Bruised Angel (River of Lies #2) (28 page)

“Grandpa, this is my girlfriend Chelsea” Mason said introducing her.

Chelsea smiled and said hello.

“Well you are a pretty one” Mason’s Grandpa smiled.

“This is my Mum’s Dad” Mason explained.

As soon as he said it Chelsea could see the resemblance to Augustine. At the mention of her name, Grandpa nodded his head slowly and wiped at tears that welled in his eyes. Chelsea figured that you never lost the pain that having a child ripped from you brought. Mason stood and went to his Grandpa.

“Chelsea is an artist and she drew this. I wanted to give it to you” Mason said handing Grandpa the picture.

Mason’s Grandpa reached for his glasses and held the picture at arm’s length looking at it for a long time. His tears welled up and dribbled down his cheeks. He looked up at Chelsea over his glasses and smiled at her.

“This is beautiful Chelsea. Thank you” he said his voice cracking under the weight of his tears.

Chelsea’s heart was breaking for him; it was obvious that he missed his daughter so much. Mason’s Grandpa stood slowly and took the picture into the small kitchenette that opened onto the living room. Taking one of the magnets he put the picture on the fridge beside a crudely drawn picture of stick people and Mason’s name written in children’s writing above it. It took all Chelsea had in her not to break down into tears. She bit the inside of her lip and fidgeted with her hands to stop from crying. When Grandpa came and sat back in the seat she saw that he had managed to compose himself a little better.

“Grandpa I did something horrible last night to Chelsea” Mason said dropping his head.

Chelsea frowned at him and stood, she didn’t want to be present for the upcoming conversation, she didn’t think she could go through the retelling.

“I’m going to go and have a look at the beautiful garden you have Grandpa. I’ll be back in a moment” Chelsea said smiling.

Grandpa looked up at her and smiled, taking her hand in his and patting it gently with a nod. As Chelsea left the room she heard him clear his throat. Curiosity took over and Chelsea stood with her back against the wall beside the front door so she could hear what Mason was about to say.

“What did you do Mason?” Grandpa asked.

“I cheated on her” Mason replied sadly.

There was a long silence.

“I see” Grandpa said “do you love her Mason?”

Mason was silent again and Chelsea felt her heart begin to sink.

“With all my heart” Mason said with a cracking voice “I’m just an idiot”

She could heard someone moving inside the living room and figured it was Grandpa standing to sit beside Mason.

“Well then listen to me carefully. You do everything you can to hold onto what you have. You beg her for forgiveness; you prove to her that you are never going to make such a stupid decision ever again” Grandpa spoke; “Life has many tragedies as you well know with what you have experienced”

Chelsea could hear shifting in the room again.

“After we lost your mother it tore both of your Grandmother and my hearts to pieces. We struggled everyday with the thought that she belonged to the bike gang as it was. But we could see how much your father loved her, the way he looked at her, we knew in his arms she was safe” Grandpa said with his voice hitching.

“After she died, I felt lost. I drank too much, I gambled too much. Your Grandma spent most of her time lost in her books reading or out in that damned garden. We hardly spoke to one another” Grandpa explained sadly as the memories obviously floated through his mind.

Chelsea pressed herself against the hard brick of the house and felt tears begin to spring to her eyes.

“Anyway I met this woman down the road and like you I made a stupid choice and had an affair” Grandpa said and Chelsea heard Mason gasp.

There was silence for a while.

“I told your Grandmother. I was so ashamed. But I handled it wrong. I apologised of course. But I thought she should just get over it after I apologised. Of course women feel and think differently to men. They hold onto their hurts, they struggle to let it go. Your Grandma never got over it. She went to her grave hating me for the pain I caused her” Grandpa croaked.

There was more silence again.

“Don’t let that girl go until she is healed. And it is only you that can do that. If you truly love her as you say with your whole heart, then mend her heart. The last thing you want is to get to my age and only have a letter she wrote you describing the hurt and hatred” Grandpa sniffed.

Chelsea’s tears flowed over her cheeks and down her chin. She wiped at them with the back of her hands before running her hands up through her hair. She went to the front door and swung it open. Mason sat on the couch with his head down buried in his hands and Grandpa in his chair looking out into the distance from the window. Chelsea gingerly sat beside Mason and pulled him into her.

“I love you too” Chelsea said with tears in her eyes.

Mason nodded his head and wrapped his arms around her waist holding her tight against him. When they both let go of each other and looked over at Grandpa he was still looking out the window with silent tears running down his face. Chelsea assumed the tears were for his wife and daughter. Mason and Chelsea stood, with Mason giving his Grandpa a soft kiss on the cheek. Grandpa looked up at them both and gave them a weak smile patting Mason’s hand. They were silent as they drove back home.

When they arrived at the house there was a marked police car parked out the front. Chelsea felt panic begin to rise in her chest and she grasped Mason’s hand forgetting about his knuckles until he sucked in a sharp breath and winced. She glanced at him and let go of his hand.

“Sorry” Chelsea said

He smiled weakly at her and nodded with tight lips. Chelsea shook her head and ran her hands through her hair.

“I don’t think I can take anymore shit Mason” Chelsea said quietly.

Mason’s jaw was set firm and he nodded.

“Me neither” he replied.

They got out the car and went to go into the house. Blade met them at the back door and looked down at Chelsea. Mason looked up at Blade and shook his head.

“Dad?” Mason squeaked.

Blade shook his head.

“No man not your Dad” Blade said as he glanced down at Chelsea.

She watched as Mason visibly relaxed and went into the house, but Blade held Chelsea still so she couldn’t enter. She looked up at Blade confused. She was relieved that everything was alright with Knox but she couldn’t understand why she couldn’t go into the house.

