Separately Together

Chapter Fifteen: Just Friends 1/2

Not much has changed ... yet. Jared didn't return home, Gale stuck to my side like glue giving me hope that maybe The Voiceless wasn't like The Forefathers at all.

How outraged Gale was the other night, over the fact of what Vickers did to me, give me more faith in them than I initially had.

Harley still hasn't explained everything to me, all he has said is that I was safe now. That the brand on his chest insured I would be okay and The Forefathers would be taken care of.

He hasn't said anything about what this change in his life would mean for him or why they all seemed so keen on him returning.

I wanted to know exactly what that brand meant.

Harley was never here. Even more so than when he was working well into the night. I was lucky that I saw him on the weekend.

Was he that busy or was he trying to avoid the person that forced his hand into this?

He would never admit it out loud but did Harley regret coming back to town, regret getting involved in my life?

We moved the rest of my stuff over here and I got my deposit back, I put it straight into my saving for the bakery. I didn't know what the future held for me anymore, but I was sure that I would own my bakery one day.

Classes were good, I was getting closer to finishing them. Life seemed almost normal even though I knew that behind the scenes it was anything but. Liz and Finnic are back from their honeymoon, but I stayed with Harley because I knew it was for the best and I was kind of scared to see how far he would go to keep me here.

The gender reveal was tonight, actually in a couple of hours and then afterward there was the party Harley said he was taking me to. I kind of forgot about it after everything that happened that day, but he was sure to remind me this morning through a text message.

I didn't want to go, I was going to make a fool of myself with awkward conversation or just stand in the corner like a mute. This was bound to end in a disaster, but he was persistent with everything he wanted.

"Is there anything you need before I leave?" Gale asks as he heads towards the front door. We've got to know each other over the past week, but he refuses to tell me anything about Harley or The Voiceless. I'm assuming because he was instructed not to.

I learned that he and Jared are first cousins and that he can't stand staying at the clubhouse because of the cigarette smoke, he has asthma. So, when the opportunity arose to spend time away from there, he took it. He also said that he doesn't particularly agree with some of the things that they do.

He has been protective ever since that day in the car, I'm not sure why but Harley told me it was because he has a little sister and was raised by a single mom, so he just has a strong value of women and can't stand them being hurt.

"No, I'm alright. Thank you." He grins and walks out of the house. I was left alone, and I soaked it up, I knew it wouldn't be for long because Harley was getting off work early for the gender reveal.

Between him and Gale, I haven't had any alone time this whole week. I turn on some music and check on the blue and pink cookies I have in the oven right now. Harley made me call out this week, to let everything settle, I just told her that I had the flu. I didn't like lying but I couldn't exactly tell her the truth.

Oh yeah, my rapist got out of prison and is out for my head for snitching on him. The only reason he hasn't yet is because my brother's best friend 'claimed me' and he's a part of a bigger gang. So, you know I'm mentally exhausted.

Nope, lying was the only option, and I was thankful for the break, I genuinely needed it, making lying not seem so bad.

I sang a random song as I spun around the kitchen working on all of the treats for tonight.

"Your voice is angelic," Harley says startling me, making me stumble and nearly drop the whole pan of multicolored cookies.

"God, you scared me," I say while setting the hot pan down. The hot metal touches my palm and I hiss in pain, the pan hits the counter a little harder than I intended, and I yank back cradling my hand to my chest.

Harley yanks my hand to his chest eyeing it wearily. "You, okay?"

I try to ignore the irony of him checking on a simple burn while he has a scabbed-over brand on his chest.

This pain I was feeling was like an ant bite compared to his much worse scar.

"I'm fine." I suck it up and yank my hand away tired of being fussed over. I've cried enough in his presence and this little burn wasn't going to be added to the list.

"It's not a crime to get checked on, Maddie." He says taken aback by my sudden abruptness. he doesn't understand how it feels to have someone hovering over him constantly, checking on his constantly like he was going to blow away with the slightest gust.

"I've been getting checked on plenty enough the past week." He sighs a heavy sigh. I take my hand to the sink planning on putting it under icy water to ease the sting.

"It will make it blister," Harley whispers and I glare daggers over my shoulder.

"I can take care of myself." This sentence was so far from the truth, but I wished it was my reality. Harley had taken care of me more than enough it was time I started taking care of myself again. I needed to find the little bit of independence I had left before I was so dependent on Harley that I didn't know how to return to a time when he wasn't there to save the day. Because he wouldn't be there one day, he will be back to his life, and I'll be back to mine.

The thought alone made my heart hurt.

"Not. Why are you being so hardheaded lately?" He scoffs before stealing one of the freshly baked cookies from the pan. It still amazes me how he can eat stuff that hot.

"Maybe because I've had either you or Gale breathing down my throat for a whole week. Maybe because I want to be left alone." I say sarcastically and blow a huff between his lips and disbelief.

"God, grow up." He spits out and I turn around and point my finger at his chest. My eyes slant in a determined way, I sucked in a deep breath and reigned in my emotions the best I could. Screaming my point wasn't going to make him understand it any better.

I spin back around and focus on wiping up the next batch. "Once these are done, I'm ready."

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