A lonely hospital bed reminds Sydney that she isn't so far away from what robbed her of her dream all of those years ago in San Bernardino as she finds herself in yet another vulnerable position for all to see, and this time she can't run away from her fate.
General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death, racism/gang activity.
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CHAPTER 51: WOUNDED
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Sydney woke up under the buzzing of the commercial hospital lights 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, her muscles aching, and her skin crawling. She alternated between clenching her jaw and holding her breath, the limited oxygen being the only thing that seemed to dull the nagging pain, even if it was only for a few seconds. She tossed and turned, trying to find a position that would bring some kind of 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 return to the slumber that she'd been trying not to disturb in the first place.
"I told you that you wouldn't like me hogging the bed." He chuckled, 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 as he forced his tired eyes to stay open, pulling his boots on over his sweatpants before slipping out of the room, quickly returning with a cup of ice water.
"Thanks." She accepted the beverage, gulping it down in one swig as she tried to turn her focus towards the cool sensation of the liquid traveling down her throat and through her chest, before crunching down on the ice chips.
"Better?" He asked as he sat himself in the chair next to the bed, kicking his feet up and reaching for the remote, hoping that some extra space and less body heat would help her discomfort.
"No." She grumbled as she clenched her fist around his ring on her thumb, her frustration quickly returning as he got comfortable across the room, 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 tell that today was going to be a bad day, the third day always was. 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, rebuilding the familiar panic that lay 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.
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Clay patiently waited with his feet up as he sat back on the sorry excuse for a bed in a holding cell at the station house, waiting for Unser to hold up his end of their deal and 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 scowled once he realized where he was being taken. "They said I was being brought in for questioning-" He was cut off by Lemmings shoving him forward, and locking the gate behind him. "Man, what the hell?" He rattled the bars, finally turning to see Clay Morrow.
"You know... I'm sitting here, trying to think of how killing me, and the dirty white boy is a smart move for you guys." Clay nodded mock-thoughtfully. "There's gotta be a piece of the puzzle that I ain't seeing, or maybe, you're just really stupid. Which, seeing how you botched both hits, is a theory ain't 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 shook his head.
"You mean, like… Shiv ya? Make you suck my dick?" Clay grinned. "That's a little obvious, don't you think?" He raised a brow. "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 7-11."
"We arm up just fine, ese." Alvarez cut him off, he wasn't interested in listening to another condescending white man telling him all of the things that he was doing wrong.
"Bullshit, you're packing toys." Clay swatted the air. "You need real guns, and maybe it's time for me to expand my customer base."
Alvarez mulled it over, they did need better hardware - which was why they had been so interested in their warehouse to begin with - especially now that they no longer had the Nords on their side. "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." He smiled sarcastically.
"I said expand, not exchange." Clay snapped. "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?" Marcus crossed his arms.
"Peace of mind." Clay answered honestly. "Your charters up North? They settle all their beefs with the S.O.A., I don't care what it costs you." He shrugged. "And out East? Your charters leave my new crew in Indian Hills alone. And the first bullet out of 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 know about your Irish gun hookup, ese. Ship from Dungloe, oil drums, got intel on all of it." Clay's forehead creased, but suddenly it all made sense; the feds, the raids, but the only thing that didn't make sense, was how Alvarez knew that. "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 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 chortled. "Let my emotions get the better of me... The hits, the bad planning, the 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."
"Ain't no peace yet." Clay shook his head. "Don't forget that you tried to end me, wounded one of my own. That doesn't go unanswered... San Bernardino to Tacoma, the Sons are going to want your 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 as a President. "I got a compromise that I think will satisfy everyone..."
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Enough of the pain had been taken care of that Sydney no longer felt like she was going to physically explode, but mentally was another story. The insecurities that came with needing a private hospital room 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 having to tend to her every need while she was too drained to even make conversation, or that by spending so much time with her he would decide that he didn't want her back, after all. 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, and risk driving him towards the conclusion that she wasn't cut out for this life, the same way that her injuries had driven SAMDINO to that conclusion. There was only one person who was allowed to see her that way, and that person was nowhere to be found.
