Rivals ? - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Juice got a bad feeling. Opie, Jax and Kozik had been sent to ride off to meet with Happy and Tig, who had been on the run and had called for back-up this morning, because they believed someone was tailing them. Barely ten minutes later, Chibs' phone started to ring.
Juice's eyes shot to his brother, who pressed the device against his ear. "Aye?"
It was silent for a while, then Chibs cursed.
Juice flinched. "What's going on?" he asked before his friend had ended the call.
"Hap and Tig were taken to the hospital. None of the bystanders could tell the others what exactly has happened, but Tig was not conscious." His voice was laced with worry. "He rode into a tree."
Cursing, Juice rubbed his face. What a nightmare.
"We're going to the hospital?"
Chibs nodded grimly. "The boys are already on their way."
Juice pulled his keys out of his pocket and together with the remaining Sons, they headed to the hospital. In the waiting area, they all paced around, waiting for news about their brothers.
After an hour, they were allowed to enter Happy's room, whose tibia was broken in three places. Quietly, Juice listened to Clay's questions.
"What happened?"
"A black van drove us off the road. Rammed us from the side. We both went down, and then one biker came after us to finish the job. A Mayan."
"W-what?" Juice answered in shock.
Clay looked over his shoulder, studying his face. Juice however, felt too nauseous to care about it.
"Well... that's indeed strange," Clay muttered, in thoughts. "We have our history, but something like this..." He shook his head. "Unbelievable."
"I put a bullet in his stomach," Happy answered. "Don't think he's gonna survive."
Juice had the feeling he couldn't breathe. The men were driven off the road close to Charming. Had Raine known about it? The idea that his boyfriend had known that something like this would happen, while they had been intimate last night, made him feel sick to the stomach. No – that couldn't be, right? He had woken him up when Chibs called, Juice had seen the worry in his eyes.
An even more gruesome thought shot through his head. What if it was Raine? In panic he stormed out of the room, tugging his phone out of his pocket. His fingers were trembling so heavily, it took a hell of a time to press the right name.
"Come on, pick up, pick up," he whispered.
But Raine didn't answer the call; in the end, he heard the voicemail.
Juice tried it again and again, while Happy's words kept circling through his head. "I don't think he's gonna survive."
But it couldn't be Raine, right?
Why would his boyfriend attack his brothers? Was he so in love that he had missed out on Raine's strange behavior? Had his decision to show up so late have something to do with the plan of the morning after? Had he used Juice? Was it his fault that Tig was battling injuries he didn't even know about yet?
"Hey kid." He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Wha's goin' on lad?"
Juice turned towards Chibs. Tears were stinging in his eyes. What if they found out Raine had slept in his bed? Panic squeezed his throat. "What if Tig..." It was all he managed to say.
"Tig will be fine." Chibs squeezed his shoulder. "He's a Son. He's a fighter. Who'd you try to call?"
Juice understood that Chibs was trying to distract him by asking that question, but it only increased his anxiety. What if – what if he died?
"Juice..." Chibs squeezed him harder, forcing him to answer.
"M-mouse," he muttered. Yeah – he wanted Mouse. The only one who knew how much Raine meant to him, and who understood how betrayed he would feel if he discovered Raine had really used him.
"Aye. Sounds good. Ye gotta sit lad, take a few breaths."
Juice followed his brother to some chairs, sat down and called Skye. Ten minutes later she was sitting next to him, pulling him in her arms. He felt ashamed of his mental state, but all he could think of was Raine's dead body, and he was too busy fighting his tears to also fight his longing to be held by someone.
"Tig will be fine." She kissed his cheek.
Juice waited until Chibs walked to the others. Then he said softly: "Happy shot a Mayan, he said that he'll probably die. And Raine – Raine doesn't pick up the phone. He doesn't pick up the phone, Mouse."
"Oh baby... I'm so sorry." She took his hands in hers.
Suddenly he could no longer control himself and he started to sob. Skye wrapped an arm around him, leading him away from the others.
"You don't know if it's him, sweetheart," she soothed. "He's probably still on his way home; that's why he can't pick up the phone."
"But what – what if this was the reason he came to my house last night? Because he wanted to lure Hap and Tig into a trap? What – what if that's the only reason he wanted to be with me?"
Skye took his face in her hands and gave him a stern look. "He came to you because he missed you, Juice. Because he loves you. I don't believe he would visit you before he would do something like this. That's not him; he wouldn't be able to look you in the eye. If that had been his plan, he would have booked a motel. I'm sure he has nothing to do with all this."
Juice tried to believe her. However, when a group of Mayans suddenly entered the waiting area, his insides cramped up. Raine wasn't with them.
"He – he's not there," he whispered. "Oh god, he's not there."
As his eye caught Sammy who was standing between the Mayans, crying, he couldn't breathe.
He had sensed it. It indeed was Raine who was dying.
The world spun around him and he collapsed.
. . .
It felt like some western movie; two groups standing silently across from each other, their faces tense, their hands close to their guns.
Alvarez was the one breaking the silence. "What is the reason of this warm welcome, boys? We are here to see our brother." His glance moved from Clay to Jax and back.
"You got some balls to show your face right now," Jax said, his chin raised.
Alvarez' eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me it was your crew who shot my man?"
"Those are pretty good odds, given the fact that you drove two of my brothers off the road!"
Chibs observed the Mayans in silence, noticing the looks they shared. They seemed genuinely confused.
Alvarez raised his chin, giving Clay a cold glare. "The rest of my men did not leave Oakland today. It's not our fault that your crew can't ride properly."
"Bullshit," Jax grunted. "A van drove them off the road, and your boy wanted to finish the job."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, jefe. I got no reason to execute a stupid action like that, and especially not in your backyard. You better pray that Raine will be conscious, so I can ask him what happened. Do not think we will forget about this."
