“That one’s stubborn like her momma,” Bull chuckles. “What did Dani say?”
“That I should ask Babs,” I respond, lifting my eyebrows, irritated at the situation.
“Shit,” Bull mutters under his breath. “You two figure out your shit?” he asks, referring to Dani’s pregnancy.
“Yeah. I stopped at some pregnancy store to pick up books and shit for her,” I reply.
Bull laughs. “You’re learning.”
I remember walking into that damn pregnancy store before heading to the club last night. I knew I fucked up leaving Dani to figure my shit out, but I didn’t want to say something I didn’t mean, so I left.
“Can I help—” The little lady stops as she notices me standing in a store full of pregnant-women crap, me wearing my cut and rough attitude for everyone to see. I’m sure I looked like I took a wrong turn.
“My girl is pregnant and she’s sick all the time,” I respond, feeling anxious.
“Oh, congratulations,” she chirps. “I’ve got just the thing.”
That lady sat there explaining a box of suckers to me for twenty minutes, and then showed me a shelf full of vitamins for another twenty minutes. I about said ‘screw it’.
When I checked out, the lady started talking about baby names and celebrity baby names; she wouldn’t shut the hell up. I just wanted my change back.
“There’s a spot,” Bull says, pointing to a parking spot close to the hospital doors.
I ignore him and park in the ‘no parking zone’ instead.
We enter Babs’ room and see a bunch of nurses and a doctor standing around her bed.
“I’m calling time of death: 4:45,” the doctor says, looking at the clock on the wall.
“What the fuck?” Bull questions.
“I’m sorry. Are you family?” a nurse asks, rushing in front of Bull.
“Damn right, I am,” Bull yells, pushing the nurse out of the way. He makes his way to Babs and hangs his head low. “What happened?” he asks softly.
“I was in surgery when I got the distress call. She had a stroke; it could have been caused by a brain clot. Her head took quite the impact when she fell, and brain clots are hard to find. We did everything we could,” the doctor says, his tone somber, looking at a chart.
“I called the husband ten minutes ago when the patient started having problems,” a nurse says, stepping up behind the doctor.
“Did you get a hold of him?” I ask.
“Yes, I did,” she responds.
Bull grabs Babs’ hand and closes his eyes, his body slumping forward with a sob. I always wondered if Babs and Bull had anything on the side, and now I know they did.
I walk up to Babs and look at her, knowing I will not see the mother of the MC again. Her bright red hair is curled around her face, and her freckles are vibrant against her pale skin. I close my eyes and rub them with my fingers, the emotion of the situation weighing heavy on me. She was like a mother to me and Bobby, the only one I really ever had.
“Someone will pay for this,” Bull threatens, his eyes closed and his lips pierced with anger.
He stands up and kisses Bab’s lips tenderly. As their lips touch, a slight sob escapes him. I turn and walk out, giving him a minute. Seeing the President of your club—a badass who takes no shit—cry is not something anyone can take lightly.
Seconds later, Bull walks out of the hospital room, his face sad and hung low.
“You get Dani to tell you fucking everything,” Bull orders, his tone sharp and demanding.
I RINSE THE SOAP from my face and turn the faucet off, the smell of Shadow’s soap still lingering in the misty air. I grab a towel and hop out of the shower then I peer into the mirror, scared what I might see. I haven’t looked in the mirror since my attack. I noticed the little beady, black stitches snaking in and out the corner of my eyebrow and yellowish and bluish splotches on my neck and shoulders where they kicked me. I close my eyes to try to wash the images away but still see them swimming in the darkness behind my closed eyelids. I open them and turn to get dressed, putting on some jersey shorts and a light white tank top—something light and breezy.
The bedroom door opens and Shadow walks in, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sit down, Dani,” Shadow demands.
I do as he says, hesitantly.
Shadow walks up and kneels in front of me.
“Babs has passed away,” he whispers.
“What?” I question, shooting off the bed, distraught.
“She passed away today,” Shadow affirms, standing with me.
“But how can that be?” I ask, shocked that her health disintegrated so quickly.
“The doctor said she had a stroke, possibly by a brain clot which could have been caused from her fall,” Shadow explains, pulling me close. I grab hold of his shirt and pull him close. A strangled cry breaks though my mouth, as Shadow wraps his arms around me while the turmoil of the situation hurls through me.