"I'm letting go of the past but keeping every single lesson it taught me," -C.T

Two months later.

"You sure about this, Cheyenne?" I felt a hand on my shoulder as I took off my watch, placing it in the bin. "Make sure no one steals that," I narrowed my eyes at the woman who took the bin away to send it through the scanner. "I'm fine, Joaquin, really," I offered a grim smile as I motioned for him to take off anything metal.

"Yea, this is something that I have to do," I muttered, stepping through the full-body scanner, listening for the beep as the San Quinten State Prison guard pointed at a place for me to go and wait for Joaquin. "Come on," Joaquin smiled, giving me some encouragement as he threw an arm around my shoulder, pushing me along to follow the guard.

"Right this way. Inmate #630385 will be out shortly," The stocky man let me know as we came to a door that led to a bunch of booths with glass walls, a hole in the glass so that you could speak without the use of the telephone. "I'll be out here, supporting you, giving you all my love," Joaquin kissed my forehead, rubbing my back.

"But this is your battle to win and he is the final boss," I snickered at his analogy as he cupped my cheeks in his hand. "I'm just on the sidelines, cheering you on so go on in there and give him a piece of your mind," He nodded adamantly and I grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. "I sure will," With that newfound confidence, I left Joaquin standing there as I busted through to the booth room, eager to lay it all down the line.

"He is coming. You may sit here," The guard pointed to an empty chair in front of the glass screen and I felt myself get jittery. I was probably nervous and I wanted to say that I didn't know why, but I truly did.

Because I was here to let go of him.

"Oh?" I looked up to see one Sterling Thorn, disheveled hair all over the place, unkempt stubble lining his jaw, glasses crooked and he looked every bit of dirty. He looked like he had seen hell in this place, and there was more coming. "I didn't think my own son would come and see me. To what do I owe this visit to, Cheyenne?" Now that he was in front of me, sitting across from me, nothing but a glass wall between us, I didn't know what to think.

"Why?"

He raised a brow as he took a seat, chains hanging from him like he was some caged rabid dog. "You're going to have to elaborate on that." I snorted in annoyance, coming to a realization. "At first, I thought I was going to snap and yell and cry because of all the frustration, the grief, the anxiety, the fear that you made me feel these last eight years, but now that I look at you and see how much you have fallen," I clicked my tongue, seeing the sheer patheticness that was just oozing off of him, stinking up the air.

Or that could've just been him smelling all nasty like that.

Sterling sneered at me, not having anything to say, not that I'd let him. He had done all the talking these last years, so it was his turn to shut up and listen. "You have no fucking idea what it means to be human, do you?" I spat coldly, shaking my head. "For years, I was blinded, wanting nothing but for you to acknowledge me, to be that father that told me that I could do anything I wanted, but you like you always do, ignored everyone else and focused on your own selfish needs. Not just me, but mom and Christine," His eyes widened at the thought of me calling Davina mom, something I had never done.

"Once upon a time, you were someone I looked up to, but when I saw the real you," I gritted my teeth, snorting but there was no amusement in my tone. "I couldn't believe that someone who helped make me would want me dead. You really are the very man you wanted to be and yet, you have nothing left."

I could see the tick in his jaw as his eyes narrowed into slits, unable to do nothing but sit there and take the words that I was dishing out. I had nothing else to say to him because he was an irrational man. He felt no guilt, it was evident, but it was fine because saying less to him would mean that I won in the end. He was in here and I wasn't. That was all the karma I needed.

"My pain and my fears end right here with you, Sterling." With the relieved sigh that I heaved, the shadow of him finally freeing me and for the first time, I could clearly look ahead without fear of what was behind me.

"I'm going to live the life that I deserve."

I stood up, ignoring the sputtering that left his lips as I turned around, not bothering to bid the sperm donor a farewell. "You're done here, Mr. Thorn?" The guard asked me and I nodded, knowing that when I stepped over that threshold, the shackles and the chains that bound me to that despicable man would detach and I would no longer be that Cheyenne Thorn. I would no longer have this man in my life anymore.

So I took that step. All of a sudden, I heard the screech of a metal chair scraping against the floor, palms slamming against the table. "GET BACK HERE, CHEYENNE! THIS ISN'T OVER!" I heard him yell hysterically as if he had lost his mind and I smirked to myself, finally seeing the tables turned.

