Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ELSIE
“Will you be back soon?” I ask Scar as he swings his leg over his bike. Each of the women are doing the same, talking with their men.
“I’ve told you Angel, we will be back by Friday. Just stay out of trouble. Star and the ol’ ladies have a habit of getting into shit.” He winks as he pulls me to him, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Now give me those lips,” he demands.
I don’t refuse him as I press my mouth to his, letting him take what he needs. I whimper when he nips my bottom lip between his teeth.
“Be safe, love you Angel,” he breathes across my lips before he gives me one last soft kiss.
I step back. “Love you,” I whisper softly.
His smile deepens, giving me a wink as he backs out his bike. The sound of all their bikes rumbling together as they ride off and out of the compound is like rolling thunder.
“Do not even think about arranging a night out,” Maggie warns Star straight away, pointing a finger at her.
Star shakes her head no, not saying anything before she walks inside. We all give each other a confused and worrying look. I’ve been told a few things about what happens when Star is let loose to plan a girls’ night. Somehow it always ends up in disaster, yet they all still seem to have a great time. I don’t know Star well like the others, but she is definitely not herself.
“Is she okay?” I ask Belle as she stands next to me.
Her gaze comes to mine and she shakes her head back and forth. “I don’t know what’s going on, but she hasn’t been herself for a few days now,” she sighs.
We walk over to the other ol’ ladies, and Rhea still shifts nervously next to me. Part of me wants to assure her, talk it out with her, but the larger part of me doesn’t want to face that or talk about it. I don’t think I can stomach hearing about her with Scar. Hell, I know everyone has a past, it’s just that usually you don’t have to see it every day.
“Okay, we need to sit her down and get to the bottom of it,” Maggie sighs. “I have never seen her like this. She’s not even excited for the party on Friday, and she didn’t even give Ghost shit about having the Bunnies here.”
“I didn’t want to say anything, but a friend of mine saw her in the hospital with Ghost,” Dixie adds. That gets all our attention. Dixie shifts on her feet. “I shouldn’t say anything because it could get my friend into trouble or even tired,” she sighs.
“We aren’t going to get your friend fired. We just want to help Star,” Josie assures her, all of us understanding what Dixie meant.
She fidgets on her feet and sighs. “My friend works in the Oncology ward,” she states, her face saddened.
“Shit,” Belle mutters. “You think one of them has cancer?” she asks, her voice laced with worry.
Dixie rolls her bottom lip through her teeth, clearly holding something back.
“Dixie, just tell us,” Nova demands.
“My friend works in the women’s oncology ward. She specialises in treating women with cervical cancer,” Dixie explains. Silence descends around us, and I catch Josie blinking back the tears. I reach out my left hand and grasp hers, trying to give her a comforting squeeze. She gives me a small smile of thanks.
“So, what do we do now?” I ask. “Because you all know her better than me, what would she want you to do?” I ask.
Maggie scoffs. “She would want us to carry on and ignore it. Shut us out. Pretty much what she’s doing now.”
I nod. “And what would she do if it was one of you?” I ask.
Belle’s lips twitch. “You mean one of us,” she states, warmly looking at me, and I feel warmth hit my chest. She sighs. “She would be relentless, and she would be dragging our asses down the hospital, probably stalk the doctors until they fixed it.” Belle snorts.
“Don’t forget threatening them. She would definitely get her knuckle dusters out for that.” Josie laughs.
“Well then, let’s go be her Star,” I say, gesturing to the door.
They all smile and nod. One by one we pile into the club and find Star sat on the couch, staring absentmindedly at a spot on the floor. “Hey bitch!” Maggie yells. Her gaze snaps up to us, frowning.
“What the fuck is going on? I feel like I’m about to be jumped by the fucking Spice Girls ,” Star snaps.
That has me snorting back my laughter. Josie places her hands on her hips and gives Star a stern look. “We know what you are going through, and we are here to harass, to kick some doctors asses to help you get the best medical care, and you can push us away and try and hide as much as you want, but we will still be there breaking down the door. You are not alone,” Josie snaps.
Star’s eyes shine with tears and her lips twitch as she fights back a smile. “I think that is the first time I’ve ever heard you be threatening.”
“Yeah well, you are forgetting I’m British, and if there is some complaining to do, no one will do it better, so just show me to the hospital complaints department,” Josie adds.
