Runaway ✔

149 • Juice

Even though Juice had agreed to pick up Cherry, doubt started to eat his heart as he walked back home. He had been overwhelmed by her question, but now he started to wonder if he shouldn't be more careful. 

He didn't know how to put his suspicions into words; but if there was anyone who knew what Maddox was capable of, it was Dana. 

"Don't you think it's... suspicious?" he asked Dana as they left the beach. 

"What? A break-up between Kip and Cherry?" She shrugged her shoulders. "They were often snapping at each other. And maybe Kip has changed because of... all of this." She sighed. 

"That it's over between them, is one thing. But Kozik putting her on a plane to Mexico?"

"She has no one else, Juice. He mother didn't want her and she has never known her father. Kip was her whole world and I am her only friend. She told me that a dozen times." She bit her lip. "I understand her. If I was the one dumped, I'd wanted to go to her as well."

Juice sighed. "But why wouldn't Kozik call us?"

Dana shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he wanted to surprise us. He was the only one who knew your number, right? Who else could have given it to her? And come on, why would Cherry betray us? She would only do that if Kip was in danger."

"And if that's the case, he has to be in danger for over 24 hours," Juice admitted. "Kozik would have told us." He pushed away the nagging feeling in his stomach. They shouldn't become too paranoid. If they couldn't even rely on Kozik anymore, Juice really wouldn't know what to do. 

He however couldn't shake off the feeling something was wrong, and as soon as they had reached their house, he tried to call his friend. There however was no answer and he gave up, assuming Kozik would call him back if he saw the missed call. 

. . .

One hour and a half later, Juice stood in front of the hotel where he was supposed to meet Cherry. He had come alone intentionally. 

Cherry looked horrible. Her face was pale, her hairs all oily and her eyes were red and puffy. When they met halfway the street, she hugged him so tightly it felt like she had looked forward to an embrace for years. She was really broken and he felt guilty for having considered that she had wanted to hurt them. 

"You have to throw away your phone," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Otherwise you might lead Maddox to us."

Her lips were quivering as she handed him her phone. He crushed it underneath his boot, dropped it into a trashcan and sat down in the rental car. 

The ride home was awkward. Actually, he had be alone with Cherry only one time; when he had just met her and she had asked him for a ride to the clubhouse. He turned on the music while wondering if he should ask her questions or if it was better to leave that to Dana. He couldn't imagine she wanted to talk with him about Sack, by which it would only feel forced. 

After ten minutes, she however started talking herself. 

"I'm sorry to ruin your early honeymoon." Sighing, she had turned her head to the side, staring out of the window. 

"It's not a honeymoon. We're on the run for a psycho." 

"But it does you good," she answered on a hollow tone. "It's been months since I've seen such a relaxed face."

Juice felt anything but relaxed and he wondered what the hell that meant for his brothers. "Why's that?" Nervously he squeezed the steering wheel. "Something happened?"

"Not really," she muttered. "But the club is halved. The guys miss their brothers, whether they are dead, in jail or hiding in Mexico. Nobody is happy."

Juice swallowed a lump in his throat. Dana and he had lived in isolation for such a long time they barely thought about Charming. Everything had been fine, Kozik had assured him. But that nobody was dying, didn't mean that everything was going fine.

The guilt hit him hard as he admitted to himself that he felt happier than ever since he was here with Dana, making him wonder how long it would stay that way now Cherry had come to them, taking with her a little bit of the doom surrounding Charming.