Page 24 of Bloom: Part 2

Was that it, then? Did I exhaust him? Was he tired of me being stubborn and argumentative with him? The questions whirled in my mind, each one stinging more sharply than the last.

“I’ll change,” I whispered, tears clinging to my eyelashes. “Do you want me to be softer like the other boys? I can do it. I won’t talk back. Logan, please don’t send me away. I promise I’ll listen to everything you say from now on.”

I crossed my fingers in my lap. Unless it had to do with his safety. I could never compromise on that.

“Sweetheart.” Logan cupped the back of my head and gently urged me to sit on his lap. I wrapped my arms around him, clinging to him tightly. With my face buried in his neck, I inhaled deeply to control the stinging tears.

“Please, Logan. I can’t be away from you.”

“It’s only temporary.” He rubbed my back in circular motions. “Will you give it a try? I’ll bring some of my stuff over so you’ll feel at ease that I’m not abandoning you. I’ll be there with you.”

I still didn’t understand it, but did I have a choice? If he said it was for my health, I had to trust him. Logan wouldn’t lie to me.

“You promise to stay with me?”

“I swear.”

“You won’t ever abandon me?”

“Never.”

I shuddered against him, feeling a little better. If he stayed with me, being back at the clubhouse wouldn’t be too bad.

“Logan—”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“There’s no other reason you want me to stay at the clubhouse, is there?”

A second ticked by, followed by another. “No, I just want you to be safe and happy.”

Why did he hesitate? Was it just my imagination that he had?

“Okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

He ran his fingers through my hair, a soft sigh passing his lips. “You’re not upset anymore?”

“I can’t be mad at you for long. Once you’re with me, it’s fine, but as soon as we can, we move back into your house.”

“Of course.” He chuckled, massaging my skull. “Then I’ll teach you how to swim so you can enjoy the pool.”

If he was making plans for us, then surely he wasn’t hiding anything from me. He still wanted us to be together. The tension in my shoulders eased, but I didn’t release my hold on him.

“I’m afraid of the water,” I confessed.

“Because of what happened when you nearly drowned in the pool?”

“Because of my parents.” I rested my chin on his shoulder and clamped my eyes shut. “It was a distant memory, but my sessions with Dr. Simms brought it back. My parents used to laugh while drowning me in a bucket of water. They used to gamble with their friends to see how long I could hold my breath.”

Logan stiffened beneath me, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist in a protective cocoon. His silence was deafening, butI found comfort in his stillness. It meant he was processing my words, understanding the depth of my fear.

“Jesus,” he finally said. “That’s horrifying, Bloom. No child should ever have to endure such cruelty.”

A whimper escaped me. “I didn’t want to kill them, but I had to.” A sob caught in my throat. I was tough. I was a biker—an enforcer. I shouldn’t cry. Everything had happened so long ago.

“Shhh,” he whispered, cradling me closer. “You don’t have to explain, Bloom. You don’t have to justify it either.”

A shudder racked my body. I bit my lip to keep from sobbing openly, but a sound slipped out nonetheless.

---