A/N - Oh my goodness you guys are so awesome! Thank you so much to all of my readers and especially those that have reviewed or put out alerts and favorites - I love all of you so much and they just make my day! I'm so glad so many of you are liking the story and I hope you like this next chapter!
A week went by and despite Brad's promise that he'd come down to Charming more often, Stacey found all of her time being spent in Sacramento. She hadn't pushed the subject, however, as she felt bad about Brad being the brunt of Opie's outburst, but she missed her family. She hadn't spent any real time at home or at the clubhouse since the night of Clay's party and she desperately wanted Brad to be able to get along with them. Her mom's words had danced in her head for some time- if he doesn't accept the club, he doesn't accept you.
"I forgot to tell you," Brad said as he placed a DVD in the player and turned the TV on, "I'm going to visit my grandmother next week in Denver. I'll be gone the whole week." Stacey nodded, scooting over on the couch so he could sit down.
"That's sweet, I didn't know you had a grandmother," she said. He grinned.
"Doesn't everyone have a grandmother?" he asked. She laughed, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.
"You know what I mean – a grandmother still alive. I've never heard you talk about her before," she said. He shrugged.
"She's pretty sick, I don't like to talk about her much, makes me sad," he said. She gazed at him sympathetically, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Well if you'll be in Denver all next week, I think we should go down to Charming this weekend," Stacey said as casually as she could. He looked down at her, frowning.
"No," he said shortly, turning back to the TV and grabbing the remote to hit play. Stacey frowned, taking the remote out of his hand before he could press the button to start the movie.
"What do you mean 'no'?" she asked curtly. He sighed, his extremely annoyed expression softening quickly.
"Look, babe, that place is toxic – for you and for me. I want you to stay away from there as much as possible," he told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked at him sadly; he was clearly still so shaken up by Opie's attack. She reached out, holding his cheek in her hand, brushing her thumb over the shadow of a bruise that was still visible.
"Well, I can't stay away, but I understand you wanting to. I'll just go down by myself this weekend," she told him. His eyes narrowed and Stacey wondered if she'd imagined the malicious flash she thought she saw. She jerked her hand away from his face as though she'd been shocked, but as soon as she looked closer, his eyes were back to the warm and loving eyes he always looked at her with.
"No, you're not going down there without me," he said. She raised her eyebrows.
"Are you forgetting I don't technically live here?" she asked. He shrugged, looking around at all her stuff that had matriculated to his apartment the past few weeks.
"Doesn't look that way to me," he said.
"Well I don't. I still live in Charming, and I want to start spending more time down there," she insisted. He looked at her, shaking his head.
"I don't like you being down there," he said, pursing his lips. She smiled encouragingly at him, curling her arm through his.
"Are you still worried about Opie? Because it's not an issue. Like I said, I'm with you – and they all know it. See, my finger even proves it," she said, holding out her right hand, the Claddagh ring still sitting proudly on her ring finger. He sighed, shaking his head.
"Either way, I'm staying at my parents this weekend and I'd love for you to come and hang out. We don't have to see Opie," she said. He shook his head.
"Nah, I'll change my flight and go over to Denver a few days early," he said, "You go see your parents, but I don't want you seeing Opie." Her eyes narrowed and he glowered at her, "That's not a negotiation. Promise me you won't see him." Stacey looked at him in disbelief.
"What? I can't-" she started.
"Promise me!" he barked. She looked at him sympathetically. She knew he was just jealous and if she was honest, he had every right to be. She nodded slowly.
"Okay, I promise. I won't see Opie," she said earnestly. He grinned, pulling her into him and kissing the top of her head as he took the remote back from her and played the movie.
SOASOASOASOASOASOA
Opie sighed as he grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat beading on his forehead, his thoughts on everything but the bike he was working on. He threw the towel down and walked into the cool air of the clubhouse, grabbing a drink at the bar before sitting in front of it. He took a sip of his beer, contemplating his plan and what he would say to Stacey when he saw her again.
