Ren - Shades of Grey

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Ren: Shades of Grey: 5

Brad watched as the vehicle towing the motorbike on a trailer stopped in front of the house and Ren got out of the driver's side door slowly. Brad watched for a few moments but he could see no sign of Sky in the vehicle and he looked at Ren as the other man walked towards him.

"Don't tell me she ran again," Brad said reluctantly. He liked Sky and enjoyed having her around.

" No," Ren said without explanation.

"Where is she?" Brad asked as Ren walked past him.

"I bought her a ticket home and put her on a bus. Now are you going to pack your stuff up so we can get out of here or are you staying here?" Ren asked abruptly.

Brad didn't answer as he turned and followed Ren into the house. He went to the room he had been using and set about packing his belongings. Brad had all his belongings packed within the hour and went in search of Ren. He found him sitting on the edge of the bare mattress in the room he had shared with Sky. He had the clothes he had bought Sky folded neatly beside him.

Hearing Brad in the doorway Ren got to his feet and turned his back on his friend as he brushed a hand across his face before reaching for his belongings.

Brad had noticed the glitter of tears on his friend's face before he turned away but said nothing as Ren turned with two boxes of processions.

"Shall we get out of here?" Ren asked as he brushed past Brad.

"Yeah, sure thing," Brad agreed and headed back to get his stuff.

Ten minutes and they left the house in the vehicle with the two bikes on the trailer behind them.

"How long ago did you send Sky back? This morning?" Brad asked.

"Three nights ago," Ren answered.

"Where the fuck were you? Or did you leave me hanging out to dry?" Brad demanded angrily as he wondered if the police were looking for them as he spoke.

"I rode around for nearly twenty hours, found a pub and got drunk. Woke up at Jody's. I was still half pissed so I slept on her couch last night and headed here this morning," Ren said tightly.

"You could have rung me! Let me know so I could clear out! Hell! I don't want to get the blame for the shit Hawk pulled!" Brad said angrily.

"Yeah, I should have rang you," Ren agreed. "But I had other things on my mind."

"Like getting your wick wet in Jody!" Brad snapped angrily.

"I did not get in bed with Jody! I sure as hell didn't fuck her even though she wanted it this morning!" Ren swore as he stepped on the brakes hard and the vehicle skidded to a stop. He turned his head to glare at Brad.

Brad stared at Ren silently for a few seconds before he shook his head. "You're gone on Sky!" Brad exclaimed, then hesitated a moment before asking curiously, "You break it off with Jody?"

"No I didn't break it off with her but I told her about making love to Sky. Not all the details just the general gist of things," Ren said looking away.

"You going to break it off with Jody or keep seeing her?" Brad asked.

"Damned if I know. I aint sure what I want or where I want to go at this stage," Ren admitted.

Brad wisely didn't say what he was thinking and that was that Ren wanted Sky and not Jody.

"So where are we heading?" Brad asked after the vehicle was moving once again.

"I plan on heading up around Albury for now," Ren answered.

They travelled in silence for nearly an hour before either of them said anything or reached for the radio.

"If you have to turn the bloody thing on, at least find some decent music," Ren snapped.

"How's that?" Brad asked when he tuned in to a station playing popular rock music.

Ren didn't answer but he left the radio on the station as he drove along. He had already decided that he would spend several months at the restaurant in Albury-Wodonga and live in the flat behind the restaurant.

Brad didn't try to start a conversation as they travelled towards their destination. He had never seen Ren in such a strange mood and wondered how much of it was longing for Sky and how much of it was worry that they were all in the shit now because Sky was sure to head to the cops.

It was dark when Ren finally pulled into the driveway of the flat that attached onto the back of his restaurant. He turned the vehicle off and took the keys from the ignition to search for the key that would unlock the back door of the flat.

"How long you planning on staying here?" Brad asked as he got out of the vehicle and stretched lazily.

"Not totally sure at the moment but I might stay here until I figure out where the heck I go from here," Ren answered as he walked to the flat door and unlocked it.

Brad followed Ren into the flat. It was the third time he had been here and he knew the flat reasonably well. He headed straight for the laundry where the gas water heater was and soon had it turned on and heating water. When he got to the kitchen there was no sign of Ren but the door that connected through to the restaurant showed a faint seam of light around the edges. Guessing that Ren had headed through to check on his business and see about getting something to eat Brad quickly set the table then checked to see if the refrigerator was turned on.

