I know that I said that there would be two more chapters but this is the final chapter for this story. I'll put up a new chapter to let you know when the sequel has come out, hopefully soon.
Long handwritten note, deep in your pocket
Words, how little they mean, when you're a little too late
I stood right by the tracks, your face in a locket
Good girls, hopeful they'll be, and long they will wait
We had a beautiful magic love there
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair
In dreams, I meet you in warm conversation
We both wake in lonely beds, and different cities
And time is taking its sweet time erasing in you
And you've got your demons and darling they all look like me
'Cause we had a beautiful magic love there
What a sad beautiful tragic love affair
Sad, Beautifil, Tragic by Taylor Swift
Chapter Twenty Five
We left early the next day, I hadn't slept much that night. I had tried to fall asleep but I eventually went into the lounge room to where Happy was sleeping. I had curled up next to him on the couch and that was were I slept, or at least attempted to sleep, I mostly cried into his shirt.
I was almost zombie-like during the entire ride, not saying anything, just doing whatever Happy told me to.
"You okay?" He asked as he got off of the bike in front of my house
"Yeah" I said, not looking at him, "I'm fine"
"Don't lie" he said, grabbing onto my arm and pulling me towards him
I looked up at him, opening my mouth to speak but before I could I heard someone's angry yells.
"Asshole" screamed a familiar voice, I turned around to see Kozik storming towards us, "You took my Old Lady"
I moved in front of Happy, like I was trying to protect him, I didn't really think about the move, it was more instinctual. And Kozik didn't miss it.
Happy moved his hand to my hip and in one swift movement he pushed me in a diagonal direction, away from Koz and behind him.
"Koz" said Happy, his voice was calm but held a hint of anger in it, maybe even annoyance
But before Happy could say anymore Kozik had delivered one swift punch to his jaw, and it was on.
It didn't take long for Happy to regain his bearings and hit back. Soon enough fists were flying, the sound of knuckles hitting flesh rang out.
"Stop it" I screamed to no avail, "Don't hurt each other"
I felt an arm wrap around my waist, dragging me back into the house despite how much I was fighting. I looked up to see that it was Bowie. He put me down when we were inside, ordering for me to stay there before running back outside.
I looked out the window to see Lee, Bowie and Lorca pulling Happy and Kozik apart. Happy was fuming, he had blood dropping from his split lip; Kozik looked worse, he had blood gushing from his nose and what looked like the starting of a black eye.
They were both staring daggers at each other, daring the other to leave first. I knew what they were fighting over. And I knew that whoever left first would be the loser. Kozik looked over at me through the window before looking back at Happy, his eyes switching between us. He gave me one last look before he got on his bike and rode off, to the clubhouse no doubt.
Happy didn't give Kozik a second glance before walking past everyone and coming inside. He stood in front of me, just staring at me while I stared back.
"Let's get you cleaned up" I said, pulling him into the bathroom
I wet a cloth and started dabbing at his face, wiping away the blood. Once I had him cleaned up I leant back on the sink.
"Who was he?" I asked him, "The man that...that attacked me"
"Don't know his name" he replied, "Don't know why he did it either"
"Don't lie to me" I said, repeating what he had said to me earlier, "I asked you because you wouldn't lie to me"
"An associate of Jonathan Anderson" he said, grimacing, "That's all Lee said"
"He said that, before you shot him" I told Happy, "He said, 'this is for Jonathan'. Was it retaliation?"
"Yeah" he said, looking down at the ground, a guilty look on his face, "It was"
"What did you do?" I asked, "Why do you look guilty?"
"What do I do for the club?" He asked, finally looking up at me
I furrowed my brows in confusion, and then I understood. Happy was the enforcer, the hit man, the Tacoma Killer.
"You killed him" I said, sinking down to lean against the wall.
Happy had been the one to do it. He had been the one to kill my father.
"He was my father, biological one anyway" I said, staring straight at the wall, "The man I thought was my father is dead, my real father is dead. My mother is dead. I have no one now. I'm all alone"
Happy moved so that he was sitting next to me, he slowly put his hand on my knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"You have me" he said gently, well as gently as he could, kissing me on the head before getting up and walking out of the bathroom
I did have him, and Lana and Lee. But I couldn't get rid of that feeling that Maria was right. That I did need to get away from here, if only for a little awhile.
My bags were packed and sitting on the bed, me sitting next to them. It all seemed straightforward when I was packing. Get my bags and get out. Don't say goodbye. Don't tell anyone where I was going. But everything seemed a hell of a lot more complicated now that I was thinking clearly, at least relatively clearly.
I was too caught up in my thoughts to hear the door opening or footsteps in the hallway.
"Where are you going?"
I jumped up and turned around to see Kozik standing in the doorway. He had cleaned up the blood but you could tell that he had been in a fight recently.
"I don't know" I said honestly, "I...I just have to go"
"Does Hap know you're leaving?" He asked, earning a strange look from me, "I'm not the only one you'll be hurting if you leave. What about Lee and Lana? Do they know?"
"No, no one knows" I said, half lying
I had called my Aunt Sarah who had agreed to let me stay with her until I could go and stay with her daughter in Seattle.
"Were you going to say goodbye?" He asked, I looked down in shame, giving him his answer, "Jesus Christ, Valerie. What the Hell is going through your head?"
"I need to leave" I yelled at him, "I need to get away from all of this, live out my life. I have a chance to do something with my life, rather than being just another Old Lady"
"Why did you even come back?" He asked, "Why were you with me if you didn't want to be an Old Lady?"
"Because I loved you enough to settle for just being your Old Lady" I screamed, "I loved you enough to give up my dreams"
Kozik was taken aback, a shocked look on his face, "You should go" he said, looking away from me, "You're right. You need help leaving?"
"No" I said, taking a step towards him, "I never meant to hurt you, I do love you"
I reached out my hand and stroked my fingers on his cheek. Kozik turned away from me, but caught my hand when I started dropping it. He put his hands on either side of my face and pulled me into a kiss.
This kiss didn't feel like all the others. It wasn't him trying to convince me to stay. It was a goodbye kiss. It might even be the last kiss we ever shared.
"I love you" he whispered to me after he pulled away
I wiped the tears from my eyes before grabbing my bag and walking outside, throwing my bag in the car and turning around to look at Kozik one more time.
"Thank you" I yelled out to Kozik, "For everything"
I spared one last look at the house that I had called home for almost half a year. The house that I was going to raise my child in.
I got into the car, pausing to take a deep breath before starting the engine and pulling out of the driveway. Hopefully I was leaving all of this behind me and headed for better times. I wanted to leave all of this shit in the past, but something told me that no matter what I did, these skeletons weren't staying in my closet.
'I go to seek a great perhaps' François Rabelais
Thank you for those who read this, liked, favourited and reviewed; it means a lot to me. The next instalment will be coming out soon so keep your eyes open. Please review to let me know what you think, not only just of this chapter but of the whole story. Also, share you ideas about the sequel, I would love to hear them.