“Chels, I need to tell you something and I don’t know how you’re going to react to this” Blade said firmly looking down into her face.

Chelsea looked up at him panic again beginning to fill her. Had the police found out about Duggar or her father. Was she going to be arrested? Was she going to be asked to leave Mason for beating up the whore the previous night? Chelsea’s hands began to shake as she ran them through her hair. Blade led her to a garden chair and forced her to sit down. Chelsea absently bit her nail and her legs bounced up and down. She heard movement behind her and saw Mason coming out the backdoor, his face white and his eyes filled with concern. He came and sat next to Chelsea taking his hand in hers. She frowned at the two men.

“What is going on?” Chelsea asked shaking her head.

“It’s your Mum and Dad Chels” Mason said quietly.

Chelsea frowned and shook her head.

“What about them?” she asked looking between Mason and Blade.

“They were killed sweetheart” Chelsea heard Knox speak behind them.

Chelsea frowned and looked behind her.

“Who killed them? The cops don’t think it was me do they?” Chelsea said panic again rising in her throat.

Knox shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder giving it a squeeze.

“No, it looks like a murder suicide. It seems like your Mum killed your Dad and then shot herself” Knox said quietly not looking at her in the eye.

Chelsea knew instantly that Knox was lying but could see behind him was a cop watching what was going on. She wasn’t going to call him on his lie in front of the cop. Chelsea felt numb. She didn’t know how to feel. She wasn’t sad that her father was dead. She had wished that on him for years. But her Mum. She didn’t know how to feel. She had always held onto hope that her Mum still loved, still wanted her, not that her actions were loving but Chelsea still held onto the glimmer of hope. She nodded her head and despite the numbness tears began to slip from her eyes and down her cheeks. Mason rested his forehead on Chelsea’s. The cop stepped forward and stood in front of Chelsea.

“Chelsea your aunt has identified the bodies and she is organising to gather their belongings for you” he said gently.

The cop reached out and touched Chelsea’s shoulder gently giving it a little squeeze.

“I’m sorry for your loss” he said gently before nodding to Knox and Blade and leaving through the gate.

Chelsea sat in silence listening to the car drive off. She looked between the three men who surrounded her. The three men who had become more of a family to her than anyone she had grown up with.

“I don’t want their stuff” Chelsea said with a shake of her head.

Knox nodded his head.

“I’ll let Tracey know” Knox said and went to turn away.

“Knox wait” Chelsea said.

She stood and went to him, looking up into his eyes.

“It was you wasn’t it?” Chelsea asked.

Knox dropped his eyes and looked away. Chelsea touched him on the arm.

“Knox I’m not angry, I wanted that arsehole dead, hell I shot the fucker. But my Mum; why her too?” Chelsea asked frowning.

Knox looked away again when Blade came up to her.

“Chels. Your Mum had moved back in with him” Blade said.

Chelsea turned to face Blade as she curled her lip and instant hatred ran cold through her body. Her mother knew what he had done to her, what he had put her through, she had sat in the garden chair by the fire and cried over the things he did and then went back to live with him, to love him. Chelsea shook her head.

“Then the cunt deserved what she got” Chelsea spat.

Blade nodded slowly and looked at her.

“Kiddo? Are you sure you are alright?” Blade asked.

Chelsea looked up at them.

“Right here” she said waving her arm around the clubhouse grounds.

“Right here, I have found more love, more affection and more family than the seventeen years I spent with them” Chelsea said with tears springing to her eyes and a tilt of her chin indicating her parents.

“My life has been one fucked up drama that even Shakespeare couldn’t write. But with you guys. I have felt more love in my little finger than I did with them” Chelsea continued, holding up her pinkie.

She turned to Knox.

“You are more of a father to me, you are what a father should be, you treat me with respect, you love me unconditionally and you care for me. That is what a father is meant to be” she said.

Chelsea turned to Blade.

“And you are like my uncle, a big cuddly uncle who always has his eyes on me. Who cares for me and wants to make sure that I’m happy. And that means more to me than anything they could have ever given me” she said with a frown.

She then turned to Mason.

“Don’t say I’m like your brother that would be weird” Mason said with a smile.

Chelsea grinned and shook her head.

“You are the greatest boyfriend that I could ever ask for. You said you would never leave me and you never have. Even in my darkest moments you have been by my side.” she said pushing the hurt from her heart for recent events.

“I love you all with an unimaginable love” Chelsea said hugging each man.

They all nodded and returned her hug. She stood and looked around the men in her life and watched as they all swiped at the tears in their eyes.

“What is it with the women in this family, they all bring us to tears so easily. We are meant to be hardened men for fucks sake” Knox said his voice hitching.

Chelsea smiled and shrugged.

“Women” she sighed with a laugh before heading inside.

She knew she should care that her parents were dead but it was like the final piece of the drama, the crescendo. The fat lady had sung and the torture, the hurt and the agony had come to an end. This was the true beginning of her new life. A new life with the most handsome man she had ever known, with a father that loved and protected her, an uncle who made her laugh and an angel for a sister who held her heart and helped heal in a way that no human could.

Epilogue

Knox and Blade walked up the driveway of the red brick house, the air was crisp and the moon was high in the sky. Blade pulled out a small pouch that held lock picking tools. Gently he guided the small thin metal wire into the lock, both men letting out the breath they had been holding when they heard the front door click open. Silently they put on their gloves and entered the darkened house. Knox and Blade had sat out the front watching for weeks and were shocked when they saw Maggie in the garden. They hadn’t been prepared to see her. Knox felt sick at the thought that Maggie could sit at his home crying over what Carl had put Chelsea through and then go back to that filthy piece of shit like nothing had happened.