Chapter: 12
"Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood."
—Oscar Wilde (Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories)
I felt so much better than I did yesterday and I woke up to one hell of a surprise. After cuddling with Diesel all night, I walked into a living room full of smiling Sons and an ocean of presents. Apparently, this was my Birthday celebration and Gemma was in the kitchen making a huge breakfast for everyone. As I went through the gifts, I kept screaming my head off when I discovered all the band paraphernalia they got me. Thanks to Kip and Juice, the Prospect being absent from this little get-together as were Bobby and Piney, the Sons knew which bands I was into and they all bought 3 shirts, posters, CDS, a few necklaces and wristbands for me. Juice got the biggest reaction from me when his present was a brand-new Xbox with a stack of games. Needless to say, the other Sons were envious of him and he got a few punches. Happy said he'd give me another tattoo and he wouldn't make me go through that consent form bullshit this time.
When Gemma called everyone in for breakfast, the men almost killed each other to get in the kitchen first. Gem threatened to cut off their toys if they didn't act like civilized humans and that actually made them calm down. I loved the authority she had over these ruthless men. Gemma had plates set aside for us and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. I watched the Sons build their breakfasts and everyone migrated to the living room because there weren't enough chairs at the dining table for everyone to sit.
That feeling of reassurance and warm happiness was buzzing through me as I watched my family. Everyone was smiling and joking and talking, just connecting. I couldn't image how amazing a Christmas with them would be and when little Abel came home, his birthday parties were going to be filled with leather-clad bad boys acting like huge piles of marshmallow fluff.
When everyone was finished eating, I helped Gemma with the dishes while the men were burping. She told me she had a nice outing planned for us and I was eager to see what she had in mind. One of the Sons asked if they could get a beer, provoking the rest of the men to ask for one too, and I saw Diesel come in the kitchen. I didn't notice there was a short rope tied to the handle of the fridge, but he used that to tug the door open and grab the 6-pack of canned beers off the lower shelf. He even shut the door behind him.
I went to get washed up and dressed, putting on one of my new My Chemical Romance shirts with black skinny jeans. When I went back into the kitchen, Gemma was telling the guys, in the most parental voice I've ever heard, to keep this goddamn house tidy and that there better not be a speck out of place when we get back. With a 'Yes, ma'am' from the men, we headed outside to her Cadillac and were off to Fresno.
"That's a band, right? The uh, Chemical Parade or something." Gem suddenly asked and we were riding around the parking lot of Fashion Fair mall in search of a parking space. She glanced at me and poked me in the stomach, making me giggle a bit. "Every time I see one of those shirts, I automatically think of a cult or something, but it's music, isn't it?"
"Yeah, you've heard of them?" Gemma didn't answer me, but she was experimentally humming something and her eyebrows were pulled together as she concentrated. She must've figured out what the song was because she hit the steering wheel and smiled.
"If I could be with you tonight,
I would sing you to sleep
Never let them take the light behind your eyes
One day, I'll lose this fight
As we fade in the dark,
Just remember, you will always burn as bright"
"Oh my God, Gemma!" I laughed, blown away that she knew the band and by how amazing her singing voice was. She had a voice that was meant to sing lullabies to angels. While I was freaking out, Gemma was laughing at me and she finally found a space close to the entrance.
"That means I'm not old, right? I'm with the times?" She asked through a giggle and I feverishly nodded, making her laugh again.
We got out of her car and our shopping expedition started. We found a map of the mall and Gemma planned a route for us. The first stop was a freaking Spa. I've never been to one, but Gemma must have because she booked an appointment for us. Wrapped in robes, Gem and I got the golden treatment. Facials, massages, a half-hour in the steam room, eyebrow waxing and while Gemma was getting some kind of body wrap, I was sitting in a square of mineral induced mud. When we walked out of there, I could feel myself glowing and my confidence was through the roof.
