Author's Note: Here's the second part of this little trilogy! In this chapter, the Jets face the consequences of their actions in Doc's.
Chapter 2: Breaking Up Is Never Easy
Sorella cried when Skink came to her after the rumble, just as she had before he'd left. Perhaps even more so, because the truth was, she had lost him that night, just as she had feared she would. But she hadn't lost him to a knife or a gun. She'd lost him to his own savagery.
Velma and Tessie had called all the girls to tell them what had happened. Grazi was too lost in her own grief to do so, so the other girls had taken up the mantle of responsibility. From what Sorella could gather, the girls' responses had ranged from horror to shock to fury to grief, but they'd all been in accord about one thing: what they had with their boys was over.
"How could ya do this?!" Sorella wailed, hitting his chest as hard as she could.
Skink didn't even put up a fight, just hung his head in shame. "Ella…"
"Don't call me that! Don't call me that ever again!" Sorella cried, her tears suddenly replaced with white-hot fury. "Get out! I don't wanna see yer face! Get out!"
He turned white as she pushed him towards her bedroom window, though her own expression remained hard as stone.
"Please, Ella…"
"No," Sorella replied coldly, closing the window in his face once he was out on the fire escape.
She drew the curtain shut tightly so that he couldn't see her collapse onto the floor, weeping.
"No! Don't even think about comin' in here! Go away!" Dot hissed furiously, barring A-Rab from entering her bedroom from the fire escape.
She'd been steeling herself for his arrival ever since receiving the phone call from Velma. When she heard the familiar sound of his footsteps on the ladder, she'd planted herself in her bedroom window to block him.
"Dot…" A-Rab began, his face looking more haggard than she had ever seen it. If she hadn't been so disgusted with him, she would have wanted to hold him close and comfort him as they both grieved the losses of that night. But now she could barely stand to look at him.
"Yer an animal! Did ya really think I was gonna let ya in my bed after what yous did?" she spit, shoving him hard in the chest as he came closer to her.
She could see his eyes fill with remorse and shame at her words, but it was too late for that now.
"I don't ever wanna see ya again," Dot said coldly, ignoring the pain in her own chest. "Go away."
"Dot, please!"
"Go away," she repeated firmly, slipping back inside her bedroom and slamming the window shut.
It was a long time before she heard the sound of his footsteps disappearing down the fire escape.
Gussie was trying to comfort a weeping Tat when Snowboy and Balkan arrived outside their window.
"Tat? Baby, please lemme in," Balkan begged, tapping on the glass.
Tat's response was to bury her head under her pillow, weeping even harder. Gussie was afraid she was going to make herself sick.
Furious, Gussie rose from the bed and opened the window, glaring at the two of them. "She don't wanna see you! Not ever again!" She flinched away when Snowboy tried to reach out to her. "An' I don't wanna see you anymore either! Go away!"
Snowboy hung his head, knowing he deserved every bit of Gussie's anger and more. "Gussie, please let me—"
"I don't want yer explanation! I want ya ta leave!" Gussie exclaimed, her voice rising slightly as she fought the urge to slap him.
"Tat! Please, Tat, talk ta me!" Balkan called out, his eyes glued to her sobbing figure.
"She don't wanna—"
Gussie was cut off as Tat suddenly sat up and threw her pillow at the window as hard as she could. "Go away! I hate you!" she screamed, her mascara dripping down her cheeks.
Even Gussie was taken aback for a moment. She didn't think she'd ever heard her sweet sister utter those words to anyone. The words clearly had their intended effect, however, as Balkan's face crumpled.
"There ain't nothin' we can say…" Snowboy began.
"Yer right. There ain't. Now go," Gussie told them, her voice like ice as she shut the window and closed the curtain.
Sitting back down on the bed, she held Tat in her arms as the two of them cried.
When Ice crawled through Karen's window, grieving and in desperate need of her, he was met with a hard slap across the face.
"I'm ashamed of ya," Karen said quietly, her voice deceptively calm as she stared at him with cold eyes. She was trying to keep her voice down for the sake of her family, though all she really wanted to do was scream and throw things at him.
