On The Devil, We Ride

18

It was bright sunshine when I woke up the next morning. Sensing I'd slept in far longer than normal, I hastily made a move to get out of bed while forgetting about my injuries. I sucked my breath in through clenched teeth as I clutched my ribs in pain after mindlessly swinging my legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. It took a moment for the pain to reduce to a dull ache, but once it did I was up and yanking my hair back into a ponytail. I hobbled over to the adjoining bathroom and took in my reflection. The skin on my cheek was still tinted red from where it had split open, and I had various gashes and cuts around my face. My jaw and other cheek both had angry purple bruising, but neither as big as the one on my temple. That must have been the blow that knocked me out. I sighed and gave my face a quick scrub with warm water, wincing as it got into each cut. I looked down and noticed that my shirt was filthy and torn, as were my arms. Other grazes littered my arms and elbows from where I had crawled across the gravel. I was a mess. Sighing, I peeled my clothes off and tossed them aside before stepping into the shower. I let the water heat up to almost unbearable temperatures as it ran down my body and almost scalded my skin. I watched as the water ran brown with dirt and grime from my hair and body, then found myself choking back sobs. I wrapped my arms around myself and leaned my head against the cold tiles as my body wracked with more sobs. I cried until there was nothing left but hiccups and small whimpers before finally giving myself a mental slap. I had grown up learning not to cry, yet I had cried more in the time I'd been back than I had my entire life. I thought about my mom and about Debbie. I remembered how strong they were, how they were fearless and feisty. I needed to be like them. If I wasn't, I would never survive. This was who Jace had become and the life he lived, and if I wanted things to work out this time around I needed to toughen up and get with the program. Jace would run the club one day, and when he did he needed a strong woman by his side like Joe and my father had. All eyes were already on him, and any weaknesses would be the end of him. I couldn't be that weakness. Filled with resolve, I took in a deep breath and lifted my head up in the air, letting the long exhale after clear away all my thoughts. I slowly opened my eyes and finished cleaning myself with more dignity before turning the shower off and stepping out. My joints still ached as I wrapped a towel around my body, but the hot shower had helped loosen them up a bit. Once I'd dried off, I slipped my underwear, bra and shorts back on before rifling through Jace's drawer for a shirt. I tossed it over my head and threw my damp hair up into a ponytail before awkwardly leaning down and tugging on my boots. I emerged from Jace's room and hobbled my way down the hall into the foyer of the club. A couple of the grunts were milling about doing odd chores the boys set them do, mainly disgusting jobs they didn't want to do like cleaning puke or other bodily fluids out of the bathroom. One of the grunts spotted me from behind the small bar and ran around it to approach me.

"Are you ok? Do you need me to go get Mr Murphy?" The kid said in one breath. I bit back a laugh as I looked at him.

"He seriously makes you call him that?" I raised my eyebrow at him. The kid flushed red and looked a bit nervous.

"Um...well, no... not exactly but he's...y'know..." He stuttered.

"Yeah, I know. Relax kid, I don't bite." He seriously looked seconds away from a panic attack.

"You're... you're Jace's old lady?" He questioned with a spark of curiosity in his tone. His question stumped me for a moment, but when I did reply I couldn't hide the small smile that formed on my lips. "Something like that."

The kid nodded then dismissed himself, muttering something about getting Jace. Moments later Jace rounded the corner from the large room they usually had their meetings in, the rest of the crew following right behind him.

"Hey, you shouldn't be up an about, you should be resting." Jace berated me before cupping his hands either side of my face and slowly moving it around as he assessed the damage to it.