After getting pampered like Queens, Gemma said hair and nails were next. We found a hair salon first and I took Gem up on her offer to get some highlights. She said I'd look good with blonde ones. I didn't get much styling done to my locks, just some light curls, but I couldn't believe what the stylist made me look like. My copper-brown locks were lighter now, an orange-copper like Rose's used to be, with cream-blonde highlights. The new colors made my eyes seem like they had more of a mantis-green hue. I looked over at the chair next to me and Gemma was fluffing her bouncier curls, her brown locks shining with radiance.
We got manicures and pedicures, then we took a break. It was almost noon and we stopped in the food court for a little snack. For the next hour or 2, Gemma and I were raiding all the clothing and shoe stores that came into sight. She loved almost everything I picked out for her and her choices for me were a bit more risqué than what I was used to wearing, but they weren't slutty or whorish. I left the store wearing the multi-pattern mini Caftan dress Gem picked and up-cycled ankle boots, feeling like one hot number.
Our arms were being used as racks to hold all our bags as we finally walked out of the mall, heading to Gemma's car. I've been thanking her for treating me to this outing and she told me she'd like to make this a regular thing with me, that it was nice to have a another girl to spend time with rather than forcing the Sons to join her on a shopping spree. The ride back to California was smooth and quick. We dropped off our clothes at my house and Diesel was happy to see us home. While I put all my new clothes away, Gemma made a few calls to check in with the Sons and one to the station to ensure her husband could be released.
Unlike at the mall, Gem didn't find a close parking spot and we had to walk a few blocks down to reach the station, but she ran inside a pharmacy to get a prescription. She didn't tell me what it was, just tucked the white bag in her purse. I was currently texting Jasmine about the shopping trip I just went on and I sent her all the pictures I took with Gem today. Kip texted me too, asking what we were up to and if I was having a nice time with Gemma. I haven't seen him since last night when he took me home and he wasn't there this morning, so he must've had a busy day.
I couldn't reply to Kip's unopened text because I bumped into someone and looked up, seeing Gemma's back. She was standing rigidly and I went to her side, seeing her emerald eyes pinned on something ahead.
"Gem, you alright?" I asked and her lips pursed. I could see her tightly clenched jaw and there was a fire burning in her eyes now. I followed her glare and my eyes found a woman strutting down the street. It was that sweetbutt that Jax called a tart. I thought she would've went back to Nevada because of the reaction she got out of Clay, but I guess she was still hanging around town. "What's with that chick? She seems like more trouble than she's worth."
"She is." Gemma spat and I could start to see her cheeks starting to get red with anger. "Stupid gash sleeps with my husband, struts over here to spit in my face, practically raped Half-Sack last night and now, she's walking around my town like she runs the goddamn place."
"She did what to Kip?" I asked, bewildered. From what he did, Kip wasn't interested in that woman and he didn't want anything to do with her, just like the other Sons.
"Last night, she walked in the clubhouse with the shortest miniskirt ever made and the tiniest tube-top she could squeeze her twiggy ass into, dropped to her knees and tried to suck him off in front of everyone to prove something." Gemma's words were more heated than before and the chords in her neck were starting to pop out from how tightly she had her teeth clasped together. "That boy's smart, told her to fuck off before she embarrassed herself, but she's hooked on him. She's gonna try something else, I know she is. The little tart probably has Chlamydia. Jesus, I wish someone would just stomp her face in."
"I'll be right back." I promised and saw Gem raise an eyebrow at me, but I was already halfway down the street.
I walked right up to that whore with Hell in my eyes and she was busy looking into a shop's window. Before I got to her, she turned to face me and slowly took her sunglasses off. She looked like she was trying to figure out if she knew me or not, but I wiped that smile off her face when I bitch-slapped her with all my might. She yelped in shock and held her cheek, staring at me like I was insane. Before I knew it, I was on the ground and clawing at that stupid Crow Eater's face or trying to rip her hair out. There was a small crowd watching us in statement and some of them quickly scurried away, while some of them were puling their cell phones out.
We rolled again and the sweetbutt was on top of me now, her hair a mess and sweat coating her skin. My hair wasn't as wild, but I had some pulsating tender spots from when she pulled at a handful. Her bottom lip had a bleeding cut on it and I wasn't sure if I was bleeding anywhere, but I didn't feel it. My legs probably had some new scratches from getting scraped on the hot concrete. Before she could strike me, something thwacked her in the face and she screamed. Seeing the opportunity, I kicked her off me and she almost raked her face on the sidewalk.
