Chapter 6. I've Heard That Before

River didn't look at me as he walked back to the driver's side. He threw the door open and jumped into the truck.

“You're soaked,” I said. I laughed as I rolled up my window.

“I hate to tell you this, but I think the motor in it is dead. Did you even take care of that car? You have almost no oil in it,” he said.

My jaw dropped. “I just put oil in it yesterday!”

“Maybe you had a leak,” he suggested and shrugged. “A hell of a leak,” he muttered.

I sighed. “I have had to put more oil in it lately. I’m pretty sure that I had a leak. Let's just go. I'll call a damn wrecker tomorrow.”

“You can use my old truck if you want. It still runs,” he said. He threw the truck into reverse, threw his arm behind my seat, and looked out his back window as he backed out.

“You still have your old truck. Why?” I asked.

River turned the radio up a little.

I smiled at the song. It brought back a memory.

“No reason to get rid of it,” River said. He pursed his lips and shrugged.

“No reason to keep it,” I pressed.

River’s blue eyes pierced mine. “A lot of good memories go with that truck. I couldn't part with it.” He gave me a questioning look. “Why are you smiling like a little lunatic?”

I laughed. “The song,” I admitted.

River smirked. “Good memories?”

“Yes. I haven’t heard it in years,” I said. “I'll see if Helen can help me get a car. I don't want to take off with your truck. By the way, if you drive like an idiot, I'll punch you,” I threatened.

River rolled his eyes. “I'm not going to speed. I rarely ever do. It's dark, cold, raining, and your car wouldn't start. I was the only one in the car. I just didn't...” River trailed off and shrugged.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” I told him. I felt bad for scolding him about his driving.

River ignored me.

I unbuckled my seat belt and knelt up in the seat.

“Woah. What are you doing? Sit,” River growled.

I kissed his cheek.

River looked at me dumbfounded.

I sat back down and buckled my seat belt. I stared out the window. There was a long silence that filled the truck. All that could be heard was the rain and music.

Just as I was about to speak, River broke the silence. “I'll take you to get the truck, and you can drive it back to Helen's place.”

“But I–” I started to argue, but he cut me off.

“It's not a big deal,” he said.

“What if something goes wrong with it?” I arched a brow.

“Don't worry, if you break my truck, I'll fix it,” he said and smirked.

“Fine,” I said and shrugged. He's still a stubborn ass.

“Why did you work so late?” River asked quietly. “The clinic closes at five o'clock.”

“I wanted to get caught up on paperwork and had things to enter into the computer. They told me I could stay to catch up.”

“Four hours?” he asked.

“Well, there was a nurse before me who up and quit, so there was a lot she didn't do. I'm still figuring out how they do stuff there,” I explained.

River nodded in understanding. “I don't know how you stomach a job like that, legs,” he muttered. His nose scrunched up in disgust.

I laughed. “I like helping people.”

His eyes pierced mine again. “I know you do.” He turned to look back out the windshield. “Damn, I can't believe this storm,” River grunted. He squinted as if to see better out the windshield.

The wind pushed his truck a bit, but he kept control.

My heartbeat picked up. I gripped tighter onto the seat. This can't be happening again.

River took a deep breath and stared out the windshield, ignoring my gaze.

“River, maybe we should stop, let the storm pass,” I suggested.

“No, we should probably try to get home,” he insisted. He accelerated slightly.

“River–” I stopped and squealed. I threw my hands over my eyes as the truck fishtailed.

“Relax, Dallas. I got it,” he said confidently.

Déjà vu! “I've heard that before,” I growled and glared at him. That was a low blow.

River rolled his eyes. “I thought you forgave me?” he asked in irritation.

“I did. That doesn't mean that I want to do it again!” I snapped.

“We'll be fine. Did you forget we are in Montana? The winds get strong here, especially during a storm, just chill,” River said.

Chill! “You're such an ass,” I huffed. I crossed my arms over my chest.

River chuckled at my irritation.

Just as we pulled into his driveway, a tree fell onto his garage.

I gasped in shock.

“Fuck!” River shouted. River threw the middle seat up and grabbed me around the waist. “You need to come in until this shit stops,” he said sternly. He pulled me from the truck. Truthfully, if he hadn't been holding onto me, I would have blown away.

The strong winds were all I could hear. It was hard to see because the rain was so heavy. I watched in horror as another tree fell in the distance.

“Come on, Dallas,” River growled. He pulled me toward the house. We were both drenched. He threw the back door open, and we stepped into the mudroom.

After I kicked my shoes off, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen.

“Ma!” River called for Bonnie.

Bonnie bustled into the kitchen. Bonnie grinned from ear to ear when she saw me.

“Hi, Bonnie,” I said and smiled.

Bonnie came up to me and embraced me tightly. “Thank god, you two are okay. It's getting bad out. We've got severe weather still coming. We also have tornado watches out,” Bonnie explained. The lights flickered.

“I've got to get home to Lyle,” I gasped. I turned to make a run for the door, but River grabbed me tightly around the waist. I winced slightly. River’s arms were close to my bruised ribs.

“He's with Helen. You're not going out in this shit!” River said sternly.

“But–”

He pulled me toward the stairs that were in the kitchen.

“Who's Lyle?” Bonnie asked.

We didn't answer her.

River pulled me up the stairs.

“What are you doing?” I asked, confused.

“Figured you might want dry clothes. I'll have mom dry those,” River said. He looked pointedly at the clothes I was wearing.

As soon as we were in his bedroom, I realized not much had changed. River disappeared into his closet and walked out with one of his long t-shirts with Avenge Seven Fold on it.

“I'll call Helen while you change,” River murmured.

I snatched the shirt from him in irritation. I can't believe I'm changing into one of his shirts. It would be long on me.

