animexchick: Thank you for the review! Here's the next chapter :):)
Guest: Thanks for the review :):) I can't wait for more Juicy either ;P
I know it's been a few days. I kinda got distracted with some assessments, and my pop is really sick, and it was Easter, and I watched 13 Reasons Why... So I has been a busy beaver. But I am back, and will hopefully be updating twice a week again. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter (don't forget to review!) :):)
Bamby
SPOV
As my eyes fluttered open, I found myself lying in the bed of a private room in the hospital. Movement on my left had me looking over to see mum sitting on the chair beside me, flicking through a magazine, completely disinterested and obviously just wasting time. As I tried to move, I realised that yes, I still hurt, but it was a lot better now. Looking down I noticed my arm was stitched up in a couple of places, my wrist bandaged. Seems my injuries weren't just some scrapes. I couldn't see my head, or under the blanket, but I was sure there was more.
"Mum?" I croaked, every nerve in my body aching.
She put the magazine down, moving to lean over my bed, gently grabbing my hand. "Hey, sweetheart." she looked so sad and worried. So scared. It broke my heart. "How you feeling?"
"Like I nearly got blown up." I tried to be funny, earning a glare from mum.
She sighed, shaking her head. "It's not funny Scarlett. What were you thinking? Running to go help Chibs like that. What if you hadn't been so lucky? If you'd been any closer..."
At the mention of Chibs, I forgot my pain, focusing on him. "How is he? How's Chibs? Is he gonna be okay?"
Letting go of my hand, I could see the doubt and guilt in her eyes as she refused to meet my gaze. "I don't know. I haven't heard anything." she admitted. "But Jax and Clay will tell us everything once they find out how he's doing."
Feeling a little reassured, trusting that my brother and step-dad would do exactly that, I turned slightly to look out the window for the first time. "How long have I been here?" I asked, sure that I didn't want to know the answer. I hated hospitals.
"You've been out of it for almost a whole day." she answered. "You need anything? Are you hungry, thirsty?"
"I could use a drink."
Mum let go of my hand, reaching for her bag. "Okay, I'll go get you something." she leaned forward, placing a kiss on my forehead. "I'll be back, sweetheart." she offered me a smile before walking out of the room.
I rested my head back on the pillow, closing my eyes as I tried to ignore my body as it throbbed and ached.
This wasn't the first time I'd been hurt pretty bad. First time my injuries came from an explosion though. But I'd spent a lot of time in hospitals over the years. A lot of time aching and hurting. I guess part of me was used to the pain now.
No one really knew this, and I didn't want them to know, but my ex had been very abusive. He was an angry man, and a violent man. The smallest thing could set him off, and before I could do anything to fix the problem or calm him down, all hell would break loose. I couldn't even tell you how many times I'd woken up on the ground after he'd beaten me. It got to the point where I'd stopped coming to the hospital altogether, because I didn't want people to know the truth.
Now they were a reminder of what I had been through. All the pain, the suffering. They reminded me of how weak I could be. How scared I'd been.
My train of thought was cut short as the room door opened.
"That was fast, mum." opening my eyes, I looked to the door, and froze as my blood ran cold.
"Hi, Scarlett." Drew smiled.
He looked just as handsome as he had the day he'd swept me off my feet... and into my own living hell. Dark, chocolate wavy hair, swept into a smart-casual style. Dark grey eyes, like I'd never seen before. Creamy skin, perfect with no marks or imperfections. Tall, broad shoulders, healthy gym looking body. And that smile, all white teeth, straight as a ruler.
"What... What are you doing in here, Drew?" I asked, voice shaking with nerves as I inched my hand closer and closer to the button that would call a nurse in.
But before I could reach it, he stepped up to my bed and grabbed the control, moving it out of my reach. "Now, now. Let's be nice here. I mean, we're both mature adults, aren't we?"
Despite the panic racing through my veins, shaking me to my very core, I stood my ground as I glared at him "I'm a mature adult. You're a psychotic pig."
He shook his head, clenching and un-clenching his fist. "You know I hate it mean you speak to me like that. It makes me mad, and then I hurt you. I hate hurting you... but that doesn't mean I won't." his eyes darkened, just like they always did when he got mad. The amount of times I'd seen him stand like this before I'd gotten a beating was sickening.
I flinched back out of instinct, reverting to the scared woman I'd always been with him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"Shh, shh." he relaxed, brushing some hair behind my ear. "It's okay, baby. I know you were just upset your old lady friend died. But you can come home now. I promise, everything will be better." he smiled down at me, talking about the old lady who I had worked for and left me everything.
