I can do this. Why am I so nervous?

My pulse is pounding so loud, I hardly hear my knuckles rap on the wooden front door. Within minutes, the door creaks open with a fiery redhead on the other side. She smiles at me. Of course, she smiles at me, she knew I was coming over.

Oreo won’t know that I called her instead…right?

“Hey.” She’s friendly too.

“Hi,” I respond with a shy smile. Don’t make this weird, Elena.

“Come on in,” she says as she steps to the side in her black yoga pants and a black tank top. I walk into a living room with white plush carpet, white walls, a beige couch with light pink pillows, and a matching beige footstool. There’s a large window overlooking the driveway with light pink sheer drapes, a small decorative table with a fat round vase full of pink roses next to a cherry wood rocking chair.

Very feminine, welcoming, and I think there’s a smell of peonies in the air.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Rose asks.

I politely decline then she leads me to the beige couch. It’s nice and soft; is this suede?

Rose looks a tad nervous as she crosses and uncrosses her knees. “I was wondering if you were ever going to call me.”

Swallowing hard, I find my words. “Did you know?”

Her wide, blue eyes stare at me, there’s a light laugh that falls from her red lips. “Alright, jumping right in, I see.”

“She knew.” I look over Rose’s shoulder at the other familiar voice entering the room from the hall – Ovid. “I did, too.” She crosses the room to sit in the rocking chair adjacent to me.

“You both knew?” I’m feeling a bit faint, but in all honesty, I had a feeling they both knew.

“I’m afraid so.” Rose’s voice sounds small. “We’ve wanted to tell you so many times, it just… we couldn’t, you know?”

My brows furrow. “Why couldn’t you?”

“It would have put your life in danger. Mike was convinced that if you found out, you would purposefully put yourself in the way in order to protect your dad. Neither one of them wanted anything to happen to you, so we kept it all a secret.”

“Look at what good that did,” I chastise under my breath and let the awkward tension linger in the air for a moment. “Who else knew?”

“Other than us? Hmm…” Rose thinks. “The whole club. Outside of that, no one. He didn’t want anyone outside the brotherhood to know.”

“Why did he tell you? You are not a part of the club,” I ask asked, confused.

Ovid answers, “No, but I was at school. I recognized him and would have called him out. He had to explain it to us so I wouldn’t blow his cover, so to speak.”

“I’ve known Mike since I was fourteen. He knows he can trust us,” Rose mentions.

“Fourteen?” I nearly gasp.

“Yeah.”

I think about that for a moment. “How old are you?”

She breathes. “Twenty-four.”

My heart drops. “How old is Michael?”

Rose’s lips quirk to the side of her mouth, probably debating on whether or not she wants to tell me. “He’ll be twenty-five in a few weeks.”

Wait. What?

“Twenty-five?! He’s… he’s twenty-five?” Okay. So, a lot older than I thought. I want to rip out my hair. Composing myself, I play with the collar of my shirt instead.

“He’ll be twenty-five. I just turned twenty-four.” Rose corrects me and I narrow my eyes at her. He’s basically twenty-five.

I bury my face in my hands. “Hey, it’s okay. Age is just a number anyway,” Ovid tells me.

I snap my sights to her. “He’s lied to me about so much. I knew he was older because of the video, but twenty-five?”

“It was to protect you,” Rose reminds me.

“What video?” Ovid asks.

I ignore her. “Because it was his job.”

“Because he also cared about you. I have never seen that man so happy in my life as he was when he was with you, Elena,” Rose declares.

Sure, maybe he cared about me, maybe even loved me, but it still doesn’t seem to be enough to take the knife out from my back.

“You’ve really never seen him that happy before?”

Ovid sounds a little impatient as she asks again, “What video?”

Rose ignores her sister. “Are you kidding? I have never seen that man smile so much in the whole ten years that I have known him. You light up every space you share with him. I’ve seen it.”

“Hey!” Ovid shouts, pulling our attention. “What video?”

Instead of sharing the details, I begrudgingly reach for my phone and pull up the message from the unknown number and watch their expressions change to something of disappointment and shock.

“Oh my gosh,” Ovid gasps and tucks her red curls behind her ear.

“Mike told me about how you found out. I’m so sorry that you found out that way. You have to realize that Mike isn’t that kind of guy anymore.” Rose is trying to be comforting.

I just nod my head and tuck my phone back in my pocket.

Rose squares off to me. “Look. He came and talked with me a few times since everything happened. He doesn’t do that unless he’s really messed up in the head. He’s come to me maybe a small handful of times in the past because he’s determined to make it through on his own, but you not talking to him, is screwing him up big time.”

A lump grows in my throat. “I just don’t think I can,” I whisper.

“Why not?” Ovid asks gently while curling her legs up underneath her. At school, she wears skirts, dresses, and heavy makeup. Seeing her in sweatpants and a raggedy old t-shirt with hardly any makeup, she seems… even more beautiful.

I turn to her. “I don’t want anymore lies. I’m scared… I’m not sure I can trust him again.”

A soft hand touches my arm. “That’s understandable, but how are you ever going to trust him again without talking to him?” I hate it when people like Rose make valid points.

“You’re not just saying any of this because you’re his friend and you’re in cahoots with him?”

Rose shakes her head and looks down at her red manicured hands. “I’ve never seen that man so depressed. Hating the world and everyone in it? Yes, but depressed? I mean, I thought he was broody before, but now?” Rose just shakes her head slowly. “It’s like he’s… he’s-“

“A ghost of who he was,” Ovid finishes. “Only you are able to bring the life back into him. We are all sure of it.”

****

On the way back home, I figure it is time to talk to him. Hear him out. I make a little pit stop at a clothing store and spot the perfect dress.

Call it my pride, but I can’t make this easy for him, and as for me? I’m going to need some helpful courage to even look at the guy in the eyes.

Tonight. It’s tonight or never.

Lord help me.

**I am so sorry it took so long to get this third chapter out there. Some things have come up this week that have been kind of dragging me down and I've been trying to find the time and the willpower to write the third chapter. I'm working on Chapter 16 now. I think ya'll will like what is to come :) It will be a longer chapter too.

Thank you to all who are taking the time to read the story, what do you think of it so far?**