I ended up getting Tara's voicemail that night and I didn't leave a message. I'd text her or call again later, or something. But as the weeks went by, I just felt more and more awkward trying to call my sister who lived within the same small town but hadn't seen me in about six years.
Nora brought home some A's on her spelling tests and I put them on the fridge. I had bought her a bed with the first paycheck, a used twin sized one with blue and white striped sheets that had been thrown in the deal. But she had me sleep in the bed with her until I managed to buy myself a queen sized bed for my own room. I washed the old sheets and used those for myself.
By the end of August, the trailer was looking more like a home. Gemma had dragged me to a thrift store one day and I left with a musty smelling, red and gold striped corner couch. Gemma assured me that a few washes would rid it of the musty smell.
After that mechanics started dropping off random bits of furniture for me. Clay and Gemma brought over a coffee table for the living. Bobby gave me a shelving table which I used to put the box TV I got from the thrift store. Already the people at the shop were treating me like a part of the family.
I still hadn't seen Tara, and it was something I think Jax was figuring out. He told me how he went to the hospital to ask more baby questions and Tara hadn't mentioned me at all. I pleaded with Jax not to let her know I was in town, because I wanted to do that. Jax had snorted but agreed anyway.
On September first, Gemma left me in charge of the shop's office so that she could go check on Jax's ex wife. "Bitch hasn't been answering her phone and she hasn't shown up to any of her baby appointments."
I stared at Gemma at the sound of that. "Any chance she's in trouble?"
"Knowing Wendy, she's probably invited trouble in her front door." Gemma replied before leaving. I shook my head as the shop's phone rang.
"Teller-Morrow auto," I answered the phone. A woman on Bell Avenue had broken down and her car was smoking. After getting the address she was stuck at, I walked through the side door and into the actual shop. A mechanic named Mark was on the schedule for the tow truck.
Mark soon left with Lowland, and as they left Juice came up to me with a work order in his hand. "'Sup, Jay." Juice greeted cheerily.
Jay was my new nickname. I still didn't see the point of giving me a nickname because my name was already short enough, but the name Jay was sticking, and now almost everyone was calling me Jay.
"Here's the finished work order." Juice said, handing me the paper that had faint grease stains on the corners. "It passed the PMI and there's fresh grease in the boots."
"I can see that." I said, rubbing my fingers on my jeans after feeling grease residue on my fingertips. Juice rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
"Yeah yeah," He muttered. "Any way, write down that it should come back in a few months for a new control arm; the one it has now is on it's last leg and it's too big a job to do it right now."
"Got it, Orange Juice." I replied, leaving him to go back inside the office. I heard Juice loudly gasp behind me and I smiled to myself.
It had been a month since Nora and I had left Ted and Saint Petersburg. What was he doing now? Was he still looking for us? Had he even started?
I had just gotten off the phone with the finished van's owner when my cell phone started ringing furiously. I barely had time to answer before Gemma's voice was shouting instructions at me.
"Get Jax!" Gemma was shouting. I felt my skin feel cold when I heard the fear in her voice. "Wendy's overdosed! Stupid fucking bitch! I'm taking her to the hospital now-Jax's not answering!"
"Fuck!" I hissed, bolting out of the office and towards the clubhouse. A motorcycle engine roaring made me halt as Jax entered the lot, looking cool as a cucumber like he hadn't received the news yet. "Jax! You've got to get to the hospital!"
Jax stopped the bike and started to stand up as I ran to him. I continued, "Wendy's overdosed-Gemma's taking her to the hospital now-"
Jax didn't say anything but his motorcycle roared to life as he shot off, the tires making a screeching noise against the pavement. Jax roared out of the yard as more bikers started to hurry towards me.
"What happened?" Tig asked, getting to me first.
I struggled to catch my breath. Panting hard, I said, "Gemma called...Wendy's overdosing…"
"Shit." Tig said. "They going to the hospital?" I nodded and the small crowd of bikers around me looked at each other with worry on their faces. Clay, having just got there in time to hear what had happened, led the way to the bikes a stoic and angry look on his face.
I watched them go, feeling a little helpless. Tig brushed my arm briefly before going after Clay, no doubt heading to the hospital. Once they were gone, I forced myself to walk back inside the office. I'd have to go to the hospital after work was done, just to make sure everything was okay.
The memory of Nora's birth was vivid in my mind. I had just been nineteen years old, having just moved away from Charming and still trying to settle in Saint Petersburg. Ted had been so helpful back then, rubbing my feet when I was tired and leaving home in the middle of the night to get obscure food, whatever I was craving.
My water had broken while I was gardening one Saturday morning. Ted had rushed me to the hospital, terrified but smiling madly. He had kept saying about how we were going to be a real family at last.
