- Who are the People of Brair's Stories.

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The Appointment

Cassie

The hand on the wall clock vibrated with each second it moved. With each second that passed my palms grew sweatier. It may only be five minutes since we walked into the doctor’s office. Yet, as we waited for the results of our fertility tests, my heart pounded, my stomach churned, my head throbbed, and it felt as though time had stopped. That I was in a vacuum.

I love Linc and ache to hold his baby. To love a miniature Lincoln. To watch him run around the house causing chaos. To have him gaze up at me with indigo blue eyes as I forgive him for the trouble he created. It was not much to ask for, was it? I never wanted much in life. Especially, since meeting Linc, my soulmate. The man who gave me so much. To give Linc this gift would be perfect. It’s the one thing I yearned for most in life.

“Mr. and Mrs. Davies, as you know, your results are back. But the news isn’t good.”

The doctor’s voice was faint, and a ringing echoed through my head. I wanted to tear my gaze away from his face but did not have the willpower to move. Did I want to hear what he had to say? Gripping Linc’s hand in a death vice, I forgot how to breath. What can be wrong with me?

The doctor’s brown eyes bore into me, and I shuffled on the chair. Words I never wanted to receive were about to be delivered. “Mrs. Davies, your results came back fine…”

The world fell silent as the doctor tuned to Linc, and my heart dipped to my stomach. “Mr. Davies, you however, have an exceptionally low sperm count. This means your chances of reproducing are in the low percentage predictive.”

As the doctor continued his spiel, the room turned cold, and Linc slipped his hands from mine. He was a biker with one of the strongest, roughest, and toughest MC outfits. Which meant he was pure alpha. A dominant male. A man confident in his masculinity. This report, and the doctor’s words threatened his manhood, and the man he believes he is.

“Anyway – We’ll run a couple more tests. Look at what options are open to you.”

The doctor watched Linc shake his head. His face pale, and his lips pinched. “That won’t be necessary, Doc.” Linc said. His body stiffening as he rose to leave. He neither waited for me nor acknowledged the doctor as he stormed out of the office. The door closing behind him on a gentle thud.

I turned to the doctor, “We’ll call for more details,” I said. Then rose to follow Linc, coming to an abrupt halt at the door which refused to open as I tugged on the door handle. When I finally freed the door, Linc was nearly out sight as he strode down the corridor, and my steps were hurried as I raced after him to the car.

Linc waited long enough for my door to close before screeching the car out of the parking garage. The silence in the car left me twisting the handles of my pocketbook. When I glanced at Linc from beneath lowered lashes, his hands were clenched around the steering wheel as he stared straight ahead. The tension emitting from him stifled the atmosphere between us. If he noticed the traffic in front of him, I don’t know, but he skillfully passed the moving traffic without causing an incident.

“Linc, it’s going to be okay,” I said.

“No, it’s fucking not.” The snarl in his voice sent a shiver running through my body. I knew he could be a mean bastard when he wanted, but I have never witnessed that side of him. When he saw me flinch, he reached for my hand, stroking my fingers. His touch soft, belying the anger trembling beneath him. “I can’t give you your baby, Cassie.” The simplicity and sadness in his words squeezed at my heart for the man beside me. For Linc, who was denied nothing in his life, this hurt him.

“It’s not the end, Linc. We just need to know more first. Find out what we can do. There’s bound to be plenty of treatments available. Other options open to us.”

“Yeah, Babe,” he said, pulling into the driveway.

As he parked the car, he muttered. “Look, I’m needed at the club. I’ll call you later.” His kiss was brief. Over before I was able to respond to it. Then he left the car without waiting for me as he stomped towards and mounted his bike. The roar of the engine loud as he throttled it.

“Love you,” I said as my fingers lingered at my lips. It was the truth; I do and have for a long time.

“Yeah. Love you.” There was no return kiss as he backed out of the driveway. As I remained in the car, the growl of the bike engine echoed around me as he faded out of sight.

His refusal to discuss the results of the tests broke a small part of my heart. Opting to go to the club instead of talking to me angered me, and I took my frustration out on the kitchen cupboards. One cupboard after another were emptied, sorted, and cleaned. As the hours passed there were no calls from Linc, which was unusual for him. He rings at least a half dozen times a day when we’re apart.