I nodded, too scared to argue with him. "You're right. I was upset. I needed family." I tried to smile back at him, feeling my body shake with fear.
"You know I love you, right?" he leaned forward, placing a kiss on my cheek.
"I know. I'm sorry." I told him, hoping to keep him calm. "I-I love you, too." I had never been more scared of anyone or anything in my whole life. Talking to him made my stomach churn, everything I said making me feel more and more sick.
Smiling down at me, Drew leaned in closer, his eyes on my lips. I knew what was coming next. I could feel his hand trailing down to my neck. If I refused him, he'd squeeze, it didn't matter that we were in the hospital, he'd still hurt me if I disobeyed.
Suddenly the door opened as Tara walked in, unintentionally saving me. She cleared her throat, looking away, clearly embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."
Pulling back, Drew turned to smile at her charmingly. "No, that's okay. I should get going anyway." he nodded, looking down at me again. "I'll see you later, okay baby?" I nodded, unable to answer with words. With that he walked out, smiling at Tara once more as he walked past, before leaving the room.
Tara, seeming confused, turned to me. "Who's that?" she asked.
But I couldn't speak. All I could do was stare at the now closed door, literally shaking with fear at the thought of him being able to walk in whenever he'd want as long as I was stuck in this God forsaken hospital.
JPOV
I was making my way down the hall of the hospital, heading towards the room Scarlett was staying in. While I waited for the guys to get back from Weston's- Zobelle's guy- Clay and Jax wanted me to check up on her, make sure everything was okay. I had no problem with that. Working had been hard. I was too worried about Scarlett to concentrate on anything else. Seeing her yesterday, passing out, her head bleeding, I'd never been so scared in my life.
Rounding the corner, I hadn't seen the other person coming, causing the two of us to collide.
I looked up at him to apologise but stopped when I noticed he looked familiar, I just didn't know where from. With his brown hair, grey eyes and a smug looking smile. I just didn't know where I'd seen him before...
"Sorry." he nodded before moving on, walking around the corner I'd come from.
Shrugging, I continued for Scarlett's room, nearing it's door. As I walked in though, I found myself frowning at the sight before me. Scarlett sat on the bed, pale and clearly terrified as she looked to the door, shaking.
"What's wrong?" I asked, walking over to where Tara stood by the bed.
"I don't know." Tara shook her head. "A guy was in here, talking to her. He left, but she hasn't stopped freaking out."
It took a moment, but it suddenly clicked. The guy. I remembered now. There had been a picture of Scarlett's ex when I had been going through their records, looking them up for Clay and Jax. It was him. It was her ex.
"Son of a bitch." I turned and ran out of the room, hoping I could find the guy and get my hands on him so I could give him what he deserved.
SPOV
As Juice dashed out of the room, I called after him. "Juice, no!" but it was too late, he was already gone. I tried to get up, to stop him, but was stopped as Tara held me back, keeping me from getting out of bed.
"Letti, what's going on? Who was that guy?"
"My ex." I answered without hesitation, trying to shift so I could see out the window of the door, needing to see Juice, to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. "Crazy asshole's been chasing me around the country for the last six months."
She tensed a little, but only for a moment before she stopped me from getting up again. "Okay. But there's nothing you can do right now. Lett, you have to stay in bed. If you get up, you'll end up passing out again."
It was then that the doors opened again as Juice walked back in, looking frustratingly pissed. "He's gone." he noted, coming to stand on the other side of my bed. "Are you okay? What did he say? Did he hurt you?"
I frowned, noticing something... "How do you even know who he is?"
His face fell as he realized his mistake. "I, uh... Jax... I-"
"Juice?" I pressed, frown growing.
"Jax and Clay wanted me to do a background-"
"You did a background check on me?!"
"Scarlett, I-" he reached for my hand.
I pulled away from him, pointing to the door. "Get out."
"What?" his jaw dropped. "But-"
I looked over to Tara. "Can you please get him out of here? I don't want to see anyone except you and my mum."
Without hesitating, she nodded, grabbing Juice's arm as she lead him to the door. "Come on."
He shrugged off her grasp. "Scarlett-"
"Get out, Juice!"
He closed his mouth, looking at me as he silently begged for me to listen to him, to give him a chance. But I just turned away, listening as he finally let Tara walk him out of my room, leaving me to sit alone, as tears started rolling down my face.
