We arrived at the house in about 25 mins. We got off the bike and I told John that he can't tell Throttle we dated while I was separated. He didn't like hiding the former relationship, but he said he would do it out of respect for me.

We walked in and I noticed that Throttle was missing. I looked around then asked Ty where his father was.

"Out clearing his head. Between grandma passing away 2 yrs. ago and Aunt Charley passing away recently, dad's been a mess. I know you gave him space after grandma passed, but I think it's finally sinking in that she's gone. Anthony called about an hour ago and dad picked up the phone. He wasn't happy."

"When it comes to Anthony, your father is never happy. I wanted to introduce him to a friend of mine. He helped me train for my matches while your father and I were separated."

"I can call him and have him come back to the house?"

"That's ok, Ty. I think I know where he might be. How are you and Richard doing? I know it was a big adjustment for both of you."

Just then, Richard walked downstairs. "I legally changed my name now, mom. My new name is Troy Alexander Thornboy. I kept my middle name. I found out my birth dad's middle name was Alexander."

"I love your new name, Troy. It fits you. I'd like you boys to meet my old friend and trainer, John Braden."

Ty expanded his hand out to John and he shook it. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"You as well, Tyrone. Your mother talked a lot about you."

Ty smiled and nodded. He wasn't surprised that I would brag about him.

Troy extended his hand out to John and was met with John's hand.

"I'm Troy. I'm new to the family. I was adopted after my parents were killed."

"It's nice to meet you, Troy and so sorry for your loss. I lost my parents about 4yrs ago to old age."

"Sorry for your loss, sir."

"Thank you."

I turned to John and asked if he could stay with the boys while I went looking for Throttle.

He turned to my boys. "Are you 2 ok with me being here?"

They looked at each other then at me and nodded. Ty looked to John.

"We're fine with you being here, sir."

"I shouldn't be gone long, boys. I have an idea as to where your father might be. Be good."

"We will, mom. We love you."

"I love you too, boys."

Then I left the house. I went out to my bike and got on. I put my helmet on and started up my bike. I patted the tank lovingly. "Let's go find Throttle, girl." The bike beeped and we headed out.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Quigley Field. We had just pulled up to the entrance of the ball field. I revved the engine a bit then headed for the scoreboard. I had a feeling that Throttle was there. He was close to Charley like I was, so I knew he was hurting.

I parked the bike inside the scoreboard and saw Throttle sitting at the window. I didn't need to see the look on his face to know he was crying. His whole demeanor was enough. I got off the bike, took my helmet off and hung it on the handlebars. I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

He was completely out of it, cause when he turned around, he backhanded me. Bare in mind, he's never hit me. I was shocked when he did. I knew he didn't mean to hit me.

I backed up a bit while rubbing my face. I didn't mean to startle him. I turned around and left. I figured when he realized what he did, he'll apologize.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Later in the evening, Throttle came home and saw my things packed. He also saw the divorce papers signed and my ring sitting on the papers. On top of them was a note as to why I was leaving him and to take care of the boys.

Throttle looked all over the house for me. He couldn't understand why I was divorcing him. He hadn't done anything wrong that he knew of. He pulled out his cellphone and called me. He followed the ring on my phone. He found me upstairs in the spare bedroom, asleep. He decided not to wake me. He'll talk to me in the morning, if I'm still here at the house.

He walked back downstairs and into his room for the night. He doesn't remember hitting me. In fact, he doesn't remember me being at the scoreboard earlier in the day.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next morning, I woke up, got dressed and headed downstairs to finish packing my things and get everything ready for Charley's funeral. I started taking what I had packed, out to the SUV.

While I was taking my things to the car, Throttle came out of his room to see what the noise was. I had looked up from grabbing my final bag and saw Throttle walking up to me.

"I have nothing to say to you except you need to be at the garage at noon for Charley's funeral."

"I wanna know what I did. I don't remember anything from yesterday." Then he saw the mark on my face. He reached out and cupped my face.

"What happened?"

"You did this to me. You were catatonic when you hit me. Instead of retaliating, I left."

"I didn't know you came to the scoreboard yesterday. I'm sorry I accidentally hit you. Please don't leave your family. Don't leave me."

"You promised that you would never hit me, no matter what or how. Even if it was accidental, you still hit me. I told you I would leave if you ever hit me. I'm sticking to my word. Be at the garage at noon."

I picked up my last bag and took it out to the car, then got in and drove off. I drove to the garage and started getting everything ready for Charley's funeral, including getting the hole dug. I also called Modo to see if he was on the way.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

12 noon came and everyone was there. I was surprised that Nosedive was at the funeral, too. I wasn't surprised that Anthony didn't show up for his Aunt's funeral. I was glad that Ty was there. I started with my eulogy, then Throttle. Modo wanted to say something, but couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted.

I ended up reading the eulogy that Modo wrote. It was from the heart like I knew it would be. It was beautifully written. I had thought about singing H.O.L.Y. by Florida Georgia Line, but Modo was emotional enough with me reading his eulogy to his beloved late wife.

After Charley was laid to rest and buried, Modo took me aside and asked about the mark on my face.

"Ask Throttle about it."

"Please tell me he didn't hit you? He was warned what would happen if he hit you for any reason."

"He said he didn't remember me even being at the scoreboard, let alone remember backhanding me. I reminded him that he promised he would never hit me for any reason and that I would divorce him and leave him for good. I'm sticking to my word, too. I signed the divorce papers, left the wedding ring and a note to take good care of the boys. Even if it was an accident, how do I know he won't hit me again? I'm not gonna be one of those abused wives who won't leave their abusive husband. I'm leaving before it gets worse."

"Where are you going to go?"

"Back to my house in Cali. We can trailer your bike and you can ride with me. I have all my things packed upand in the back of the car."

Before Modo said anything more, my phone rang. I took my phone out of the case and looked to see who was calling me. It was my bro, Seamus. I answered the call before it went to voicemail.

"What's up, Seamus?"

"Are you ok?"

"Fine, why?"

"We could feel the emotions in the bond, sis. You have mixed emotions right now. What's going on?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you over the phone. You still in Chicago?"

"Yeah. Sean and I decided to move out here. We love out here. Better than in Texas, where we were living."

"I've always wanted to go to Texas. Where did you live in Texas?"

"The state capital, Austin. We got tired of the "big city" life."

"What do you think Chicago is, bro? Its "Big city" life, too."

"Not like Austin. Its all country music and backwoods day in, day out."

"I love country music. Thought you knew that."

"Nope. Dad probably knew, but we didn't. Where are you? We wanna stop by for a bit."

"I'm at the Last Chance Garage. We just had my friends' funeral."

"Your friend, Charley? I thought she lived in California?"

"She did. She had committed suicide. I had her body shipped to Chicago and we had her funeral here at the garage. Its what she wanted if she were to ever pass away."

"How's her husband taking it?"

"He's taking it hard. He found her hanging in their bedroom."

"Oh man. Give him our condolences. Can we still stop by and talk? We wanna know what's going on with you."

I sighed over the phone. "If you must. I'll meet you and Sean at the ball field."

"Sounds good, sis. See ya soon." Then I ended the call and put my cell phone away.

"You ok, Michelle?"

I looked at Modo and sighed. "Not really. My brothers want to meet up with me and find out what's going on with me."

"You want some company?"

"Only if you wanna go? I know you're still hurting from losing Charley."

"Would you like me to go with you?"

"Like I said, only if you want to, Modo."

"I'd like to go with you."

"You're welcome to come then. We're meeting them at the ballfield."

"What time?"

I looked at my phone for the time. "Right now."

"Let's go."