Page 78 of Tech

I kiss Momma’s head, hoping to help bring her and my father back together, and help us all heal.

“Let’s take a seat, Momma,” I rasp, and she nods, pulling out of my arms, and wiping her fallen tears.

I sit opposite her and order a coffee, ignoring the appreciative looks from the waitress, and give Momma my full attention. She looks so fucking drained.

The waitress brings my coffee quickly, looking at me again, and Momma growls, “Stop looking at my son like that, he has a woman!” causing the woman to jump and rush away. I smirk, taking a sip of the coffee ,and look back at Momma.

“How are you doing, Momma?” I ask with concern.

Momma shrugs. “As good as I can be…. I spoke to Brook this morning; she’s asked me to go baby shopping with her.” I smile. “I don’t deserve it, James. I treated her poorly.”

I nod. “You did, after Nina showed up, but that was only to protect Brook. Beforehand, you were cagey because you thought I was going to hurt her. You’re not a bad person, Momma, and if my girl wants to give you a chance, then grab it with both hands.”

Momma nods ,and whispers, “You’re blessed with that girl, baby boy. Treat her like the queen she is.”

I nod with a small smile before looking out the window. My dad hasn’t moved from his position with his arms crossed over his chest, solely focused on us. I sigh, look back at Momma, and ask, “Nina?”

Momma shakes her head. “She told me you’ve been seeing each other this whole time, that you were seeing Brook to punish her for leaving with another man.” Momma’s tears fall. “She said she was pregnant with your baby, and I-I thought….”

I finish, “That I was doing what Dad did to you to Brook.”

She sniffs. “I gave Brook that money, hoping she’d leave, to save her from the hurt. You mentioned her fears of leaning on someone and giving someone their whole heart. Honestly, I can understand her and those feelings, because the pain of your love hurting you is hard, and it destroys you; you lose yourself, the person you used to be. I didn’t want that for her. I-I….”

“You wanted to save her,” I finish for her, once again, and she nods.

“I’m sorry, son. I really am. I let Nina get in my head, and the more your father brought up my trapping him, even as a joke, the more I struggled. I didn’t want this life for Brook. She’s such a sweet girl, but watching you fight for her….” She shakes her head. “I found it difficult to want to do the right thing for Nina. If I had known what she did, trying to have Brook raped, having someone kill my grandbaby, I would have killed her myself.”

Momma wipes away her tears, and my heart hurts for her. She was blindsided with her own painful past, and Nina used it to her advantage.

I remember telling the bitch the stories I heard over the years, but my dad told me they were false. Obviously, Nina knew different.

I lean forward and grab Momma’s hands, squeezing them. “I need you to know, Momma, I’ll never hurt Brook again. I never slept with Nina. the last time I kissed her without her forcing herself on me was the day before I found her screwing my teacher's husband when I was sixteen.” I give momma a soft smile. “Brook’s everything to me, and you and I, we’re going to be okay. It’s going to take time, but we’re going to be okay. I understand your reasoning. I just wish you’d just spoken to me instead. I know your past, your trauma, clouded your judgment, and I let my anger over losing my girl take hold. Fuck, Momma, I'm so sorry for what I did to you, for how I treated you, instead of having a rational conversation. I'm so fucking sorry.”

Momma nods, not saying anything, concerning me, but her teary eyes go to my tattoo with Brook’s name. A small smile appears on her lips, making me smile, because I know my girl is going to be the glue that keeps my relationship with my mother together.

Suddenly, a shadow falls over the table, and I sigh.

So much for twenty minutes….

Momma looks up, then sits back in frustration and demands, “What are you doing here?” She looks at me. "Did you set me up?"

Hurt and betrayal shine through her eyes, and I wince but don’t say anything.

I won’t have my parents split when I know how much they love each other. Fuck, all the brothers, including Tats, have tried to come up with ways to help him win her back.

Thirty-two years of marriage….

My father sits beside me and states, “I’m here to bring my wife home where she belongs.”

Fuck’s sake…. Now I can see where my alpha side comes from.

Momma snorts. “Let me guess, so you can accuse me of crap I haven’t done and put me down, hurting me some more? No thanks.”

I flinch at her words while my father growls, “Fuck, Bumblebee….”

Momma snarls, “No. I’m not your Bumblebee. For thirty years, I have been your verbal punching bag. You accused me of trying to trap you for your patch. As punishment, you decided to screw a clubwhore in front of me while your father held me in place—all for something I didn’t do. Then you proceeded to threaten to take my child from me when I was only a few months pregnant, if I didn’t marry you and wear your cut, all while I had to watch the woman you cheated on me with parade around pregnant, claiming you could be the father, relishing my pain….”

I squeeze my eyes tight. Fucks sake, Dad….

---