"Skinny-ass bitch." A skateboard clattered next to my arm and a manicured hand was extended to help me up. Gemma sneered at the crying woman on the ground, but dusted the minor debris off me and my dress.
"Oh my God, my nose!" The Crow Eater shrieked, trying to stop the blood from pouring down her chest. "Who are you people?! Why'd you do that to me?!"
"The older I get, the more I realize that age doesn't bring wisdom." Gemma muttered and sat on the curb with a sigh.
Even with the bawling wench behind us, I heard Gemma start to...cry. Her shoulders were shaking and she had her head in her hands, eyeliner starting to run down her cheeks. I remembered what she said before I started fighting, about that slut sleeping with Clay. That Crow Eater was trouble and she needed to get out of Charming before she ruined something else. She's already tainted Gemma's marriage and she tried to steal Kip from me, but I'll be damned if I allow her to hurt another woman with her whorish ways.
I sat next to Gemma and she put her head into my shoulder as she wept; I rubbing her back. Gemma was a strong woman and I had a feeling she was like me when it came to crying, that it took a lot to break her. It was a good thing that she let it out though. After another few minutes, Gem detached from me and rummaged around her black purse for some tissues. She wiped the stained makeup from her face and dried her tears, sighing. She looked at me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I heard sirens and Gem glanced down the street with me, seeing a 1976 Ford Bronco and an ambulance riding towards us. She didn't make any motion to move and try to run, neither did I.
Once the police parked near us, I noticed the cop driving the jeep was the same guy I saw at that raid on the clubhouse. Baby-blues, short dark-brown hair and a muscular body under his uniform. While the other pair of cops went to help that tart, he came straight to Gemma and I. Now that he was close, I could see his chiseled features and he looked like he could pass as Captain America's son. I felt like he needed to be wearing the American flag as a cape.
"Gemma, care to explain why that woman has a broken nose?" He asked and his voice was clear and firm, reeking of authority.
"That tends to happen when whores forget their place. We just put her back where she belongs, at the bottom." Gem answered, smirking at the man, and he sighed. His eyes fell to me and he looked between us with questionable eyes.
"Who's this?"
"My firecracker of a niece and Old Lady apprentice, Marceline."
"And is she the one who hit that woman with the skateboard or was she fighting her?"
"Oh, no. That skateboard thing was all me. It was pretty clever too, spur of the moment thing. Take notes on that, sweetheart." Gem said to me, smiling, before turning back to the cop. "I'm a bit too...mature to be fighting, don't you think, David?"
"Come on, Gem." David sighed and helped Gemma to her feet. He closed his hand around both our arms and began walking us to his jeep. "I'm sure Clay's gonna be happy to see you."
David didn't put handcuffs on us when we got in the backseat of his jeep and I wondered how in the hell he had so much trust in Gemma not try anything. Like she said, she was a grown woman and she was very levelheaded, save for that little spurt of psychotic violence. What we did was righteous in my eyes. That trashy sweetbutt slept with a married man. Gem would've found out about it eventually and so long as that whore was still in Charming, this altercation was bound to happen. Gemma was the type of woman to fight for what she loved and that tart was going to get a beating from her at some point.
When David arrived at the station, he told us that he had to restrain us and Gemma didn't argue, so I didn't either. I was forcing myself not to squirm at the creepy-crawly feeling coating my skin due to being so close to a house of pigs and climbed the steps. David held the glass door opened for us and the busy department was a perfect example of organized chaos because there were too many things going on at once, but everything was working with the environment. We were headed to the back of the department when I heard a sudden upheaval of commotion and I saw Clay trying to get out of what looked like an interrogation room, but an officer was blocking his path.
"What the hell did you do?!" He barked and Gemma stopped, turning to him with a wicked smirk. Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing to stare at the pair, but David was trying to get us moving again.