We all let out a chuckle and Star laughs and wipes her eyes. “I’m okay. I don’t have cancer,” she says, pausing. “Well, I don’t know yet. I have to wait for the biopsy results,” she admits.
We all move towards her, each of us hugging her. Queenie walks in a moment later and places down a couple of bottles of wine and a tray of glasses. “Finally. I said that you should have told them,” she sighs.
“You knew?” Maggie asks.
“Of course, I looked after Enzo while she had the biopsy. I was sworn to secrecy and if it was anything else, I would have told you, but her and Ghost needed time to deal with it themselves,” Queenie states.
“When do you get the results?” Rhea asks.
Star shrugs. “They didn’t give me a specific date. Just that they would be in touch as soon as they were in.”
Dixie abruptly gets to her feet. “I’m not having that!” she snaps. She pulls out her cell from her back pocket and after pressing some buttons, she puts it on speaker as it rings.
“Dixie, good to hear?—”
Whoever she’s called doesn’t get a chance to finish that sentence because Dixie is immediately snapping at them down the phone. “Giles, listen to me right now. My best friend Star came in for a cervical biopsy.” Dixie looks at Star for confirmation. Star gives her a brief nod. “Right yeah, and she hasn’t had the results yet. She’s stressed, I’m stressed, everyone is stressed,” she snaps.
We all look at her with wide eyes as this tiny little thing speaks firmly down the phone.
“Dixie, you know the hospital’s procedure on these things. I can’t just push her file to the top and give her special treatment. That would be unethical,” the man sighs.
“Giles, let me tell you what is unethical. What is unethical is when a doctor fucks the interns in their office. I wonder what Shirley would think,” Dixie mutters.
We hear clicking on the other end of the line. “What’s your friend’s name?” he asks. We all grin as Dixie gives him Star’s details, and Star sits there, her hands gripping Maggie’s tightly. “Ah yes, well I can confirm there has been pre-cancerous cells found. We can get her in as early as tomorrow and I can perform the procedure myself to remove them,” he states down the phone.
Dixie answers before Star can answer. “She will see you at 9 am,” she states before disconnecting the call. Dixie kneels in front of Star and takes her hand in hers.
Star’s worried gaze lands on her. “Pre-cancerous,” Star whispers, her bottom lip wobbling slightly.
Dixie nods. “It sounds scary, but I can assure you it’s a good thing. He will perform a treatment and laser the cells off. It’s not the best thing, but it’s good news they have caught it before it can progress into anything horse.”
Star bursts out laughing, wiping her cheeks. “Worse,” she sniffs. “What about Ghost? He will go crazy if he finds out I’m going alone.”
“You’re not alone. We will all be there with you, every step of the way,” Josie assures her.
We all nod. “Even me. I know you don’t know me very well yet, so I understand if you don’t want me there, but I would like to be there for you the way you were there for me when I arrived,” I tell her.
Star nods. “I want you all there.”
“Then crack open that wine for tomorrow. We go in support of Star’s cervix!” Maggie cheers.
The next morning, Queenie has tasked the two Prospects left behind to stay with her and look after all the babies. She said she’s good, but she isn’t fucking Mary Poppins . Which I can respect when there are 3 kids under one year’s old. Rhea’s son Olly has also offered to stay home from school and help. Rhea told him nice try and saw him onto the school bus. Now all of us are sat in the waiting room, each of them wearing the Black Hearts MC cut, stating who they’re property of. I am the only one without one, which is fine. Scar and I are new. Well, if you count months of talking and getting to know each other as new, but actually being together, being free, then I think a week isn’t very long.
The nurse comes out and calls Star’s name, and we all stand and follow her in. “You can’t all be in here,” the nurse says. We all cross our arms over our chest, daring her to remove us. She sighs and throws her hands up in frustration. “Fine, do what you like,” she huffs.
The doctor comes in and his feet stutter at the sight of all of us. He clears his throat and looks back down at the chart in his hand. “Good morning, Star is it?” he asks. Star nods. “Can I ask that you go with Nurse Brenda and get changed into a surgical outfit? Then I will talk you through the procedure,” he states kindly and calmly. From hearing Dixie threaten him that he gets handsy with the interns behind his wife’s back, to seeing him now, I would have never of thought it was the same person. Dixie leans in like she’s reading my mind.
“He’s an utter dickhead, but he is the best,” she whispers.
