The club and all their families had gathered for a party for the first time since JT's death. The room was full of laughter, music, talking, and children playing. Jax and Opie each were on their third stolen beer, although nobody except for Jax's mother would have cared if they were drinking.
Abruptly the music stopped. Clay stood next to the bar and rapped on it with a bottle, signaling that he wished to speak. He waited for the crowd to quiet.
"It's good to be together again." Cheers erupted from around the room. "Enjoying each other's company, instead of dealing with dark times." More whoops of approval and clapping. "We've worked hard for the good times, and deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labor." Chaotic applauses and roars, whistles and glasses clinking.
Clay waited for the group to settle, as he gestured for Gemma to join him. "Which is why today is the perfect day to announce that me and Gemma just got engaged!" There was a boisterous explosion of noise. Men clapped Clay on the back and women hugged Gemma excitedly.
No one noticed the fifteen-year-old blond boy who stood rooted in his place. His pale face had gone from happily drunk to enraged in a matter of seconds. Opie had seen this look before. He called it the-Jax-versus-a-mountain-lion look. That look meant trouble and usually got Opie into something he wasn't prepared for.
For a brief moment, Opie considered throwing his friend over his shoulder and escaping the party.
A minute later, Jax spun on his heel and threw his beer bottle at the brick wall. It shattered, causing people to jump away or shield their kids. Women and children screamed, and a few men cursed. But now all the noise and movement stopped. Everything was frozen.
Jax, still seething, faced Clay and his mother. Both looked ready to kill him.
"Seven months!" the boy bellowed, "That's how long you mourn my father! Or are you just a heartless bitch who fucks whoever is the boss?"
Gemma stormed at her son, while Clay began removing his belt.
Oh, Christ, Opie whispered. He had to rescue his stupid, drunk friend. The boy knew his own father would object to his interference; however, when Jax fought mountain lions, Opie was always by his side.
Opie grabbed his friend, pushing him toward the door. "You want to be the entertainment? Ripped to shreds in front of everyone?" he said in his friend's ear. "Then move your ass, dummy!"
With that, Jax ran. The boys escaped out the side gate, not even daring to look back. They had their favorite escape routes. Opie and Jax ran through the alley, behind the library and dry cleaner, in back of the three-store strip mall, and into the safety of the trees and hills.
Once they stopped to catch their breath, Opie flopped on the ground. Jax, still standing, looked around to be certain no one had followed them. Then he threw up, repeatedly.
"Holy shit," Opie gasped. "I'd rather actually fight a mountain lion than Gemma and Clay. Did you see her face? I almost peed myself."
He glanced over at Jax, saw the boy's shoulders shaking, and knew he was crying. He'd only ever seen his friend cry when Thomas died and then his dad. Only two times.
They sat in silence. The sun dipped low. The boys watched as the colors in the sky changed vibrantly. Once the stars were bright, Opie began to stir. He knew they both had to face their parents' wrath. Why delay it?
"Man, we gotta go back."
Jax nodded. He turned to his friend and looked up at him, solemnly. "Look, man, I appreciate your help. I'll try to get you out of this. I just lost it. Maybe they'll understand."
They both belly laughed at this suggestion. Theirs weren't the forgive-and-forget kind. Theirs were the pound-of-flesh kind.
"I got this. Sometimes you just gotta take a beating," Opie said quietly.
The boys walked down the main roads back to the clubhouse, not wanting to give away their best escape paths and knowing that the Club might be out looking for them. Better to be seen heading back, than doing anything else.