"Same thing you did: Nailed some little tart from Nevada!" She snapped back.
"Like I don't have enough shit oozing outta my ears and you gotta go and do this!"
"Shoulda thought of that before your dick went on a cheerleader hunt!"
"Hey, I didn't tell her to come here!"
"But she's here!"
"And it's not my fault!"
"And it's not my pussy!" Gemma got the last word in and David called for a pair of officers to help get Clay back into his room.
"And you!" Clay snapped and my focus went t him again, seeing his finger pointed at me over the arms of the 3 officers trying to push him back into the room. "What the hell did she get you do, dare I ask?!"
"Oh, nothing really." I answered in a calm tone that was boiling in venom. "I just got into a little street fight and was about 10 seconds away from curbstompin' that fuckin' homewreckin' whore! She's lucky the fuzz came! A broken nose would've been the least of 'er fuckin' problems!"
"What is wrong with these women?" I knew that voice and Gemma planted her feet to snap her head to the person who commented, that scheming ATF agent. She was leaning on a desk with a folder in her hands and there was a man next to her. He had short salt-and-pepper hair and cobalt-blue eyes, but looked like he had more pupil than iris. He was giving me that same mistrustful vibe as Stahl did. He didn't have a police uniform on, so maybe that was her partner. "I guess big, bad biker dick messes with the brain."
"Blow me, bitch!" Gemma spat and agent Stahl's eyebrows almost flew off her face.
"Go to hell, ya' dobber of a glakit cunt!" I fiercely added my two cents and was still cursing something impious at that stupid blonde.
Gemma and I were horrible, both of us cursing to no end and trying to give that ATF woman a piece of our minds or fists. Hell, Gemma wanted to ram her entire leg up the agent's ass. Go big or go home. Agent Stahl actually looked a bit scared. David must've had enough because he curled his arm around my stomach to lift me up, going over to Gemma and doing the same thing to her in his free arm. That got us mobile, but the insults were nonstop. We were finally escorted to the holding cells and David looked like he was concerned about putting us in the same cell, so he locked Gemma in one and me in another across from hers.
David turned so that he was looking at both of us and gave another tired sigh. I was pacing along my cell, trying to calm myself down. I was over that fight, but that blonde bitch got me boiling. She just had to stick her nose in another person's business.
"Would either of you like something to eat or a cup of coffee?" David asked and I shook my head.
"I'll take a cigarette." Gemma asked and David nodded, pulling an unopened pack from his pocket. He gave her a cigarette and lit it for her. David didn't turn back to face me and after Gem blew a puff of smoke away from his face, she raised an eyebrow at him, then she chuckled. "When you were our paperboy, you had that same goofy haircut."
"Yeah." David nodded and I heard him chuckle too. "That was a long time ago."
"The last time I was in here, I was around her age." Gem inclined her head to me and David glanced over his shoulder.
"What'd they get you for?"
"Disorderly conduct. I was piss drunk. There might've been an assault charge involved too. Go figure, huh?" Again, David nodded and he shared a look with Gemma. I couldn't see his eyes, but from hers, it looked like they were having a mental conversation about something deep. "Tell my good-for-nothing husband not to post my bail." Gem thanked him for the smoke and he left. She went to the nearest wall and put her back to it, sliding down until she was sitting. I did the same thing, eyes forward with her silhouette in the corner of my sight. "You okay over there?"
"I'm fine. I'm used to sitting in cell, not freaked out or anything."
"...I'm seeing more of him in you every day you're here." Gemma spoke softly and I turned my head to her cell. She was already looking and me and she gave me a small smile. "Your Dad, you're a lot like him, watchful and reserved. You keep your temper in check and takes a lot to get a huge reaction out of you, takes a lot for that Scottish drawl to come out too. I know you care about Half-Sack, you care about all the boys, but you wouldn't start fighting some gash if Jax or Happy or Juice were in the same position I was in. You don't let emotions run you like they get to me...why'd you flip on that sweetbutt, Marci?"
"For you." I answered in a flatly calm voice and kept her eyes, impassiveness filling mine. "She hurt you, so I hurt her. An eye for an eye, I guess. Like you said, you're a bit too mature to be fighting."