...
It had been a few hours since Drew and Juice left, enough time for me to relax a little, to let the medication they had me on actually calm me- even if only slightly. Mum and Tara had come and gone a few times, always checking up on me, making sure I had everything I might need, keeping me company when they could. But I understood that they had other things to do, and now that I was alone, I was enjoying the quiet.
My door opened for the millionth time that day, only this time it was Jax who walked in.
Just like that, my calm and relaxed mood turned to one of annoyance and anger. "I told Tara I don't want to see anyone. Only mum and her." I told him, glaring.
Ignoring me, he shook his head as he came over to stand next to my bed, taking in my injuries. "Shit, Scar. Look at you." when I said nothing more and continued to glare at him, he sighed. "Why are you angry at me? I didn't blow the car up."
"No. But you did get Juice to do a background check on me."
He sighed, looking to the ground, running his hand through his hair. "Oh shit." he shook his head, placing his hands on the bed, leaning on it. "It's not what you think. We just needed to know what the Feds had on you. That's all."
I rolled my eyes. "So you did a back ground check on me? Jax, you know I hate people looking into my business."
"If you told us what was going on, we wouldn't have made him do it." he argued.
"If you trusted me, you wouldn't have done it."
"If you didn't keep secrets, and hadn't shown up with a black eye after having been gone for years, we wouldn't have doubted you."
We could go like this all day, pushing the blame around, arguing like this. It wouldn't get us anywhere. Knowing that, I shook my head and moved on, changing the subject. "So, how's Chibs?"
"He's stable, but critical." he answered, looking to my arm. "What about you?"
"A few stitches in my head and arm, a few cuts and bruises. I should be out either tonight or tomorrow." I shrugged, glad I wouldn't be stuck in this stupid hospital for long. I just wanted to lie in my own bed.
"Look..." a bad feeling sunk in my stomach at the sound of his voice, seeing him look to the ground as he avoided my gaze. "Some shits going down tonight. Clay wants to retaliate against Zobelle. If I can't stop them... things are gonna get bad."
"How bad?"
"Jail, bad."
"Shit, Jax." I sighed. "Look at what happened to Otto. You'll all be alone in there."
Otto had been attacked a few days ago, even though he was locked up in prison. Some how, Zobelle got word around, and before any one knew what was happening, some guys jumped Otto, and stabbed him in the eye.
Jax stepped away from the bed as he nodded, thinking to himself. I had noticed, since I was back, that Jax was trying his best to think for the future of the club, to make everything better. He wanted a change. A change for the good. As much as I wanted Zobelle and his bitch of a daughter dead, I knew the smart thing to do is to wait and learn more before diving in blind.
The thought of my brother and the rest of the guys going to jail... it had me thinking of Juice. I was pissed at him, sure, but I still cared about him. We may not be an item or anything, but he was a friend. Family. He meant something to me. Something I didn't really understand, and something I definitely couldn't explain.
"Jax... I need you to do me a favour."
JPOV
We'd screwed up...
Riding in the back of the van, hand cuffed and heading for San Joaquin County Correctional Facility. Clay and Jax refused to look at each other, blaming the other for getting us arrested. The air was filled with awkward tension, causing everyone to get annoyed and agitated.
"Juice." I looked up at Jax, the first one to speak since we were shoved in here. "I spoke to Scar. She seemed pretty pissed you did a background check on her."
"You told her?" Clay glared at me.
I shook my head. "Her ex came to the hospital. She knew I had looked her up because I went after him, knowing who he was."
"That asshole was there with her?" she hadn't told Jax, unsurprisingly. He looked pissed. Ready to kill the guy.
I nodded. "We should get Ope to make sure she's okay. Keep an eye on her."
Clay nodded. "I'll given Rosen the message, make sure she's safe."
"Speaking of keeping people safe." Jax sighed, shaking his head. "She had a feeling shit was gonna go bad tonight. Told me to make sure you stay in one piece." he glared at me. "Something going on between you and my sister, brother?"
I gulped, eyes wide as I looked at Jax. Images of what he was going to do to me if he found out I'd been screwing around with his sister entered my head; all of them ending badly for me.
"It's not what you think. We're just friends." I tried to reassure him. But Jax just kept staring at me, not believing a word I said.
Bobby nudged him. "Relax, Jax. Scarlett knows the rules."
It took a moment, but after a second Jax nodded, letting it go. It seemed like I was off the hook... For now at least.
Bamby