River was muscular and tall, so his shirts were big. River disappeared into his closet again as I headed for the bathroom.

When I came out of the bathroom, River was pulling a muscle shirt over his head. He wore a pair of dry shorts. His back had a long pink scar down it, and he had a big tattoo on his back. His muscles flexed as he pulled the shirt down and spun around. He caught me staring at him.

“Interesting tattoo,” I told him. I attempted to hide the fact that I was ogling. It was a reaper holding cards. Another pair of hands across from the reaper held cards too. As if they were playing poker. “I don't get it, though?” I wondered.

He grimaced. “It's kind of like a cheating death tattoo,” he said.

Now that he said it, I understood the tattoo and chuckled a little. “Well, since that's the case, it suits you,” I told him. “Did you get a hold of Helen?”

“Yeah, I did. I told her that you're staying here tonight,” he said.

I stopped mid-stride and tilted my head. “Says who?” I asked.

“Says me. It's late, and the storm hasn't let up, and you're not going out in it. I want to go to bed, and your clothes won't be done for at least an hour or so.” River yawned as he plopped down onto his bed, which was in the middle of the room.

It shouldn't be weird. We used to do this a lot. I would stay with him all the time. Maybe it was just odd because the last time I stayed, we had sex. I groaned and climbed onto his bed.

River pulled the blanket back for me. He threw the blanket over me. River scooted closer and reached over me to shut the light off.

As he was shutting the light off, I spoke. “Is that from the accident?”

He stopped and looked down at me, confused. “What?”

“The scar on your back,” I said quietly.

His body hovered over mine. “Yeah, it kind of fucked my back up a little.”

“I ran into June. She's mad at me too,” I told him.

“That's ridiculous. She has no reason to be mad at you,” he scoffed.

“Yeah, well, she's just mad at the world. You can't blame her. She just misses her son,” I said sadly.

“The only one she should be mad at is me. Have you seen Tia?” he asked.

“Not yet,” I sighed.

He nodded. “She has a son.”

“What?” I gasped. “It isn't...”

“It is Landon's son. He looks a lot like him,” he said sadly. “I don't want to talk about it anymore, Dallas.” River moved away from me and rolled over.

I stared after him. I could hear it in his voice all the regret and guilt. I can't imagine how heavy it is to carry around the death of your friend. Instead of dropping it, I moved closer to him and pulled at his arm.

He sighed and rolled onto his back and looked at me. “What?” River asked.

“You've got to let it go, River, or it'll tear you apart,” I said worriedly. My forehead creased.

“Are you kidding me? Do you think anyone in this fucking town will let me let it go or get over it? I deserve to live with it.” His voice broke on the last sentence, and tears filled his eyes.

I didn't even know what to say to him. Instead, I lied my head on his chest. My arms wrapped around him. I wanted to comfort him.

He tangled a hand in my hair and kissed the top of my head. His arms wound around me, and he pulled me closer.

I hissed in pain and pulled away from him—pain pulsed through my ribs that were still sore and bruised.

River stared at me in shock. “What?” he asked, confused. He sat up and turned a small lamp on beside his bed. It wasn’t very bright, but enough to see the pain in my features.

“What's wrong?” River asked again.

Tears filled my eyes, and I shook my head. I had to lie. He couldn’t know the truth. “Nothing,” I insisted. Luckily, I wore waterproof makeup. It wasn’t like he could see what was beneath it. I moved away from him. I don't want him to see it. The truth is nothing shy of humiliating, and I’m tired of Jax being a constant reminder, a constant humiliation.

River grabbed me around the waist carefully but firmly and pulled me onto his lap. My back pressed against his chest, and he gripped the hem of my shirt. He couldn't see my panic-stricken face.

“No, River!” I squealed. It was too late.

He lifted the shirt far enough up to see my bruised ribs. “What the–” River’s voice cracked. He froze, and it was as if he forgot how to breathe.

I threw a hand over my mouth. Tears spilled over my face, and I sobbed. “River–” I tried but stopped and sniffled. I wiped the tears away. “I-it's nothing.”

“What happened to you?” River asked in a low voice.

“Can we just go to bed?” I pleaded.

We were dead silent for a long moment. River breathed heavily. The wind and rain hit hard against the house. The little lamp flickered.

“I got in an accident–” I started.

River cut me off and turned me around to face him. His large hands cupped my face. “Don't fucking dare lie to me,” he growled.

“I'm not–” I stopped as he glowered at me.

Neither of us spoke for a long time. Tears rolled down my face.

“I met a guy in Los Angeles. I started dating him when I was just a few weeks pregnant. I didn't even know I was pregnant,” I admitted.

River gritted his teeth, already knowing what I was going to say.

I took in a ragged breath. “Jax was controlling and abusive. I tried to get away from him many times, but I couldn't–” I started to sob and lost my voice. “He broke my ribs. They still hurt.”

River's hands shook and fell from my face. He took a deep breath to control his anger. River tangled a hand in my hair and pulled me in to hug him. His arms wrapped around my waist. He fell back into the bed and took me with him.

“I managed to get away from him, but all I could grab was my keys, some money, and Lyle,” I croaked.

“Shh,” River hushed me. He rubbed my back soothingly.

After a long moment, it calmed me down as he whispered soothing things in my ear. My breathing became normal again.

“He hasn't come looking for you and Lyle, has he?” River asked.

“No,” I breathed. “But he could, and if he does, I don't know what the hell I'll do.” I started to pull away from him, but he stopped me.

Our faces were too close, and it made my heart thump unsteadily. River pushed my hair out of my face. “Relax, I won't let him hurt either of you,” he promised.

I couldn't help but relax at his words. He let me crawl off him. I curled onto his chest. He kept his arms wrapped around me, and I quickly fell asleep.