“Thanks, Chopper.”

Gage walks in, brows drawn together. I detach myself from his dad and transfer to his arms.

“You okay?” he asks.

I nod into his chest. “Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah. Just came in to let you know.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

He takes my hand and I follow him outside, ignoring the curious stares of the other women. I really don’t know any of them except for Deena and the blonde. I guess they all want to know what’s going on with the girl who was raped. I keep my head down and let Gage lead the way. Out in the courtyard, the guys are propped on their bikes waiting. They all smile when they see me approaching; except Tek, who’s off by himself, immersed in something on a laptop. I release Gage’s hand and stand in the middle of what’s supposed to be a group of big, scary bikers.

“I just want to say thank you. I know you guys are out there doing whatever it is you’re doing for me. I really appreciate it.”

Allah is closest to me, so I hug him first. “Ain’t nothin’ to it, shawty,” he says in a low voice.

I give each of them a hug and they all echo the sentiment in their own words. When I get to Razor, he picks me up in a bear hug and gives me a squeeze. He places me back on my feet and I make my way over to Gage. He’s sitting on his bike, observing me. Draping his arm around my waist, he pulls me close. His right hand is resting on the handlebar and I cringe at the cuts and bruises on his knuckles.

“Be careful.”

“Always, doll. I’ll see you later.”

With a jerk of his head, he motions toward the gates and I turn to see Chrissy walking in. I wave to her and she takes off running. Gage releases me and I meet her halfway. I don’t think anyone has ever hugged me so tightly. She might just cut off my air supply.

“Ray! God, I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

She pulls back and looks me up and down. “You look good. How do you feel?”

“Better.”

“I’m so glad you texted. I was worried.”

“I know. I’m sorry, I just –”

“You don’t have to explain. Come on, I need to get you inside.”

“Why?”

“Because,” she says. “You’re half-nekkid and barefoot.”

I look down and see she’s right. Gage’s T-shirt pretty much covers me up but other than panties, I’m not wearing anything else. I’m surprised he didn’t say something. Walking back to the clubhouse, the guys pass us on their way out. I wave to Gage and he smiles at me. I hope he has good news when he returns.

After I have my breakfast Chopper made me, Chrissy and I lock ourselves in Gage’s room. We catch up and call Toni. I appreciate the fact that she hasn’t dwelled on the reason we haven’t seen each other. In fact, she hasn’t even mentioned the rape or asked what I’ve been doing—only how I’ve been doing. Toni was the same. I realize I have two of the best friends anyone could ever ask for. Instead of locking myself away from everyone, maybe I should have been doing the opposite.

“Have you spoken to your mother?”

“No. I should probably call her. I’ve missed Dani.”

“Do it,” she encourages me. “Skype them.”

With a deep breath, I grab my phone, download Skype, and sign in. When Laurelyn answers, I can see she’s both surprised and happy.

“Raven! It’s so good to see you. How are you?”

“I’m okay. Sorry it took me so long.”

“I’ve missed you, but I understand.”

“How are you?” I ask.

“Oh, I’m fine. Just making dinner.”

“Dani?”

“She’s in her playroom. Let me get her.”

The little girl lets out an excited scream when Laurelyn tells her I’m on the phone. She puts a smile on my face the moment I see her toothless grin.

“Raven!” she shrieks.

“Hey, pumpkin.”

“I missed you. Mommy said you weren’t feeling well because of your accident. Are you better now?”

“I am. I promise I won’t stay away so long anymore.”

“Do you want to see my dolls?”

She chatters away for a while before Laurelyn takes the phone from her. She goes back to the kitchen, telling me she wants to talk to me about something.

“Raven, I was wondering...if you’d like to come out for a visit.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

“Please. If you like it, maybe you’d consider...moving in?”

“You want me to live with you?” I ask, astonished.

“I do. I was planning on asking you when I came to Georgia but with everything that happened, I decided to give you some time.”

“I mean...I love Miami and I miss it sometimes, but my life is here now.”

Or maybe it isn’t such a bad idea. I could have a fresh start, remove myself and my drama out of Gage’s life. I could give him a fresh start, too. Could I do it? Could I leave him?

“Just think about it,” Laurelyn urges.

“I will.”

She gives me an optimistic smile before I say my goodbyes and end the call.

“Would you go back?”

“I don’t know,” I answer Chrissy’s question. “Maybe.”

“Do you think Gage would let you leave?”

“Honestly, I think he’d try to stop me. But it’s my decision.”

“Yeah. Keep telling yourself that. Even if you managed to leave, he’d probably drag your ass back.”

“You’re right. It can’t hurt to visit, though. Besides, if I wanted to move back, I have Daddy’s house. That way, I can be close to them but still have my own space.”

“True.” She looks around the room then back at me with a deep frown. “Is that your stuff?” She points to my two suitcases leaning on the wall.

Gage said he was leaving the unpacking to me, but I never got past underwear. Chrissy jumps up and starts going through the cases.

“I’ll unpack, you make space in the closet.”

“I don’t know. Gage has a lot of clothes. I have two drawers that are pretty empty. We could put some stuff in those.”

“Closet,” she says in a stern voice.

“Okay. Jeez.”

I open the closet, and just like I expected, there’s not much room for anything. I push his clothes to one side and consider the space.

“Maybe we can a fit a few dresses in here. The rest we’ll have to put in the drawers.”

“Shoes?”

Dropping to my knees, I start re-arranging his shoes to make room. That’s when I see the gift-wrapped box in the far corner. I wonder what it is. Could it be the birthday present he told me he was going to pick up the day of my party? If it was for me, he would have given it to me already, right? Even though curiosity is killing me, I leave it alone. I’m not going to snoop in his stuff.

We put away as much of my belongings as we can and fall back into bed. Before I can get comfortable, Chrissy grabs my hand and pulls me up and into the bathroom.

“In.” She points to the bath. “Sit.”

“Okay, Miss Bossy. And I thought Gage was bad. What are you doing?”

She’s on her knees, rifling through the cabinet. She pulls out a bag of disposable razors and a can of shaving cream then sits on the edge of the bath.

“Legs.”

“You’re going to shave my legs?”

“Honey, have you looked at them lately?”

I take one look at them and give in. “You gonna shave my cooch, too?” I joke. “Haven’t done that, either.”

She raises her brows. “Depends. Anyone gonna see it?”

“Not anytime soon.”

“You okay...down there?”

“Yeah. I’m all healed. It’s more of an emotional thing.”

“I understand. I’m sure he does, too. Take your time. Work on this at your own pace. He’s waited this long, a little more time won’t kill him.”

“I’m going to see a therapist. Hopefully, she can help me.”

“That’s a good start. But now, let’s take care of the small things—legs first then your hair. All the color’s gone. Don’t worry, you’ll be your old self in no time.”

I hope so, not just for my sake but for Gage’s. After everything he’s done, everything he’s planning to do, he deserves it. He said I’m ‘better’, but he deserves the best. And that’s what I want to give him. I’ll get my shit sorted out and be the best damn girlfriend he could ever want.