Spark in the Dark

Chapter 87

Juice sat in his hospital bed, biting his thumbnail, as he stared at his phone, willing it to ring. Willing Shawn's name to appear on his screen so he could answer it and hear her voice as she apologized for not showing up the night before. Then she could tell him whatever crazy story happened that prevented her from getting there and they could laugh about it. She would offer to make it up to him and he would suggest that they get frisky in his hospital bed. She would laugh off his suggestion, but he knew the idea would turn her on. All of that would happen, all she had to do was call.

Somehow, Juice knew she wasn't going to call. He had tried calling her last night when she was an hour late and her phone went straight to voicemail. His anxiety began to kick in right there, but he hadn't wanted to panic just yet. There were a dozen reasons for her phone to be off. He tried calling again in the morning, only to get her voicemail, again.

If Chibs hadn't also been in the hospital, Juice would have called him to see if he knew what was going on. Or if he had Lyla's phone number, he could have called her to check on Shawn.

Juice's phone rang and he snatched it off the table. Disappointment settled in as the wrong Trager's name was on his screen.

"Hey, Tig. What's up?" Juice said, trying to sound normal.

"Hey, man. Just a heads up, Cara Cara burned down last night," Tig told him.

Dread filled Juice. He knew Shawn was there late last night. What if... Juice pushed the thought away.

"Shit, that sucks. Everyone okay? I mean, no one got hurt, right?"

"Nah. Looks like the place was empty. No cars were there or anything."

"How pissed is Shawn?" Juice said and faked a laugh.

"Must be pretty pissed. Her phone is off. Doesn't even want to talk to anyone."

Juice hated Tig in that moment. How could he just assume Shawn was alright? How could he not go to her place to check on her?

Tell him the truth, Juice thought.

"Anyways," Tig continued. "Chibs should be getting out. We'll let him know then. I just wanted to keep you in the loop."

Tell him, Juice ordered himself.

"Okay, thanks brother. I appreciate it."

Tell him! Tellhimtellhimtellhimtellhim-

"Talk to you later, man," Tig said and hung up. Juice dropped his phone onto the table.

"Fuck!"

* * *

Shawn sat on the cold concrete floor, trying to figure out a plan. That's what she had been doing almost all night, but there was no plan to make. The room she was in was pitch black. Only a little bit of light showed up the door. She had felt around the room, hoping for a window that was just covered, but she was in nothing more than a closet where all of the walls were covered in shelves. Without light, she could even really tell what was on the shelves. She doubted they'd put her somewhere with anything should could use as a weapon, anyways.

A light suddenly turned on, hurting Shawn's eyes. She closed them as the door to the closet opened.

"Sorry," a female voice said. Shawn peaked an eye open and saw a girl about her age standing there. She has short blond hair and was dressed fairly nicely. "I thought you might be hungry."

Shawn now opened both of her eyes and realized she was holding a bag out to her. Shawn reluctantly took it and looked inside. It was filled with fast food. Shawn tried to hand the bag back her.

"No, thanks," Shawn said coldly.

"C'mon. You have to eat," the girl reasoned. "You can't let yourself starve."

"I have it on good authority that I actually can do that," Shawn said bitterly.

"I didn't poison it."

"I don't know that."

"If they wanted to kill you, they would have shot you. Or knocked you out and left you in that burning building. They wouldn't go through the trouble to poison you." The girl made a good point, but Shawn didn't want to listen. She stubbornly held the food back out to her without a word. The girl was just as stubborn. "I'm not taking it. Leave it on the floor if you won't eat it. I brought you a blanket and a pillow, too. I know that floor must be uncomfortable."

Shawn watched as she placed the items on the floor. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly with a shrug.

"What's your name?" Shawn asked.

"Polly. You're Shawn, right?"

"Yeah," Shawn said. There was no use in denying who she was now. "Why am I here, anyways?"

"Not sure. I don't think they were expecting anyone to be there when they went to burn the place down. Weston panicked when he saw you and brought you here."

"SAMCRO is going to be be pissed when they realize I'm gone. They'll come looking for me."

"I think they're counting on it."

* * *

Jax and Bobby showed up in Juice's hospital room later that afternoon, wanting Juice to proxy a vote. Suddenly, it made sense to Juice why no one was looking for Shawn. Jax wanted to go Nomad. With that distraction, no one had given Shawn's phone being off a second thought.

Juice had struggled with telling Bobby and Jax his concerns for Shawn, just like he had when he was talking to Tig on the phone. Once again, Juice didn't say a word. The doctor was saying Juice should get out of the hospital the following morning. Juice made a deal with himself, if he hadn't heard from Shawn by then, he'd say something. He wanted to tell someone, anyone, right then and there, but was second guessing himself. What if she really was just pissed and didn't want to talk to anyone? Him overreacting would let their secret out and potentially leave Juice unprotected if they all went back inside. If Shawn was okay, she would want him to stay safe. Juice just had to convince himself that she was safe.