The fact of the matter was that even if Brad hadn't turned out to be a total asshole, Opie still wouldn't have been able to rest until he told Stacey how he felt about her – something he should have told her last fall when he had completely fallen for her. But he'd been too much of a chicken shit to talk to Clay and Jax about it, and had allowed her to get swept off her feet by the first charming asshole that came along.
Until she was able to look him in the eye and honestly tell him she had no feelings for him, he wasn't giving up on her. But either way, Opie would be dead before he let that evil son of a bitch stay with her.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Stacey flipped mindlessly through a fashion magazine as she sat on the couch at her parent's house, waiting for them to get home. Usually she'd be down at Teller-Morrow, hanging out with everybody but her mom had told her Opie was working today and she was trying to stick to her promise not to see him, for her own good as well as Brad's. The doorbell rang and she stood up from her perch on the couch to answer it, grinning as she saw the outline of Juice through the window in the door.
"Hey buddy!" she said as she opened the door and threw her arms around him.
"Hey, yourself," he said cheerfully, hugging her back before she stepped aside and he walked in, "Heard you were back." Stacey nodded.
"Yeah, sorry I've been MIA lately," she said, "Been spending a lot of time in Sacramento with Brad." Juice nodded as Stacey led him over to the couch in the living room.
"So how're things going with him?" he asked, trying to sound merely interested and not like he was trying to coax information out of her about her boyfriend. He'd been having a really hard time finding any information on Brad, if that was even his real name. Juice suspected that it wasn't, but he had no leads, no way to find out who he really was. He felt a little bad about trying to trick Stacey into giving up anything that could help him find out more about Brad, but he kept reminding himself he was doing it for her.
"Really good," she replied, smiling at him, "He's the best." Juice smiled.
"Glad to hear it," he said, "So why didn't he come down with you?"
"He flew out to Denver to visit his grandmother," Stacey replied, "Says she's real sick."
"Oh, he's got family out in Denver?" Juice asked, latching onto the information. Stacey shrugged.
"I guess so," she said.
"Doesn't he ever talk about his family?" Juice asked. Stacey shook her head.
"Not really, I get the feeling he doesn't get along with them very well," she said.
"What gives you that feeling?" Stacey tilted her head, looking at him.
"I dunno, he's never mentioned them and when I used to ask about them he'd just change the subject. Just seemed like he didn't want to talk about them," she replied. Juice nodded, thinking.
"So I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to him a whole lot, I don't even know much about him," he said in a desperate attempt for her to tell him anything she knew. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Didn't I give you his social so you could run a background check on him?" she asked. 'Shit' Juice thought, looking wildly around the room, trying to cover his tracks quickly.
"Oh, yeah, but I just pulled his criminal record, you know," he said, "And since he doesn't have one… I didn't learn much." She shrugged.
"Not much to know, I suppose," she said, "He moved around a lot, came to Sacramento for college, graduated from Sacramento State this May." Juice nodded, thinking he might try school records and see if he could find anything.
"So you've been together what, 6 months now, and that's all you know about the guy?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light-hearted but inside wishing Stacey had been born with the Teller 'don't trust anyone' gene, which she clearly had not.
When he first met her that had actually been something he'd liked about her– the fact that she could make friends easily and without suspicion, enjoy relationships with friends outside of the club without constantly feeling the need to watch her back. He supposed that stemmed from when her father was alive. She'd told him he had kept her as far away from the club as possible, and tried to give her as normal a life as he could. It wasn't until her mom had married Clay that she'd even stepped foot inside the clubhouse. But times like this made him wish she was a little less open with herself and a little more guarded when it came to strangers.
"I know a lot about who he is now," she said defensively, "We just don't talk about our past all that much."
"So who is he now? Where does he work? What does he do for fun?" Juice asked, throwing questions at her. She frowned.