"Oh, but it is."

And the door to the booth room closed behind me, signaling the finale on that part of my life. I accepted that this was going to be this way and now, I was going on up, doing the things that I wanted without worrying about no one else. And my god, it was going to be a beautiful rest of my life.

"Everything okay?" I saw the man that captured my heart standing there, playing a game on his phone, and I just knew that this was the cure that I needed. "Yeah," I held out my hand for him to take and he intertwined our fingers together, pocketing his phone. "Everything is perfect, Joaquin," And with that lingering thought as I threw the box of all things Sterling Thorn away, we left the correctional facility.

"Where are we going now?" He asked from the passenger seat as I started up my truck, rolling down the windows. I was in a good mood and I felt like having the sunroof open, the windows down to let the fresh air swim into my pores, the music playing as I serenaded Joaquin. "I have a surprise for you," I cheekily replied and he raised a brow, wondering if it was a good surprise or if he should risk falling out of the car to his death.

Before we went home to see Tara, Ambrose, and Holly, I had to make sure that Joaquin's dream could finally come true.

"Oh yeah, since you patched things up with your mother, I'd think it'd be nice if we officially met at Holly's party," He spoke up as he played some stupid game once more. "Yeah, I think she would like that." Davina definitely would as she had been pestering me to let her come over so that she could meet my boyfriend.

It was too late to take back my momentous forgiveness, and she had sunk her fingernails too deep into my skin, clinging to me like a barnacle. Ah, I supposed that mothers were like that.

"And if you wanted," I heard him gulp as I changed lanes, wondering what was on his mind. "You could invite my parents too. I don't have their number or anything, so it would just be a struck of luck. But I wouldn't mind," I knew that it was a lot for him to say that because he had confided in me that he was afraid to see his parents after not speaking to them for so long.

And it meant a lot to me that he was taking that step.

Wow, I was only twenty-four, but here I was acting like I was 50, having been in love for so many years and wisdom was all I had to offer. I wondered if this was what parents felt like, planning a child's 9th birthday on May 18th, inviting everyone they could possibly think of.

It was baby steps, but I wanted to see if I could get this family acquainted with a few from my world because I had to face it.

I was always gonna be a rich boy.

"So where are you taking me, babe?" I hated it when he used that nickname because it always caught me off guard and it always made me blush like some maiden in those movies. Before, I had no clue how the fuck one blushed, but I did it every five minutes in the presence of Joaquin. "Just shut up and be patient. You're gonna like it, I promise," I cut my eyes at him, turning down the tune of the music.

"We're almost there anyway," I smiled, singing along to the music. He was going to be absolutely blown away by this, and I couldn't wait to see how he looked doing something he loved. He sat up in his seat as I pulled into the parking lot of the newly finished two-story building.

I parked next to a series of cars, ready to get out. "What is this?" He questioned and I motioned for him to get out so he could find out. "Come on," I wrapped an arm around his waist, dragging him along as he looked around warily. Since there were people here, the entryway was unlocked, so we slipped in.

"Wow," Joaquin beamed as he looked around, seeing a full layout of a waiting room, offices in the back, architectural drawings dotting the wall, various men with yellow helmets on the wall coming out to greet him and I. "This is fucking nice!" He said in awe, touching the books that gave details on how to be a great construction worker and make your buck.

"You like it?" I grinned, digging into my back pocket as he slowly nodded, enticing a chuckle from the men as they gathered around us, already in on this little secret. "Good," I reached for his hand, slamming a key in his palm. "It's yours."

It was exhilaratingly priceless when it all started to click together in his mind. "Huh, what?" He sputtered, in confusion and in disbelief. "Yup and these men are your employees," I pointed to them and they all waved happily. "Hi boss!" They sounded so happy to be here and Joaquin's eyes widened and his jaw fell as if he couldn't understand.

"W-why?" He turned to me, utter glee exuding from his smile and I smirked, raising a brow. "I can't be the only one who's supported. Your dream has to happen, my guy," I patted him on the back, wanting to bust out in a laugh at how shook he looked at the moment. Poor baby was so surprised that I thought about him in this way. "You deserve to be happy too," I tilted my head, smiling softly.