I didn't want to lie to Gemma and I felt like I wasn't, but I wasn't telling her the whole truth either. I partially lost my shit and went nuts on that tart because I hated what she did to Gem's marriage. When 2 people can stay together as long as she and Clay have, breaking it up was a horrible thing to do. The rest of the reason was because of what she told me that Crow Eater tried to do to Kip. We just started dating, but I really felt something about Kip. I had a feeling that being with him was going to be different from all the other guys I've dated. He was certainly the sweetest guy I've ever dated. I knew he wouldn't push me into doing something I wasn't comfortable with or try to change me into something I wasn't. I'm pretty sure he had the gist of my inexperience and I hoped that meant we'd go steady and at a mild pace. I just hoped I wouldn't bore him to death or repel him by denying his sexual needs.
"Remember what I said about you being an Old Lady?" Gemma asked and I nodded. "I mean it, Marceline. You'll be a good woman to any of the Sons and it's your choice to get involved with one. You'll keep him in line and he'll love you 'till he dies, just like Diesel." She joked and I giggled with her.
"Why'd Clay mess with that sweetbutt?" I cautiously asked and she stubbed her cigarette out on the ground. Gemma kept her eyes down for a minute, then looked up at me.
"The boys went to Indian Hills to set up a new charter." She said, her finger sliding over the metal bars. "Things went well, they threw a party to celebrate and you've seen what happens at a clubhouse party. Patch-overs don't happen too often, so when one does, the parties are bigger, the Crow Eaters are younger and sluttier and hornier and the Sons lunge at the chance to get their dicks wet by new pussy. Now, when the boys leave town on business, we call it a Run. When a Son has an Old Lady, there's only one major rule about these trips: what happens on a Run, stays on a Run. He can get sucked or fucked by any gash he lays his eyes on, so long as he doesn't catch any hot shit and none of the whores follow him home."
"Clay broke the rule."
"Technically, yeah, but it's your little boyfriend's fault." I felt the blush of my cheeks when she said that and Gemma was smirking at me. "Either he likes you and you don't know or you like him and he doesn't know, but I just spilled the beans. You 2 look cute together though. Can you imagine what a kid would look like? With both your eyes and your cute face or his-"
"Gemma." I pleaded through a blushing smirk.
"Alright, alright." She smiled. "Half-Sack must've done something to that sweetbutt 'cause she knew the rules of the road, but she still came here looking for him and she's hellbent on getting his Crow. After the ass-kicking she got today, I doubt she'll still be interested. She's a cheap pass-around, nowhere near Old Lady material. He's all yours, honey."
"Thanks, Gem." I smiled and she did too.
We fell into a comfortable silence and I was getting a motherly vibe from Gemma now. Us talking about boys and having a shopping day were things I never dreamed of doing with Rosemary. Gem had a mother's intuition too, knowing about the mutual likeness between Kip and I. We've been keeping the relationship kind of things on a pretty discreet level and the only one who'd know about us would be Jasmine. Apparently, she predicted that Kip and I would get together and I had yet to tell her that she was right. I wondered how Gemma picked up on us. Maybe she saw something in us that reminded her of she and John.
After a good hour or so, David came back in and he offered to clean my minor scraps. I asked him if he'd kiss the bandage under my knee, considering the Deputy Chief as a replacement for Officer Creed because they had the exact same eyes, and he shook his head at me. When he finished, he told Gemma she had a visitor. Clay came to her cell and she stood, turning her back to the gate.
"Hale says you don't want bail posted?" Clay asked.
"That's right." Gem answered, her voice void of any emotion. "I just need a little 'me' time."
"Alright...I'll stay at the clubhouse." After a second of silence, Gemma's response was a dismissive huff and Clay sighed, leaning on the gate. "I don't want you in here."
"I don't give a shit what you want."
Clay ran a hand through his white hair and turned around, starting to walk out. I saw Gem look over her shoulder and the look in her eyes screamed heartbreak. The President stopped to glance at me and I shook my head, nodding to his wife. He turned around and Gemma whipped her head forward again. Clay went to her cell again and sat down with his back on the bars. He was looking at the door he came in from and I heard it open, then David was unlocking my cell.
