Addie wiped her nose. “I let her get to me, dammit. It’s the one thing I didn’t want to happen. She just pissed me off. I can’t believe we fought it out on my front porch in front of the neighbors.” She groaned.
“Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here. And with a skank like her, you have to fight it out. That’s all she’ll understand. I got into plenty of fights when I stripped. That was the only way I earned respect. Believe me, she’ll think twice before dragging her ass over here again.” Cherri handed Addie a tissue. “She scratched you pretty good under your eye.”
The face looking back at Addie from the entryway mirror appalled her: long, red marks on the left side of her cheek and neck, dried specks of blood under her eyes, tangled hair, and blotchy skin. This isn’t who I am. Covering her face with her hands, she bent her head down. A hand softly squeezed her shoulder.
Addie looked up to see Belle’s soft face reflected back at her. “Cherri’s right. Don’t beat yourself up all over again. You have to show her you’re not going to put up with her shit. This is your house and family, not hers.”
“I know, it’s just that I acted so out of line with who I am.”
“She came over here wanting to fight. You gave her what she wanted. No reason to feel bad about it.” Cherri gripped Addie’s arm and tugged her into the kitchen.
“What did she want, anyway?” Belle asked as she poured a fresh cup of coffee for Addie.
“Jack… and Chas. She’s a horrible person. She’s threatening to take me to court and undo the adoption.”
“Can she do that?” Cherri asked, passing the creamer to her.
“No, and I know that, but I still let her get under my skin.” She stirred the flavored cream into her coffee. “What really gets me is that I let her bring out my insecurities. She said Chas was checking her out and was getting tired of being with a big woman.”
“That’s nonsense. He’s with you and not her.” Belle sat across from her, reaching for her hand.
“I know, but it hit my insecurity button, especially since I never lost all the weight I gained when I was pregnant.”
“I haven’t lost all the weight I gained when I had Emily, and that was twenty years ago. Banger loves every inch of me, and that makes me feel sexy. It doesn’t matter if another guy doesn’t think I’m sexy, or some woman thinks my hips are too big. All that matters is that my man loves me just how I am and that I do too. I love my curves and the way I look in a pair of jeans.”
Cherri nodded. “You do have to love yourself, but it’s so damn hard. I’ve been working on it for years. It’s helped a lot to go to therapy, but old insecurities are hard to get rid of. I’m not sure if a person ever does. When I was in school, I was skinny as a pole with no tits, and there was a group of girls and boys who never let me forget how ugly I was. People can be so damn cruel, and when they’ve moved on, you still have all the mean things they said to you catalogued in your head. It’s hard to forget it.”
“That’s why we have each other, to remind us how wonderful we are,” Belle said.
Addie set her coffee mug down. “It’s true. It seems that together we can pull through anything. It’s like when I’m down, others are there for me, and when someone else is down, I’m there for her. I really appreciate our friendship.”
Cherri smiled. “I never had a good friend. My background is littered with shit I never want to think about, but one of the best things in my life besides Jax and Paisley is knowing I have a group of friends who really care about me, and that I can count on all of you. It means the world to me.”
“When I married Banger, I had no idea that a wonderful group of ladies was part of the biker world. And it’s great because none of my friends outside of the club really understand what living with a one-percenter is all about, but you all do.”
“Do we ever.” Addie laughed.
“I love having such a close-knit relationship with all of you. It helps me understand the love the brothers have for each other,” Belle said.
Cherri and Addie bobbed their heads in agreement. Cherri sat back and stretched her arms over her head. “I wish we could get through to Sofia,” she said softly.
“Me too,” Addie said.
“We can’t stop trying even though Tigger makes it hard by not letting her socialize that much. I talked to Banger about it, and he said that he’d tell Tigger that one of Sofia’s duties as an old lady is to help out and be active with club events. I know she wants to be a part of the group, but the sonofabitch won’t let her,” Belle replied.
“I’m so glad you talked to Banger about her, Belle. I know she wants to get out, but she’s feeling trapped. I can understand that.” Cherri cast her gaze downward.
Addie’s heart went out to her. From what Cherri had shared with them over the past few years, Addie gathered that she’d had a lot of horrible things happen to her. The fact that Cherri was still standing spoke volumes about her strength.
“We better finish up these bags. Before you know it, school will be letting out.” Belle picked up several bags from the chair next to her. “Did you all hear that stupid rumor Doris was spreading about Hawk and Cara?” Addie and Cherri shook their heads. “No? Well let me tell you what she told Cara….”
*
The scratch under Addie’s eye was red and swollen. Pulling open her makeup drawer, she took out her concealer and dabbed it on, wincing with each stroke. She didn’t want to field any questions from Jack, especially since she’d gone on and on about him getting into a fight at school. Groaning inwardly, she brushed on a thin layer of foundation, then examined her reflection—the welt was barely visible. A swipe of lipstick and gloss made her skin shine, and as she ran a brush through her hair, she saw Chas come up behind her.
“Thanks for picking Jack up after band practice. It took longer than I expected making up all the gift bags.”
“Especially since you took time out for a boxing match.” He nuzzled up to her.
Her shoulders curled forward. “You heard?” I asked Cherri and Belle not to say anything.
“Brianna called me, cussing up a storm. She said you decked her for no reason. Knowing you and her, I’d say she must’ve really pissed you off.”
“I can’t believe I hit her. I shouldn’t have done it, but she just touched a nerve and all reason went by the wayside.”
“It’s fine, precious. Brianna can get under your skin. Believe me, I know. I found it incredibly sexy that you defended your turf.”
“What did she say?”
“That she came over to see Jack and you went all defensive and jealous. I knew that was a crock of shit. She got super pissed when I told her that she probably deserved the beatdown you gave her.” He chuckled.
Addie moaned. “Don’t call it that.”
“Then the wallop.”
“No, it was a beatdown. I succumbed to that on the porch in front of our neighbors.”