I nod, because his calm and caring demeanour has already put Star at ease. Once Star is changed, she walks past us, her bare behind peeking out from the gown. She jokes, spanking it before she hops up onto the bed. We all stand at the head end to give her some privacy as she places her legs on the cushioned stirrups.
“Okay, I will be using a speculum to open you up, then I will be injecting a local anaesthetic into your cervix.” He pauses as we all let out a wincing “ooo,” while crossing our legs. “Once that is in effect, I will be using what is called Lletz treatment. It lasers off the cancerous skin cells,” he states.
“Cancerous? You said pre-cancerous,” Star counters, panicked.
“You have both, but please be assured that this treatment is very successful and it’s unlikely the cancer will fully grow,” he assures her. “Now, there will be an extractor fan going as I am essentially burning cells. I will be doing it by watching the screen there next to your head. If at any point you feel anything, I want you to let me know immediately.”
“Not being funny Doc, but I don’t think I will be able to keep calm if I felt you searing my cervix,” Star quips. The doctor gives her a smile as he begins prepping equipment. The nurse slaps a patch on her thigh. “What’s that for?” Star asks.
“That’s to earth you,” the nurse answers.
“Earth me?!” Star hisses.
“It’s because of the electric laser being used. Don’t worry, it’s completely safe and normal,” the nurse states, trying to assure her.
Star places her hands behind her head and sighs. “You get many women calm when you tell them an electric laser is going to zap at their cervix?”
“Well, no,” the nurse answers.
“Funny that,” Star answers sarcastically.
“Okay, I will just be administering the anaesthetic now. You’ll feel a slight sting and a little prick,” the doctor warns.
“That ain’t the first time, Doc,” Star snorts. We all cover our mouths, fighting back our laughter.
“Don’t let Ghost hear you say that,” Maggie laughs.
“He would make me clarify that he is in fact well endowed, and I’m only used to his very big prick,” Star laughs. She stops and hisses, her face screwing up from the needle.
“Okay, all done. Now just relax and it will be over soon,” the doctor smiles.
“Now we’ve all heard that before,” Star laughs. We burst out laughing and even the grumpy nurse snorts a laugh.
The fan is quite loud as he works, and none of us mention the smell of burning flesh. Well, apart from Star. “Smells like a lovely bit of ribeye,” she mutters.
“Well, I won’t be eating steak again. Now I will just be envisioning your sizzling cervix.” Belle gags.
“Hey, I will have you know that Ghost says my pussy is delicious. He said he could eat it all day,” Star jokes. The doctor’s face tinges pink at her words.
“Shall we play a game?” Josie suggests.
We all look at her. “A fucking game?” Maggie blurts.
Josie shrugs. “Well yeah, you know, to pass the time.”
“What game shall we play? I spy? I will go first. I spy my giant cervix on that screen,” Star teases.
Josie holds up her hands in defence, fighting back her laughter. “I was just trying to pass the time for you.”
“Well thanks, but I’m kind of restricted while the doc has his hand up my chuff, and a laser at my cervix. Maybe after we can play tag?” Star smirks.
Josie pokes her tongue out at her playfully. I laugh, loving how all of them are here for her, for each other.
After 30 minutes, the doctor smiles. “All done. If you want to get dressed, then the nurse can go through your aftercare.” The doctor stands and nods his head in goodbye as he leaves the room.
Once Star is dressed, given the leaflets, and told to not overdo it, we head back to the club. As Maggie pulls the van into park, she mutters an “uh-oh.”
“What?” I ask.
We all consecutively look through the windscreen to see the motorbikes all lined up, and all the men from the Black Hearts MC stood there waiting for us with their arms crossed. They all look pissed, but Ghost looks murderous.
“Shit,” Star breathes.
Maggie parks the van and Ghost walks over to the passenger side and yanks the car door open. “Before you start, I’m okay. It was fin— Aaaa!” she squeals as Ghost reaches in and lifts her into his arms like she weighs no more than a bag of potatoes. He says nothing and strides inside with Star in his arms.
“Here we go, ladies,” Maggie says wincing, and we all file out of the truck one by one.
Each man takes their woman’s hand and leads them either inside or places them on the back of their bike.
I look to Scar and his face is set in stone. Stopping in front of him I look up. “Hey, you made it back okay,” I say sheepishly.
He says nothing and just places the helmet on my head and fastens it. “Get on the bike,” he orders.