Ren returned shortly and glanced at the table Brad had set waiting for food. "I got two specials cooking up for us," Ren said before heading back out towards the vehicle to begin bringing in his gear.

Brad watched Ren head for the master bedroom with the first load of his belongings. The room was large and fitted out with a lot of comfortable furnishings. Brad knew that the bedroom he would take for himself was just as comfortable but it did not have the view out over the city that the master bedroom had.

Both men had their belongings in the bedrooms before one of the chefs from the restaurant carried their food into the kitchen, placed it on the table and walked to the doorway into the rest of the flat to call, "Your food is here Mr Renford."

"Thanks mate!" Ren called back as he headed towards the kitchen.

Ren and Brad sat down to eat their meal. There was no conversation between the two men as both of them attacked the food hungrily.

"Bloody good tucker," Brad finally remarked as he pushed his empty plate aside.

"Yeah, good to see they're keeping the standard up," Ren agreed.

"That's one way to look at it I suppose," Brad said as he got up and began to check the cupboard for coffee.

"Just grab a couple of mugs and head out into the big kitchen. I couldn't be bothered drinking instant shit today," Ren said as he pushed his empty plate back from him.

"I'm not some piece of fluff you can order around old man," Brad said even as he was reaching for two mugs.

"Since when have I ever ordered a woman around?" Ren demanded angrily.

"You did a pretty good imitation with Sky." Brad said as he eyed his friend.

"You know as well as I do that if I had treated Sky the way she deserved to be treated Hawk would have nearly killed her figuring I was fucking her every chance I got! "Ren said hotly as he squared off with Brad looking ready to hit his friend.

"Go on, take a swing at me if it'll make you feel any better," Brad invited.

"Only thing that's going to make me feel better is making sure that Hawk knows what it feels like when someone bigger and stronger beats the crap out of him!," Ren snarled as he turned away.

Brad watched Ren walk from the room and shook his head with disbelief. Ren was never one to walk away from a fight if someone took a swing at him; but in the twenty-six or so years Brad had known Ren he had never seen his friend so ready to go looking for trouble.

* * * * *

Three days had passed and Ren had made some discreet phone calls in this time. He had managed to locate Hawk and Jake and what he had learnt from his contacts had greatly angered him. Hawk had been asking questions about where Ren had been going and whom he had been seeing before Hawk had turned Sky over to him. But more importantly Hawk seemed to be trying to keep tabs on where Ren was and if Sky was still with him.

Ren set about getting ready to go and visit Jody; he had decided that although he liked Jody he needed time alone to get past what he had felt for Sky. He considered Jody too nice of a person to be expected to wait around for him.

Brad had decided to accompany Ren on his trip to see Jody and had packed himself a couple of changes of clothes in case he found anything interesting and wanted to stay somewhere for a day or two.

The ride to the town where Jody lived was a pleasant one with the road free of weekday traffic; the two men took the time to stop for lunch at a little out of the way roadside dinner. They took their hamburgers and cold drinks outside to sit in the shade near their bikes as they ate and were still there as four bikes wheeled to a stop not far from them.

Ren and Brad watched as the bikes came to a halt. They both recognised Jake and Hawk's bikes immediately but were not familiar with the two other riders as they got off their bikes.

Ren tossed his barely eaten hamburger aside and got to his feet as he watched Hawk getting off his bike. He saw the grin on the younger man's face as he took his helmet off and looked toward where he and Brad now stood.

"What are you doing around these parts and where is Sky?" Hawk asked as he approached the two men.

Ren tossed his can of drink towards the garbage bin and took a step towards Hawk as he delivered two quick left handed jabs straight to his mouth.

Brad stepped forward watching Jake alertly as the other man moved forward with a curse.

"I'd advise you to keep the hell out of it if you want to be able to walk away from here," Brad said evenly as Jake glanced his way at his movement. "The boy has had this coming since we walked into that cabin some weeks back."

"It was none of Ren's business then and is none of his business now!" Jake snapped angrily as he eyed Brad.

"We should have stepped in there and then," Brad said softly.

