155 - The chapter where Rose decides what to do

Rose

My gaze wandered around that hellish scene without knowing what to do. Everything unfolded in slow motion in front of me. On one side, Jax was lying, moaning in pain in a pool of his own blood, being supported by a waiter. His friends were on the other side, keeping some distance with an expression that ranged from surprise to fear, keeping as much distance as possible from Christian, who was standing next to me with both hands raised in a sign of surrender after handing Theo the keys to the bike.

The sidewalk outside was starting to fill up as well, several people crowded near the glass window watching what was happening, some taking pictures or filming with their cell phones as the police approached us.

" Dad, do something " I begged for a magic solution, one that would stop my boyfriend from being taken by those men. "Chris..."

I tried to put one of his hands down to pull him to me, but he stood his ground, looking the other way while someone talked to one of the policemen, pointing at Christian.

" There's no need to handcuff him, he won't offer any resistance " my father tried to interfere as the officers approached.

" Sir, kneel down and put your hands behind your back " one of them ordered, ignoring my father's argument.

I couldn't hold back the tears any longer as I saw Christian obey silently, with a blank expression, still not looking at me. Theo pulled me into a hug, making me hide my face in his chest, preventing me from watching as they handcuffed my boyfriend. Sky held mine trying to give me some comfort.

" Come on, he's just a kid,” my father insisted as the police officer spoke his rights, receiving a cross look from the officer who stopped him from approaching.

" Really? Look around, I think your kid has done quite a bit of damage, don't you? Come on, stand up " he grabbed Christian's arm, who offered no resistance, standing up in silence.

That's when my father decided to act, letting out a tired sigh, he turned to the group of boys accompanying Jax, raising his voice.

" Which one of you is in the car? " he asked, pointing at the boy who raised his hand in a sign " Help him get this son of a bitch into the car and take him to the hospital in waterfall. Peterson, I want the key to Davis' motorcycle.”

Everyone started to move, doing what my dad told them to, he ran after the cops, exchanging a few words with one while Christian was put inside the car and three guys tried to get Jax to stand up, since he seemed about to lose consciousness.

Theo put his hand on my shoulder, leading me out of the restaurant, making my father approach again.

" 'I want you to take Rose home, I'm going to the police station to sort this out,” my father took a deep breath as he stepped away from the car.

My gaze remained fixed on Christian's figure in the back seat of the car that began to slowly drive away. Inside I wanted to act, I wanted to get him out of there myself, I wanted to fight anyone who threatened to touch him, I wanted to choke O'Donnel with my bare hands, but my body felt numb, so I just allowed them to guide me to the car in silence.

" Rose, are you okay? " Sky tried to get my attention " Rose?”

" What's going to happen to him? " I stammered, raising my face to face her.

" 'I don't know, but your father will manage, you'll see " Theo tried to reassure me " he may have gone a bit overboard with O'Donnel, but no one goes to jail for breaking someone's tooth and nose.”

" I should have gone with my father," I moaned.

How could I abandon him like that?

" And what were you going to do, hit someone to get arrested too? Because I doubt they'd let you stay with him, Rose.”

I knew Sky was right, and at that moment, everything that happened in the last 24 hours came back to me, I leaned my head on the seat, closing my eyes, letting the tears run freely down my face, I just wanted to turn off my mind and body and just wake up when this nightmare was over.

That's when Sky's cell phone vibrated with some notifications, she picked up the device, frowning as she read the messages.

" What the... crap! " she muttered.

" What happened? " Theo alternated her gaze between her and the direction of the car.

That's when her cell phone started ringing, being connected directly to the car's speakerphone. Theo frowned, accepting the call.

" Cam, is there a problem?”

" HAS CHRIS BEEN ARRESTED? " she raised her voice, making me widen my eyes.

" They took pictures, and they're spreading it around. I just got a picture of him being handcuffed and Jax on the floor " Sky groaned.

" What's going on? " Cam caught our attention.

" Jack's at the police station, go home with Liam, we'll tell you everything there " Theo asked before ending the call.

When will this end?

I kept silent all the way home. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by my mom and our friends, including Harry, who seemed worried about Christian.

" Has he really been arrested? " Cam asked with watery eyes.

