July 27th 1998

Charlotte Teller ran down main street, heels in her left hand, the train of her long, white wedding dress in her right.

She realized at the worst time that she didn't really want to get married. She started down the aisle, but didn't make two steps before she ran.

She hated when her mother was right…

She sprinted past all the people walking down the street, gaping wide mouthed at the sight of her. When she got to her destination, she ran into the house and up the stairs. She had never been so thankful that all of her things were already packed in suitcases.

"I at least did something right," she muttered to herself as she grabbed the backpack first and put it on. She grabbed the other two bags and hurried down the stairs. She had to get out before he got there.

She walked through the kitchen, grabbing her keys. She froze in place as she heard the side door open.

"David, I- "

Her twin brother, Jax, walked in the room, his hands held up in front of him. "It's just me. The coast is clear."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "I hope you're not here to gloat or say I told you so."

He shook his head, his face somber. "Nah, I figured I'd leave that up to ma."

She dropped the two suitcases and walked over to him, hugging him. "I love you, little brother. I'll call you when I get settled in Seattle."

He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Think they saved your spot?"

She shrugged. "I have until next week to accept still. I never turned them down."

Jax smiled at his sister. "You better get out of here before the wrath of Gemma Teller comes strolling through the door."

She scoffed. "Don't tell her where I am. Promise me!"

"I promise," he replied before kissing her cheek. He opened the door again. "You'd better get on the road."

She smiled, grabbing her bags. "Thank you, Jacky," she winked and was out the door.

November 25th 1998

Charlotte walked in the front door of her apartment, her phone ringing. She didn't get to it in time, not that she planned on answering. She knew who was calling.

"Charlotte Harley Teller if you don't call your mother back I swear I will drive up to Seattle myself and drag your ass back down to Charming tonight!"

She rolled her eyes. She was looking forward to a holiday without her mother and a room full of testosterone.

She placed her backpack down and went to the sink, filling herself a glass of water. She had started her first semester of medical school at the University of Washington. So far, it had been the best 4 months she had had in a long time.

She looked down at her left hand, specifically her 4th finger. She had finally taken off the ring 3 weeks ago. She had thought about mailing it back to him, but didn't think that would go over so well.

Her head shot up when there was a knock at her door. She furled her brow, but stood up to see who was at her door. When she saw the two men standing in leather through the peep hole she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going back to Charming, especially for the holiday, so you can just turn around now," she exclaimed.

The pounding on the door continued. "Come on, Char, we don't wanna break in."

She unlocked the door and stared at the two men. Both tall and muscular, one bald and the other with beautiful blond locks. "I don't care what you two say, I'm not going anywhere and you can't make me."

The blond smirked and stepped into the small apartment. "When the pres of the founding club tells you to check on his step daughter, you go," he simply stated, having a seat on her couch.

The bald one with all the tattoos stared at her a little while longer, silently, before he stepped inside. He remained standing, his eyes following Charlotte as she closed the door and moved into the living room.

"Great, well as you can see I'm fine, so you can be on your way now," She said, looking at the blond expectantly, trying to ignoring the hair standing up on the back of her neck from the stare of the bald man.

The blond man propped his feet up on her coffee table. "No can do, toots."

She scoffed. "Well, do the two of you morons have names at least?"

He put his feet down and shot up from his seat. "I'm sorry, princess," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. "I'm Kozik, and that ray of sunshine is Happy."

She pulled back her hand and looked to the bald man and smirked. "He looks like a happy," she said sarcastically. She crossed her arms over her chest. "How long can I expect you to stay?"

Kozik took his place back on the couch and shrugged. "You could just go to Charming and see your mother," he replied.

She walked away from the two men her stepfather sent and over to her phone. She dialed the familiar number and was not surprised when it was picked up after half a ring.

"Charlotte? Is that you?"

"Yes, mother, it is. Would you like to tell me why Clay is sending men from the Tacoma charter into my home?" she muttered through her teeth.

"Why aren't you coming home for Thanksgiving? We haven't seen you since you- "

"I told you I couldn't make it home for the holiday. I've got school and clinials and I can't make it. I'll try to make it for Christmas, but I make no promises. Now, tell Clay to call of his dogs."

"They're just checking up on you, since you have a problem with not answering your phone! This is the first time you've been this far away from home. I worry, you know."

Charlotte fought the urge to roll her eyes and calmly stated, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry, but you do need to tell Clay to get his men out of my house. I don't need them here. I've been just fine on my own the last 4 months. Happy Thanksgiving, mom. Goodbye." She hung up the phone, took a deep breath and then turned around to look at the two men. "You can pack up and leave now, you don't have to stay."

Neither men moved. She crossed her arms and began tapping her foot, waiting for either of them to budge. No such luck. 10 minutes passed before the pagers of both the men went off. They stood and headed for the door, Charlotte followed.

Happy walked out the door without so much as a goodbye. Kozik turned and smiled at Charlotte. "We'll see ya tomorrow, doll," he said with a wink and walked out the door.

She closed and locked the door with a huff. Looks like she'd be having a protection detail, whether she liked it or not.