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General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.
CHAPTER 51: WOUNDED
Sydney woke up the next morning feeling like she'd been hit by a freight train as the reality of what being a gunshot victim really meant started to set in. She lay with her thigh throbbing and her muscles aching with a nagging pain that had her clenching her jaw and holding her breath. She tossed and turned, trying to find a position that brought her some comfort as the effects of the morphine dwindled in her system, but it was no use.
"You okay, baby?" Tig mumbled groggily, opening one eye to see that she had pushed herself as far away from him as possible in the tiny bed.
"Too warm." She went with the first excuse that came to mind, hoping that he would just brush it off and return to his slumber that she had been trying not to disturb in the first place.
"I told you that you wouldn't like me hogging the bed." He chuckled, getting up and padding across the room where he opened the window, careful not to knock over any of the flower vases.
"That's not why." She ground her teeth as she laid on her back, balling her fists into the sheets.
Tig rubbed his forehead, pulling his boots on over his sweatpants as he quietly left the room at the early hour, quickly returning with a cup of ice water.
"Thanks." She accepted the water gratefully, gulping it all down and turning her focus to the sensation of the cool liquid traveling down her throat and through her chest before she crunched down on the ice chips.
"Better?" He asked as he sat down in the chair next to the bed, kicking his feet up and turning on the TV in hopes that more space and less body heat would help her fall back asleep.
"No." She grumbled as she clenched her fist around the ring on her finger, her frustration quickly returning as he got comfortable - denying her the one thing that made the pain bearable. "I don't want to see anyone today."
Tig frowned, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. "Try and go back to sleep, I'm right here." He could already tell that today was going to be a bad day. He wasn't a foreigner to bullets or heavy drugs - he knew that as they began weaning her off of the painkillers, she was going to be restless, cranky, and uncomfortable.
Sydney turned away from him, laying on her unwounded side as she tried to ward off enough agitation to fall back asleep, but she couldn't - her mind was overflowing with discomfort and resentment, building a panic deep in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to shake this off with a long drive or a fast ride, but she couldn't ride, drive, run, or even walk. She couldn't even shower by herself if she wanted to. She let her chest heave silently, staring out the window for what felt like hours before the nurse finally came in for her morning vitals - and dose of morphine.
Clay waited patiently with his feet up as he sat back on the sorry excuse of a bed in the holding cell at the station house, waiting for Unser to bring in Alvarez. He'd gotten half of the map from Darby, now he needed the other half from the Mayan king himself.
"What the hell is this?" Alvarez questioned once he realized where he was being taken. "The Sheriff said I was being brought in for questioning-" He was cut off by the man shoving him forward and locking the gate behind him. "Man what the hell!" He rattled the bars, finally turning to see Clay Morrow and his heart sank.
"I'm sitting here… Trying to think how killing me and the dirty white boy is a smart move for you guys." Clay began nonchalantly. "There's gotta be a piece of the puzzle that I aint seeing, or maybe you're just really stupid, which… Seeing how you botched both hits - is a theory aint too far-fetched." He shrugged, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"You got something you wanna do here, man? Let's get to it." Alvarez was fed up with these asshole white boys talking down to him - that's why he'd set up the hits in the first place.
"You mean like… Shiv ya? Make you suck my dick?" Clay grinned. "That's a little obvious, don't you think? Nah, you and me Marky? We're gonna have our own little MC summit."
"Oh yeah? We're just gonna figure it all out, are we?" The dark haired man was skeptical, to say the least. "I don't know man… Sons and Mayans? That's some real Arab-Jew shit."
"Eh, we got a little history." Clay shrugged. "But how about we talk about the present? Now-" He sighed, swinging his legs down to the ground. "You guys need guns, right? Half-ass gats you're buying off the streets barely scare the clerks at the seven-eleven-"
"We arm up just fine, ese." Alvarez cut him off, he wasn't interested in listening to the condescending man tell him all the things that he was doing wrong.
"Bullshit. You're packing toys - you need real guns. Maybe it's time for me to expand my customer base."
