Separately Together

Chapter Twenty-One: Two Bulls1/2

Liz was standing to the side chewing on her thumb nail looking lost on what to do. When she sees me, she walks up carefully eyeing the arguing brothers. "I don't know what to do, Maddie."

All of this stress wasn't good for the baby, she needed to worry about my niece. "Go inside. The stress isn't good for you." I say already walking towards the two bulls yelling at each other seconds away from hitting each other.

They have always had bad tempers, but I've never seen them go head-to-head against each other.

"All you ever do is run from your problems anyways, Harley! What makes this different. You're just going to leave her hurt worst then when you got here!" In that sentence I seen Harleys entire demeanor change. He was trying to hold back his words, but I see the damn break.

"My problems? My fucking problems, how about your fucking problems, Finnic. I'm running from your problems. I'm not the one that punched that sixteen-year-old in the face after I had already turned eighteen. I'm not the one that deserved those charges, Finnic. But thanks to you..." Harley edges away until they are a good foot apart. "Thanks to you. I can't even get Dixon back." His voice breaks and it suddenly clicks why Harley is so protective over me, he feels like he failed Dixon, his little sister.

Harley's mama wasn't never much of a mama and Dixon was took by DFCS shortly after Harley moved to the bigger town next to Tricket. I remember Finnic telling me about it and it broke my heart. She was such a sweetheart, I only ever met her a couple of times over the years because Harley stuck around our house, we never went to his. The only times I saw her was when Harley was watching her.

"What?" Finnic's voice sounds far off like he isn't fully registering what Harley just said.

"The only reason I can't get Maddie, is because I took the ... " His voice goes an octave higher. This is the most emotion I have ever seen Harley show, normally he masks them well, so well I would normally have to pick through his very few telltale signs that he had to decipher them.

"What?" Liz says her voice almost as horse sounding as Harleys. She was standing in the doorway along with my mom and Gander.

"Liz I ..." I remember Finnic and Liz trying to get Dixon right when she got took, her parents to, but they were denied, apparently the conditions she was living in were so bad they were worried that her family would just turn back around and give her to their mother.

Harley shakes his head and turns around stalking off to his truck before pulling out of the driveway, I'm glad me didn't ride here together because I don't think he would have stopped long enough for me to get in with him.

"What's going on?" My mother asks and Finnic is as white as a ghost, his entire world just turned upside down, clearly petrified by the realization of what exactly has been keeping Harley distance all of these years.

Liz stalks off mad, towards their truck dragging Finnic along with her. Soon they are leaving the driveway leaving me standing in front of my mother looking like a deer caught in the headlights. No way was I going to be the one to explain this circus of an argument this ended up being even if it all started with me and my problems.

"I'm going to check on them." I say before turning around and walking towards my car, before I slide into the driver's seat, I look back up towards them. "Happy birthday, mama." She smiles a sad smile and waves me off.

I had a lot to think about on the way back home. Like how I've ruined a bunch of things in a bunch of people's life.

Starting off with my mothers, having to take me back and forth to therapy she would barely afford and buying the medication that didn't have the time work.

Second would be Finnic's for always having to look after me, getting him into lots of trouble.

Third Liz's for causing all of this drama between her and her husband then she is carrying their child.

Forth, Harley's ...

I've ruined so many things for him, he could have a whole list on his own. Starting with burdening him by me living with him, burdening him with The Forefathers, taking away his freedom, making him get a brand he didn't want., him having to always follow me around or have one of his employees follow me around in his place.

I wonder if I would make everyone's life simpler if I just left, if I moved away, but then I think about Harley already taking the brand and how that would defeat the point of him going through all of that for me. I couldn't just leave him alone. I had made a promise to myself, to make a Harleys life worth living and that was exactly what I was going to do.

Starting by getting Dixon back.

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