Page 22 of Mercy

I absently rub the scar beneath my shirt, feeling the raised flesh that serves as a constant reminder of how close I came to death.

Kraken's expression grows serious. "That's normal, brother. You went through some heavy shit. It takes time to process that kind of trauma."

I nod, grateful for his understanding. "Yeah, I guess. It's not just that, though. It's like... I finally have something good with Meghan, you know? Something outside of all this." I gesture around the clubhouse. "And I'm terrified of losing it."

"Love's a bitch like that." Kraken chuckles. "Makes you vulnerable. But it's worth it, ain't it?"

I can't help but smile, thinking of Meghan's laugh, the way her eyes light up when she sees me. "Yeah, it is."

"Then hold onto that, brother," Kraken says, clapping me on the shoulder. "In this life, we gotta take the good where we can get it."

I nod, feeling some of the tension ease from my shoulders.

It's good to talk about this shit, even if I can't fully articulate everything that's bothering me.

"Thanks, man," I say, raising my bottle in a toast.

Kraken clinks his against mine.

"Anytime, brother. That's what family's for."

We sit in silence for a few moments, the background noise of the clubhouse washing over us.

The clack of pool balls, the low hum of conversation, the faint strains of rock music from the stereo system—it's all so familiar, yet somehow different now.

I find my gaze drawn to the hallway leading to our private rooms.

Beyond that is another hall, the one for thehoras.

I think of Meghan, how she started out as just another clubwhore, and now she's become so much more.

The thought of her past, the rough life she came from, makes my chest tighten.

"You ever wonder about the shit people carry with them?" I ask suddenly, surprising myself.

Kraken raises an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

I struggle to find the right words. "Like, the baggage from their past. The dark shit they don't want to talk about."

Kraken's face grows thoughtful. "Sure, we all got our demons. Some more than others in this life."

I nod, thinking of my own past, the horrors I endured as a child.

The memories threaten to surface, but I push them back down, focusing on the present.

"I guess I'm just realizing how little I know about some people," I muse. "Even the ones closest to me."

Kraken takes a long pull from his beer before responding. "Sometimes it's better not to know everything, brother. People keep shit buried for a reason."

His words hit home, and I feel a pang of guilt for prying into Meghan's past.

Maybe some things are better left unsaid.

"Yeah, you're right," I concede. "I just... I want to understand her, you know? To be there for her."

Kraken's expression softens. "That's admirable, Tor. But sometimes being there just means being present. You don't gotta know every detail of someone's past to love them in the present."

His words resonate with me, and I feel some of the weight lift from my shoulders.

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