Chapter 1. Memory Lane
Looking at her Blonde curls and dark eyes he couldn't help but admire his best friend's sister. She was full of innocence as she followed Opie and him around. She was fourteen and he was seventeen and all the guys wanted to do was go out with whatever dates they had that night. She was on their heels at the club house trying to convince them to bring her and a friend to the movies later. Finally Opie turned around and stared into his sister's eyes.
"Haley we will drop you off. Can you get a ride home?" She smiled at him knowing he caved like always. Jax couldn't help but smirk at the fact that no matter what she would always get her way with them.
"Thanks guys. I have a… friend meeting us at the movies." Jax narrowed his eyes at her.
"Friend?" She smiled backing away from them quickly.
"Yeah thanks Riley and I will be at the house to go by seven." Jax stared at Op.
"Is she dating?" Opie looked at Jax with a brow raised.
"I think we should take our dates to see a movie first." Jax laughed and pulled his phone out to call Tara.
Haley whipped her hair up into a bun and pulled some bangs loose. She threw on a halter and her favorite pair of jeans followed by her boots that Tara had gotten her for her birthday. She could hear the guys pulling up as she searched frantically for her make-up. A knock on her bedroom door came and she opened it expecting Riley, but instead her dad was face to face with her.
"Aren't there clothes that actually cover you up in that closet?" Haley rolled her eyes.
"I don't know Piney. Are there?" He stepped into her room and she smiled with success as she found her make-up case.
"Hales you ready?" Opie was yelling to her from the kitchen.
"She will be when she finds a shirt!" Piney's comment made Opie walk down the hall. Piney vacated to the garage with a beer.
"I have a shirt on Opie. It's covering everything."
"I don't think so." She continued putting on her make-up. "What's all that for?"
"All what?" She finished throwing on her lip gloss and pushed past her brother to the living room. Jax was talking to Riley when she got into the room. "I'm ready." Jax hadn't turned around yet.
"Wow Hales! You look Amazing. D is going to be all over you." Jax and Opie's heads turned around and Jax stared her up and down in a little bit of awe.
"Oh I don't think so. Put a sweater on." Jax hadn't spoken up like that before but he stood up and walked over to her pulling her by the arm back to her room. "What are you doing Haley?"
"Trying to successfully make it to my first date. Now if you would let me go I might get there." Jax loosened his grip on her arm.
"Haley…" He didn't like that they didn't know this guy.
"I'm fine Jax. I'm not a croweater." He looked at her a little shocked. The guys didn't want her knowing about that shit, but they had to know she'd hear it all eventually. She was a daughter of the SOA.
"I never said that." She let the anger show in her eyes.
"No, but you both are acting like I am going to be one." She stormed out of the room leaving him speechless and Opie was the same in the hallway.
"She is going to be hell in a year or two." Jax gave Op a smack on the back and they walked out to where both girls were and left for the movies.
Later that night Jax, Tara, Opie, and Donna were at the clubhouse when Haley was getting dropped off. They watched a punk teenager get out of his car he had to be around their age, and he opened the door for her. When he closed it he leaned against her pinning her on the car and he kissed her. Haley couldn't help but smile. Her first real kiss and a great first date. The guys stood up and Tara was holding Jax back. Donna couldn't control Opie.
"Haley." Her brother's voice pulled her out of the moment. "Inside. Now!" Haley blushed with embarrassment. He pulled her back for one more kiss. "You're done now." Haley pushed past Opie and he stared her date down until he read Op's mind.
Haley threw her purse down on the ground and walked to the office where she knew Gemma would be. "Hey baby." Haley felt tears stinging her eyes. "What's goin on?"
"Opie just ruined the perfect first kiss at the end of my first date." Gemma wiped her tears away and hugged her.
"He's just watchin out for you. Your brother and Jax, you are their number one girl. They don't want anything happenin to you." Haley let out a small sigh and Gemma let her go.
"Why couldn't they let me just have tonight though? They threw a fit about what I am wearing and everything." Gemma chuckled and Haley couldn't help but realize she was loved.
"Well. You look smoking hot. Let me talk to Jax, okay?" Haley nodded and as she walked out Donna and Tara were waiting and Opie was staring them down with Jax.
"You okay?" Donna was always the first one to jump up and ask if she was okay. She knew how Opie was even when they were growing up.
"Not really. They both pretty much called me a whore for what I was wearing." The girls threw nasty looks towards the guys. "I just want to get away from here. Without them." Tara nodded and had an idea.
"I have my car. Why don't we all just run jump in and head to the house?" Gemma was standing behind them and smirked.
"I'll call em in for something. You make a break for it then." They smiled at her and nodded. Gemma hated Tara, but she loved Haley and anything that could make her smile she went for. Within reason. The girls continued talking and when the timing was perfect they heard Gemma yelling at the guys to get into the office.
"What the hell were you two thinkin?" They looked confused and figured it had to be about the car they worked on earlier. "You fixed the wrong car. You swapped em! Fix em tonight!" The guys went to say goodbye to the girls and watched Haley jumping into the back seat. They ran towards the car that had started up and Haley blew them a kiss. She jumped into the car.
