Ace Of Spades (Complete Raw First Draft, Unedited)

Thirty- Two: Hostile

Debbie grabbed Clyde and sharply backhanded him, pushing him down to sit on the bed.  Jenna and I both flinched and Clyde sat there looking stunned.

"Slow down," she told him sternly.  "Getting yourself all worked up into a frantic mess like this is going to help no one."

Jenna tentatively perched on the side of the bed next to him, hesitantly taking his hand in hers and gently touched the cheek Debbie had just slapped, making him wince.

"We're going to find Bonnie," the Queen said firmly.  "And, I promise, we're going to kill the mother fuckers who took her."

***

I managed to convince Clyde to leave the clubhouse and let us take him home.  He was determined to tear the whole town apart with his bare hands until he found Bonnie, but, since the other guys still hadn't returned, we decided there wasn't much more we could do.

After quickly stopping off at my place to grab a few things, I pulled the car into his driveway, putting on the handbreak and we all climbed out, making our way inside.

Jenna and I were going to stay there with him for the night.  It would be safer if there was more of us there, in case Lucas or any of his guys came back, I decided.  And I really didn't want Clyde to be alone.  Who knew what he'd decide to do without supervision?

I quickly sent Marcus a text, filling him in on what was going on, then Jenna and I started cleaning up the house, picking up the mess on the ground and sweeping up the broken glass in the kitchen.

Clyde hovered around, seeming completely lost and vague, his eyes vacant and defeated where they were usually full of life and mischief.  I hated seeing him like that.

He started to help clean up, picking up the broken glass with his bare hands.

"Hey, Clyde," I warned.  "Be careful, man."

The minute the words left my mouth, he cut his hand, and stood, staring down at the blood, not reacting otherwise.

Jenna winced, then glanced at me, going to one one of the cupboards and found some paper towels.

"Damn it," Clyde muttered as Jenna handed them to him.

She stood beside me, watching him as he made his way to the bathroom to clean up the cut, slipping her hand into mine.

"This is killing him," she observed, glancing up at me.

I nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna go talk to him for a second," I told her, brushing my hand over her hair, then went after Clyde.

He was calmly dressing the wound when I went in, the bloody towels in the bin beneath the sink, his expression smooth and mutual.

"You alright?"  I asked him, and he nodded firmly.

"Just thinking," he answered.

"You knows there's nothing you could have done," I assured him, but he scowled down at his hand before turning to me, looking pissed.

"I promised I'd never let anyone hurt her again," he said.  His voice came out calm and even, despite the murderous glint in his eye.

"What do you mean 'again'?"  I questioned, feeling uneasy.

"She's all I've got, man," he said, ignoring my question.  "And I'm getting her back."

"Clyde," I said, holding his gaze.  "Why do you own a gun?"

"To kill people," he said simply, pulling the gun in quesion from where he'd put it behind him, in his belt, beneath his shirt.

"Who did you kill?"  I asked, taken aback.

"My fucking brother," he answered, his expression growing dark.  "And the guy who tried to hire us to kill her."

I just stood there, not sure what to say.  I'd only known him a short time, and I figured that something big had happened in the years before we met one another, but I never thought it would be something like that.

"We went through fucking hell together," he muttered, finishing with the cut on his hand.  "And, I'd do it all again, for her."

He brushed passed me and went to his and Bonnie's room, the strange calm never once leaving his posture.

Jenna was still standing in the kitchen when I went to find her again.  She had finished cleaning up, her eyes growing wide when she saw me again.

"What happened?"  She wondered.   "What did he say to you?  You look so pale."

I shook my head, smiling at her, but I knew it came out wrong.

"He's just upset," I told her, stating the obvious, but she didn't look convinced. I was grateful, though, that she didn't press me for details.

***

Clyde came out eventually and went and sat out, around the back of the house where there was a small courtyard, without saying a word.

I ordered pizza and switched on the TV while we waited, just to have something to fill the silence.

"He's preparing himself," Jenna observed, glancing out the window.  "I think he's planning something."

"I hope not," I answered.  "He's insane at the best of times."

"What are we going to do?"  She asked, tears springing to her eyes.  "This is all my fault-"

"Stop," I told her firmly, pulling her into me.  "None of this is your fault."

We stayed like that for a while, until a knock came at the door, making both of us jump.

"Wait here," I told her, climbing to my feet to answer the door, but it was only the pizza delivery guy.

I took down three plates that had survived whatever had happened here today, and went to call Clyde in.

"Hey, man, there's food," I told him, watching the switchblade he was subconciously weaving round and round his fingers.  "Come eat."

He nodded, but made no move to come inside.

I sighed and went to lean against the wall next to him.

"It's going to be alright," I promised him.  "We're gonna get her back, and the people who took her will be all yours."

"It's gonna be fucking slow," he murmured, though I wasn't even sure that he was talking to me when he said it.  "They're gonna suffer."

"I know," I told him, feeling uneasy again.  "Come eat, you're not going to be any good to her if you starve yourself."

Finally, he came back inside with me, sitting at the end of the table, picking disinterestedly at the slice of pizza in front of him.  None of us really had any apetite, no one spoke much, and, afterwards, Jenna and I sat in front of the TV, while Clyde resumed his place back outside, twiling his knife once more.