"Your Dad's out with Jax and Piney. Hap and Juice are outside." Clay informed me and I stepped out of the cell. I went over to Gemma's and gave him a hug in thanks. Gem didn't turn around, so I didn't try to make her and David escorted me outside to the front of the station.
The late afternoon sun was starting to set, but I could still see the pair of Sons waiting for me. Happy and Juice were occupying one of the squad cars, Happy sitting on the hood while Juice was lying on the roof with his legs stretched on the windshield. I didn't take a step to the awaiting Sons. Instead, I turned to face David and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Go on." I prompted and he raised an eyebrow; I rolled my eyes. "This is the part where you tell me to turn my life around or I'll regret it later, that I'm an impressionable teenager and that I shouldn't let the neighborhood motorcycle club influence my decisions. Before you do, I just want you to know that they aren't some ruthless gang that goes around terrorizing people or new-age Hitlers trying to keep races separated. They protect Charming, they're righteous and I know that from an internal view. Those men and Gemma are my family, not pitiless thugs."
"Your family has been causing trouble and striking fear into this town since the day their cult was established. Charming will be a better place when they're gone." David stated in a deadpan tone and I glared at the word he used to describe them. "Try not to make getting arrested a regular thing. In most cases, people press charges when they're brutally attacked by a riotous teenager, but Rita was kind enough not to. You should apologize to her, it's the least you could do. Goodbye, Marceline."
With a muttered insult about shoving the Deputy Chief's badge up his tight ass, that I'm sure David heard, I turned my back on that pig and over to the Sons. He definitely wasn't going to replace Officer Creed because he had no sense of humor. Happy shot me a nod and tugged at Juice's leg, making him slide off the hood of the car and to the ground with a yelp. Happy laughed a little too. It wasn't exactly a chuckle, but it was more than a snicker.
"Heard you smacked some gash in the face with a skateboard." Happy smirked and Juice was getting up, wiping the back of his jeans off. "Sent her to St. Thomas with a cracked nose. Nice."
"Gemma did, stopped our fighting."
"You were fighting?" Juice asked and he seemed utterly shocked. "I thought you were a good girl, Marci."
"Juice, good girls are just bad girls who haven't gotten caught."
"Words to live by." He smiled, but his brows furrowed. I raised an eyebrow and Juice took in the dress and my hair, his expression showing just how impressed he was. "Damn, Marci, Gemma turned you into a mini her in a couple hours. You look hot."
"Thanks, Juice. I absolutely love hearing that I'm hot. Feel free to wipe the drool from your lip at anytime." I rolled my eyes at him, but I started laughing when he actually swiped at the corners of his lips. I glanced at Happy and he was staring at my legs. He dragged his eyes up until they were on mine and he didn't seem to care that I just caught him checking me out. Jeez, these guys had no modesty. "Can we ride to St. Thomas?"
"You gonna beat that sweetbutt again?" Happy asked and he gave me a full-fledged smirk that was purely devious.
" 'Till her eyes are swollen shut."
"Marceline!" Juice protested, but Happy was already setting me on his bike, giving me his spare helmet.
To prevent all of Charming from seeing my underwear, I had to tuck my dress under me, but I still wasn't prepared for the speedy takeoff. Unlike Jax and Kip, Happy rode without restraint and he liked going fast. I was clutching the Nomad's back for dear life and I think he was laughing at me. After a few minutes, I learned to lean with him when he curtly cut corners and I was actually enjoying the exhilaration of the high-speed. We pulled into St. Thomas and quickly unmounted, going straight inside. Happy said he already knew which room Cherry was in and I figured that's what Rita's Crow Eater name was. Juice managed to slip into the elevator with us and he was trying to steer me away from another altercation with that whore, but I kept telling him that nothing bad was going to happen. I wasn't lying either. Nothing bad was going to happen to me.
