I've Got This Friend

Chapter 28

Mae actually fell asleep not long after Opie pulled his beanie onto her. His assumption was right; she loved wearing it and it was like a security blanket for her. After a few hours Opie was draining. It was almost physically painful for him to just stare at her, his kind floated to dark places as the thoughts of what they had done to her filled his head.

"I'll be back." He mumbled as Jax knocked on the door. "Hey," they shook hands and moved toward the waiting room for coffee. It was packed, almost the entire club was there and Opie felt his mood lighten.

"They wanted to see how you were holding up. We got news too."

Opie went and hugged each of his brothers before he sat with them. "What's the news?"

"We found one of the other guys." Juice said proudly. "But the cops have his name too. So we gotta move fast."

"Who?" Opie was already on his feet.

"One of her clients." Bobby handed Opie the printout Juice had managed to dig up. "She stopped seeing him because he was being 'inappropriate in conversation and with attempts at physical affection'." He quoted the report from Mae's dismissal paperwork.

Opie didn't need to say anything. They could all see his anger. "Unser?"

"Can't stop it, too obvious, but he'll let us know when the warrant is being served." Bobby was twisting the ends of his beard as he spoke. "We got time to pick him up."

"That leaves one other one. We're still on him. Maybe Mae will know him."

"She's not up but I'll see what she remembers."

"We gotta pick him up soon." Tig interjected. "We can keep him on the reservation."

Opie nodded. "Yeah, do that." They began to file out and Opie lowered his voice. "I just don't want her waking up alone."

"I got you. It's all good brother."

--

When he made his way back around to Mae's room he peeked in the window before opening the door. Her eyes were still closed but he knew she was awake as she clutched his beanie in her right hand and held the fabric to her face.

"Hey." He adjusted the older more worn hat on his head. "We can be twins."

Mae's eyes popped open and she smiled to see him in the doorway. He bumbled toward her awkwardly. "Hi," she whispered.

"I am so sorry." He spoke into her hair as he kissed the top of her head. "Mae, I fucked up, I shouldn't have left you."

"Don't." She said quickly.

Opie nodded feeling dejected and sat beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"You don't want to know." Her eyes floated down to his bruised hands as he gently pet her fingertips. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm glad you're going to be okay."

"Ope, I'm not okay. This kind of trauma leaves indelible scars. I remember it and even you touching me right now...it's too much."

He pulled his hand away and grimaced. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"You'll never know." She refused to make eye contact. "I know you killed Jude. Thank you. The other two, they paid him. Kyle Wilkinson, he was a client and Mitchell Jacoby was Jude's partner in New York."

"You want me to kill them?"

"I know you want to kill them."

"Will you feel safe?" He asked softly now painfully aware of his volume and actions around her. "Will you feel better if I kill them?"

"No. I won't."

"Mae, tell me what you want me to do."

"I want you to stop looking at me like that." She said with a tinge of hate in her voice. "Like I'm some broken little creature. The last thing I need is pity or sympathy."

At a loss, Opie nodded and stood to put even more distance between them. "Okay. Well, I got some business to handle. I guess I'll give you some space."

"Okay." Mae wasn't exactly disappointed. She loved Opie and felt better with him there but she despised the way he looked at her and how she felt about herself. Now they were dark and she swore she saw disgust in his usually bright green eyes. He'd grow tired of her refusals and her anxieties eventually. When she tried to pull his hat on with only one hand Mae quickly grew frustrated.

"Here." He straightened it and pulled it down to her ears securely. "I'll see you soon. I love you." Opie left without a proper goodbye and hurried out into the parking lot with his phone to his ear. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me, I want to go with you." Really, he wanted to take his anger and confusion out on those men. He didn't know how to fix anything and the only thing he knew to do was hurt the men responsible.