Runaway ✔

042 • Dana

The pew on which she was sitting, felt hard. Dana had wriggled herself in diverse positions, but they all felt uncomfortable. At least five rows were filled with bikers. Not only from Charming, Opie'd told her that Happy had been a Nomad for a long time, resulting in lots of brothers from different charters.

Almost every man was accompanied by a Croweater. From SAMCRO Clay and Kip were the only ones who really had an Old Lady. But nobody would know that, and the large amount of alternative, way too sexy for a funeral dressed girls who were barely identifiable by all the make-up they were wearing, made it easy for Dana to get lost in the crowd.

Opie's hand rested on her right leg. It felt heavy, heavier than Juice's. She wondered how Opie would feel about all this: to pretend to have a girlfriend on a funeral. She was sure Donna would cross his mind more than once today. Still she was glad he was the one who was sitting next to her, instead of Juice. Not because her brother believed Opie could better protect her, but because Juice had the annoying effect of intensifying all her emotions. The fewer attention she attracted, the better, and since she was pretending to be the girlfriend of Happy's friend, it would be strange if she would cry all the time.

Juice sat a row before her, a little more to the left. He'd laid his arm on the seat back of the pew, making it look like he'd put his arm around the girl next to him. Dana wondered if he knew her, if they'd ever slept together. These were questions that shouldn't be of importance at all, she knew he hadn't all of a sudden fallen in love with someone else. But maybe pondering about that was less stressful than listening to the speeches of two of her aunts, aunts she was hiding from and who brought up memories that meant nothing to her.

Most part of the memorial Dana was watching her knees. Especially when Happy was doing his valedictorian, sharing some memories she hadn't forgotten. Still Happy was himself and he was just to the point. He said that he felt sorry that his little sister was not around, but his voice sounded down-to-earth.

💀

Dana made it through the memorial without shedding a single tear. It was the funeral itself that cut right through her heart. The moment she stood before the coffin, so close she could lay her hand on it, her lips started to tremble. Opie pulled her a little closer while they were standing there, both with a white rose in their hands.

She's right in there. Dead.

She blinked away the tears and took a deep breath.

She's really dead.

She felt a hand on her lower back, hesitating. The scent of his aftershave gave away who it was. There was nothing she wanted more than turning around and burying herself in his arms, but she didn't. Persistently she stared forward, fighting her tears. Gravel grind when Juice took his hand away, let down a rose on the grave and walked off, his arm around the unknown girl.

"You're ready to go?" Opie whispered.

Dana didn't answer immediately. Her eyes moved over the memorial stone. Forever in our hearts, was written in the marble.

Forever... She had the feeling her mother had to die to truly get a place in her heart.

Suddenly the hairs on her arms stood up straight. Her stomach cramped. A sweet scent invaded her nostrils, and she felt weak in the knees.

Somebody stood next to her, slowly tossing a flower on the grave. There was a flash of tattoos when he pulled back his arm.

It felt like thousands of pounds were dangling around her neck, she couldn't lift her head.

"Such a shame, huh? She was such a sweet lady."

Dana squeezed Opie's hand so tight that she heard his fingers snap.

She felt a warm breath near her left ear. "Red hair suits you."

Her heart faltered. She started to sweat all over her body.

Ice cold fingers brushed hers. "It's scandalous, isn't it? That they gave her the wrong medicines at the pharmacy?"

A sob escaped her lips. Run away, Dana, run away. There were thousand voices screaming at her, and still it felt like her feet were stuck in concrete.

She couldn't move.

"You really thought your biker boyfriend could protect you?"

Even before he completed his sentence, there was an incredibly loud bang, stinging her head. All the noise silenced, and something warm spattered in her face.