Eleanor Elizabeth Sheridan had come screaming into the world after sixteen hours of labor. I was starving and exhausted, but I had started crying and hugged that little girl to me the moment the doctors had handed her to me. She had been screaming and kicking and perfect in every way.
Back then, Ted and I had an agreement that we'd name our first born daughter after both his grandmothers, our second daughter after both of mine. Ted had always imagined us having nothing but daughters; he had never wanted sons.
After school, Nora was brought to the shop where she sat on the couch doing homework. I sat at my desk with my leg bouncing as the mechanics left for the night. I wished Gemma or Jax would call and update me; I wanted to know if Wendy and that baby were okay.
The moment I clocked out, I started picking up Nora's things. "C'mon honey," I said. "We've got to go to the hospital."
"Did something bad happen?" Nora asked.
"I think so." I said grimly. "We've just gotta check on our friends."
Nora and I got to the hospital about twenty minutes later. We walked to the pediatrics and delivery ward, Nora holding my hand tightly. When I saw the back of a Son's vest, I bee lined towards them.
"Hey Jay," Tig said tiredly when I joined the small group.
"What happened?" I asked, seeing Clay and Bobby but not Jax or Gemma.
"Baby was born with half a stomach." Clay said darkly. Nora stared wide eyed at him and I squeezed her shoulder and pulled her in closer to me.
"Will he...be okay?" I asked, choosing my words a little carefully.
Clay shrugged his massive shoulders. "He just just got outta surgery. Gemma's with the baby now, Jax is talking to Wendy."
"She'd been taking meth for most of the second trimester," Bobby added. "Least that's what the doc told Jax."
I heaved a sigh and looked around. "Speaking of which, do you know where Dr. Knowles went? I want to talk to her."
They stared at me for a moment before Bobby pointed down a hallway. "Her office is down that way."
"Hey Nora," Tig saud suddenly. "You want to go get some candy?"
Nora nodded excitedly and she dropped my hand for Tig's and I watched him lead my five year old down the hall to the vending machines. I stared after them with my breath caught in my throat. Clay gently brushed my elbow with his fingers. "She'll be okay, Jay. Go see your sister."
The door was wide open and for a moment, I stared blankly at the woman who used to be my sister. The last time I had spoken to Tara, we had screamed awful things at each other while I blamed her for leaving me alone with our drunk dad.
This Tara was different somehow. She was more tired looking, then again I imagined that I looked tired too. Her brown hair was tied up into a tight bun, and she was typing away at her computer, probably entering a report of some kind. She didn't notice me standing in the doorway, not until I gently knocked on the open door with my knuckles.
Tara looked up and completely froze.
I saw myself through my sister's eyes for a moment. I was definitely more ragged looking than she had last seen me, my clothes hung loosely off me. The bruises on my face had completely faded, but I sure she noticed the way my eyes flicked around the room, looking for threats.
"Jane?" Tara asked, her voice sounding quiet.
"Hi, Tara." I said quietly. She stood up and walked around her desk, freezing right before she reached me.
"What-what're you doing here?" She asked.
"I live in Charming now." I said. "Me and Nora-you remember my daughter, right?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Tara said in a rushed voice. "She was just a little baby back then. How old is she now?"
"Five."
"When did you guys move here?"
"About a month ago." Seeing her expression, I continued, "I didn't know how to go about telling you! What do you do? Just walk up and say, 'Hey sis, sorry it's been forever. I'm back in town now!'"
Tara shook her head in exasperation. "Whatever. Um, how's Ted?"
"No idea." I said, shuffling my feet. "I imagine he's still pissed off I ran off with our daughter."
Tara's eyes went wide. "You left Ted?"
I nodded grimly. "Yeah."
"Why?" Tara asked immediately. "I mean...why?"
"One of his coworkers had his hands on Nora." I admitted even quieter. "I got him away and Ted nearly killed me for it."
Tara stared at me, her face revealing nothing. "Jane I'm so sorry. Um, is there anything I can do?"
I blinked at her. "Why d'you think I'm saying hi now is because I want something from you? I work over at Teller-Morrow and I heard about Jax's baby. I wanted to see if he was okay."
"And you decided to randomly stop by right after?" Tara asked, her voice getting slightly sharper. Before I could defend myself, Tara huffed a sigh and went to her desk. I watched as she wrote something down on a post-it note before handing it to me.
"This is my number and address." Tara said bluntly. "Please come by tomorrow-I'm off in the evening. Bring Nora too, if you can. I have to-get back to work now."
I stared at her for a moment before leaving the office, lingering outside when I did. It took a whole five minutes to hear Tara typing away at her computer again.