17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Axel

I knew I was wrong.

Hell, I had spent most of my life being wrong. But, I knew what I had to do next was the right thing. I had to see Ivy. I had to be with Ivy. I had told her I loved her in the most fucked up and twisted way imaginable and I had been a complete asshole for walking away afterward. I owed it to her now to talk to her.

Every part of my being wanted to turn around and run back to her. To put her in my arms and kiss her and hold her and tell her I loved her until I couldn't talk anymore.

Instead, I drove away. I let my anger get the best of me and I had paid the ultimate price. But now, I knew I was doing the right thing by fixing everything with Ivy. She deserved better than me but I sure as hell prayed she would continue giving me second chances. I would spend the rest of my life on my hands and knees begging her to forgive me if she asked me too.

I would do anything for Ivy because I loved her.

She was my world.

She was my heart.

She was my twin flame, my eternal being that I wanted to spend forever with.

Now, I just had to show her how much she meant to me. I knew that once I got her back, I was going to get a new tattoo—two flames with our names inside. I wanted her on my body permanently. Which was insane for me since I had never given a second thought with any of the other countless girls who were nothing but a good time, but with Ivy, I wanted it to be right. She deserved that.

"Here, you need another ice pack," Drake said as he offered the ice to me.

I nodded as I placed the freezing pack to my left eye. I had been a fool to go to Chuck's alone, but I wasn't in the right state of mind. Thankfully, my brothers hadn't been too far behind me. They were able to help break up the fight before it went too far.

Drake didn't say anything, but I knew he could see the regret swimming in my eyes. Well, my swollen eyes, but still it was there. I had anger inside of me and I knew my brothers didn't understand it. We had all lost our parents and our gramps. We had all lost the bar-- and I knew it probably meant more to Drake than to the rest of us since he spent the most time there and had made it his livelihood, but still, there was still anger blooming inside of me and it finally broke free and blossomed into a full-on inferno.

Walking in, my other brothers entered the house too. They had all come and bailed me out of jail after I called them and told them what had happened. After I jumped Chuck, someone driving by had called the police and they had shut down our war pretty quickly. I got a couple of good hits in, but one against an entire army isn't very good odds.

Seeing them all here, I knew something was up. I found a seat on the couch and nestled in, preparing myself for a long talk.

"Axel, what were you thinking? If we hadn't followed you, do you know what could have happened?" Jagger asked. Initially, I had wanted a brother to go with me, but I had lied and said I just needed to ride.

"I was thinking I needed to do something. I wasn't thinking straight- I couldn't see past my own rage," I admitted as I closed my eyes and allowed the ice pack to take effect.

"That's your problem, Axel. Man, you can't see past yourself. You need to get a hold of your anger before you lose everything. This could have been a lot worse. You are damn lucky Chuck isn't pressing charges against you," Drake said, as he slammed his fist against the coffee table.

We all jumped at the noise and my eyes shot open. "Why would he press charges against me? He destroyed our clubhouse!" I bellowed out as I sat up straight.

Drake and Blaze watched with a strange curiosity .

"This is getting way too intense. I'm getting us a beer," Blaze said as he retreated to the kitchen. He had never liked conflict and had always been quiet, I had always liked that about him.

Drake turned his attention back to me. "I know, but we have to settle this a different way. You going after Chuck is only going to stir up more problems. We have to do this the right way. The Raven way," he finished as he seemed to calm down a little.

Lacy came bounding through our door and rushed over to Drake's side. Watching them embrace made my heart sink a little further. I needed Ivy right now.

Blaze returned and we all began to nurse our beers as none of us dared to speak. It was Jagger who finally broke the silence.

"What is your plan then?" he asked, turning to me instead of Drake.

As the oldest, Drake had always been who we looked to in times of trouble. He was the closest thing we had left to a father now, but now, Jagger was looking to me for an answer. Even though Jagger and Storm weren't our blood, they were still our brothers in every sense. He swept a hand through his blonde hair nervously. And, all I could do was answer him with honesty.

"First, I plan on getting Ivy to forgive me. After that, everything else will fall into place."

And with that, I put my beer down and asked Jagger to drive me over to Ivy's. It was time that I finally did something right in my life.