Happy stopped at a corner and pointed to the last room down the hall, catching Juice by the collar of his kutte. He made the younger man sit down in one of the waiting armchairs and told me to go raise Hell, which I fully intended to do. I went to the door Happy pointed to and it was cracked open a bit, but I still looked inside the little window on the door. I went stiff when I saw who was in there with Cherry...Kip. Why was he with her? He was pacing along the side of her hospital bed and they looked to be talking. I could see the bandage across Cherry's nose and the dark bruises under her eyes. There were a few cuts scattered over her face and the split on her lip was dried now.
"I'm sorry, Kip." Cherry said sadly. Her voice sounded like she just got finished crying and she was tired. "I really sorry if I got anyone in trouble. I didn't call the cops and I didn't want those women to get arrested. I didn't know that was Gemma Teller either."
"You can't let a club President have his time with you and then show up a week later with his Old Lady on the lot. You knew that was a bad idea."
"I know and I didn't mean to disrespect Gemma...but I didn't come here for Clay."
"You have any thoughts about pressing charges on Marci or Gem?" He asked, completely ignoring what she said.
"Marci...that was the ginger girl?"
"Yeah, her name's Marceline."
"...I knew I saw her somewhere before." She muttered to herself, smirking. "I saw you with her. The day I came here, you were sitting at a table on the lot with her. I kinda thought she was your sister." Cherry smiled at him, but he must've kept his serious expression because she put her head down and fiddled with the IV in her arm.
"The charges." Kip reminded. "Where do you stand on that?"
"I'm not getting involved with the cops, everyone will think I'm a rat or something." Cherry shook her head and Kip stopped his patrolling at the foot of the bed, his arms folded over his chest. "The Deputy Sheriff came to check on me and said I should, but I'm not going to. Gemma would have all the Crow Eaters from here to Arizona kill me if I did and I could never show my face around Indian Hills again. I think that ginger girl would probably get my asked kicked every time I went outside. Who was she anyway, Gemma's daughter?"
"She's a Son's daughter and that means she's higher ranking than you. I know most of the guys in Nevada don't have wives, but you're in Charming now and things are different down here. Learn your place. You need to stay away from Marceline, Gemma and any other Old Lady or you'll end up in the morgue." Kip sternly advised and Cherry looked like she had a chill run down her spine from how rigid she went. I've never heard him talk like that before, so dominantly. When we were at Fun Town and he said something to Cam, Damien and Evan, his voice was stone-cold and cutthroat sharp. He was dismissing them, but he was giving Cherry a final warning. I didn't like how she wanted to know who I was to him either, what I meant to him. I'm glad he didn't tell her tough. "If David or anyone else asks about what went down in Indian Hills-"
"I don't know anything. I know how this works." She cut him off and he nodded.
"Why the hell did you get in that cargo truck?" Kip asked and Cherry sat up, scooting a bit closer to him. "Why did you come here?"
"You know why." She smiled and Kip shook his head. She reached out for his arm and guided him to sit on the bed. They were facing each other, but Kip shook his head again.
"No, no. Jesus. That can't work, okay? Not after what went down, not after what you did to Quinn to hitch a ride here. And after what you got into today? No, I'm sorry."
"What happened with Clay didn't mean anything." She pleaded. "And I did what I had to do to get to here. I had to see you again, Kip."
"Things have changed since you last saw me."
"Nothing's changed. You're still the same guy I danced with in Nevada. Just give me another chance. We can dance again and take it from there."
"I don't think that's a good idea. I told you, things have changed since Nevada." Kip shot her down again and took her hand from his arm, setting it on her lap. He was trying to let her down easy, even I could see that, but she wasn't giving up. "Listen, I'm sorry you spent all this time coming here and getting your nose broken, but we had our chance and it didn't work. We can't just turn the page and start new just because you're here. And Marceline's my-"
Cherry interrupt him again and she used her mouth, but she didn't say anything to him. She leaned in and kissed him and she still had her slutty lips all over him...but Kip wasn't doing anything to stop her. He wasn't pushing her away or trying to tell her to stop. He was just sitting there taking her in and I felt my heart hardening to something tougher stone. I've seen enough. I slowly stepped away from the door, mindful to be quiet. I didn't want to disrupt the couple.