Haley walked into her house the next morning and noticed Jax passed out on the couch. She figured Gemma had given them an earful when they left. Haley made her way quietly into the kitchen and made some coffee. When Jax didn't budge at all she went into the living room turned on the tv and plopped down onto his legs. Jax jumped up and she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip and hold back a chuckle. She stood up and lifted his legs so she could slide between them and the couch.
"How was Tara's?" Haley shrugged pretending to avoid conversation with him. "Are you just not gonna talk?" Haley looked at him angry face painted on and raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know Jax. Am I still a whore?" He felt like he had gotten punched in the chest.
"That's not how I meant it Hales." He stared at her and she felt bad about the whole thing.
"I did have fun last night though. Til Op came up and scared the hell out of my date."
"Well he doesn't deserve a girl like you Hales. He looked like a punk." Jax chuckled it all out and Haley gave him the best Charlie horse she could get out before he jumped off the couch. She tossed a pillow at him and he tripped.
"So. My mom called. She wants me to stay with her tomorrow for her birthday." Jax got serious face on and they heard Opie walking down the hall.
"No way in hell are you goin over there Hales."
"Op. It's my mom. I wanna get to know her a little."
"No."
"Why do you have to ruin everything for me?"
"I'm protecting you! I do all of this because you are my sister and I don't want to have you getting hurt when Im not there!"
"You can't be there every second!" Haley flew down the hall and into her room. She packed a bag and jumped out the window.
"She's right Op. We can't always be around her to watch over her." Op sat on the couch and leaned back
"She is such a pain in my ass sometimes." Piney was walking down the hall and stopped at Haley's door. He knocked and when she didn't answer the guys saw him make his way in.
"Opie! Jax!" The guys booked it down the hall. "Shes gone." Opie turned and put a hole in the wall and Jax turned and went for the front door. With Opie right behind him they rode through town riding up and down every road. They sent out a text to a few of the guys who joined their search. Juice showed up first saying he would look around at Tara's and Donna's. Opie was making his way up to the clubhouse and Jax said he was running by Riley's but he was really going to post outside her mom's house. He watched Haley go in and sat outside for a while making sure nothing happened.
Jax rolled over in his bed and he could feel someone staring at him. Haley was at the end of the bed in tears. He realized she was crying and she looked like hell. "What the fuck? Hales?" He went to take her by the shoulders and she swung at him.
"Get off me! Don't!" He felt panic run through him and she looked terrified. He looked down into her hands and noticed a gun.
"Haley? What happened?" She dropped the gun and fell to her knees. "Haley?!" Gemma must have stayed at the clubhouse with Clay. She would've been in the room by now. He looked down at the gun and threw it into one of his drawers. "Haley I need to know what happened." He grabbed her face in his hands and she pushed him backwards trying to loosen his grip. "I'm not letting go until you talk to me." He reached with one hand for the light switch and she turned away when the lights went on. She was covered in blood and he couldn't see her face. When he turned her head to see her face she had a huge gash on her cheek and a cut on her neck.
"He.. I.. Jax.." Fear went through her and she leaned into him.
"Haley we need to get you cleaned up." She couldn't stand on her own. He took the sweater off and got her down to her bra and underwear and plopped her in the shower. She sat on the floor while he went to get clothes for her. "Your backpack was in the hall." She started balling and he sat next to her with the water hitting them. Eventually she stood on her own and got changed. He dried off and went to his room to do the same. "What happened tonight Hales?"
"We need Op." He sent a text and in a matter of about ten minutes he was pulling up. He noticed her clothes on the ground in the hall and he saw blood on them. "Hey big brother." She couldn't smile. Not that night.
"Haley what happened?" She looked down into her tea and then up at her two heroes.
"I need help burying a body." The two of them dropped into chairs.
"Haley…" Jax couldn't find words.
"Who?" Opie just needed to know what happened.
"Jimmy. Mom's boyfriend of the night." They both tried to get her to look up.
"What happened Hales?" Op took one hand and Jax took the other.
"I was sleeping on the couch. Mom passed out about two hours before. When I went in to check on her I thought he left. She wasn't breathing and when I got closer her eyes were open." Opie felt sick that his sister of fourteen had seen this. "I went to get my phone and as I walked around the corner he grabbed me by the throat." Jax was just noticing every bruise on her and he wanted to get up and get over there, but he waited. "He pinned himself against me. I could feel his… I could feel everything. He ripped my shirt open and he tried touching me. I got my knee up and ran back down the hall when he fell back." She pulled her hands away from them. "I found the gun." Op looked at her. "Jax has it now." He moved his gaze to his best friend. "I shot him."
"We will take care of this Hales." The guys got up and left. She went into Jax's room and curled into a ball under the blanket. She didn't know when but she fell asleep.
"LET ME GO! NOO!" Gemma heard her scream as she got into the house. Clay right behind her ran into Jax's room and tried shaking her awake.
"HALEY! Open your eyes!"
"Baby wake up!" Gemma was frantic. Finally Haley's eyes shot open and Gemma and Clay took her into their arms. Everything was cleaned up so they would think it was a nightmare. "You're okay. It was just a bad dream." She was in tears but felt safe with them. She would take her secret to the grave with Jax and Opie.
