The Path to Love

Chapter 74

"I have to sign over the company to her today, she's been waiting for three days now." I spoke to my best friend.

"You've been avoiding her ever since that talk the both of you had. I heard it from both of your sides, your both just a really fucked up couple."

"Thanks? I think," I replied.

"I've been a member of this gang since I was eight, Hunter." Wait, what?! "I have no one, I have no family members, no one outside of this gang. These people are my family and I've never turned my back on them. Sam and that baby are your family, Hunter. You can't turn your back on them."

"I'm not turning my back on them, Xav. I'm protecting them from Novak and his gang. I can't have Novak coming after them again, and with me out of the picture and her hating me, he won't be bothered to come near her."

"Novak's dead." Xavier stated, with a clear authority.

"What?" I replied, turning to look at him in horror.

"Sam doesn't know, and she doesn't have to know." I looked at him with horror clearly written on my face. "Don't worry about it. When she stabbed him and I took him away, I never took him to the hospital like I said I would. I let him bleed out until he died."

"You did what?!"

"I let him die, Hunter. Like you said yourself, he was a threat. I eliminated said threat, he needed to be dealt with."

"Xavier are you crazy?! What about his gang? They're going to be on the warpath, they're going to be coming after you, me, and shit." The realization slapped me in the face. "They're going to come after Sam, she stabbed him," I whispered.

"No one is coming after anyone, Hunter, calm down."

"Well, what then? How are you planning to stop the impending doom that is in front of us?"

"I already dealt with the problem, they know if they try to come after us, they will be starting a war. They haven't elected a new leader yet and they're all over the place. We called a truce, Hunt. They're not going to come after you, Sam, or that baby. Your safe, she's safe and your daughter is safe. They didn't like Novak as a leader, anyways. He was a shit leader and didn't care about his gang family. They didn't want to come after you when they first did, but Novak was the leader and they had to follow him."

"Where's his body?"

"I dumped it on their doorstep. They got the message loud and clear. They know not to fuck with me or the gang."

"What happens now?" I asked him.

"Be happy, Hunter. Get your happy ever after, get the girl, have your daughter, take over your company and be with Sam."

"And you?" I asked him.

"I'm going to be here, leading the gang, living my life, not getting anyone killed," he chuckled.

"You're my best friend, you know that right?"

"I am the only one that could put up with your crazy ass, so yes, I know that."

"Thank you for being here for me the last few months and for living up to your promise of protecting Sam. You're a true friend, and I'm glad I got you."

"Of course, you're glad you got me, I'm the only one that puts up with your shit."

"What ever happened to Luke?" I asked him. "I haven't heard from him since before graduation."

"As far as I know, him and Brittany moved to British Columbia together and are attending university there. He's happy," he replied.

"He was always different then us, he didn't like the high school parties, never liked fucking random girls. He is the committed type, always wanting more out of life then just a wild party."

"We could have learned a thing or two from him." Xavier stated.

"We could have," I agreed. "Too bad we were never ready to settle, but he was."

"Yeah," Xavier whispered, zoning out and staring straight at the wall. "If only we followed him."

"How have you been? I know I've been a shitty friend since graduation and have been absent, focusing on my problems. I have thought a lot about you and everything you've been doing."

"I've been keeping busy with the gang. After you left, I was the only one who listened to Sam bitch and cry a lot. She was a mess after you left."

"I know," I replied. "It wasn't smooth sailing for me, either. I went through hell trying to forget about her and the baby. My dad tricked us, though. He planned for the event to happen for me and Sam to meet again. If I knew it was Sam coming to replace me, I never would have been here."

"Who else did you expect? She was the only one who was in line for it."

"I figured it was someone my father would have appointed until Sam got a bit older or actually had the baby."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"About what?"

"Don't play coy, you know about what. You're both, here, together for the time being. You now know there is no longer a threat coming after you. What are you going to do?"

"After all this time, I don't think she'll forgive me for what I did, Xav. We put each other through hell, maybe it's just best if we go our separate ways."

He looked at me, and then slapped me on the back of the head. "What was that for?"

"You're stupid." He replied.

"How am I stupid?" I asked him.

"She is crazy about you and you are crazy about her. You've been best friends long before I came into the picture. And, she's pregnant with your baby. Why don't you just be the logical person I know you are capable of being, and I don't know, just be with her?"

"It's not that easy, Xav."

"It is that easy, Hunter. If you want her, fight for her. Show her you're not going to leave again, fight for the two of you, well three."

"Xavier," I replied.

"I lost someone, who wanted to give me the world, Hunter. I would have given her everything, Hunt. You still have the girl who loves you more than life itself. Don't let that go, fight for yourself, fight for her, fight for your daughter." He stood up and looked down at me. "You have a chance at real happiness here, don't let the moment pass you by. She loves you, you love her. Remember that."

I watched him walk away from me, as he faded into the crowd of people walking all I could hear him say was, "she loves you, you love her."

I love her and she loves me, it's time I fight for that love.

"Thank you, Xavier." I whispered.

The one thing I kept thinking about as I felt was who did Xavier lose that he loved enough to risk everything for? What happened to her?