Alvarez mulled it over, he knew that they needed better hardware, especially now that they no longer had the Nords on their side, but he needed to know what the angle was before he agreed to anything.
"Sounds smart." He shrugged noncommittally, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. "But what I really need is the Niners' heroin trade… Can't take it if their guns are bigger than mine."
"I said expand, not exchange." Clay scoffed. "I'm still gonna sell to the Niners - if you guys wanna play 'operation ghetto storm', knock yourselves out. What I'm offering you is the same hardware, for the same price."
"And what's your end?"
"Peace of mind." He answered honestly. "Your charters up north - they settle all their beefs with the SOA, and I don't care what it costs you. And Nevada? Your charters leave my new crew in Indian Hills, alone. And the first bullet outta one of my guns that hits a Son, or friend of? Ends the arrangement, followed by a hell that you don't even wanna know."
"What about A.T.F.?"
"It's a nonissue."
The Mayan smirked. "They knew about your Irish gun hookup, ese. Ship from Dungloe, oil drums - got intel on all of it."
Clay's forehead creased as he tried to process the information, it all made sense - the feds, the raids, but the only thing that didn't make sense was how Alvarez knew.
"That puzzle piece you couldn't see? Some A.T.F. agent you guys pissed off… He sent Darby a file. Same way he sent me footage of you guys blowing my packing site to shit."
Clay chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head. "And let me guess, Darby used it as currency: the guns for my hit."
"I hate that white boy." Alvarez smiled sarcastically. "Let my emotions get the better of me; the hits, bad planning, sloppy work."
"We'll call it even for the crack shack." Clay smirked. "I guess God had a bigger plan."
"Yeah." He scoffed. "I mean, here we are talking about peace."
"Aint no peace yet." Clay reminded him with a shake of his head. "Don't forget you tried to end me - wounded one of my own. That doesn't go unanswered. San Bernardino to Tacoma, my crew is going to want you head on a stick."
Alvarez looked to the ground with a nod of both understanding, and regret. "Your girl… She was never meant to get hurt." He chewed the inside of his lip, making his final decision. "I got a compromise that I think will satisfy everyone."
Enough of the pain had been taken care of that Sydney didn't feel like she was going to explode physically, but mentally was another story. Her insecurities began eating away at her as Tig sat by her side for hours on end. She tried to tell herself that she was worried he would get bored of her - having to tend to her every need while she was too drained to even make conversation. But she knew - not nearly as deep down as she would've liked - that it was because she didn't want him to see her so weak. There was only one person who was allowed to see her that way, and that person was nowhere to be found.
She could feel her anger building the longer that she sat condemned to the hospital bed as people passed by her room with wandering minds and sympathetic smiles, looking at her for exactly what she was: wounded - the one thing that she'd never wanted to be seen as.
"You don't have to stay." She deadpanned as she swirled her plastic fork around in the puddle of syrup underneath her uneaten pancakes. "I know this isn't fun for you." She pushed the tray table away as Tig looked up with eyes full of confusion, and a mouth full of food.
"You kidding?" He scoffed, swallowing his last mouthful of the dry, fast food breakfast. "Days of uninterrupted time with my girl? This is the most fun I've had in weeks." He wiped his mouth, tossing his napkin onto the styrofoam plate. He could tell that the bed rest was starting to get to her, which didn't surprise him for someone as active and determined as Sydney, and he was sure that the weakness was taking a toll too - doing his best not to draw any attention to it.
"You're just saying that." She felt herself getting upset even through the bashful smile that he managed to put on her face.
He shook his head, moving to the edge of the bed and taking her hand. "I want to be here." He looked into her sad green eyes with sincerity. "But if you wanna be alone, I'll go."
"Where?" She whispered nervously. She didn't know what the fuck she wanted - she didn't want him to stay, but she sure as hell didn't want him to leave.
"Right outside." He squeezed her hand with a small smile. "I'll come back as soon as you need me."
Before Sydney could respond, they were interrupted by a knocking at the door, turning around to see Tara standing with her clipboard.
"What were you saying about uninterrupted?" Sydney chuckled to Tig.