" 'They took him away in handcuffs,' Theo confirmed.

" Was it that bad? Did they have to call the police? " Harry asked.

" 'He broke O'Donnel's nose and some of his teeth with a decorative board. There was blood everywhere and if it hadn't been for Rose, he probably wouldn't have stopped." Sky flopped down on the sofa, keeping her distance from Liam.

"I shouldn't have let him see that fucking picture." I leaned against the wall, letting my body slide until I was sitting on the floor.

I knew the situation would get complicated as soon as I saw that picture. If it had been any other guy there, Christian probably would have held back a bit more, but with Jax... it was lucky they got him away before the situation got worse.

" Rose, it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't Davis' fault. That son of a bitch deserved it for what he did to you " Theo tried to reassure me.

But that was no consolation to me. Yes, Jax deserved what happened, but Christian didn't deserve to dirty his record with a worthless asshole like that.

"Rose, your father will take care of this, don't worry," my mother tried to reassure me.

"Damn it, we were supposed to be packing our bags to spend an amazing week in Arizona and not in this shit," I hid my face in my legs.

Everyone sighed, not knowing what to say, until Harry spoke up.

" At least everyone already knows it wasn't you in the video " he commented, looking at his cell phone.

"What? " I raised my face in doubt.

" Savannah is sending prints of a conversation with Audrey where she admits what she did and parts of the video where Jax and the girl appear " Liam explained with a frown " Wow, she exposed everything!”

" Are you worried? " Sky muttered, receiving a tired look in response.

" Can you stop that? At least for the next five minutes can you give me some peace? " he muttered in reply.

'What's going on with these two?

"Your dad's calling," Addison warned, glancing at her own cell phone before answering the call, putting it on speaker "Jack, you're on speaker, everyone's here.”

" Great, that'll save me time. Rose, are you there?”

" Yes, how is Chris? " I asked distressed.

" He's fine, but... they just took the boy to a jail cell, I already talked to Alex and she's on her way " he took a deep breath.

" A jail cell? Does that mean he's not coming back with you? " Theo asked.

My heart ached at the possibility. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was supposed to get scared and come home, right?

" Things are a bit complicated, but Alex will take care of it, don't worry. In any case, we need to talk to his parents. He'll probably be out on bail " my dad said, letting out a tired sigh " I'll wait for Alex to arrive and we'll try to sort it out, but the deputy said that as much as she understands the situation, there were a lot of witnesses and the owner of the restaurant filed a complaint, so he'll be prosecuted. If that happens, he will have to wait for the bail hearing. Luckily they will prosecute him for assault in the third degree, surely Alex can convert the sentence to community service.”

" I'll try to talk to his parents, I think he left his cell phone in his room " I said, getting up " let me know when Alex arrives, please.”

I needed to help somehow, even if I had to talk to his family and give them such unpleasant news. I ran upstairs, finding his cell phone on the bedside table next to mine. I turned on the device that had been turned off since yesterday, taking a deep breath, taking the courage to turn on my cell phone as well, watching the cracked screen light up as the device started.

I put my cell phone aside, focusing on Christian's device, unlocking the device without any difficulty, since I knew the pattern, ignoring the messages, I opened the contacts, looking for his parents' number, until Amber's number caught my attention. Maybe it's better to talk to his sister than his parents, she'll know better how to give them this news.

" Chris? " It didn't take long for her to answer the call.

" No, it's Rose…”

" Rose? Why are you calling me? " I felt the woman's voice get tense on the other end " where is Chris?”

I didn't know how to answer that question right away. What would I say to her? I should have thought about that before I called.

" Rose, where is my brother? " she repeated, sounding frightened.

" He's fine, physically at least, but…”

" 'Rose, just say it!”

" He's been arrested. My father and stepmother are trying to solve it, but I don't know if they'll be able to " I let out at once, receiving only silence as an answer for a few seconds.

" 'Did you say he was arrested? " When he spoke again, his voice faltered a little " What happened?”

"It's a long story," I groaned, not feeling comfortable enough to tell him everything that happened, but knowing it would be necessary, so, letting out a resigned sigh, I began my tale, "everything started to fall apart yesterday…”