I had no idea how depression worked or what it felt like, but Joaquin did have his days where he was down in the dumps, feeling like he was drowning but everyone else was breathing. He did have his days where he was angry with himself over the guilt he never got over, and he was scared to let me see that side of him because even though he had meds, there was no telling.

I was okay with it, more than okay.

He looked down at me, clenching his fists as he shook his head in disbelief. "Cheyenne, you—" I didn't even let him finish because I pushed him in the direction of his new team, wanting him to stop talking and go introduce himself to them.

Fucking wuss.

I rolled my eyes with a smirk before answering an incoming Facetime call from Holly. "Chey Chey, we just wanted to say hi!" I waved to her and Ambrose, who was beaming on the screen, teeth wider than I had ever seen them. "Hi babes," I grinned back, a breath of fresh air in my soul after seeing them. "What time are you and Papa getting home? Ms. Tara is making us dinner," She stated and I bit my lip.

"In the next few minutes," I replied and she nodded, blowing me a kiss before she hung up the call to leave me to continue my actions. I went to turn around and go to where the men had dragged Joaquin to and all of a sudden, I ran into a chest.

"The hell, man?!" I pouted as I clutched my burning nose, and Joaquin backed me up against the brick wall and I looked up at him as he bent down to my level, a serious expression on his face and I gulped. He leaned in just a bit closer, enough so that he could whisper into my ear, shivers traveling up my spine.

"You're extremely lucky your arm is healed now," His voice dropped an octave as he gripped my arm, his breath fanning my ear. "Because when we get home, I'm going to fuck you so hard."

Needless to say, I was speechless.

I was silenced by a rough kiss, the powerful momentum crushing me against the shower wall as Joaquin, with one hand, lifted me up. My legs immediately wrapped around his waist, an appreciative moan escaping me as I was kissed within an inch of my life and death.

I knew that there was a painful edge of desperation to it—how could I not—but the pitiful realization had no place in my mind as his slick fingers slid between my ass, rubbing over that same place he was going to bury himself in. All I wanted to focus on was the here and the now, and the fact that Joaquin—the man who ruined me for anyone else— wanted me just as bad as I wanted him.

I took two fingers with ease, waiting for them to hit that spot as he gasped, his lips falling to the crook my head with a haughty moan. As I was fingered deeply, those large digits scissoring me open with faltering movements, I panted and I begged. "More..." Joaquin was quick on the uptake, biting down and leaving at the sensitive skin as he drew a mark into the world. I couldn't stop myself from moaning, from screaming and I knew that my voice was spurring him on, judging by the harder bites. I couldn't even think straight between the sensation of being marked and stretched and all I really cared about was Joaquin and getting more of him.

And god damn, there was so much of Joaquin. My hands kept running over every inch of his body, the hot water pelting us as I felt all his muscles, the little bit of hair on his chest, the scars on his body. I sunk my fingers into his hair, tugging as best I could on the short strands. If it weren't for the promise of being fucked hard and rough as he had vowed, I would've abandoned all rationale and dropped to my knees, devoting myself to sitting between those thick, powerful thighs, sucking every last drop from his magnificent cock.

I couldn't count how many times I caught myself fantasizing about licking on it, wondering how it'd taste against my tongue. A highly unusual feat, but I couldn't stop myself from wanting it. I stole too many glances often when he walked into the room naked, and now that I could feel the weight and the heat of it as it rubbed against me, promising to fill me like I wanted, I couldn't help myself.

I was burning in desire for him.

More moans spilled from my lips and all of a sudden, with a grip of my hips and a glare that promised everything and more, I was silenced by a thrust from Joaquin's hips. I was forced to a shuddering halt by the exquisite sensation that pierced me entirely. The hot and hard length of his cock was barely inside me, but I could feel myself coming undone.

He groaned lowly, sinking in inch by sinful inch and I gripped his shoulders, the stretch, and the ache everything I longed for. "Fuck!" I panted, Joaquin's gaze burning into my own as he gave a shallow thrust, not even bottoming out yet. I wanted to feel all of him, every single inch. "Agh, yesss, fuck! More! Fucking give it to me like you said you would, Joaquin," I threw my head against the wall, not seeing the mad grin that transformed his face as the beast was awakened. His voice was dark, deep and husky and full of lust, enough to warrant me a moaning mess.

"Watch what you ask for, Cheyenne."

Definitely speechless.