Runaway ✔

106 • Dana

The clubhouse never felt so much as a prison than in the days following Opie's death. Nobody had prohibited her to leave, but she knew they expected her to stay inside. And there was no reason to fight it. The last thing she wanted, was putting more lives in danger. The biggest difference with the days before however, was the fact this place no longer felt as a home. She didn't know whether that feeling was caused by the people around her, or by herself. In everyone's eyes she thought to see accusations. Sometimes even in Kozik's or Juice's.

The first one she avoided as much as possible, afraid he would discover her plan. His mind was sharper than Juice's, whose vision was clouded by his own sadness. More than once Juice tried to let her talk about what had happened that horrible day, but Dana stood firm. Usually she silenced him with a kiss and sometimes she had the feeling that was all he wanted. The past days they pretty much had more sex than in the weeks before all together. It seemed the only way to get rid off that miserable emptiness that was eating her slowly. The sex also served another purpose for her: she wanted to give him and herself a few memories they would never forget before she would leave. Furthermore their intimacy was the only way to forget about their fucked-up lives for a moment. Despite everything he still managed to make her smile and for some incomprehensible reason she did the same. Deep down she knew she would inflict him even more pain this way, but all of this seemed to come naturally.

Tomorrow he would feel horrible anyway. Whatever she would do today.

His lips in her neck distracted her. "You sleepin'?"

She turned on her side, so they were facing each other. There were still some sweat drops on his forehead caused by their last intimate moment.

"No."

"Your phone is buzzin'." There was a worried glance in his eyes.

Dana shrugged her shoulders. "It's Cherry."

"You don't wanna talk to her?"

"No," she muttered. She didn't exactly know why. Perhaps she was afraid her friend would sense she was planning to leave. She couldn't silence everyone in the way she was silencing Juice. "She..."

Right then, the door swung open. Cherry stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. "How much longer did you plan to ignore me? I'm calling you for three days!"

"And all those time it didn't occur to you that I might not want to talk to you?" Dana snorted. With her feet she lifted the blanket and draped it over Juice's waist. He might not be ashamed of his nudity, but that didn't mean she wanted to share the sight of it with her friend.

"I don't care what you want. You're locking yourself up in this room for three days now and the only thing you seem to do is fuck."

"And I like it. So. Bye."

She moved her hand across the tattoos on Juice's chest and started to kiss him. The lack of enthusiasm with which he kissed her back, told her he wasn't very happy about the audience. It wouldn't take that long before Cherry left, right?

The thought had barely formed when the door slammed shut.

"Fine," Cherry grumbled. "I'll wait until you're done."

Indignantly Dana lifted herself up and looked over her shoulder. "Here?"

Cherry shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? You both have a great body. I don't think there's something in the clubhouse I would rather look at."

Dana squeezed her eyes. "What do you want?"

"I'm worried about you, Dane. This ain't healthy."

"What ain't healthy?" she shot back. "See how your friend is murdered right before your eyes? You're right, that ain't healthy."

"You two are locking yourselves in this room and half of the time the whole clubhouse can enjoy your moaning. It gets pretty rough in here and so many times in a row... That's not good for you. For neither of you."

Dana rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Mind your own business. Someone else is glued to the bottle or crying the eyes out of his head. Everyone makes their own choices. Moreover, the wake is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow. Then we all go back to work anyway."

The past days the garage had been closed, in memory of Opie. The club hadn't even decided how to move on, they wouldn't go to Chapel until tomorrow. But by then, she would already been gone.

"Why don't you say somethin'?" With a sour face Cherry turned to Juice.

He heaved a sigh and shoved a hand underneath his head. "We're fine, don't worry. We all deal with this in our own way."

Cherry snorted. "Right."

Dana rolled her eyes. "Can't Kip get 'm up himself? Is that what you're really complainin' about?"

The jaws of her friend tensed. She turned around and slammed the door behind her.

"Guess that was the real problem." She hovered over Juice and kissed him so passionate and long her lips almost felt bruised. She felt a twinge in her stomach, caused by Cherry's outburst. That had exactly been the reason she'd shut out the others.

Frustrated she dug her nails into Juice's shoulders when he rolled her over. He banged deep and roughly inside her. "She has no idea what she's talkin' about," she grumbled in his ear, spreading her legs a bit more. "Only when you're inside me, I don't feel so hollow."

"I know," he whispered, before his lips glided down her collarbone. "I know baby."

She stroked the back of his head while she moaned in approval. Cherry's words that everyone could here them, meant nothing to her.

Tomorrow she would be gone.

Then she'd given Juice everything she could.