Tara watched out the window , her two sons facing each other, one an almost exact replica of Jax, at 19, and Thomas, shorter with the same build, but with her own dark hair. Tara had grown up an only child, so as the boys clashed from early on, this was a new experience about sibling rivalry. It was difficult not intervening at moments like this, but Jax reminded her that it was simpler to deal with this just as he had when MC members had an issue with another- They had to settle it themselves. Jax taught both boys how to fight each other fairly, then let the two scrap it out -This usually led to victory for Abel. What was interesting to see now,was that as Thomas grew , so did his skills at getting the best of his older brother, which also left each opponent a little more bloody. What pissed her off the most today was the trashing of the kitchen that resulted from it. Eight year old Emily still remembered Mommy turning the hose on both of the boys, as they battled each other in the front of the house earlier that month. Both were both bloody and bruised, but Jax was still adamant on letting them deal with their differences.
Bumping her from behind, Jax stood without his shirt, face still damp from cleaning up his beard with trace amounts of foam near his ears- she turned to face him, pulled her body against his, forgetting momentarily that the boys were ready to kill each other in the front yard. He responded by softly grinding against her, but still looking outside at the same time.
"Still standing..." he mused, then " they still gotta be dickheads about everything..."
Tara turned to watch the boys start shoving each other, with some alarm. "Whats it about this time?" she sighed.
The sling in his way, Abel ripped it off, his shoulder dark with bruises, and still very sore-He threw it in Thomas's face.
"What, u gonna kick my ass? HUH? What the fuck?" he yelled, shoving his brother backwards sharply.
"Hey FUCK YOU dikwipe, you're the one being an asshole!" Thomas yelled, matching his brothers force with a noticed Abel lost his balance for a second.
Abel charged Thomas and tackled him, landing both of them on the of the boys grappled, and punched each other until Abel managed to get a headlock on the younger Teller. Finally, after he was wondering if he was actually killing him, he felt the three taps on the shoulder, and let go. Both were practically gasping for air, when each stood up to face each other.
"You been a total shithead since i told you I got Zenith pregnant, I mean ( Thomas gasped for air) you and Megan screw all the time whenever you want, and I do it one fucking time and...and there's another person! I made another person, and nothings the same!"
Abel watched his younger brothers face crumble, and suddenly felt like crap. Thomas was clearly freaking out about getting his girlfriend pregnant accidentally, and he was only 15 years old.
"Dude, chill the fuck out , ok? " he grabbed Thomas's arm- "You're not the first guy that's gotten burned this way! Dad did the same thing when we lived out in California, with my Mom too! I almost died cause I had something wrong with my heart, and Ma took care of it"
That got his brothers attention. "What the hell are you talking about? You're full of shit!"
Abel gave him a gentle shove. " Like hell - Dad was in his twenties, Wendy told me a lot of stuff when I went to see her the first time, when I was sixteen. Remember when Dad let me fly out there for my birthday?" He paused to let this sink in. " And I found out a lot of other shit too, you won't believe half of it- so quit being such a little bitch, man it up, and handle your shit, ok? I'll tell you the rest if you help me clean up the crap you fucked up in the kitchen" He turned and started walking back to the house, wondering why Mom was staring at them from the window. Thomas followed, suddenly himself again , and began pestering him with questions.
"What the fuck, tell me now. I don't remember anything about California, where did we live? What did Dad do out there? How did he hook up with Mom? Hey wait up, dude"
Abel stopped at the door- "Will you shut the hell UP? " I'm not sure I shoulda told you this , and I don't need Dad on my case more than he is now- Damn, youre a pain in the ass!"