Tig smiled and shook his head. "I'm gonna head out for a smoke." He left the two women alone, grateful for the timing - hoping that a break would help Sydney figure out what she needed.
"Did you sleep here?" Sydney looked over the exhausted woman who was in the same scrubs as yesterday underneath her white coat, with even darker bags under her eyes.
"Yeah…" Tara tried to force an awkward smile. "I just… Can't go back there right now."
"You talk to Jax?"
She sighed, letting her eyes fall closed. "I've been thinking about what you said…" She shook her head, sitting at the foot of the bed. "I don't know if I should get on at all… If I do, I don't know if I'll be able to hold on. What if something knocks me off again?"
"There is such a thing as a grace period…" Sydney looked at her expectantly. "Time to figure it out before you figure it out… I don't think Jax is going to be in much rush." She scoffed.
"Yeah." Tara chuckled humorlessly, biting her lip. "I guess you're right." She shook it off, blinking to refocus herself. "Are we okay? You know, after…" She trailed off uncomfortably.
"We'll call it even for me barging into your house." Sydney chortled.
Tara smiled gratefully. "The doctor was going to tell you this tonight, but they're going to be continuing to decrease your morphine intake, you're probably feeling some pain today, so they're going to wait until tomorrow to get you walking before releasing you on Thursday."
"You'll be shaking that ass just in time for my birthday." Sydney's head shot up when she heard the unrecognizable husky voice, a wide grin coming to her face when her eyes landed on Donut.
"Why are you always seeing me like this." She bit her lip and shook her head with an eye roll.
Tig smiled around his cigarette as he sat on his bike in the parking lot. He knew that Sydney had said that she didn't want visitors, but when he bumped into Donut in the waiting room, he knew that it was just the thing to cheer her up - especially since he had been the one to cheer her up the first time that she'd gone to the hospital against her will.
Just as fast as Sydney's mood had picked up at the sight of her good friend, it deteriorated - just like the morphine in her system. She could feel herself getting fidgety as she sat in the same spot for the time that her and Donut talked, desperate to get up and walk around or do something to take her mind off of the throbbing that she could feel returning in her left leg.
"Getting bored of me?" The burly man nodded to her bouncing foot.
"No." She forced a laugh. "Just tired."
"I'll quit keepin you awake." He winked, standing from his spot on the bed and leaning down to hug her, planting a kiss on her cheek before he made his way to the door.
"D?" He turned around when he heard her calling after him, swaying back and forth as he hung onto the metal doorframe. "Have you seen Hap?"
"No, kitty cat." He frowned when he saw the foreign look of defeat on her face. "He wasn't at the clubhouse - I assumed he'd be here." His brows wrinkled. There was no way that Happy hadn't been to the hospital to see Sydney?
"I must just have my days mixed up… Drugs and all." She played it off with an eye roll and a small smile.
"Okay." Donut smiled, unconvinced but also unwilling to confront her about it at this very moment. "I'll see you later, for that birthday lapdance." He winked, closing the door behind him as he left, the smile on his face falling immediately as he stomped out to the lobby.
"Yeah?" Happy pulled out his ringing phone as he stood outside of Maya's house, smoking a joint while she puffed on a cigarette.
"Where the hell you at, man?" Donut's voice came down the line. "Sydney's asking for you… You haven't seen her?" The long haired man still couldn't believe it after the way he'd seen his tattooed brother act when Sydney had been hurt before.
"No one told me she could have visitors."
"I thought you'd be the first in line, bro. What's going on-"
"I was. They told me to leave." Happy defended himself before ultimately deciding to just snap his phone shut.
Maya raised a brow as he got angrier over the phone, but she didn't ask any questions. She figured she'd pushed her luck with that, she was going to save her inquisitions for things that mattered - or that she cared about.
Sydney lay on her back, nodding her head as the nagging pain in her thigh got stronger. She alternated between squeezing her eyes shut, clenching her jaw, and inadvertently tensing her muscles as she tried to absorb the pain. She felt panicked tears coming to her eyes again, switching her focus to her shaky breathing as she tried to calm down.