By the time the kitchen was meticulously cleaned, it was late, and darkness had descended. My stomach rumbled, reminding me, I had not eaten since breakfast, and decided to order a pizza. When I rang Linc to tell him about the pizza, my call went straight to voicemail. My anger and frustration grew, leaving me with an urge to throw the cell at the wall. Instead, I showered, then drove over to the club.

We needed to talk, and if he wanted to talk about our problem with everyone listening and watching, that was fine with me. My stomach twitched. Usually, when we have a disagreement, Linc and I leave our anger at home. Never taking our troubles to the club. Tonight was different.

As I approached the door to Devil’s Den, my stomach clenched, and the world faded in then out. Inhaling deeply, I pushed the door open, and entered the club. As I scanned the room, silence fell, deafening me. Tabby and Chilli were playing a game of pool, and I headed towards them, ignoring the skank who stood next to them. “Have you seen Linc?” I asked.

They twitched with their cue sticks. Then looked at each other. Their gaze avoiding mine. At the uncomfortable silence, ice slithered through me, and my body shook. The clenching in my stomach tightened. Watching the bikers closely, Tabby’s eyes drifted to the stairs, but neither said anything. Fear left me rooted to where I stood. ‘No. No. No. No.’ The words echoed around my head.

When I stepped forward, Chilli grabbed my arm. “Don’t, Cassie. Go home,” he said.

Shaking his hand free of my arm, I walked slow and steadily up the stairs. The pounding in my head increased. When I reached the bedroom door, I leant my forehead against the frame and inhaled deeply. He was not going to be doing anything. He was drunk. Passed out, I told myself. Then I heard it. The masculine groan. A groan I knew well. Opening the door slowly, telling myself I was wrong, I walked in, and my heart broke.

I would know that ass anywhere. I have touched, kissed and caressed it many times. And at this moment it was not immobile, lying on a bed, belonging to a passed out drunk. No, it was thrusting into another body.

‘I am not going to cry. I will not cry,’ was my mantra as I strolled further into the room. Walking to bed, unsure what I was going to do when I reached them. When I reached the copulating couple, my mouth opened, and the words tumbled out. “Can anyone join? Or is this a private party?” I asked.

Linc reared back. A look of horror and shame flooded his face. For the first time since knowing him, a red flush crept over his neck and cheeks. It was too late. I noticed the skank in his bed was a stripper from ‘Tie Me Down,’ the dance club owned by Devil’s Comfort. Scrambling from the bed, Linc reached for his jeans.

“Don’t be modest on my part.” I said, arching my eyebrow.

“Cassie. Please,” Linc said.

“Don’t you fucking please me. You piece of shit. And don’t fucking bother coming home. I’ll have your stuff packed for you by the end of the week. Send someone to collect them.”

“Hey, Cassie. Calm down. There’s no need to act like this.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. And let go of my arm.”

Shaking free from Linc’s grasp, I turned, and left the room, holding my head high as I walked down the stairs. Everyone knew what he was doing. I needed someone to talk to and scanned the room looking for Baby Blu. But tonight, she was absent.

Linc’s aware of my views on infidelity. Since I was a teenager, I watched my father cheat, moving from one woman to another. Then in retaliation against my father, my mother went out and found herself a lover. A younger lover to torment my father with. This was one game I refused to play. Lincoln Davies is my man and will pay for breaking my trust.

Linc

My world tumbled down around me as I stood at the top of the stairs fastening my jeans. My head ached, and my stomach churned. This morning, I woke in a good mood. The world was bright, and everything in my life was great. Before heading for the doctor's appointment. An appointment I was against, but indulged Cassie with, we had made love. Her body sweet, soft, and trembling beneath mine. She was my haven. My harbor. My anchor. I love Cassie. But as I sat in that damn chair in the doctor's office, everything I believed in crumbled away. The world spun as a stranger informed us it was my fault we were unable to conceive. Unable to have children. The world had shrunk around me, leaving me breathless, and I needed to escape. Leaving Cassie in the doctor’s office as I stormed down the corridor. We had driven home in silence because I refused to talk to her. Then I abandoned Cassie when she needed me the most.

I shook my head as the club door shut behind Cassie. I have made bad decisions before and always managed to salvage them. To turn things in my favor. If I thought there was no redeeming them, I walked away, learning from my mistakes.