Chibs' eyes wandered to the crying girl. She was wiping her eyes, looking to the side. To Juice, he saw to his surprise. His friend was a mess; he was paler than a corpse, looking like he would collapse once Skye let go of him. Sure, it was horrible what had happened to Tig, especially because they knew nothing about his condition. However, he'd never expected it would hit Juice so hard.
The Sons had stepped aside, reluctantly letting the Mayans pass. They couldn't do much in the hospital anyway. First they had to figure out what exactly had happened. Maybe the injured Mayan would confess something to Alvarez which would confirm their accusations.
Around him, he heard the grumbling of his brothers, who all expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation, doubting Marcus' words.
"Why else would Happy have gunned him down?" Jax asked. "He must have been a threat."
"His kutte alone is already a threat."
They all turned their heads aside. Skye had gotten up and walked over to them. Her voice was trembling. "Maybe he just wanted to help once they were driven off the road."
Clay snorted. "Why would he? And what else was he doing so close to Charming?"
Skye took a deep breath. "He was with me," she said. "Raine and I... Are dating. I met him at the fundraiser. I know his little sister, Sammy. That's why he was in Charming."
Her confession silenced everyone. Chibs didn't know what to think of it. He watched Juice, who stared at his friend as if this knowledge was new for him too.
"You knew about this?" Chibs asked.
"He did," Skye answered. "I told him. He tried to talk it out of my head, but I really like him. We never meet at our house; we always go to a motel so Juice and he don't have to see each other."
"So you think all of this was a coincidence?" Jax asked sceptically.
"Yeah. Wrong time, wrong place. He knows how much Juice means to me; as far as he knew, it could have been my best friend who was driven off the road."
The men shared some glances.
It sounded plausible.
If it was really true. And Chibs doubted it, although he didn't share his doubts with his brothers.
"So... Is this Raine really yer boyfriend?" Chibs asked a little later, when the others had gone outside to take a smoke. He leaned with his shoulder against the wall and looked at Skye, who was still holding Juice's hand.
It was strange – she wasn't the one who was in tears and she made no attempt to find out how her boyfriend was.
Skye nodded; she wasn't avoiding his glance.
His eyes wandered to Juice and he watched him for a while. He remembered what the boy had confessed to him: that he was in love with a man and didn't want to go public. No way... Was he...?
"Can I have a minute with Juice, Skye?"
For a moment, she looked like she wanted to object. Then she stood up, knowing he wouldn't back off. He sat down on Skye's chair.
Juice was staring at his knees, his breathing heavy. His sadness didn't leave him untouched and he wrapped an arm around his younger brother, pulling him close.
"He's not Skye's boyfriend, hmm?"
The boy froze. As he looked up skittishly, Chibs read the fear in his eyes.
Chibs sighed softly. So it was true. Juice had a secret relationship with a Mayan. No wonder he was so stressed lately.
"Juicy-boy..." He didn't know what more to say. Not now the man was dying. "It's okay," he said, pressing a kiss to Juice's temple. "It's okay, Juice."
Of course it wasn't okay. Chibs had no idea what to do with this knowledge, but he wasn't going to make a decision about it today. He just wanted to be there for his friend. He couldn't imagine how it must feel to know your lover was dying without you being able to be with him.
Juice stared at him in disbelief and Chibs squeezed his shoulder. "How long's this been goin' on?" It wasn't his intention to interrogate Juice; he just wanted him to keep talking, knowing it would distract him from the chaos in his head.
"You remember that time you were in the hospital when I was stuck in the elevator? Well, he was with me. I had a panic attack and he helped me through it." Juice bit his lip, looking up. "I've tried to forget about him, but we had such a click and I... I just couldn't get him out of my head. At first we tried to be friends alone because we doubted there was a future for us. When his sister died he needed me... and then you told me to go for it or to let him go... and so I went for it." He bent his head, his cheeks flushing. "You can't imagine how sweet he is, Chibs. I – I love him. Last night – last night we told each other for the first time. That we love each other." Tears started to drip down his cheeks again. "And now – now it might have been the last time. I don't know what to do without him Chibs. I – I never felt like this about anyone. It feels like he's my other halve." Sniffling, he wiped his eyes. "And I – I just don't understand how he can be involved in this. He was with me when you called, he came from another direction than Hap and Tig... And I didn't tell him anything; only that I had to leave."
Chibs thought about it, trying to understand it too. Had Skye spoken the truth? Had the Mayan wanted to help the two men? If he was honest, he didn't know what he would have done himself if two bikers were driven off the road. Would he pretend not to see it? He certainly hoped not...
"Maybe he was indeed trying to help them, startling Hap with his kutte," he said softly, rubbing Juice's back. "I'm sure he will be fine."
He just hoped they hadn't started a war now. A war because of compassion... that would be something new...
"You're gonna tell 'em?" Juice asked in a whisper. "That he and I..." He was silent.
"For the time being, I won't tell anybody," he promised. "It should come from you anyway."
"I wish I could tell them," he whispered. "But you know as well as I, that they will never accept us."
Chibs tended to agree with him. "It can also be a reason to make peace," he said nevertheless.
Even though that dream seemed further away than ever, if innocent blood had flown today.
"You think?" Hopefully, Juice looked up to him.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I hope so." He ran a hand across Juice's Mohawk. "Maybe there will be a good moment to tell them."
Juice bent his head, his bottom lip started to shiver. "Maybe. And maybe he's dead before the sun sets."
Chibs didn't know what else he could say. Instead, he held Juice tightly, praying that both Tig and the Mayan would be all right.