Chapter 2
Pulling up to the clubhouse, Koz gets off his bike and heads inside. "How'd it go?" the SAMTAC President asks. "Good. Girl showed up. Nine days sober. Volunteered to be her sponsor." he tells Lee. "You ready for that?" Lee asks. "Yeah. I am. Been sober three years and out of everyone there, I'm the only one she let come close to her." Koz says. "You know club comes first but you let us know what you need to help her." Lee says and Koz thanks him before heading to his dorm room.
Walking into the dorm, he sits on his bed and takes his three year chip out of the pocket of his kutte. Thinking back to when he first got sober and how hard it was for him. Remembering what Lee and the rest of the guys told him. Making a mental list of things to talk to me about and have me do to get past it so that I can move on to a better place than I was.
I walk into the hotel room and put my things on the bed. I get a shower and sit against the headboard. Pulling my phone out of my bag, I look at it and see Kris on the caller ID as my phone rings. I hit ignore for it to go to voicemail...again.
It's been a few days since my last meeting and I've barely left this hotel room. I get up and head to a meeting. Walking in, I see Herm standing by one of the tables talking to another woman and I take my seat at the back like I did last time. I have on my hoodie like I always do and have the hood up and my hands tucked into the front pocket of the hoodie. Someone sits next to me and I look out of the corner of my eye to see Herm. "Hey." he says. "Hey." I say. "How have you been?" he asks. "Okay I think. Talking to you every day helps." I tell him. "Good. You wanna go for coffee after?" he asks and I just nod.
After the meeting, we head to the diner across the street and take the same booth we did last time. "How come you didn't come over and say hi when you walked in?" he asks. Without really looking at him I say "You were busy." He laughs a little and says "Nah. I'm never too busy to talk to you." he says and I just nod. I look out the window nervously and he says "Talk to me." I shake my head and he asks "What is it?" Before I can answer, my phone rings again and I hit ignore and put my head on my arms down on the table. He picks up my phone and looks at it and asks "Kris your ex?" he asks and I nod my head yes. He asks "How many times has he called you?" I sit up and say "He blows my phone up. I keep ignoring him." He looks at me a second and asks "Are you scared of him?" I nod my head but say "I keep thinking that all of this would stop if I went back to him like he wants me to but then I don't have a chance of being sober." I tell him. "Shayne, look at me." he says and I look at him. "You don't have to go back to him. You getting sober is a good thing. Means you're strong and that you want more for yourself. You got this and I'm going to be here the whole way, okay?" he asks and I nod my head. "Thank you Herm." I say.
After finishing our coffee, we head out separate ways. Walking into the motel room, I sit against the headboard of the bed and think about what he told me. I can't go back to Kris. I have to get sober. I have to do this for me.
It's been almost a week and I have called Herm every day to check in. "Hey baby girl." he says as he answers. "Hey Herm. Just doing my check in." I tell him. "You coming to the meeting tonight?" he asks. "Coffee after?" I ask and he laughs and says "Yeah. We can do coffee after." he tells me. "Thanks Herm. Believe it or not, our talks really help." I tell him. "Good. That's all I want is for you to be sober and happy." he tells me. "See you tonight?" I ask. "Yeah baby girl. See you tonight." he tells me.
When I hang up the phone, there's a knock on my door. I open the door and see Kris standing there with his two best friends. "You thought you could hide from me?" he asks as he walks into the hotel room. Before I can speak, he punches me, knocking me down. He keeps punching me until I pass out. When I wake up, I am on the floor still with my shirt torn open and my jeans and underwear are on the other side of the room. I get up and walk to the bathroom. I look at my arms and thank God that they didn't shoot me up again. I look in the mirror and see bruises already forming. I can't go to the meeting tonight looking like this. Herm can't see me like this. A couple of hours later, my phone rings and I see it's Herm on the screen. I answer so he doesn't worry. "Hey." I say. "Hey baby girl. Where are you?" he asks. "I think I ate something that didn't settle well. Been sick the last little bit." I tell him. "You okay?" he asks. "I will be. I'm gonna head to bed." I tell him. "Yeah. Okay. Call me tomorrow for check in." he tells me. "I will." I tell him before we end the call.
Two days later, I decide I need a meeting. I head to the church and into the meeting. I have my hoodie on again and the hood is up and I am looking down at my hands. Someone takes the seat next to me and I hear his voice. "Feeling better?" he asks and I say "Yeah. Thanks." I say without looking up. He tilts my chin up and sees my bruised face and says "We need to talk after the meeting." I just nod as I fight off the tears.
After the meeting, we walk outside and I head to my car with him behind me. "You wanna tell me what happened?" he asks. I don't look at him but say "The night I said I had food poisoning, Kris and two of his friends showed up at the motel. They found me." I tell him. I lean against my car and fight off the tears again. "What happened?" he asks. "Same as always. Beat the shit out of me and then I woke up with no clothes on but on a good note they didn't drug me this time." I say. "Shit. You can't go back there." he tells me. "I'll find another motel." I tell him. "He's just going to find you again." he tells me. "I'll figure it out. As long as I stay sober right?" I ask and he looks at me concerned. "I'll be fine Herm." I tell him. He pulls out a phone and hands it to me. "It's a burner. Best bet is to get rid of your phone. There's only one number programmed in and it's mine. I have that number programmed into my phone." he says before tilting my chin up to look at him "I will never not answer. Understand me?" he asks and I nod my understanding. After talking to Herm, he follows me to the motel to help me pack up and helps me move to another motel but puts the room in his name for me. "Thank you Herm." I tell him. "I got you. Okay?" he says and I nod. He hugs me and I stiffen a little. He looks at me and asks "Are you going to be okay tonight?" I nod and say "Yeah. I'll call you tomorrow for check in." Kissing my cheek he says "Call me anytime." I nod and he sees his way out before I lay on the bed and sob.
