don’t believe in invading anyone’s private thoughts; I keep telling myself that we just need to give her time. This is an adjustment for all of us.
Harmony will come around, she has to. If I lose her as well, I assuredly have no reason to go on in life. Part of my soul has been ripped from my body. All that I have left belongs to this tiny slip of a girl. Turning my attention back to Bella, I answer her previous question. “We’re holding up, by a thin thread, but we’ll make it through. Won’t we my little Outlaw?” No verbalization is shared from my girl, instead, we receive a simple shoulder shrug. “Alright, let’s help Bella get her luggage from the car.” Lifting my head up, I ask Bella, “Would you prefer to stay here at the clubhouse or at our house with Harmony and me?”
“I believe I’d like to stay with you and Harmony.” She looks my baby girl in her eyes before investigating whether that’s alright with her. “Harmony, would you like to have a sleepover with your auntie Bella?”
Harmony nods her head with a little light shining in her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, Bella will be the saving grace I’ve been silently begging for.
Chapter Six
Bella
Today is the day we lay Aurora to rest. Both Rogue and Harmony are dragging their feet, trying to put off the inevitable. I don’t want to be the one who rushes them to face her send off, so I’m puttering around the house, checking to see if anything needs cleaning. I’m already in my black wrap dress and heels so there’s not much I can do, but I can do a load of laundry before we leave the house. Deciding Harmony’s clothes is the best place to start, I head into her bedroom but stop dead in my tracks when I see her sitting in a ball. She’s rocking back and forth in the corner of her bed with a doll snuggly in her embrace. She has a death grip on the toy that I can literally see her hands turning from their ivory color to a ghostly-white pallor. Her eyes are blank, completely vacant, which has my heart skipping a beat while leaping into my throat.
The clog that lands there has me struggling to catch my breath. What do you say in an instance such as this to a six-year-old baby who’s just lost her entire world? How do you help them understand when you don’t get it yourself? I’m still wrapping my head around the concept that I’ll never be able to pick up the telephone and have endless, mindless conversations with Aurora. Walking toward her like one would a wounded animal, I slowly and easily sit on the opposite side of her. Not wanting to spook her, I say her name in a whisper. Nothing. I don’t get even a flinch of her eyes when I do. “I’m gonna go get your daddy, baby girl,” I finally admit defeat after sitting here, watching her for minutes on end. Shaking my head with worry, I go in search of Rogue.
It takes me a few minutes, but I finally find him out in the garage, sitting in Aurora’s car. His hands are tightly gripping the steering wheel as her last cassette tape she was listening to before coming home is playing loudly through the speakers. The streaming music brings back memories of days gone by where Aurora and I would just drive around town blasting music and singing until our throats became raw.
“I’m in love, Bella,” Aurora screams over the beats blasting out of the speakers.
“What? With that biker dude?” I ask, he’s the only one she’s been keeping company with these past few weeks. I’ve seen him in passing, but that’s all. I haven’t met him yet; our schedules hadn’t synced up to where we could.
“He has a name, Bell,” she giggles; it sounds like chimes are playing through her happy words. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little jealous of the glow that’s coating her face.
“Rogue is not a name, Aurora.”
“It’s his road name, the only one he allows anyone to call him by. According to him, it’s the only one that counts.” Reaching over, I turn down the volume so I can hear her clearer without all of the yelling.
“Why? If you're his woman, you should be allowed to call him by his given name I’d think,” I advise, as this causes me a bit