"Thanks man." Donut hugged Tig once he reached the parking lot of the hospital, grateful for the Sergeant being so patient and waiting around for them to have their visit.
"No problem." Tig smiled. "I'm glad you came to see her… She could use some friendly faces after looking at this ugly mug all day." He joked.
Donut laughed, clapping the older man on the shoulder. "She's in good hands, brother." He nodded, taking his leave.
All of Sydney's efforts to conceal the growing pain over the last couple of hours had resulted in a thin layer of sweat over her exhausted body, which she didn't notice until a breeze came through the window and a cold shiver rolled over her. She flinched, looking over and locking her eyes on the open window.
She knew that she shouldn't do it; push her luck while she was healing, but she was desperate for some kind of feeling of control over her body, or at the very least - her surroundings. She sat up, slowly dragging both of her legs across the bed until they were hanging off of the end, scooting herself to the edge so that the soles of her feet were on the cool, tiled floor. She took a deep breath, using all of her strength to push her weight up onto her feet.
Tig waltzed back into the ICU with a smile on his face, daydreaming happily as he opened the door gently in case she had fallen asleep, a loud crash of breaking glass pulling him from his thoughts.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah." His eyes went wide, dropping his keys and pack of cigarettes onto the sink by the door before racing over to Sydney who was leaning against the windowsill with broken glass and water all around her bare feet from the bouquet she'd knocked over when she lost her balance. "What the hell are you doing?" He looked over her with concern as he held her upright.
"I'm cold." She grit her chattering teeth, feeling her face getting hot with embarrassment when she couldn't even close a fucking window.
"Baby, this is what the nurses are for." He spoke tenderly, scooping her up bridal-style and carrying her back to bed as she rolled her eyes.
Sydney was able to calm the temper tantrum boiling in her chest as he cleaned up the mess she'd made - stopping herself from a full blown breakdown. She avoided his eyes as he looked at her pitifully from the sink, looking down at her bright pink toes instead.
Tig winced, seeing the pain radiating off of her as she sat with her head down and her cheeks red. He walked over softly, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning down to look into her lowered eyes.
"Does it hurt?"
"No." She lied, sniffling as a tear trickled down her cheek before she swatted it away.
He frowned, not bothering to kick his boots off as he covered her legs with the blanket and laid back, pulling her down so that she was lying diagonally across him with her back to his chest.
"Are you comfy?" She asked meekly, hoping to mentally prepare herself this time if he was going to leave her alone in bed again.
"If you're comfy, I'm comfy, baby." He felt his heart clenching - she shouldn't be worrying about if he was comfortable. He dragged his hand back and forth over her covered stomach, knowing that the light tickling would cause enough of a distraction from the pain in her leg. "I thought Donut would cheer you up." He told her sadly, wanting nothing more than to take her discomfort away.
"I did too." She sighed shakily, feeling something being placed between her quivering lips, realizing what it was when she heard the flick of the lighter.
"Tiggy." She looked up at him with a scowl. "I can't smoke in here-"
"I don't give a shit." He shook his head, lighting the end of the cigarette. "Nicotine withdrawals aren't gonna help you right now."
"I'm not a chainsmoker." She grumbled as she felt a rush of relief wash over her aching body, blowing out the smoke with a grateful sigh.
"Sure you're not." He chuckled, jostling her lightly as he felt her body psychically relaxing as soon as she inhaled the tobacco.
Jax took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart as he walked through the halls of - a place that he was becoming very familiar with, and knew that he would continue to become familiar with from this day on. He picked his head up, walking tall and strong as he approached the next phase in his transition to the life of a true anarchist.
Sydney had dozed off after the blissful dose of nicotine had calmed her enough to be able to sleep off the exhaustion that the strong physical exertion had plagued her body with. She awoke without an irritable panic this time, listening to Tig's soft snoring as his chest rose up and down peacefully under her head, making the instant pain bearable for a few seconds longer - until she saw what had woken her up: Jax waving his arms about from outside the room, trying to get her attention without waking Tig.
