Chapter 24: Onward bound
POV: Marta
Phil had made himself at home on the couch. He had plastic bags surrounding him which I only denoted were garbage bags. I thought it was strange but then I remembered how he had fallen at Teller Morrow. His jeans were stained and he reeked of oil. I began to feel sorry for the big guy. The Prospect life wasn't easy. It was endless hazing for a year and from what I had gathered Phil was supposed to have been patched a while back but he had messed up. A year and half later he was still doing shit work trying to gain his place in the Sons. I gave him a half- hearted smile. He looked at my apologetically and tried to get up. Now the bags were stuck to his clothes. I tried to help him but he said that he had to keep them on in the van or Tig would kick his ass. I gave him a silent nod and then headed back upstairs to find my boots.
After getting my knee high boots on, I toured the room one last time. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting something. Maybe it was the fact I was leaving my heart behind. My side bag was slumped over the bed railing. I reached in and took out my stolen treasure. There in my hands was a mug shot of Juan Carlos I had stolen from the club. I had been cleaning in the club house when I found this picture in a broken frame behind one of the couches. Initially, I thought of reframing it but changed my mind, trashed the broken frame, and pocketed the photo. I had seen quite a few of him and the guys holding up the police marker. He looked harder in the ones nailed to the wall. This one caught his free nature. He had a goofy smirk across his face and his eyes seemed to have that playful twinkle I noticed the first time in his dorm room.
I caught my reflection in the mirror as I placed the photo back. The shirt was still on me. His blue work shirt with "Juice" embroidered in red over the right chest pocket hung loosely on my upper body. It was tied at the waist to be more fitting. I slowly loosened the knot and let it fall off my shoulders. I inhaled his scent one more time and placed it back in the hamper. Phil called up to me that he was taking the duffle bag in the van. I took one last look at myself in the mirror and let out a mournful sigh. As I walked out, I felt the doorway had an invisible barrier that would not let me pass. I paced back and forth and looked out the window. I thought I had heard a motorcycle outside. But when I scanned the street, it seemed that my imagination had deceived me. Anger began to well up in me. There was no bike in sight and no Juan Carlos. I grabbed the shirt out of the hamper and dropped it into my bag hastily. Fuck it! I took the picture why not the shirt too.
After locking the door, I held my hand up to the beaming sun to look onward- still no bike or Juan Carlos. Defeated, I climbed into the van. I handed Phil the keys to return to him and asked him to drop me off to the bus stop. He had a very confused look on his face but he silently obeyed my request. My back rested against the seat and my gaze dropped away from the house, the street, and my last hope.
POV: Juice
I wiped my tears off my face and swallowed hard. I needed to man up. In my release I had not noticed Phil pull up across the street. I don't think he saw me either from my neighbors hidden drive way. I got up and hid behind the tree and looked up towards the bedroom window. For a split second, I saw her look out and ducked. She looked so beautiful. Why was she looking out? Did she hear me pull up? It didn't matter. I was still cowering behind the tree when Phil came out with a bag and she followed shortly after. I was a great disappointment. My feet felt cemented to the ground and though I wanted to call out her name, the words simply did not reach my lips.
As the van turned the corner, I fell to my knees. I punched my head in frustration and finally gained the strength to get up. With new courage, I jetted back to the bike and drove it forward in the direction of the van. I couldn't let her go.
The faded image of the van began to become a clear image. Tailing it, I honked the horn to get Phil's attention but the stupid Prospect instead began to go faster. I couldn't seem to get his attention. I tried passing him on the left side but my dips were unsuccessful with the traffic on my side. I slid the bike between the van and another car causing the irate driver to honk and billow curses at me. I didn't fucking care. I tried shouting but Phil had the windows up and radio blasting. I got close enough to kick the driver's side door but had to slow down to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I kicked the door again and Phil swerved. I was getting into view when I kicked the van again. This time the fucking Prospect swerved against me and sent me careening into incoming traffic and off the road.
Clumsily, I avoided hitting the car in front of me and incoming traffic. What I couldn't evade was the metal fence that ran alongside the road dividing it from Mother Nature. My bike it the fence hard. I flew over the fence and rolled down the hill. I tumbled down cursing as my body hit the ground and rocks along the way. I heard cars shrieking to a halt and people yelling. My impulsiveness instead of smarts was landing no closer to stopping my girl from leaving. I was rolling into a guaranteed hospital stay. My body hit the final stop with a cracking thud. I came in and out of consciousness. I could hear in the distance sirens. My head throbbed and I could feel warm blood trickling down it, my arms, and legs. I tried to get up and could only feel sharp pains in my ribs. Peoples' voices were closer yet muzzled. My eye sight was too distorted to see anything. For a frozen moment in time, I saw her in the blinding sunlight, calling my name, and holding my hand. As my eyes came to focus, what I thought was her was a burly EMT whose name I thought was Ed. I had hit my head too hard and was delusional. I tried to call her name but my tongue and mouth were not cooperating. I finally gave in and let the darkness take me.