Runaway ✔

012 • Dana

Dana felt relieved. No more secrets... They now knew her dark side, what she was capable of, and they still accepted her. She could barely believe it. The fact that they weren't saints themselves probably helped a lot. She didn't care. In comparison to Maddox, they were angels. She was sure.

The men went back to work. Dana returned to the canteen. Half-Sack and Cherry were standing at the bar, and she walked to them. She wanted to give them an update too. They reacted just as understanding as the others had done and Cherry even hugged her. It must have been during high school that she'd been held by a friend, she realized. By friends she had lost a long time ago.

A few meters away a door was opened. Juice came through it, his phone holding against his air. Before he reached them, he put the device away. "Called someone who's making fake IDs. We can come over now."

Dana hesitated. Someone with a job like that must be in touch with important people to get enough work. Was there a chance he knew Maddox? It was a logical step that she needed a new ID.

"Should I be there?" she asked softly.

Their eyes met. She felt her cheeks burn with shame. Man, don't be such a coward. Get over it.

All those times she'd kept a straight back, but it felt as if it had suddenly snapped. Just now she had left him. She hated the awful distrust, that constant fear. "Nah, I'll go with ya. Never mind," she said before Juice could say something. She took a step to the door.

"It's okay if you don't," he answered. "Thought you might wanna leave this place for a sec. Can take a picture and bring it along?"

For some reason she didn't like the idea of Juice taking pictures of her, so she shook her head. "Nah, I'm fine. I'll go with ya."

She didn't want to offend him by admitting that she was afraid he hadn't done enough research before calling his fake ID contact.

Juice walked to a black van and got in on the driver's side. Dana opened the opposite door and climbed on the passenger seat. They were substantially higher on the road, making her feel safer than when she'd been on Opie's bike. Had he taken that into account?

There was a tense silence when they left the parking lot. She secretly wished Opie, Jax or Half-Sack had been with her. They would have talked. She didn't know if Juice was just quieter than his friends or that it was caused by last night.

After a few annoying minutes, she realized she wasn't very talkative either. Perhaps that was the problem. Out of the corners of her eyes, she looked at him. His eyes were fixed on the road, but he looked a little absent-minded.

"Let's forget about tonight," she suggested. "Just pretend I'm an interesting chick, instead of a flipped-out sleepwalker."

A smile spread across his face, which caused one on her own lips. "Who says I need to pretend?"

Dana chuckled. Maybe she'd been wrong about him. "Tell me something about you." She looked at his hands. The left one was loosely hanging over the wheel, with the other he geared up. They were clean and not as callous as one would expect from a mechanic. "You're not doing many repairs, do you?"

He shook his head. "I manage the club's intelligence and communication." He hesitated shortly. "And they like to use my hacking skills."

"You're a hacker?" she repeated, a little surprised. She only knew the basics of computers. "Didn't expect that."

Juice turned the wheel to the left. "Ya didn't? I don't look that intelligent?"

"You aren't exactly an Einstein." She started to laugh. "Although he has never seen a computer." She shrugged. "I've never met a hacker. They need to have guts, I suppose. But I still pictured a pale nerdy guy who spent all his time in a small dark room, avoiding sun light."

He smirked. "I'll blame Hollywood."

Her lips formed a smile again, which faded away when a new silence fell. Why was it so much easier to talk with the other guys? She felt kinda bad about it. Now and then Juice glanced aside, seeming on the verge of saying something. In the end, he put the radio on, and a CD started to play. Unfortunately, the guitars didn't expel the discomfort.

Dana stared out of the window. They'd left Charming behind and rode across a hilly country. The grass had dried out, giving it a yellow color.

. . .

"Have you thought about a name?"

It had been a while since they'd spoken. She had drifted off, and for a moment she'd forgotten someone was with her. Quickly she sat straight, hoping she hadn't been a drooling idiot while sleeping.

"Not really," she admitted. Not many people got the chance to choose a name. But she liked hers. It was short. Powerful. Cool. "Something short, I think. Hmm... Chloe? Always liked that name."

Would others call her differently from now? That was probably the safest, but her name becoming a taboo didn't feel right at all. As if Maddox also took that away from her.

"Chloe..." Juice repeated. For some reason, she liked the way he pronounced it. He nodded. "I like it."

She felt her cheeks started to flush and she quickly turned away her head. It's a made-up name, Dana. Doesn't say anything about you. She resisted the impulse to roll down the window so that fresh air could cool down her face. Where the hell was this coming from? Why did she value everything he was saying – or not saying? The last thing she wanted, was to get feelings for someone. Friendship was one thing. But more than that? She was far from ready for that.

She stared through the window again, still wishing someone else had been with her. But no, she had to sit through this ride with him. And later on, they even had to drive back. She suppressed a sigh, tried to focus on the music and at the same time she felt guilty about ignoring someone who was trying so hard to help her.