Page 60 of Anchor

“Because he already broke it once, because yet again, he put his feelings first instead of mine.” I sniffle. “I knew he moved my stuff to his place, and yet I said nothing, willing to go along with it until I was fit enough to fight with him, and yet after a week of pushing me away instead of communicating with me, something he promised to do in therapy, he expected me to sit in that room with that woman….”

Mom sits forward, putting her hand over ours, and whispers, “But your heart is nothing without that man, Heaven…. I have watched, for ten years, you fight the love you had for him. I tried to make sure you didn’t go back and end up bitter like me, something I thought would happen if you stayed in your marriage, but deep down, I saw the pain you kept hiding. You gave that man your everything the day you met. You love him, sowhy not go all the way in, and if he hurts you, I’ll help you bury his body.”

I snort, wiping away my tears as Tina interjects, “And I’ll be the getaway driver.” She grins before she says, “Seriously, Heaven, even I can see how miserable you both have been over the years apart. Then you started therapy…. Even though I didn’t know about it, I saw a difference in him, I saw the pep in his step.” Her eyes race between mine. “Come back to the clubhouse with us, claim your man, and put that bitch in her place.”

I swallow hard and look between them.

“Heaven,” Mom says, making me look her way, “do something I never did and go fight for your man, show him you are not some damsel in distress that he can treat like shit. Show him you deserve respect, or you are done. Give him one warning to get his act together, but don’t walk away because, I promise you, you will regret it if you do.”

My heart pounds, my palms sweat.

Can I do that that?

Can I be brave and force him to start putting me first for once?

What do I have to lose, right? If he doesn’t respect me, our marriage is already over anyway.

24

Anchor

“Fuck, Anchor, that looks awesome,” Pete says as he checks out the new ink on his chest in the long mirror against the far back wall.

The large lion's head, which took me three sessions to complete, stands out well among the other tattoos. The light blue flame for his hair looks awesome.

“You remember the drill,” I say while dismantling and cleaning my gun.

“Yeah, man, I remember; you tell me every fucking time,” he complains while admiring my work.

“Well, it’s my job to ensure you know everything. Besides, fucking Art had someone try and sue him last month, claiming he didn’t tell them the care information, and it got infected. Luckily, he had his camera recording the whole fucking time,” I reply and stand, removing my gloves.

“People are fucking ridiculous,” Pete says, rolling his caramel eyes, and I grin.

“The idiot fucked her on his chair, then ghosted her. She did it out of revenge.”

Pete laughs and confirms, “Patch chaser?” I nod and wipe down my chair while he puts his top back on. “Speaking of patch chasers,” he says casually, and I shake my head.

“Fucker, do not call my wife a patch chaser,” I huff and throw the wipes in the trash.

He shrugs and admits, “I didn’t know how else to bring her up, to be honest,” making me chuckle. “I cannot believe you married Heaven.” he shakes his head. “For a year, no one knew she was with you in high school, but now it makes sense why she turned guys down, why she ignored Harley’s fucking digs about you and her.” I tense at his words. “Did you know, Anchor, that Harley actually stole all of Heaven's clothes after gym while she was in the shower, then proceeded to pour boiling hot water on her?”

I look at him sharply and demand, “When was this?”

He winces before thinking back. “Homecoming, I believe. Heaven was last to come out of the showers, but when she did, she was in a towel, and blisters were forming on her arms.”

I curse, “Fuck’s sake. She told me her mom was taking her away for a few weeks; I had no fucking idea.”

He winces again and admits, “That wasn’t the only time, Anchor. Harley made her life hell once you left, and even with the rumor that you two split up, Harley made it her mission to help Heaven hate life. Honestly, I also believed the rumor, especially when I didn’t see you at graduation.”

I flinch. “My dad said it wouldn’t have been a good idea for me to attend, just like Heaven didn’t attend my college one, something she wasn’t even aware was happening until I got home from the celebration party with the club.”

Just as I say the words, I fucking hate myself; I mean, yeah, we got married on her graduation, but I wasn’t in the crowd cheering her on like she was for me during my high school one. When I told her my college graduation had already passed, she looked fucking heartbroken, but I chose to ignore it….

Pete sighs. “You’ve got a good one in Heaven, Anchor, don’t ruin it.”

I nod, unwilling to tell him I already have, and fist bump him before he heads to the reception desk to settle his bill, which will be half the price it should cost because of the friends and family discount.

I shake my head and continue to tidy my room, happy my last client canceled. I need to get home to my family. Yeah, Heaven said she loved me last night, but her eyes were still clouded with disappointment at my actions.

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