"Hey guys" Ayame said. Walking in, she saw a girl with brown hair carrying a baby.
"Tara" she said as she held out her hand.
"Ayame." Ayame said as she looked Tara up and down. Finally, she asked, "Are you jaxs wife?"
"Yea... How'd you know?"
"Your little one looks just like him." She smiled as she rubbed his head. "So, how are sleeping arrangements going to work?" she asked.
"You can stay with Lyla, Opie's wife." Hearing her name, the pretty blonde came over.
"Hi" she said.
"Hey, and that sounds good" first replying to Lyla and then Tara.
"Well, I'm off to bed" Tig said as he walked over to Ayame. "I'll see you in the morning honey." He kissed her head
"Alright" Ayame said as he went to his room.
"Looks like a storm is coming" Piney chimed in. Just then, a loud clap of thunder shook the ground and scared everyone, especially Ayame.
"You ok kid?" Bobby asked. She looked like she just saw a ghost.
"I hate thunder" she said and sat down on the couch.
"We best be going before the storm gets bad" Lyla said.
"Uh… yea…"she sounded unsure "I'll go get my bags." She walked down the hall and it thundered again. "Jesus Christ, I hate thunder." She came back shaking. "Actually lyla, I'm going to stay here. Thank you for offering me to stay" Ayame said as she hugged her.
"Oh... ok. Well I'm going to go" she said before kissing Opie. "Coming home later?" she asked.
"Yea" he said. "Love you." He kissed her once more and she smiled and walked off.
"I think we are gonna head too" Tara said. Soon, everyone was saying their goodbyes. Another loud thunder and Ayame jumped high.
"You really are scared of it, huh?" Piney asked.
"A little..." she replied as she looked down.
"I think it's cute" Juice said. She smiled at him.
"Well, we best be getting off to bed" Piney said. "Where ya staying?" He asked Ayame.
"Probably out here" she said, lying on the couch.
"Really? Why?" Juice asked.
"I don't like staying in places I'm not familiar with. I'll be fine… I got a blanket." She smiled at him as he stood looking at her concerned. "Go to bed!" she said.
"G'night" he said and walked off, looking over his shoulder at her and smiling. Another loud thunder and she jumped again. She made her way to Tig's room and opened the door. "Daddy?" she asked walking over to him
"Hm?" he said sleepily, half awake.
"It's thundering..." she said. He lifted up the blanket and she crawled in. "Thank you." She kissed him and he wrapped his arm around her and she drifted off to sleep.
NEXT DAY
The light shone through and was bright. Ayame shut her eyes tight and tried to go back to sleep, but it didn't work so she got up and her father was gone. She grabbed a bag and headed to the shower. After she finished, she stepped out, dried off her hair, put on a pair of tight fitting jeans with holes and an old, tight tank top with a Hello Kitty design on it, and let her hair just fall in its curls. Luckily, she had nice curls. That's one thing she is thankful for from her mom. After she was all ready, she stepped out and walked to the main area where she saw Juice on his computer.
"Hey juice" she said sitting next to him.
"Morning." He looked at her. He thought to himself, damn she looks hot. He tried to keep his eyes focused on the screen.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Oh, just some computer stuff. Nothing too interesting" he laughed.
"Yea… Technology can bite me" she said and walked off with a smile. Then, she saw Tig. "Hey dad. Thanks for last night." She smiled at him.
"You bet princess." He ruffled her hair. She just gave him a death glare. "Not like you can't fix it. Aren't girls supposed to be good at that stuff?" he asked.
"Yea, but it's a pain when we have to fix it." She walked outside and lit a cigarette. Juice followed not long after.
"Hey." He walked up beside her and lit a cigarette.
"Hey" she responded and took a long drag.
"You doing ok?" he asked.
"Well, aside from trying to be killed, I'm great" she said sarcastically and saw the hurt expression on his face. "I'm sorry Juice. I am just stressed. I am not holding up as good as everyone thinks. I mean, I can't even turn around without being freaked out and worried that any minute someone could be waiting for me and you guys won't be around when that happens…" She trailed off.
"Hey. We would never let that happen. You will never be alone. One of us will always be with you. Tig will make sure of it and we can handle ourselves if needed." He put his arm around her shoulders and she started crying. He pulled her into a hug and wrapped his arms around her.
"I am so stupid juice. I was supposed to be the smart one. I was supposed to not get into trouble. I was supposed to do something with my life. Instead, I did the exact opposite. Now look where I am; putting stress on my dad, who I ignored most of my life. I mean, I am a shitty daughter and I honestly came here expecting him to turn me away. I would have." She started crying harder.
"Tig would never think that." He rubbed her back. "I mean, I'm sure he is glad you are here rather than somewhere completely unprotected. And mistakes happen; you really think we would judge you?" She laughed a little.
"Yea..." She wiped her face. "I'm just feeling sorry for myself."
"No. You're just scared and it's normal."
"Thanks Juice." She hugged him and he hugged her back. She walked into the club. "Hey dad, I gotta go shopping" she said.
"Shopping?" he asked.
"Well, yea.. I brought one pair of clothes. I need more, ya know?"
"Alright, so who wants to go with her?" He looked around and everyone looked down.
Finally, Gemma piped up. "I'll go with you baby. I need some new shoes anyway." Ayame smiled.
"Cool." She ran to get her money.
"More shoes?" Clay asked.
"Yea. These are old" Gemma said looking at them.
"You just got them a year ago."
"Exactly" she replied, smiling. "You guys wouldn't understand" she said, walking out.
"You need money?" Tig asked.
"Dad, c'mon. I have plenty of money" she said matter-of-factly. "Ready Gemma?" she asked, walking to the door
"Yea." She kissed Clay and followed. "Be back later."
As they left, the men could be heard saying in unison, "women and shopping…"