Ghosts ✔

074 • Dana

In the end she reluctantly let go of him. Kip was the next one she headed to. She felt a little awkward because she had kissed Juice right under his nose. Of course he knew about her feelings for Juice, but she had feelings for him as well. 

She didn't know how to interpret his look when their eyes met. Had the kiss really hurt him? She squeezed Casper's shoulder – even when he wasn't ecstatic because of her return, he had to be happy to see his son, right? 

"You must be Dana," he muttered. 

Confused she looked at him and he sighed. 

"Maddox erased my memories when he sent me back. I uh – I have no memories before that day. Although I've heard some stories."

Dana froze, she felt a pang in her stomach. What...? He didn't remember her? He didn't know they had a child? A lump formed in her throat. 

"You okay with me hugging you?" she asked quietly. "Cause I uh... I've missed you a lot."

After a short hesitation he nodded. She held him tight. Countless memories crossed her mind, about moments he couldn't remember. But she would give him new memories. Better ones. At least she wouldn't tell him that Maddox had forced him to knock her up. 

She let go of him. A bit awkwardly they looked at each other. Her eyes wandered to her son, but she wouldn't tell him the truth tonight. Tonight she didn't want to talk about anything at all. 

The next person she discerned in the crowd was Kozik. The sight of his wide grin filled her with warmth and she let him wrap his arms around her. 

"Hey girl." He held her tight. "I knew you'd come back."

Confused, she looked up to him. "You knew...?"

He nodded slowly. "Hap couldn't believe you were really dead, so he made me open your coffin again. Which was empty." He spoke softly, holding her glance. "We didn't tell anyone else. I was afraid that Juice..." He sighed. "He was in a really bad shape."

"I know," she muttered. "Maddox showed me videos."

"He's not... the person he used to be."

"Who is?" 

The look in Kozik's eyes worried her. It felt like he was trying to tell her something non-verbally and it made her nervous. 

"I uh, I'm going to greet the others and then I really want to go to bed. I haven't slept in days." She scooped up Casper, putting him on her hip. "Is there a bed available for Casper and Charley?"

He nodded. "Yeah... use my club room."

She gave him a weary smile, followed by another hug. "I've missed you Koz."

"Missed you too kid."

They let go of each other. 

Dana went to the other Sons as well, there after she took her son and Charley to Kozik's room. "You can sleep her tonight. Is that okay? I'll be two doors away from here."

Charley nodded slowly. 

"Tomorrow we will seek contact with your family, okay?"

By now Charley had told her the truth: that her parents were still alive and that Maddox had threatened to send Lotte to a brothel if she would tell Dana so. Reluctantly, Dana had told the girl that Lotte had died because of Maddox. Juice's role in it, she had kept to herself. 

She returned to the clubhouse. All the talking gave her a headache and she felt exhausted. All she wanted right now was sleep – but with Juice's arms around her. Her eyes fluttered across the room until she saw him standing close to the wall, together with a pretty blonde girl. 

The moment she saw the girl was crying, her shoulders slumped down. 

He did have a girlfriend.

Hesitating, she walked over to the couple, her heart feeling heavy. 

"I uh... I'm going to sleep," she said quietly to him. 

The girl wiped her eyes. "I'm so so sorry," she muttered. "I feel like shit for crying here while I should be happy because someone is brought back from the dead."

"Don't worry. I get it; your life is turned upside down too because of me. You're his girl now, right?"

"She means nothing to me," Juice answered. His arms glided around Dana and he held her close. "She was just helping me to get rid of the loneliness." 

Dana looked over her shoulder at him. He sounded so cold – not like the Juice she knew. He would never have hurt someone intentionally – and there really was no reason for it. If anything, she had encouraged him to find new love. 

"It's not easy for her either," she said, holding his glance. "You do understand her, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Right now, you're the one I want..." He kissed her neck. "That's the only thing I can think about."

Dana saw the girl turn her head away. Again she tried to blink away the tears. 

She turned back to Juice. "I'll get to your room soon, okay? I wanna talk a bit with her."

Juice shrugged his shoulders and gave her another kiss. "Okay."

Dana grabbed the girl's hand and took her outside. Once they were alone, she didn't know what to say. 

"I'm sorry," she said eventually. "You obviously care about him. But right now, he's so overwhelmed that he can't think straight. Give him some time and talk with him. Okay?"

"And while I wait until he's ready, you'll be fucking him, right?" 

Dana hadn't expected her blunt answer; the girl had looked so sweet. Nevertheless, she understood her. "I won't sleep with him now I know he's in a relationship," she promised. 

The girl heaved a deep sigh. "Right. Whatever." She turned around and walked away. 

. . .

Dana closed Juice's bedroom door behind her. He was sitting on the end of his bed, taking off his boots. She sat down next to him. 

"You're together for a long time?" she asked hesitantly. 

He shrugged a shoulder. "Not really. Couple of months. I get that this sucks for her, but honestly? After living without you for four fucking years I really don't care. She'll get over it, we've been through worse things." He took her hand. "I love you Dana. I love you so fucking much."

She leaned into him and kissed his lips. "I love you too." She rested with her head against his chest. "And I'm so tired. There are a lot of things we need to talk about, but right now... right now I just want to sleep. In your arms."

"Sounds like a perfect plan." His smile lit up his face. Something told her it had been long since he had shown such a smile. 

They undressed until they were only wearing their underwear and went underneath the blankets. Juice wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder, peeking down. 

"That ink is fucking hot. Is it my Crow?"

She bent back her head, kissing his chin. "Who else's? You're the love of my life, Juice."

He tightened his grasp around her. As she felt his warm stomach against her back, she shivered. "And you're the love of my life, Dane."