Page 3 of Bound by Destiny
I watch him walk away, holding onto hope that he needs time to process the immense emotions between us. I watch him walk away, knowing he just took this piece of me I could never get back, a piece that belonged to him, but he hadn’t yet claimed until tonight on my couch. He took, and I gave. Now I don’t know what will come next, but I know, without a doubt, everything has changed.
Little did I know that this time would be the last I’d spend with him.
1
Emery
He’s here…at the clubhouse.
The air in the clubhouse becomes tense while every man and woman in the room’s attention goes to the entrance where Micah and a beautiful blonde woman appear. She looks so similar to me that it takes my breath from my lungs. The way he holds her hand so protectively makes my knees weak. Emptiness fills my gut.
Austyn, my best friend and cousin, grabs my arm and leads me over to the bar without a word, sitting us down. She grabs a bottle and sets up the shots.
The heat from the tequila does nothing to calm my erratic heart pumping in my chest like a well-oiled machine, threatening to burst from me. The small glass comes down with a crack as I tip it over on the worn bar. More shots are a good thing. It is a party after all.
Austyn flips the glass up and pours more of the clear liquid, setting it in front of me. Without looking at her, I toss it back, the burn going down my throat and sloshing around in my stomach. Damn, I should’ve eaten something.
Micah.
Years it’s been since he showed his face here at the clubhouse. Years that he’s turned his back on family.
He’s always been different with me. We had this intense connection that I craved. Until one night changed it all.
I was devastated that my mother had cancer, but I was happy to come home. I needed the escape. Selfish, yes, but things were off between Micah and me. Which meant things were off, in general, for me.
Feelings suck. All they do is swarm around you like bees waiting for you to make the wrong move and then bam, sting you as much as they can over and over until the pain tries to cripple you. The good thing about bees is they die after they sting—too bad people don’t.
That’s not entirely true, but in my mind, I’m visualizing it that way. Micah laying on the ground while the bees swarm him. There was a time I wouldn’t wish him any pain. That is long gone.
It’s all for the best because now, it’s the only way I can think of him without hating him. He’s just a bitter sting.
“I can’t believe he brought your clone here. What the fuck was he thinkin’?” Austyn growls, tossing back her drink and slamming it down to the surface. She’s been my sidekick for as long as I can remember. Our mothers’, Princess and Angel, have been best friends since they were kids and grew up here at the Ravage MC. It was only right that their two kids became close like sisters as well and follow in their footsteps.
Austyn has had my back through everything, and I have hers. That’s what family is. That trust between us is built on solid footings. It’s Ravage, even if we are women, and I wouldn’t have my life any other way.
What family isn’t… Well, it isn’t bringing a woman who looks entirely too similar to me, to a party I’m attending with all our family. It wasn’t this big secret growing up that I had the biggest crush on Micah. I never hid it because there was no point, but the glimpses of him alone, just the two of us, gave me hope for the future. It was an asinine thing, but it sparked.
I held onto it too. Maybe a little too hard.
It was there, though. It was the same in college with our take-out nights. Then everything changed.
One night between us it exploded.
One night between us fueled the fire of what could have been, only in the very same instant to watch it all crash and burn.
The next time I saw him, he brought hisgirlfriendto my place when I thought it would be just the two of us. We had a rocky time the previous night together, sure. To have him show up with a girl, though… I was unprepared to say the least.
I felt it, though, what we could have. In my mind, Micah had his freak out but everything would be fine. I thought it would all blow over. I even did the whole nine yards on myself, waxing and buffing just like normal thinking this would be the night. After all, we made out the last time and even though he said we couldn’t be together, that hope still sprang true.
It was stupid. I was stupid. So very stupid.
The girl, I can’t remember her name, was a brunette and very pretty. She was nice. Under different circumstances, we might have even been able to be friends. Except while she stood in my home getting to know me, my heart shattered and broke on my living room floor, the pieces disintegrating. I faked being sick so they would leave because awkward didn’t even cut it.
Hurt. Let down. Crushed.
I let myself feel it for a while, then decidedfuck him. I’m better than that. Better than him.
Micah, though, he can’t seem to go away. Like tonight. He shows up here, and apparently, he’s traded in the brunette for a blonde now. Except she’s not just a blonde. Her features… well, they are similar to my own. A fake me. Seriously, we could be in that Santa Claus movie where the machine makes exact replicas—that’s how close we are in features. Fuck, if he doesn’t piss me off. Like he could get better than me and wants to throw it in my face.