"We need to talk." He mouthed to her, pointing to Tig and then pointing out the door.
He was right, they definitely needed to talk. She nodded eagerly, turning onto her side slightly and nudging Tig. "Baby." She wiggled her elbow into his ribs gently.
"Hmm?" His eyes shot open. "What is it? What's wrong?" He frantically scanned over her as she propped herself up on his chest.
"I'm hungry." She looked up at him with those glossy, innocent eyes.
"Okay." He nodded sleepily, patting her arm gently before guiding her to sit up, kissing her cheek as he got to his feet. "Diner?"
"Please." She nodded.
Jax peeked out from the adjacent room, waiting until the heavy double doors closed behind Tig to make his way into Sydney's room. "Hey." He greeted her with a warm smile even though he was scared shitless. "How you doin?"
"Oh you know… Kickin it." She tried her best to lift her heavy leg. "How are you doing?" She raised a brow.
"Uh." He stretched his neck, trying to find the right way to start.
"I talked to Tara already." She could tell that he didn't want to relive the events.
"You did?"
"Mhmm. Once again, the good doctor has put you out of your misery, ."
"That bullet definitely didn't damage your attitude." He scoffed.
'I'm on a diet of painkillers and pity. What more could a girl want?"
"Hey, at least you got Tig waiting on you 'hand and leg'." He winked, nudging her foot.
"Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes. "So what now?"
"I don't know." He shook his head. "But I know I can't do this - half in, half out shit. It's clear that I can't protect anything if I'm not focused."
"You protected Tara the way that you knew you were supposed to - now you have to get right with that."
"I'm ready to accept it, I just don't know how."
"Come clean to the club." She decided.
"What?" His entire face contorted. "I thought we said that was a bad idea?"
"Clay almost got killed and they think that you dipped out to get laid. You need to tell them." She scoffed. "You tell the truth - it'll explain why your focus hasn't been the club. You could even throw in that bit about how you've been watching their backs the whole time and how you took out a threat."
"I don't know… It was bad timing before but- " He shook his head. "Clubhouse is starting to fill up with other charters - seems like this is even worse to try and pull the hero card."
"Swing it whatever way you want. This is the only time that you have before shit hits the fan, be there to help decide where it lands, VP."
"Okay." Jax nodded. She was right - he needed to be a leader, not a follower. "Okay." He repeated with more determination, getting to his feet. "I'll call church. You gonna be okay alone while Tig's gone?"
"I think I'll manage." She smiled sarcastically as he got up and walked out the door with a charming smile.
"You know…" He took a step backwards into the room. "Aint just about Clay almost getting killed… You're the one sittin here. That counts for something."
"I guess pity's heavy on the menu tonight, huh?" She raised a brow with a playful smile.
Jax snorted and rolled his eyes. "Don't forget what I told you." He called over his shoulder as he left. He knew she was just being modest, but he couldn't laugh off a shooting as easily as she could.
Tig had just walked into the diner when his phone began ringing with a call from Clay informing him that Jax had called an emergency meeting. "Shit…" He looked around the restaurant busy with the dinner rush. "Okay, I'll be there." He snapped his phone shut.
"Hello?" Sydney picked up her ringing phone, grateful for the distraction as the pain was getting gradually worse.
"Hey, baby." Tig spoke apologetically as he made his way back to his bike. "Jax called a meeting with SAMCRO. I'm gonna send Donut back with your food - he can keep you company until I get back."
Sydney's blank expression turned to a frown when he mentioned Donut - remembering the look of confusion on his face when he found out that Happy hadn't visited her. She felt the panic returning - she didn't need to feel that embarrassment again.
"No, it's fine. I can just wait for you."
"You sure? You need to eat…" Tig contemplated going back inside - the club could wait.
"I'll have the nurses bring me something." She lied. "My evening dose should be coming soon, it'll probably knock me out until you get back."
"Okay." He agreed wearily. "You want anything on my way back?"