"It was nothing to do with either of you," Jake growled.

"If that was the case then Hawk shouldn't have been telling a certain girl lies about Ren there," Brad said indicating Ren with a slight incline of his head. He could hear the solid thud of punches being landed and the grunts of pain and effort but he was too busy watching Jake and the man who had gotten off one of the other bikes to follow the fight.

"What's it about?" The woman who had gotten off the fourth bike asked.

"Hawk there liked mistreating his girlfriend, and then he fed her a heap of lies about Ren there," Brad said with barely a glance her way.

"Way I heard, Ren there was making time with Hawk's woman behind his back," the stranger with dark glasses covering his eyes that had ridden up with Hawk, Jake and the woman commented.

"Right! Break it up now or I am calling the police!" The owner of the roadside diner ordered as he hurried outside and stopped not too far from where Ren and Hawk were trading blows with Hawk clearly getting the worst of it.

The two men continued fighting without any sign either of them had heard the warning.

"Break it up!" The owner ordered again but it had no visible effect. He turned to where the three men and one woman were watching the fight. "You there! Stop your friends fighting or I'll call the police!"

Brad glanced his way without comment before turning his attention back to the fight.

Jake went to take a step towards the combatants but Brad grabbed him by the upper arm and shook his head at him.

"That wouldn't be a smart move," Brad warned.

Jake tried to shrug Brad's hold off but Brad tightened his grip and Jake met his eyes warily.

"Right now Ren's beef is with Hawk but who knows when he will remember that you helped Hawk with the whole thing," Brad warned.

Jake went to jerk his arm away from Brad and Brad let go with a wicked grin. He watched as Jake took several cautious steps away from him.

"That's it! I'm calling the police!" The owner shouted as he saw the hostility between Brad and Jake as well as Ren and Hawk. The owner turned and hurried back inside his diner.

"You'd better hurry and finish it up Ren," Brad called and Ren glanced his way for a second but made no effort to end the systematic belting he was handing out to Hawk.

Hawk wobbled as he stepped back out of range of Ren's punches in an effort to get a momentary respite from the painful blows that Ren was landing. His face and ribs hurt from the powerful blows Ren had dealt.

Ren followed Hawk mercilessly as the younger man tried to get respite. Ren could see that Hawk was looking for an escape from the beating he was receiving.

"It's no... fun when... someone bigger an' stronger.. hits you is it?" Ren demanded as he landed a series of hard blows to Hawk's ribs despite his attempts to block the blows.

"How's it feel...to be helpless?" Ren panted as he moved closer to deliver another hail of blows. He watched as Hawk back-pedalled quickly in an attempt to escape the worst of the blows.

Hawk felt his boot catch on something on the ground as he tried to move backwards and he windmilled his arms as he tried to catch his balance.

Ren saw Hawk fighting for his balance and stepped forward quickly to deliver several hard blows to his ribs and stomach, seeing Hawk start to fall he cocked his right hand and delivered a hard blow to the point of his jaw. Ren watched as Hawk's feet were unable to keep up with the speed of his body and Hawk fell onto his back even as his arms continued to windmill. Ren was breathing heavily as he stood over Hawk. He watched as Hawk sat up and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand and look at the blood smeared on it.

Remembering all the times he had heard Sky crying because Hawk was taking her by force, Ren drew one heavily booted foot back and let fly catching Hawk in the groin. He watched with satisfaction as Hawk fell over sideways clutching himself and dry retching with the pain.

Ren glanced over to where Brad was physically restraining Jake and nodded at his friend. "Let the bastard go, I got some left for him if he wants it," Ren snarled. He watched as Brad let Jake go and Jake took several steps towards him but thought the wiser of it and halted with a wary look.

Brad watched as Jake stopped and glanced between Hawk and Ren then moved around to kneel at Hawk's side away from Ren. Brad saw the look that crossed Ren's face as he looked at Hawk again and he almost felt sorry for Hawk as Ren kicked him hard in the ribs.

"From now on keep your pet on a leash or I am going to kick his arse everytime I see him," Ren warned Jake angrily.

Jake glared up at Ren but made no comment.