I turned on my heel and made my way back down the pristine hall, suddenly acknowledging the coldness of the hospital. I wrapped my hands around my arms and rubbed them in an attempt to get warm. Before I got to the waiting area where Happy and Juice were, someone called my name and I backtracked to the split in the hall. Tara was coming out of another room and she smiled as she met me.
"Hey, Marceline. Wow, you are glowing." Her smile got wider and it made me giggle. "Seriously, you're radiant."
"Thanks, Gemma and I went to the Spa earlier. All those mineral masks and mud soaks are good for the skin."
"Was she the reason a woman came in here with a fractured nose?" She asked and I nodded. Tara shook her head, not seeming surprised. "David came to visit her, didn't say much about what happened. My co-workers are already conjuring their own theories. Care to share some details?"
"We just had to put a Crow Eater in her place. She's not from around here, didn't know who the top bitch was."
I tried to get Tara to smile again by quoting something I heard Gemma say about herself today, but I noticed that the young doctor suddenly lost her genial mood and got serious, her smile quickly fading. She got closer to me and I felt like she was about to tell me a secret.
"Do not let Gemma manipulate you, Marceline." She whispered. "That's what she lives for, to twist and turn people until they break and do what she wants. People are just puppets to her. Do not let her control you."
"You don't know anything, do you?" I asked and her eyebrows furrowed; I shook my head at her. "A word of advice, stop listening to rumors and go to the source. Gemma's cool and what went down today was righteous."
"I've known Gemma since I was 16 and she is the prime example of a Machiavellian. She can make you believe doing wrong is just fine and dandy. She's probably got you under the impression that she's a loving mother, but that's not who she is. She's spiteful and full of old rage."
"How would you know who I think she is? You don't even know me. Stop trying to make me hate her."
"I'm trying to give you some guidance."
"You're not my mother, I don't need your guidance." Tara sighed and I started walking away from her, already irritated at what I saw that stupid Crow Eater doing with Kip, now I've got some nosy doctor trying to run my life.
I saw Happy and Juice poke their heads around the corner just as I rounded it and kept going, wanting to be far away from this place. Juice waved to Tara, but she must've ignored him because he asked me what was wrong with the doctor. I didn't answer him either and Happy told him it'd be a good idea to shut the fuck up. He didn't ask if anything happened between me and Cherry, so he was taking his own advice. Without a request, I got on the Nomad's bike again and he didn't ask where I wanted to go, just dropped me off at home. I thanked him for the ride and he reminded me that I had a Get-Inked-Free card. I told him I'd get another tattoo tomorrow and he nodded, taking off with Juice in tow.
As soon as I opened the door, Diesel was at my side with his wagging tail and big brown eyes. His ears perked at the sound of a ringtone, David Bowie's Heroes, and I went though all the bags of stuff I bought today in search of my phone, answering it. Dad didn't even say hello, he asked me if I was out of Charming PD's custody and Tig was loudly voicing his concern in the background until Dad threatened to pull his tongue out. I told him I was fine and that Gemma was too, but that she refused to let Clay bail her out. He didn't ask, so I didn't give him the full story on why I got arrested in the first place. I figured Clay told him already or he just didn't want to know. I knew I shouldn't have, but I asked what he was doing and he just said he was riding around with Tig and they were due to meetup with Jax, no specific details.
Dad told me he was going to spend the night at the clubhouse tonight and to lock the doors, keep my gun close and make sure Half-Sack was nearby. He even said the Prospect could crash on the couch. When he hung up, I heard my personal cell ringing, Bruno Mars' Count On Me filling the room now, and rolled my eyes when I saw who was calling, silencing it. It was half-past 8 and I decided to get washed up. I made one of the TV dinners from the freezer and watched TV with Diesel in the living room. I played with him and his toys for a while, smiling at how happy the dog seemed.
After making sure the doors and windows were locked, I went back to my room and turned in early. There was too much for me to think about tonight and I didn't want to deal with any of it right now.