"Karen, what we did—"
"I know what yous did," Karen cut him off, stepping back when he tried to come closer to her. "Losin' Riff wasn't bad enough? Yous had ta do this?" she demanded, her voice rising slightly.
"I know it ain't right an'—"
"Ya coulda stopped 'em," she said, silencing him. "Yer in charge now that Riff…" She couldn't finish that sentence as grief choked her. "Ya coulda stopped 'em, but ya let 'em act like a pack o' animals. Yer all animals. Get out," Karen whispered harshly, pointing at the window.
Devastated, Ice reached out a hand to her, but she withdrew even further, which only shattered his heart more.
"Out!"
Knowing he had no other choice but to obey her, Ice reluctantly crawled out the window, the sound of the window slamming behind him echoing in his ears long after he had left.
"Are ya happy now? Is this what ya needed ta do ta prove that ya belonged with the Jets?" Sweden demanded, the tears streaming down her face as she stared at Little Moly.
"Sweden, can ya just let me explain?" Little Moly asked, reaching out towards her.
"Don't touch me!" Sweden shrieked, stumbling back and falling onto her bed. "Don't ya dare try ta touch me after what ya did!" she went on, burying her face in her hands.
Little Moly lowered his head shamefully, scuffing his sneaker against the floor. He knew there was nothing he could say. "Will ya…will ya ever forgive me?"
"I'm not the one ya need ta apologize to," Sweden said firmly, wiping her tears away as she rose from her bed. "I want ya ta go," she told him. "Leave."
"Sweden…"
"Leave!"
She turned her back on him as he slowly climbed out her window, her heart splintering into too many pieces to count.
"I've forgiven ya for a lot, but this? How could I forgive ya for this?" Maxie demanded, staring up at Numbers. He couldn't even meet her eye. "I never thought yous…" She shook her head, unable to even finish the thought as she turned away from him.
"Maxie…sweetheart…" Numbers began quietly, reaching out and lightly touching her shoulders.
Maxie stiffened immediately and pulled away from him. "I'm not yer sweetheart. Not anymore. I'm done." She turned to look up at him one more time. "We're done."
It looked like all the air had deflated out of his chest as he opened his mouth to try to beg her to change her mind.
"Gonna beg me ta change my mind the way Grazi begged yous ta stop?" Maxie asked, her voice like ice even as she fought back the tears threatening to spill over. "Get out o' my room. Leave. Now."
Numbers slowly made his way towards her window, tears glistening in his own eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly before slipping out.
Falling onto her bed, Maxie let the tears flow freely.
"I can't believe ya'd actually come here," Velma told him in disbelief, shaking her head when he appeared outside her window. He didn't try to come into her room, so she supposed there was that.
"Vel, I need ta talk ta ya," Mouthpiece begged softly. He was still covered in blood from the rumble, the blood she'd been so concerned about earlier. She had wanted to take care of him then, but now she could barely even look at him.
"There's nothin' ta say. I saw what yous did, Mouthpiece. I saw it!" Velma cried in a low voice, not wanting her parents to wake up. "Yous were…yous were like savages!"
Mouthpiece hung his head, Valentina's words still bouncing around in his memory with painful clarity. "I know what we did was wrong…"
"Do you? Because Grazi was beggin' yous ta stop before it even began an' yous threw her out. Ya threw Tessie out. Ya threw me out," Velma rasped, the pain obvious in her voice.
"I know there's nothin' I can say that'll make it okay, Vel…" Mouthpiece said slowly, lifting his head to meet her eyes.
"What if the Sharks had done that ta Grazi?" Velma demanded suddenly.
Mouthpiece turned white as a sheet, his mouth hanging open. "W-what?"
"What if the Sharks had done ta Grazi what yous did ta Anita?" Velma pressed, crossing her arms over her chest. "How would ya feel about that?"
Mouthpiece was silent at that, looking ashamed.
"That's what I thought. Now go. I don't wanna see ya ever again," Velma said, her voice cracking on the last word. She turned away as she closed the window, unable to look at him as her heart broke in half.