"You don't have to stay." She deadpanned as she swirled her plastic fork around in the puddle of syrup underneath her uneaten pancakes, the pit in her stomach widening 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, the one thing that she'd never wanted to be seen as; wounded. "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.
"You're just saying that." She felt herself getting upset even through the bashful smile that he'd managed to put on her face.
He shook his head, moving to the edge of the bed where he took her hand. "I want to be here." He looked into her sad green eyes with as much sincerity as he could without drawing too much attention to the problem as he stroked his thumb down his ring that sat on her finger. "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 to see Tara standing with her clipboard in hand. "What were you saying about uninterrupted?" Sydney turned back to Tig with a chuckle.
Tig smiled. "I'm gonna head out for a smoke." He left the two women alone, grateful for the timing that would hopefully help Sydney figure out what she needed.
"Did you sleep here?" Sydney looked over the exhausted woman who was in the same scrubs as the day before, 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 uncomfortable bed. "I don't know if I should get on at all…" She sighed. "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 narrowed her eyes. "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 humourlessly, biting her lip. "I guess you're right." She shook it off, blinking back to reality. "Are we okay? You know, after…" She trailed off uncomfortably.
"We'll call it even for me barging into your house." Sydney winked.
Tara smiled gratefully. "The doctor was going to tell you this tonight... But they're going to be continuing to decrease your morphine, so you're probably going to be feeling some pain today, which is why 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 unrecognizably husky voice.
"Why are you always seeing me like this?" She grinned, shaking her head as her eyes landed on Donut who was standing in the doorway with a smirk, giving her the much-needed burst of hope that maybe the others could come back from this... Because she didn't just have one person who had, she had two.
Tig smiled around his cigarette as he sat on his bike in the parking lot. 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.
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As fast as Sydney's mood had picked up at the sight of her old 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 hours that her and Donut talked, desperate to do something to take her mind off of the throbbing that she could feel returning in her 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 at the sound of her soft call, swaying back and forth as he hung onto the metal doorframe. "Have you seen Hap?"
"No, Kitty Cat." He frowned as he recognized the foreign look of defeat on her face. "He wasn't at the clubhouse... I assumed he'd be here." His thick 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 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 where the smile on his face fell the second that he stomped out to the lobby.
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"Yeah?" Happy pulled out his ringing phone from where 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.
"No one told me she could have visitors." He grunted as he felt his jaw tightening against the hard plastic.
"I thought you'd be the first in line, bro. What's going on-"
"I was. They told me to leave." Happy began to defend himself before ultimately deciding to just snap his phone shut, and prove his point physically rather than verbally - as he'd always done.
Maya raised a brow as she watched the veins in his neck twitch, 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.
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Sydney laid on her back, nodding her head against her pillow (that was too flat) as the nagging pain in her thigh seemed to get stronger and stronger with each minute that passed. She alternated between squeezing her eyes shut, clenching her jaw, and tensing her muscles to try and absorb the pain, but she felt panicked tears coming to her eyes again when those methods proved to be even more unsuccessful than they had been earlier that morning, switching her focus to her shaky breathing as she tried to calm down.
"Thanks, man." Donut hugged Tig once he reached the parking lot, grateful for the Sergeant being so patient and waiting around to stand guard so that they could have their visit, uninterrupted.
"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, making his way over to his bike where Tank and Willy were waiting to escort him.
All of Sydney's efforts to conceal the growing pain had resulted in a thin layer of sweat over her body, which she didn't notice until an evening breeze came through the window, and a cold shiver rolled over her. She flinched, locking her eyes on the latch. 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 heavy 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 pressed against the cold tiles of the 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, happily daydreaming about how everything was going to work out as he approached the closed door to Sydney's room, opening it 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 before he dropped his keys and cigarettes into the sink and raced over to where Sydney was leaning against the windowsill with broken glass, and water all around her bare feet from the bouquet that she'd knocked over when she lost her balance. "What the hell are you doing?" He looked over her 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, avoiding his eyes as he looked at her pitifully from the sink, looking down at her bright pink toes instead.