Ren turned and walked away from where Hawk lay sprawled on the ground. He could already feel a number of bruises beginning to but he felt a profound sense of pleasure as he thought about how sore Hawk would be for the next few days. He smiled with satisfaction as he remembered how well aimed the kick between the thighs had been.

He ignored the police car as it pulled into the parking lot and he continued to his bike. Brad opened a bottle of cold water and handed it to Ren. Ren took a mouthful of water and rinsed his mouth before spitting the water out onto the ground. He looked up as a police officer approached him and stopped not far from him.

"Would you like to tell me what that was all about?" The officer asked.

"Would you believe me if I said I don't like the breed of bike he rode up on?" Ren asked dryly.

"Name, date of birth and driver's licence...," the police officer said.

Brad stood by silently as Ren supplied the information. He wondered how long before the handcuffs would come out. He watched as the officer wrote down the information and gave Ren a warning about fighting in a public place. The officer told them he could arrest them but said that this time he would let them go with a warning as long as they moved on immediately.

Ren didn't say a word as he pulled his riding gloves and helmet on. His hands were painful but he ignored that as he kicked his bike to life and headed away from the roadside diner.

Near where Hawk was still sitting on the ground still clutching his groin, the two who had arrived with Hawk and Jake were quick to get on their bikes and head out. The woman watched where Ren and Brad were fast disappearing with interest before turning her bike and following her boyfriend out onto the road.

* * * * *

Brad and Ren pulled into the parking lot of the hotel just outside of the town that Jody lived in. It was only mid afternoon but Ren was starting to feel the after effects of the fight he had had with Hawk. He got off his bike slowly and glanced towards Brad where he was already off his bike.

"How about we get rooms for the night, or even two?" Ren asked.

"I'll just go arrange it," Brad said seeing how stiffly Ren was moving. He headed off towards the small office and returned within five minutes with two keys one of which he handed to Ren. "We got rooms seven and eight."

Ren nodded his agreement as he took the key; he got his backpack from his bike and headed for the closest room. Inside the room he dropped his backpack on the double bed, dug a towel out of it and headed for the shower. Turning on the shower and quickly striping he was relieved to step beneath the stream of hot water and let it start soothing away his many aches and pains. He allowed himself a wry smile as he thought of how badly Hawk must be hurting and felt some satisfaction as he remembered the kick he had delivered to his groin.

Finally Ren stepped from beneath the stream of warm water, turned it off and reached for the towel he had draped over the hand basin. He dried himself carefully mindful of the many bruises and studied his reflection in the motley surface of the mirror over the hand basin. He had the beginnings of a black eye, a split lip and numerous bruises on his ribs. As bad as he felt he knew that Hawk would be feeling much worse, he had landed a lot of hard punches on Hawk while blocking a lot that Hawk had thrown at him.

In by the bed he pulled on a clean shirt and clean jeans before carefully stretching out on the bed.

Ren had only been stretched out on the bed for a few minutes when there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Hey Ren, you feel like a feed?" Brad called from the other side of the door.

Ren got up off the bed stiffly and walked to the door to open it. Brad was waiting outside and he took in Ren's appearance with a faint nod.

"I was wondering how knocked about you were under the blood," Brad said.

"No where near as bad as Hawk is I'm betting," Ren said with satisfaction.

"No doubt in my mind about that," Brad said with a grin. "He won't be able to sit on his bike for a week or more."

"You were saying something about a feed?" Ren asked.

"I was just about to go get myself a feed and thought you might appreciate me grabbing you something as well," Brad told him.

"Yeah actually I could go a feed. I hardly ate any of that burger before Hawk showed up." Ren replied then turned to head back into the room to grab his riding gear.

"Why don't you stay here? I can get yours. I was thinking I'd get something from the Chinese takeaway in town," Brad said.

Ren halted and looked over his shoulder, "That'll do. Just grab me something easy. Beef and black bean sauce preferably."

"Will do, you can fix me up for it later. I can take your key so you don't have to get up to let me in with the food as well," Brad said as he walked over and picked up Ren's Key off the bed.

"Sounds like a plan," Ren agreed as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Be back as soon as I can then," Brad said and headed out the door.

Ren watched the door close behind his friend then lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't help wishing that he had taken his fists to Hawk the day he had found Hawk and Jake at the cabin with Sky and Hawk had admitted that he had kidnapped her.