Page 61 of Through The Woods

I leaned into his palm and smiled. “So are you, Twitch. Thanks for looking out for me tonight—maybe we could keep this between us though?”

He stroked my cheek. “Yeah, kid. Just me and you.” His eyes were half-open and he looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep. He set the pipe down and grabbed me in a tight hug. Just when I expected him to release me, he pulled me onto his lap.

I looked at him questioningly. “What are you doing?”

“Shhhh…” He whispered. “Just let me hold you. I won’t try anything, I swear. It’s been a long time since I’ve just been close to someone else. Do you ever feel like that? Like you just need to feel another human being to not feel so fucking alone?”

I settled against his shoulder and closed my eyes. I nodded because I knew exactly what he meant. I’d yearned for that very thing since my parent’s deaths. There were times that I’d been sitting in the very same room, mere feet from Clint, yet felt as though I was locked inside a prison cell. I couldn’t imagine that being with the Savages would’ve given him many opportunities to meet someone and fall in love. “What did you do before this, Twitch? Have you always been with the club?”

He shifted me over before answering. “Grew up in the club. I joined the Marines after high school, but got injured in combat in Afghanistan—blew out my knee. That was it.”

He continued talking, unaware that I’d gone stiff in his arms.

What were the odds that there would’ve been two men who’d gone overseas to fight?

Two men who would’ve blown out their knees, ending their military careers early?

It couldn’t have been. Charm hated him—he never would’ve allowed him into the club.

I pulled back and stared down at him in disbelief, finally seeing a truth I’d missed. They weren’t identical, but those eyes were the exact same as his twin’s. In spite of what he’d witnessed in battle, he still had a kindness about him that Gunner lacked.

“Bobby?” I whispered, as my hand traced down the side of his face and he went white.

His own hand came up to cup my cheek, his voice quivering as he said, “I knew you’d find your way back. That first morning, I sat out there, praying you’d come back to me.”

A tear slipped from my eye and I began shaking my head. “Twitch, no. It’s me. Neve. I’m not her. I’m so sorry.”

He released me and stood up, knocking me over in the process. Somehow, his hand shot out and caught me right before I hit the porch though. I expected him to say something, but he just kept studying my face, as if it might morph into hers.

Finally, he took a step back and ran both hands over his face roughly. “How? Jesus fuck, is this a joke? You knew who I was. Your hair—your eyes…” He paused and watched me helplessly.

I ran the back of my hand across my eyes as more tears fell. “I read Charm’s notebook. I didn’t mean to, I swear. I just put two and two together from that. I’m sorry.” I admitted it all, realizing that these weren’t just characters in a story. They were men who’d grown up in a bad situation that had only gotten worse as time went on. I may have come in and read their stories, but I didn’t really know them.

And, in that moment, what I’d done felt wrong—even disrespectful somehow.

He surprised me when he pressed his lips to my temple before backing away slowly. “I’m just gonna head up to bed. You sure you’re good now? Not feeling any more cravings?”

I shook my head. “Twitch, I’m fine. You don’t have to leave, I can go.”

His lips flattened into a straight line, disappointment radiating off of him before he left me alone on the porch. I waited a few minutes before going in to retrieve Tales from Both Sides of the Brain; if ever I needed a distraction, tonight was it.

I curled up in the chair, struggling to focus on the words. The author had written about his daughter marrying his second wife’s brother, which should’ve held my attention, but my heart just wasn’t in it.

The words blended into gibberish as I struggled to make sense of Charm allowing Twitch to patch in. The sounds of summer surrounded and lulled me into a state somewhere between awake and asleep. Every few seconds, my body would jolt back to consciousness, only to drift off again.

“Neve…”

I shifted, convinced I was dreaming because there was no way I was hearing that voice.

“Neve, honey, wake up.”

I sat up, unaware of how long I’d been out. The sky was still dark, but I was no longer alone. Somehow, I’d slept through the rumble of motorcycles. “I’m awake, sorry.”

Charm took in the book on my lap and the blanket I’d snagged from my bed. “Doing some late-night reading?”

I shook my head. “No, I was actually about to go off on a moonlit killing spree in the woods. Care to join me?”

He squeezed his eyes shut even as a grin lit up his face. “Jesus Christ, Neve. Some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth. What have you been up to since I left?”

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