Tig winced as the pain radiated off of her as she sat with her head down, and her cheeks red. He walked over slowly, sitting himself on the edge of the bed where he leant 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 back up with the blanket, and laid back, pulling her down so that she was lying across him with her back to his chest. "Are you gonna be comfortable?" She asked meekly, trying to mentally prepare herself this time if he was going to leave her alone in bed again.
"If you're comfortable, I'm comfortable, baby." He felt his heart clenching behind his chest. She shouldn't be worrying about if he was comfortable. He dragged his hand back and forth over her covered stomach, hoping that the light tickling would cause enough of a distraction from the pain in her leg. "I thought Donut would cheer you up..." He sighed sadly.
"I did too." She nodded shakily, feeling something being placed between her quivering lips. "Tiggy!" She looked up at him with a scowl once she heard the flick of a lighter. "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 right as a rush of relief washed over her aching body, blowing out the smoke with a satisfied sigh.
"Sure you're not." He chuckled, jostling her lightly as he felt her body relaxing against his as she inhaled the tobacco.
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Jax took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart as he walked through the halls of St. Thomas - a place that he was becoming very familiar with, and that he knew he would continue to become familiar with, from this day on. He picked his head up, standing tall and strong as he approached the next phase in his transition to the life of a true anarchist.
Sydney had finally dozed off after the blissful dose of nicotine had calmed her enough to be able to sleep off the exhaustion that the 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 frantically waving his arms from outside her 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, turning onto her side where she nudged Tig. "Baby." She wiggled her elbow into his ribs gently.
"Hmm?" His eyes shot open. "What is it? What's wrong?" He 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, patting her arm gently before guiding her to sit up, kissing her cheek as he sleepily got to his feet. "Diner?"
"Please." She nodded.
Jax peeked out from the adjacent room that he'd ducked into, waiting until the heavy double doors of the unit closed behind Tig. "Hey." He greeted Sydney with a warm smile as he entered the room, 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 smiled sarcastically.
"You did?" He scowled.
"Mhmm. Once again, the good doctor has put you out of your misery, ."
"Well, that bullet definitely didn't damage your attitude." He scoffed.
"I am on a diet of painkillers and pity. What more could a girl want?" She shrugged.
"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 that I can't do this half in, half out shit. It's clear that I can't protect anything if I'm not focused."
"Your instincts are what helped you protect Tara... The way that you know how, deep down... Now you just have to get right with that."
"I'm ready to accept it." He nodded. "I just don't know how..."
Sydney blinked a few times as she contemplated the moral dilemma. "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 nodded. "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, which led to taking out a threat with zero hesitation."
"I don't know…" He shook his head. "It was bad timing before, but... The clubhouse is starting to fill up with other charters, seems like this is an even worse time 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." She narrowed her eyes.
"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 smile.
"You know…" He took a step backwards. "Ain't 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.
Jax rolled his eyes. "Don't forget what I told you." He called over his shoulder as he finally took his leave. He knew that she was just being modest, but he couldn't laugh off a shooting as easily as she could.
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Tig had just stepped 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 that was busy with the dinner rush. "Okay, I'll be there." He snapped his phone shut.
"Hello?" Sydney plucked her ringing phone off of the scratchy blue blanket - the sight of which was starting to make her eyes burn - grateful for the distraction as the pain gradually got worse the longer that she was left to her own devices.
"Hey, baby." Tig husked 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 as the image of the confusion plastered on his face when he found out that Happy hadn't visited her, flooded her mind. "No, it's fine. I can just wait for you." She felt the panic returning. She didn't need to feel that kind of embarrassment again.
"You sure? You need to eat…" Tig stopped his movements, contemplating 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 who she was supposed to call her family, couldn't do the same. "What about, uh-" She kept her voice level. "What about Clay's 'no riding alone' rule?" She pawed at her watery eyes.
"Ah, he said that shouldn't be a worry anymore..."
"Oh?" She scowled.
"Still working out a few details... I don't know much. But when I do, so will you."
"Okay." She nodded. "I love you..."
"I love you too." He smiled before taking off towards the clubhouse.
