Purgatory

3

When Juice opened his eyes, he was laying on his patio. For a moment he was angry, how the fuck did he keep not dying. He rolled his head to the side and saw Tig staring at him with a wild smile that reminded Juice oddly of the Joker. What the fuck was his deal? Happy was the torturer not Tig, what the hell did he want?

"You know you laid there so long, I thought I might have actually killed you. Started to get nervous." There was a maniacal look on his face still, though his voice was casual. As if none of the previous events had happened at all.

Juice coughed trying to get much needed air into his lungs, he didn't know how long he had been out for, but it felt like he hadn't breathed the entire time. His body felt heavy, sore, as if he had been beaten, but he didn't recall impact. Slowly he pulled himself into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around his knees in a pitiful attempt to protect himself. "Wasn't killing me the goal?" He felt confused, and disappointed.

"It's no fun if there is no fight. You're not weak Juice, you're no worse than the rest of us. I'm here to let you know, as far as Chibs is concerned your debt has been paid. Technically you did die. Juice doesn't exist anymore; I don't know if he ever did." The rage was no longer in Tigs eyes, he looked almost sad.

"What about you? How do you feel about that?" Juice couldn't resist the question, if there was any doubt about his debt he needed to know now. If he could move on with his life he would. What sucked the most was Tig was right. Juice was never a real person, he was figment of his own imagination, someone trying to be someone he wished he could be.

Tig straightened up in the chair he occupied, flicking his smoke he inhaled deeply. While the smoke filled his lungs, that heavenly burn he liked, he contemplated. Juice began to worry the answer would in the form of a gunshot to the head, or a beat down. Anything. Really, he would have been fine with anything, he had earned punishment and would take it. He just wanted something, a reaction, a feeling, some clue that he wasn't dreaming all of this and Tig felt something.

Tig licked his lips and then spoke. "Well, I guess, now that I've seen you, said what I needed to say, and choked you out, I feel okay."

Juice nodded. "Okay. Okay is good. I took care of all the ink, just so you know. I did everything that was asked of me. I did die Tig, the doctor intervened though. My heart stopped beating. Guess I should have signed a DNR."

"Yeah well, hindsight and all. Don't be stupid and come back to Charming. But uh... don't be a stranger either. Chibs will take some time, but he would be glad to know you're alright."

Juice nodded, he didn't know whether he should believe him or not. For all he knew. Tig would just shoot him on the way out.

"Sorry about earlier, I just got overwhelmed. When Quinn told us, he'd heard in Stockton that you'd been smuggled out... I just lost my shit. At first when he told us, I figured you'd screw up and get yourself killed. Or the AB would come for you. Then I felt relieved, after all the shit that went down, I was relieved that someone made it out of the Teller-Morrow disaster. Seeing you here tonight, just ignited everything. You know?"

Juice was trying not to cry, he didn't want to do that now, not again. He was so tired of crying, living with regret and fear. He was tired of hiding, from the club, the feds, everyone.

"I get it man. Why did you come here though? It's been a year since I left Stockton, I just don't understand."

Tig shrugged as if that answered the question.

Juice sighed, "You know, I don't love Tully, right? Of all the horrible things you could think about me, that's one I don't want. I learned to do what I had to do to survive. Now I'm like a fly in a web, I keep playing this game, but I don't think I'll ever get out."