Chapter 2
Tara watched the two boys as they righted the kitchen table, sipping coffee and letting her thoughts drift . It was a little unnerving to realize how far things had progressed since that late night phone call from Nero some fifteen years back. Gemma's death from a heart attack had changed everyone's direction, and Tara could vividly recall the night after the funeral, when Jax let Opie talk him into taking a road trip to the east coast- and Tara decided she and Donna would come along. The four of them sat around the dining room table, slightly buzzed from a couple of joints, studying an old road atlas that had belonged to J T. Their destination , Opie pointed out, would be where his delivery contact for the club lived, a place called Potlicker Flats, in Pennsylvania. She never understood how names of towns evolved- Charming was anything but that, and Potlicker Flats... well, that would be interesting. Then Jax pointed out the borough of Bloody Run, which he found intriguing . Eventually along with his wife, he decided to settle there, near Opie and Donna.
Then, there was Gemma's will, which left the business, and property to both Opie and Jax. The sale of that to members of the MC left both young families well off enough to begin life somewhere anew, something Wendy would later refer to as a Geographical Cure. Opie had his eye on a small tree service company that a friend of Ryan was failing at, and now he had some capital to buy him out- Jax was relieved to begin life fresh with Tara and their boys, so He and Opie opened a new Automotive and Bike repair shop that became Teller n Sons. Both businesses were slow in the beginning, but perseverance paid off, the garage now just able to keep up with customer demands, and a contract with some Utility companies for Opies tree trucks to contend with. As for herself, Tara was comfortable with her practice at the Towns hospital, and dealing with her family- eight years later their daughter Emily was born, and Jax could not have been happier. She eventually came to love the Borough of Bloody Run, named after a Civil War battle fought by a creek that ran through it, turning red from the lifeblood of union and confederate soldiers. The local townspeople were always at odds over changing the name of the Borough to Everett, even to this day, so it remained Bloody Run.
The only odd surprise came to Tara from Gemma, when she inherited the Cadillac S U V. Jax retrieved it the day after the funeral, and advised his wife to make sure the vehicle was completely cleaned before selling it- Tara laughingly found a half brick of cocaine, two guns, and a small cache of bills hidden under the rear seat, along with a note from the now dead owner.
" Here is some pocket change for you sweetie- Keep the guns too, but if there is anymore coke left, give it to Chibbs- He'll know what to do with it- I underestimated you in the end- you're a tough little gash, so take care of my grandsons and get them out of this shit hole of a town! "
She gave the coke to Chibbs, but said nothing about the two Glocks, or the cash...Gemma must have known her time was close.
Jax and Thomas interrupted her reverie - "Whatcha thinkin about?" Jax asked.
"Oh- Nothing ...nothing, Babe. Are you two going to meet the Baby Momas MOMA now? " she joked, but still pissed off at the younger son. She was not ready for the title of Grandmother, and was wondering about the future of the young parents to be.
"Yep ! She doesn't know yet either !" Jax grabbed Thomas playfully on the shoulder. His son had an ashen expression on his face, which seemed to give Jax some sort of grim satisfaction. " You Ready? "
"Yea" Thomas managed to mumble, head down. He had no idea how this was going to play out with Zeniths Mom at all, and was grateful her father was long out of the picture . He was also distracted by two pictures his older brother showed him just minutes before, and the quick conversation that followed.
"What the FUCK?" he was looking at the ipad- A clear image of Jax, shirtless, glistening with sweat, and a wicked expression of ...victory, he wondered...he noted his Dad had his fists wrapped like he might have been in a fight, but he wasn't certain..." This is Dad? Where is this? Was he fighting? " He looked at Abel, who grinned.
"Look at this one dude, its fucked up!" His brother swiped the screen. Thomas examined the pic, recognising his much younger Mom, and Donna, sitting at some sort of picnic table. A couple of guns, (glocks, maybe?) a few stacks of money, and two opened bottles of liquor. Off to the side stood his Dad , Opie, and some guy with a goatee and wavy hair. They seemed to be in deep discussion.
"Is that a knife on Dad? Whats he wearing? Is that a Bushmaster rifle that other dudes holding? Lookit Opie, whats that on his head? What's that say on their vests? "