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Clay chewed the inside of his lip as Jax ran down the entire story, why they'd been raided by A.T.F. in the first place, why his house had been vandalized, why the feds were still circling - all because of Tara. It made perfect sense now that he had every piece of the puzzle, 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 why Sydney hadn't wanted retaliation. He, of course, had gotten the intel about Kohn and Tara 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." Chibs agreed.
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 ain't here to chew me out about it." He figured that it was best to cover her involvement. If she wanted the club to know that she helped him hide it from them, then that was her own truth to tell.
"Speakin' of the Princess..." Clay narrowed his eyes as he steered the meeting elsewhere - he would deal with Jax later. "SAMDINO wants to see her..." He looked between Tig and Happy. "We continue to make sure that don't happen."
"What?" Juice didn't understand, and apparently neither did the others as the perimeter of the table filled with creased foreheads, and furrowed brows.
"It ain't my request, it's hers." He leant forward, pointing his finger around the room. "And it's our job to honour that request." His tone held no room for negotiation, this was an order.
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"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 after all he'd done to finally see things his way. "All this shit got me twisted up? My kid? Tara?" The defensive words began pouring out, unsure if he was talking to Clay, or to 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 stated more calmly, remembering that the entire purpose of his admittance in the first place was to avoid confrontations like these. "And with the damage done to my family? Yeah, it's got me thinkin' a little different. But I ain't afraid to get bloody Clay. Not anymore."
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Tig hung back in the bar with the rest of the guys while Clay and Jax had their discussion that the Sergeant knew was not meant for public ears - chatting with Willy and Chibs over a beer. "I'm about ready to get this party started..." Donut announced as he entered the circle. "What do you say, boys?"
"Alright." Tig nodded, clapping the Tacoma man on the shoulder when he finally saw Clay re-entering the clubhouse - which meant that he could finally leave. "Sounds good." He headed for the door before he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Tiggy." Cheryl cooed.
Tig felt his heart sink as every bit of anger that he'd been storing over the past few days, rose to the surface. He knew that he needed to keep his cool - especially in front of visiting charters, and families - but the feeling of her hand grazing his neck had his skin crawling in a way that he hadn't experienced in decades.
"I know you're with her…" The croweater tried to soothe his rage before it could begin. "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 that I can satisfy you…" Her hot breath tickled his ear the way that she knew he liked, smirking when he grabbed her hand and pulled her outside with him.
"You don't tell anyone about this." He ordered as they rounded the building, ducking out of sight.
"Of course not." She grinned, draping her arms over his shoulders and tilting her lips up towards his before she felt herself being violently slammed against the bricks in a way that was anything but thrilling.
Tig had to control just how far his rage was willing to take this as he shoved her into the wall by her throat. He'd had more than enough of the persistent gash, but 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 growled, his lips brushing her ear as she screamed 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 pavement, and gasp for air.
;
Sydney was finally able to lay back comfortably after her evening medication was injected into her I.V. stream, sighing as the relief enveloped her body, doing what she could to enjoy 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.
She awoke sometime later, blinking as she tried to gain her bearings - noting that she couldn't have been out for long, because it had only just begun to get dark. 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, or joy, 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 nodded in the face of the rage that he had been subconsciously avoiding - which had only made it worse.
"Yeah? Where? Cause you sure as shit haven't been where I fucking needed you." Her chest heaved as her mind raced with everything that she had been holding in. She couldn't believe that he would do this to her, after all that it had caused the last time... "You were the only person besides dad that I was comfortable with. You knew that, and you left me alone, again. And I know that it wasn't to get my revenge, this time."
"You weren't alone. Tig was here."
"And that makes it okay?" She shook her head incredulously.
"You don't need me anymore." He shook his head, maintaining eye contact for as long as possible before the impact finally hit, and he was forced to look down at his jeans.
"W-what?" The soft words from the hard man took Sydney completely by surprise. "Y-yes I do..." Her voice cracked. She couldn't imagine her life without Happy, she would need him until the day that she died, like she always had. "Hap, you're the only person I need." Her voice turned to a panicked screech.
"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. He knew as well as she did that she wouldn't be expressing 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 that 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 on 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 the pussy that, deep down, he knew he was.
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.
;
Song for this chapter
Twisted - Skylar Grey, Eminem & Yelawolf