"I don't understand why yous would do this," Natalie cried, heartbroken. "Why would you do this? What's wrong with you?" She whirled away from Big Deal, covering her face with her hands.
Big Deal stood rooted in place, silently accepting the words she hurled at him. He wanted to hold her, but he knew she wouldn't allow that right now. She was looking at him like he was an animal. And maybe he was.
"Natalie…"
"I've never been so disgusted in my life! I don't even wanna look at ya!" Natalie told him, her back still turned as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get the trembling under control.
"Ya have every reason ta be mad—"
"Oh, I'm more than mad," Natalie exclaimed, turning back around suddenly. "I'm finished. It's over. Go find the Jets an' leave me alone."
"Natalie!" Big Deal responded, instinctively reaching out to her now. She just slapped his hand away.
"Go."
Natalie stood in place as Big Deal slowly, sadly, climbed out her bedroom window. "I thought ya were better than this," she said quietly to his retreating figure. "I guess I was wrong."
"Baby, please don't do this," Action begged, panic welling up in his chest. He'd come home to find Rhonda packing her things into two small bags.
Ignoring him, Rhonda lifted the bags and started walking towards the living room of their apartment. His apartment. She couldn't stay here anymore.
"Rhonda, please!" Action called out as he followed her, near tears as he reached out to grab her hand.
"Let go o' me!" Rhonda cried, pulling her hand out of his grasp. "I can't even stand the sight o' ya right now!"
"I'm sorry, baby, I'm sorry! But please don't go! Where're ya gonna stay? Don't go back ta yer parents' place," Action pleaded, concern evident in his eyes. He'd never forgive himself if she went back there because of him.
"Oh, so I could go from one man who lays his hands on women ta another?" Rhonda demanded coldly, glaring at him. Her words, comparing Action to her abusive father, shamed him. "I'm stayin' with Mamie," she added after a tense moment of silence. Though he didn't deserve it, she gave him at least that much peace of mind.
Turning away from him, she adjusted her grip on her bags and started towards the door again.
"I love you, Rhonda. I'm sorry," Action's voice followed her, broken and filled with pain.
She froze, her heart splintering painfully inside her chest. "How could ya love me an' do what ya did?" she demanded, turning over her shoulder to gaze at him one more time. "I need ta go. I can't be around ya right now." With that, she hurried out of the apartment before anything could change her mind.
For the first time in a long time, Rhonda and Action slept apart from one another, both of them weeping for all that had been lost.
"Yer a disgustin' pig!" Mack cried, throwing the first thing she could grab at Tiger as he came through her window. Ironically, it was a framed photograph of the two of them. He winced as it crashed to the floor.
"An animal, ya hear me? Only animals do what yous did!" Mack continued, approaching him now so that she could pound on his chest with her fists.
"Mack, I'm sorry," Tiger said sadly, grabbing onto her wrists to keep her from hitting him anymore. "Please, just let me talk ta ya."
"No, I don't wanna hear anythin' ya have ta say! I heard enough from Velma an' Tessie," Mack told him angrily, breaking free from his grasp and pounding on his chest a few more times for good measure.
The both of them were slightly out of breath when Mack pulled away, putting some distance between them. "Why?" she asked, the anger replaced by sadness and exhaustion. "Why would ya do this?"
"I…I don't know," Tiger confessed, dropping his head. "Maybe just ta make someone else hurt the way we was hurtin'."
"Well, mission accomplished," Mack said, her voice strained. "I hope yer happy. Now go. We're done. I don't wanna see ya anymore."
"Mack, please don't—"
"I'm not gonna say it again. Go!"
Heartbroken, Tiger finally did as Mack said, crawling out her window. He knew he had brought this upon himself, knew he had earned her scorn and anger. But knowing that didn't stop the pain.
"Baby, please! Please let me in," Diesel sobbed, knocking on Mamie's locked bedroom window. He knew she was in there despite the drawn curtain, could hear her just a few feet away from him, so close yet so far.