"Um." She felt her heart clenching and her eyes welling up. "I think I'll be okay." Why was it so simple for Tig - who had known her for all of two months - to make her his top priority, drop all of his responsibilities to do whatever it was that she wanted, whether it was actually what she wanted or not, but the one person she was supposed to call her family, couldn't do the same?
"I love you." She kept her voice level.
"I love you too." He smiled before taking off towards the clubhouse.
Clay chewed the inside of his lip as Jax ran down the entire story of A.T.F.: Why they'd been raided in the first place, why his house had been vandalized, why the feds were circling - all because of Tara. It made perfect sense now that he had every piece of the puzzle, the intel from Alvarez, the truth from Jax, and the weight of what it all meant. Gemma had been right all along about Tara being a danger to her son, but her son was a danger to the club.
Tig stroked his goatee as he processed the information, finally understanding what Sydney had meant when she said that she didn't want retaliation until she returned. He also now understood the visits from Tara, wondering just how much of this Sydney had been privy to. He, of course, had gotten the information about Kohn and Tara from her weeks ago, but since Kohn had been driven out of town, he'd assumed that the shit they were dealing with from the feds was business, not personal.
"I took care of it. The right way." Jax concluded his divulgence with a confident nod. "I'm sorry that my personal shit bled on the club. It won't happen again."
'"You were trying to protect us." Juice assured him with a nod.
"Aye. You did the right thing, Jackie."
Jax appreciated the support from his brothers, but he knew that the support he really needed was from his fellow officers. "Are we good?" He looked to Clay and Tig.
"Yeah." Clay smiled after a moment's hesitation.
"Good with me… I don't know how good you're gonna be with the voice in my ear." Tig chortled.
"Yeah." Jax chuckled. "I'm glad she aint here to chew me out about it." He figured it was best to cover her involvement with Kohn. If she wanted them to know that she helped him hide it from the club, that could be her own truth to tell.
"Speakin of the Princess." Clay steered the meeting elsewhere, he would deal with Jax later, not in the presence of his club. "SAMDINO's gonna be gettin in tonight, and they're gonna wanna see her." He looked between Tig and Happy. "We don't let that happen."
"What?" Juice didn't understand, and apparently neither did most of the others as the perimeter of the table filled with creased foreheads and furrowed brows.
"It aint my request, it's hers." He leant forward, pointing his finger around the room. "And it's our job to honor that request." His tone held no room for negotiation, this was an order.
"So, any other threats I should know about?" Jax heard the smug voice behind him as he stalked out of the clubhouse, turning around to see Clay standing with his hands in his pockets.
"You think I'm distracted?" He spit out as he stepped forward, red clouding his vision as his stepfather ridiculed him. "All this shit got me twisted up? My kid? Tara?" The defensive words began pouring out, unsure if he was more talking to Clay, or himself.
"Oh I am very concerned about your level of focus." Clay scoffed, matching Jax's challenging step forward. "But I'm having serious doubts about your commitment to this club."
"I risked my life for this club." He sneered.
"So did she!" Clay yelled, throwing his hand up in frustration. "Now I don't see you lying in a hospital bed. So don't talk to me about commitment."
Jax felt himself shrinking under the weight of Clay's words, shaking his head regretfully. "My commitment hasn't changed." He confirmed more calmly, remembering that the purpose of his admittance was to avoid confrontations like this. "With the damage done to my family? Yeah, it's got me thinkin a little different. But I aint afraid to get bloody Clay, not anymore."
Sydney was finally able to lay back comfortably after her evening medication was injected into her IV stream. She sighed in content as the relief enveloped her body, enjoying it while it lasted because she knew that as the doses got smaller, the feeling would fade faster - but an empty stomach definitely helped to prolong the effects.
Tig hung back with the rest of the guys as they knew that Jax and Clay were having a discussion not meant for public ears, chatting with Willy and Chibs over a beer. "Packer's gonna be here late tonight, Nevada charters won't be far behind." Donut announced as he entered the circle, tucking his burner back into his pocket.
"Alright." Tig nodded, clapping the Tacoma man on the shoulder when he saw Clay re-entering the clubhouse. "Sounds good." He took his leave, heading for the door before he was stopped by an arm on his shoulder.
