When she woke it was night. Some of the lamps were on, thankfully, s there was a dim light. Corrie looked around and saw Ryan's body. So, it hadn't been a dream. She immediately hugged her arms around her naked chest. She had no idea where she was, she knew the Cabin was Piney's, but she didn't know anything else. She had no phone and hadn't seen one anywhere so far.
She glared at Ryan. He must have a phone! Shaking, she crawled across the bloody floor and tore through the dead man's pockets. Finally, she found his iphone. The only number she knew by heart was Dita's.
Dita sat impatiently in Opie's room. He was awake and telling Jax and Juice what had happened. His face was a little scrapped up, his shoulder and right arm had a fair amount of scrapes and bruising, and his left leg was a mess of road rash. She knew when she mentioned Corrie should have been here hours ago, he would sign himself out against orders. Really he was just here for observation and he would likely have just signed out anyway, still she felt guilty.
When his hazel eyes met hers from across the room, she knew the question was coming.
"Didn't you call Corrie?" He asked.
"Yea, as soon as they found you. She said she was coming, but that was hours ago," Dita frowned.
Brashly, Opie stood and yanked out an IV. Jax knew what he was doing so he and Juice went out to the nurse's station to get the paperwork in order. Dita looked away as Opie changed into some fresh clothes she had brought him When he was finally fully dressed, he struggled some from the soreness, he turned to her.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he hissed.
Dita rolled her eyes," Oh I don't know, maybe because of this right here."
As they stared each other down, Dita's cell phone rang. Their eyes both seemed to grow two sizes. It rang three times before it registered to her that she needed to pick it up.
"Hello?"
Corrie's voice came out in sobs. Opie moved in to take the phone from Dita, but she turned away. All she could understand was that her sister was at Piney's Cabin, that Ryan was dead, and something she thought sounded too much like rape for her liking. She was really hoping she heard that part wrong.
When she hung up the phone she looked around the room for Opie, but he had already gone. She had a feeling as soon as the words, "Piney's Cabin, are you sure?" had left her mouth Opie had gone.
Sagging under the stress, she ventured out to find Juice and head up to the cabin.
Opie couldn't think straight as he flew towards the cabin in his truck. He had no idea what he was driving towards or what condition Corrie was in. All he knew was he had to find her. His arm ached, his leg was barely tolerable, but that was all just background noise.
When he finally reached the cabin he saw the black Cadillac that had clipped him and he grabbed the gun he kept in the glove box. As silently as he could manage he walked towards the front door. As he silently turned the doorknob, goosebumps rose on his arms. He pushed it open and took in the scene.
There was a body lying in the floor, on its back, with a knife hilt sticking out of its chest. There was a huge puddle of blood. Just outside the reach of the puddle sat a redheaded woman, topless, cover in blood, face bruised, hair matted and streaked with blood, and her pants torn in several places. She was sobbing, saying something, but Opie couldn't hear it passed the rushing noise in his ears.
He tucked the gun in the back of his pant, took off his jacket and slipped it around Corrie's shoulders. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to a standing position. Her jaw was swollen and purple. Her bottom lip was split. Most of the blood on her didn't appear to be hers, but there was a cut on her chest and above her collar bone. She wouldn't look him in the eyes.
"Cor," he whispered, "Corrie, shhhhh. Corrie, calm down. I'm here I'm ok. Cor, you have to calm down and tell me what happened.
The atmosphere of the room shifted and Corrie looked up at him like she hadn't noticed before it was him. Her hands flew to his face, surveying every scratch, cut and bruise.
"Oh opie, thank god," she rubbed her face on his chest.
Opie knew she was leaving blood stains on his shirt, but he was just happy she seemed to have snapped out of it.
"Corrie, what happened?"
Darkness contorted her face. It alarmed Opie, but it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before.
"He sent me a picture of you with an address on it," she looked down and pulled his jacket closer to her, "then he brought me here. And, he, "she paused, "I stabbed him."
He knew she was leaving something important out. Only a fool would believe she was half naked for no reason. Gently he pulled her to him, thankful it was Ryan with the knife sunk in his chest and not Corrie.
"The guys will be here soon. We'll clean this up and it will be over," despite the blood, he rested his cheek on her head.
When the guys showed up they had Corrie's sister in tow. She was so happy to see her.
"Dita!" she kept the jacket hugged to her as she ran to her.
Corrie ignored the dismayed stares from the bikers as they looked at the damage. Dita handed her some clothes and let Opie show her to the bathroom so she could clean up.
The warm water was amazing. It was surreal to her to be showering in the same house she had just killed Ryan in. Opie looked haunted and relieved; it was a strange combination. She was a tangled mass of emotions. She had no idea how to get over any of this. Why hadn't she told Opie Ryan raped her? It wouldn't change his opinion of her. It wasn't her fault. Yet, there was guilt and shame simmering just below the surface.
When the water finally flowed clear, she stepped out and got dressed.
Dita didn't want to have to tell Opie what she knew. It would cause retaliation and Corrie wouldn't want that. Still, she would want someone to tell Juice, even if she couldn't.
She approached the knot of men who were busy wrapping the son of a bitch up in a rug and securing it. Opie stood with his arms crossed listening to Jax.
"Op, what did she tell you?"Dita asked casually.
"She said he sent her a picture of me, she went to and address, and he brought her here. She said she stabbed him," Opie replied.
Jax tilted his head to one side, "If there's more you need to tell us."
Dita blew out a breath and it lifted her bangs.
"He raped her, Op. That's how she stabbed him. He was too busy raping her to notice her reaching for the knife."
Opie's hand formed tight fists at his sides and he turned away from Dita. Jax put an arm around his best friend and pulled him into a hug. Dita realized the whole room was quiet and she looked at the other bikers. Chibs was staring at her, eyes blazing and Juice had taken her hand in his.
"You guys, we have to let it drop here. You see that dead body, that IS retaliation. I know it isn't as satisfying as doing it yourself, but you have to accept it," she looked at them all, "You have to let it go."
Corrie walked out into a nearly silent room. Though she was finally fully dressed she felt naked. Opie had his back to the room with Jax beside him. Dita and Juice were holding hands. Chibs just looked pissed. Rubbing her hands on the backs of her arms, she crossed the room to Opie. She avoided looking in the direction of the body.
Jax turned to her and hugged her. It shocked her. She didn't think she had ever even had an entire conversation with Jax. She slid her hand into Opie's, desperate to feel safe. Without turning to look at her, he spoke, "Let's go home."
She followed him silently to the truck. She wondered what home he meant. On the ride home, she thought of Ryan. When they had first met, Dita was working a job for him. He was young, handsome, powerful, and full of flattery. She fell for him hard.
Dita had tried to warn her away, but she didn't listen. Ryan always told her she was it. He bought her things. He allowed her to see the inner workings of his job. The trust, in itself, was mind boggling. She couldn't remember when things changed. The exact moment when she notice the control seeping in. It was a terrible end for someone she once loved.
She glanced at Opie as they entered Charming. His knuckles were white on the wheel and his muscles were clenched. Her heart was in her stomach. Dita must have told him what happened. It must completely change her to him. The thought of Opie leaving or being disappointed was too much for her fragile mind to handle. She began to sob loudly.
Opie's head jerked toward her and he pulled the car abruptly off the road and put it in park. He grabbed her and yanked her across the space.
"Why are you crying?" he whispered.
"She told you. She told you and now you can't even look at me," she cried.
Anger clouded Opie's bright eyes, "Corrie, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. I didn't protect you."
Corrie slumped forward, "Just take me home."
Sorry this one took so long! I was pretty shocked by SoA last week. Took me a little while to get back.