"No!" came Mamie's tearful reply. "I can't even look at ya right now!" She was currently sitting on her bedroom floor, sobbing into her knees.
Diesel could hear Mamie crying and it made his own tears fall even harder. He loved her so much and he knew he had broken her heart. He had broken her trust. He had broken everything that they had. "Mamie, please, let me see ya. I know ya don't forgive me, but I just gotta see ya!"
"No, Diesel! Go away!" Mamie wept, part of her knowing she wouldn't be strong enough to resist him if she opened the window and saw him. Instead, she just kept thinking about what Velma had tearfully told her on the phone, about how Diesel had roughly grabbed Grazi and locked her out of Doc's. "I can't believe what yous did! I feel like I don't even know you!"
Mamie's words cut Diesel like a knife. "Mamie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"
"I don't forgive you!" Mamie cried, her words hurting her own heart as much as they hurt his. "Go away!"
Diesel stopped knocking on her window, stopped trying to talk to her, but he stayed out on her fire escape all night. He just needed to be close to her, even if she didn't want to see him. He sobbed all night long, devastated that he'd lost Riff, Tony, and Mamie all in one night.
Baby John didn't normally climb up Tessie's fire escape, considering he lived right across the hall from her, but he did tonight for fear of waking up her father. When he finally arrived outside her window, he found her lying on her bed, crying, and his heart broke even more than it already had.
"Tessie?" he called softly, easing the window open gently.
Gasping, Tessie sat up on her bed and stared at him, the tears still flowing freely down her cheeks. "What are ya doin' here?" she demanded, wiping at her face with the backs of her hands.
"I needed ta see ya, Tessie," Baby John said solemnly, tears in his own eyes. "I needed ta say I was sorry." Everything had happened so fast at Doc's. One minute they'd been hiding Tony in the basement, then Anybodys had given them the news about Chino, then Anita showed up and all hell broke loose. And now Tony was dead, too. But Baby John couldn't forget the image of Tessie being thrown onto the street with Grazi and Velma as the Jets had circled Anita like a pack of jackals.
"Sorry? Do ya think ya can just say sorry for what yous did?" Tessie asked him tearfully. In all the time she had known them, she had never been afraid of the Jets. She had never been afraid of Johnny. Not until tonight. "Do ya think…do ya think this is what Riff woulda wanted of yous?"
Her question pierced his heart and the tears he'd been holding back started falling freely. "No," he confessed quietly, guilt and shame washing over him. Valentina had been right. They had dishonored their dead.
"Go home, Johnny. I can't…I can't do this," Tessie said, her lower lip trembling as she tried to fight off a new wave of tears.
Baby John gazed at her, stricken. Had it just been a few hours ago that they'd told each other "I love you" for the first time? How had so much changed since then? "I love you, Tessie," he told her. He still meant it, even after everything.
She just stared back at him sadly. "Go home, Johnny."
Her words were a knife in his own heart.
Graziella lay in her bed, alone. Her grief was all-consuming. Velma and Tessie had tried to stay with her for as long as they could, but she'd finally sent them home. They wanted to help, but they couldn't bring Riff back. And that was all she wanted.
"Riff," she wept into her pillow, aching at the empty spot beside her. "Oh, Riff."
The ache became even worse when she thought about what the boys had done that night, what they had allowed their grief and their anger and their hatred to do, to turn them into. Her own grief became palpable as she remembered Numbers ignoring her when she demanded he leave Anita alone, Balkan pushing her back when she tried to intervene, Tiger and the others ignoring her protests, Ice refusing to listen to her when she begged him to get them to stop, Diesel grabbing her roughly and throwing her onto the street.
"Oh, Riff," Graziella sobbed, covering her ears as if that could block out the memory of the music blaring on the jukebox as her dearest friends lost a part of their souls. "Oh, Riff, how can I ever forgive them? If ya'd been there, ya never woulda let them—oh, Riff!"
Riff was gone. And now so was her last connection to him. She didn't want to look at them, didn't want to speak to them. They had broken her heart.
One cruel night had stolen everything from her.
Next Up: The Jets learn that forgiveness is possible.