The touch of fingers on my arm caught my attention, and I turned to Lacey. “Come back to bed, Linc,” she said.

My heart pounded, and my body trembled. There have been two calamities in my life today. Twice, I failed Cassie. I could still see her face as she looked at me. “No thanks. I've got some place to go,” I said.

“Linc.”

Fingers stroked my arm. Walked over the naked flesh, and my stomach twisted, leaving me wanting to vomit. Her touch left me cold. Cassie and I have been a couple for three years. In those three years, I never cheated on her. “Get dressed, Lacey. Go find someone else to fuck,” I said, turning away from the skank.

In the room Cassie and I turned into our own personal domain, I searched for my cell, and stared at the missed calls. I screwed up. Made a real mess of my life. My call to Cassie went unanswered. So did the next. I threw the cell on the bed. When I finished dressing, I called Cassie again. When the call went to voicemail again, I grabbed my keys and headed for the parking lot. I had a marriage to save.

As I headed for the club’s main door, everyone’s gaze was on me. I just fucked up my marriage in front of these people. Shit, from their looks, you would think l was the only man who had ever been unfaithful to their partner.

“Linc.”

I turned to Dec, shaking my head. “I gotta go talk to Cassie.”

Dec looked real hard at me. He was about to say something. Then nodded as he stepped away.

The ride to our home took longer than usual, or so I thought, believing I would never reach my destination. When I arrived at the house, it was dark. When the door opened, an unearthly silence greeted me.

“Cassie.” At the continuing silence, I climbed the stairs with feet of lead. I knew as I pushed the bedroom door open, Cassie was not home. There was only one place she could be.

When I arrived at Inferno’s and Baby Blu’s, Cassie’s mustang was in the drive, and I parked the bike beside it. The peel of the doorbell resonated through the air. As I waited, time continued to slow down, and I looked around me. The lights were on. They were up. Then the door opened.

“Hi, Baby Blu. Let me talk to Cassie,” I said.

Baby Blu shook her head. “Now’s not the time, Linc. Inferno’s in his den. Go have a drink with him.” Then she stepped aside. As I strolled past the lounge, the door was open, and although I saw Cassie, she refused to look at me. “Cassie.” Cassie ignored me. In all our time together, she has never given me the silent treatment, and it hurt more than if she shouted at me. “We need to talk, Cassie.”

Cassie looked at me. “Not tonight, Linc.”

I nodded. “But we will talk?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

I nodded, then turned towards Inferno’s den. As I entered, he pointed to the beer on the coffee table, and I opened it. “I should stay away from these,” I said.

“You’re blaming alcohol for your actions?” Inferno asked as I sat in the overstuffed easy chair opposite him. I shook my head. “Want to talk about it?” he asked.

Again, I shook my head. “I fucked up over something stupid.” Then I smiled at Inferno with fake confidence. “It’s just a hick-up. I’m sure Cassie and I will work it out. That’ll we’ll get over it.”

As I spent the night in Inferno’s den, we left the door ajar, and I often walked into the hallway, listening to Cassie talking to Baby Blu in hushed tones. Unable to make out what she was saying but piercing my heart. When she refused to talk to me again, instead of returning to the den, I headed for the front door. “I’m going back to the club. Tell Cassie, I’ll be round in the morning.”

Inferno nodded. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he said.

“Too late for that,” I said.

It was the banging on the bedroom door which brought me to consciousness. The pounding in my head was just as violent. “What?”

“Shit, Linc. Open the door,” Fraggle said.

Grabbing my jeans from where I flung them in the early morning hours, I stumbled to the door, unlocked it. Then peered out at the prospect. In his hand was an overnight bag I recognized. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the bag as I opened the door further.

Fraggle avoided my gaze as he spoke to the ground. “Cassie rang me. She asked me to call by your place. When I arrived. She gave me this. Said you’d understand.”

My heart fell to my stomach. “Did she say anything else.”

“No.”

I nodded as I took the bag, closed the door. Then turned to face our room. My cell was where I left it on the bedside cabinet. When I checked it, there were no missed calls or messages. I called Cassie, but she never answered, I left a message on her voicemail. When she did not call back. I sent a text.

©Brair Lake August 2024

You've had a brief glimpse into Linc's and Cassie's life - Now read their story.

Linc's Redemption