"Hey, Tiggy." Cheryl cooed.
Tig felt his heart sink as every bit of anger he'd been storing over the past few days, rose to the surface. He knew that he needed to keep his cool - not cause a scene, especially in front of visiting charters and members' families, but the feeling of her hand grazing his neck had his skin crawling like never before.
"I know you're with her…" The croweater tried to soothe his rage before it could start. "But it doesn't count if she can't satisfy you, right? It's like the prison clause." She dragged her nails over his chest. "You know I can satisfy you…" Her hot breath tickled his ear, smirking as he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside with him.
"You don't tell anyone about this." He ordered as they rounded the building where they were out of sight.
"Of course not." She smirked, draping her arms over his shoulders and tilting her lips up towards his before she felt herself being violently slammed against the bricks.
Tig had to control just how far his rage was willing to take this as he shoved her further against the wall by her throat. He'd had more than enough of the persistent gash, but he knew that another body at the hands of a scorned lover was not what the club needed right now.
"You listen to me, and you listen good." He spoke with his lips brushing her ear as she screamed her pleas for him to stop. "Your time here is over. You got it? Done. You don't drink here, you don't work here, you don't fuck here." He pulled away to look into her fearful eyes, tightening his grip on her throat when she didn't respond. "Do. You. Understand?" He sneered through gritted teeth.
Cheryl nodded as her eyes got wider with the lack of oxygen. "Good." He spit into her face before finally letting her go, walking away as he heard her fall to the ground and gasp for air.
Sydney woke up sometime later, blinking as she tried to gain her bearings - noting that she couldn't have been out for long because it had only begun to get dark for the evening. Her blurry vision eventually focused, landing on the pair of black eyes that she'd been waiting days to see. But she didn't feel relief or happiness over the recognition, she felt anger.
"Why haven't you been here?" She spit out the first bitter words that came to her clouded mind, feeling her face getting hot as he sat in the chair with that blank fucking expression.
"I have." Happy defended himself against the rage that he had been subconsciously avoiding - which had inadvertently only made it worse.
"Yeah? Where? Cause you sure as shit weren't where I fucking needed you." Her chest heaved as her mind raced with everything that she had been holding in. He knew how much she hated hospitals, she couldn't believe that he would do this to her again. "You were the only person besides dad that I was comfortable with. You knew that, and you left me alone."
"You weren't alone. Tig was here."
"And that makes it okay?" She shook her head incredulously.
"You don't need me anymore."
"W-what?" The soft words from the hard man took Sydney completely by surprise. "Yes I do." Her voice cracked. She couldn't imagine her life without Happy in it, she would need him until the day she died. "Hap, you're the only person I need."
"You got Tig now." He shook his head.
"So I was just a chore that you held onto until you could pass me off?" She scoffed as tears began falling from her eyes uncontrollably.
"This is just the drugs talking." Happy clenched his jaw, trying to ignore the stinging in his heart when she started crying. He knew as well as she did that she wouldn't be doing any of this if she was sober. It didn't mean that it wasn't what she felt, but it was what he told himself so that he didn't feel as bad for the mistake he knew he'd made.
"That's more than I can say for you." Her tone was no longer laced with pain, it was laced with poison. "You don't give a shit about telling me anything. You don't tell me about your mom, you don't tell me where you're going, you don't tell me about your girlfriend."
"I don't have a girlfriend."
"Oh yeah? Well then who've you been with while I've been fucking laying here?" Her voice got louder as her frustration built in response to his lack of. "Huh?" She screamed, choking out a sob.
Happy felt his own anger bubbling now, but it wasn't anger towards her - it was anger towards himself. He stayed silent, his jaw twitching as he willed himself not to look away from the painful sight like a pussy.
Sydney squeezed her eyes shut as he sat there without a care in the world. She let her breathing slow down, zoning out as she stared through watery eyes at the bandages peeking out from her hospital gown.
"You don't even tell me that you're proud of me." She whispered. It may have been her leg that was wounded, but she felt like she'd been shot in the heart.