Ghosts ✔

010 • Juice

Juice had a pounding headache. He sat in a corner of the clubhouse, his laptop in front of him. Again he had watched security footage all day long. It only made him feel more depressed. Rubbing his face, he sighed and looked around. At one of the stripper poles a Croweater was teaching a new girl how to do a pole dance act. He thought back to the only time he had seen Dana perform such an act, on Tig's birthday. He had known her for two weeks, and it had been that day that he had started flirting with her. He could still picture her on the stage, wearing her black and red bustier and his cut. Man, she had looked so hot. Somewhere that night he had decided he wanted to go after her, even though she had ended up in bed with Jax just a few hours later. 

"Juice..." A hesitating voice pulled him out of his memories. He looked over his shoulder. A dark haired girl looked skittishly at him. 

He raised his eyebrows. Since he had broken an arm of one of those whores, they left him alone. The message that he didn't want them, had finally landed. 

"There... there's someone on the phone for you. At the bar."

Narrowing his eyes, he pulled his burner out of his pocket to see if there was a missed call. There wasn't. "Who's it?"

"I... I think it's better if you just take the call now."

Something cold descended in his stomach. His breathing increased. He could think of only one person who would call him like this; Maddox. Immediately his head was filled with dark images; in which he heard Dana's screams as she was raped, or in which he heard a gun shot, followed by silence. 

Did he really want to take that call? 

Despite the fear that was washing over him, he knew he wanted it. If not, he would feel regret for the rest of his life. With legs that felt weak, he walked towards the bar and took the phone. The device was shaking in his hand as he pressed it against his ear. 

"Yeah?" Even though he had wanted to sound grim, his voice was just a whisper. 

 "Juice?? 

As soon as he heard her voice, he flinched. He grabbed the edge of the bar to keep himself from falling. "Dana?" he asked dazed, his voice sounding smothered. 

For a brief moment there was silence. Then he heard her sob. He pressed his lips together, but it was impossible to control his emotions. He started to cry too. "Where are you?" he asked, sobbing. "Are you hurt? Did he..." He gritted his teeth. He couldn't let his emotions take the lead now; he had to figure out where she was. "Tell me – tell me where you are. Did you... did you discover something?"

"The phone is on speaker. I can't say anything about that, otherwise Kip will pay for it."

Juice ran a hand across his face, shaking his head. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that he was really talking to her. There were so many things that he wanted to know, but none of his questions passed his lips. 

"I'm okay baby," she said quietly. "Maddox is trying really hard. I'm not locked up, he hasn't hit me."

Gratefully, Juice closed his eyes. Tears slipped between his eyelashes. "And did he... did he rape you?" he asked on a whisper, even though he already knew the answer. Still he prayed for a miracle. 

A silence fell. 

"No," she said in a small voice. "We have been intimate but... but I wanted it."

"Oh Dane..." His legs could no longer carry him. He dropped down on the floor, the phone in his hand. Of course that asshole was listening, she couldn't be honest with him. 

"It's okay," she said on a soothing tone. "All things considered I'm fine, believe me. I'm not depressed, I'm not crying in a corner, I'm not tied up. Okay? We live in a house like a normal couple and..." He heard her voice falter. "O god Juice, I miss you so much. Please talk to me, I need to hear your voice."

The shiver in her voice made his whole body cramp up. He could imagine how tears filled her eyes, how her lips were quivering. Taking a deep breath, he tried to do what she asked. 

"I miss you too." He forced himself to keep breathing. What could he tell her? He wanted to be strong for her. "We all miss you. We –"

"Enough!" a voice barked. "Tell him the reason you're calling."

It felt like the blood was freezing in his veins. A nasty feeling aroused inside his stomach as a new silence fell. 

"Juice?" Her voice was only a whisper. "He forced me to call you, to tell you this." A sob escaped her lips. 

Juice wrung his fingers inside the sleeve of his hoodie and clenched a fist. "What... what do you have to tell me?"

"I..." He heard her gasp for breath. "I'm pregnant."

Stunned, Juice stared forward. "W-what?"

"With you. Sorry. I don't know... if you'll ever..." Again she started to cry. "Our baby..."

Juice couldn't utter a single word, it felt like something was wrapped around his throat. As if someone had put out the light and pulled all the warmth out of the room, out of his body. 

Before he could say something, before he could promise her that he would find her, the line went dead. 

"Dana?!" he yelled into the phone. "Dana??"

But she was gone.