Hey everyone, I'm really excited that people are giving this a chance. To those who reviewed; you completely made my day. So I hope I can get more because that feeling is irreplaceable. I will post at least once a week or try to. Though I get really anxious to write once I have an idea and I have a bunch rolling around so you might see a few updates a week. It all depends on how inspired I am. Okay, enough Lanie talk, here it is.

When Tara woke up the next day she really tried to ignore the fact that yesterday was a reality. As guilty as she felt for actually hitting someone, Tara really didn't feel all that bad about what happened. She was kind of proud of herself. Of course her dad had taught her how to defend herself but actually having to hit someone just proved to her so much more that she could be independent. Maybe now school would be easier on her. Because as much as she tried not to care what others thought of her, it got hard having to hear it over and over again and just because she got dealt a shit hand of cards. With a groan she rolled out of bed to get ready for the day she had ahead of her.

After she got out of the shower, she changed into what she would typically wear; a t-shirt and jeans but she did spend a little more time on her hair then what was normal for her. Tara was sitting at the table eating her breakfast when her Dad walked up, picking up the orange juice and Advil she had set out for him. He sat across from her and looked at her sternly; she knew that this meant one thing. He just watched her as she continued to eat.

He finally started out, "I went to pick you up yesterday. When you didn't come out I went to the office to see where you were. They informed me that you got detention for hitting someone." Tara could see him gripping the table as he continued. "Would your mom be proud of you if she were here?" She could feel the tears start to surface. "I don't think she would be Tar." He took a drink from his glass as she stood up, grabbed her stuff and left in a hurry. The entire way to school she tried to contain the tears but they kept falling freely.

By the time she got to English, Ima was perfectly quiet but that didn't stop the glare. If looks could kill.. She thought to herself. Tara sat down with a tear stained face and looked to her left but there was only an empty desk. The fact that Jax wasn't there really shouldn't have been a surprise, he often skipped class. But disappoint filled her as she tried to even her breathing.

For the rest of class she tried to pay attention but it wasn't working. Most of the day went in a blur. Tara was thankful for her best friend; Anna Lynn always knew just how to make her feel better without pushing to know what was wrong. To ensure that her best friend really was okay, Anna only left her side when she had too. She remembered seeing Jax in the halls. It took one look for her to tell he knew that something was wrong. It was evident that she was upset, he gave her a questioning look but she turned to her best friend and continued to talk aimlessly to her. Tara gave Anna a hug before walking into the detention room. Walking inside she almost stopped in her tracks when she saw Jax already sitting where he was at yesterday. Seeing him turn his head and give her a crooked smile seemed to bring a smile to her own lips added with the raise of her eyebrow.

"Am I going to get the pleasure of seeing you here every day? What did you do anyways?" He didn't give her an answer so she strolled over to the spot next to him and sat down. Neither of them talked for a while but she needed to break the silence. Though he started to talk first. Turning her body towards him, she offered him a smile.

"I saw you earlier… you looked like someone shot your dog. What happened?" He asked her, she noted the curiosity in his voice. He'd have to remain curious.

Tara turned back so she was facing the front of the room again. Now of all times she wished that they had a teacher that actually was in the room during their time here. Not just someone that popped in to check on them. She simply shrugged and turned her head. "It's just been a bad day for me that's all." He started to ask why and she shook her head to stop him from continuing.

"So…uh, what did I miss in English today?" He asked a bit hesitantly. That got a laugh out of Tara and she turned her body back towards his.

"Do you even care about school, Jackson?" She countered back, raising her eyebrow.

He shook his head. "No I'm getting out of here as soon as I legally can. I just wanted to talk to you."

Trying to form her thoughts on what he had just said, she searched his face to see if it gave away anything. When she was about to ask what that meant she noticed a bruise on the side of his face. His hair had almost been able to conceal it. As she felt herself start to fill with worry she pointed with her hand towards the bruised area. "What happened there?"

She knew that it might have had something to do with the club but she wanted to know from him. Her answer was only a likes these are why she didn't trust him or was so unsure of him being around her. It was clear that she wasn't going to get anything out of him. So she let it be anyways the teacher walked in at that moment to tell them that they were free to go. Grabbing her stuff she walked out of the school with Jax trailing behind her. When they reached outside, she saw the cutlass waiting for her. Tara knew what this meant; her Dad wanted to be dropped off somewhere so he could get drunk.

She got inside the car and he Dad started to driving away only to be passed by Jax. Hearing her Dad mumble something about 'dumb bikers' Tara smiled to herself as he pulled out of the school. He told her of the plans of going to go shopping and then she'd take him to Mike's house, one of the friends he got drunk with a lot. After half an hour of shopping for food, she noticed that he barely had enough money to pay for what they had which was barely anything and he only got paid last week. Being aware of where all of that money went she packed the bags into the trunk a little more aggressively than what was needed. Getting in the driver's seat, she started to make her way to Mike's. Her Dad tried to apologize for his behavior from that morning but she stopped him mid-sentence since they had arrived at the house and he was well aware of the fact that he didn't mean a word he said.

Tara got to her own home and pulled up in the driveway. As she made her way up to her door she heard the sound of motorcycles. Turning she saw a few pass by noticing that one of those belonged to Jax. Once inside she dropped off her backpack before going back to grab the grocery bags. She heard him come up behind her but ignored it.

"Do you need any help there darlin'?" He asked her as he walked to where she was at and stood in front of her. Knowing what the inside of her house looked like she shook her head.

"I'm fine, thank you." She grabbed the bags before turning to look at him. Looking behind him she could see he wasn't alone. Tara gave Opie a smile which was followed by.

"We've established that this hers. Bro, we got to go now." Jax turned to him and gave him a nod before looking at Tara who had already turned to leave.

While she was unpacking and putting everything away she said. "Real convenient that he knows where I live now." Rolling her eyes, she finished up what she was doing before grabbing one of her favorites from the liquor cabinet and went out to do a little homework before she decided to forget the past few days. Drinking was the only thing her Dad ever taught her.