"What's really going on here?" she asked. Juice sighed; annoyed that she could pick up on every little thing when it came to him, but when it came to her asshole boyfriend she was completely oblivious.
"Nothing, I just want to know more about him," he insisted. Stacey looked at him intently.
"Why?" she asked, "Is this about Clay? I really need to talk to him. Just because my mom married him doesn't mean he has to know every little thing about my life." Juice looked dubiously at her and she sighed.
"Fine, whatever," she said, knowing it would be easier to just answer the questions than argue with him about it, "He does free-lance construction jobs but he's trying to find a job using his business degree," she said briskly, "And he hangs out with me for fun."
"Free-lance construction jobs?" Juice said. That didn't sound like something he'd find a W-2 for. Stacey nodded.
"Yeah, it keeps him pretty busy, actually," she said.
"How does he find the clients?" he asked. Stacey shrugged.
"Word of mouth, mostly, I think," she said.
"How does he get paid?" he asked.
"Jesus, Juice, what is with the questions?" she asked, her patience wearing thin.
"Just answer the question," he said, trying to keep his voice from becoming demanding.
"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on," she insisted. Juice looked at her, wondering how much to tell her this early in the game. So far, he hadn't caught Brad in a lie, mainly because he had less than zero information on him. Stacey most definitely wouldn't believe his suspicions.
"Criminal background comes up with financial information. No job was listed, so I'm just wondering if he gets paid under the table or if he works for one major company that uses him like a contractor," Juice told her. Stacey rolled her eyes.
"God you guys are all so fucking nosy," she mumbled, "I don't know. I guess probably under the table because he's always got a stack of checks on the counter from random people. What are you going to go report him to the IRS now?" Juice grinned, striking gold, and shook his head.
"Nah, darlin', you know we're all just looking out for you," he told her. She sighed, not being able to resist smiling back at his goofy grin.
"I know, but you don't need to worry. He's a great guy and he treats me better than anyone I've ever been with," she told him. Juice nodded.
"Glad to hear it. You let me know if that changes," he told her, suddenly looking at her sternly.
"Of course. You'll be in line right behind my brother to kick his ass," she assured him, then scowled, "Well, I guess you're all in line behind Opie."
"What does Jax think about him?" Juice asked, ignoring what she said about Opie. Stacey shrugged.
"You know Jax – he's all wrapped up in his own shit. I don't think he really has an opinion either way about Brad, unless he hurts me," she said, "It's not like they're ever going to be drinking buddies or anything like that." Juice nodded.
"So when did you say Brad leaves for Denver?" Juice asked.
"His flight left this morning," she told him and he nodded.
"Alright, well I should be going. I'll see you later, okay?" he said, standing up and pulling her into a hug again.
"Yeah, okay. Let's have lunch or something tomorrow. And no more questions about Brad," she said. Juice nodded.
"Yeah yeah," he said, "I'll see you at the clubhouse later, right?" Stacey shrugged.
"I probably won't be spending a lot of time up at the clubhouse," she told him. He frowned.
"What? Why not?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Just… don't really feel like it," she said evasively, not really wanting to tell him she was avoiding Opie, "But come over anytime, or call me and we'll get a drink at the Hairy Dog or something."
"Yeah, alright," he said, kissing the top of her head before showing himself to the door.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Juice pulled up to Brad's apartment, looking around cautiously as he checked the address with the one Clay had written for him on a scrap of paper. He knew Stacey wouldn't have given him the information but had hoped Clay had at least done his due diligence as her step-father and gotten the address from her, as she spent so much time up there. He'd been right, and Clay had copied the address down for his as soon as he had asked for it. Juice had then hacked into every airline database he could and had confirmed that, surprisingly, Brad had told the truth and he really was checked into a flight with United Airways to Denver that landed several hours ago.
He walked up to the door, trying to seem nonchalant as he dug in his pocket for his bump-key before sliding it into the lock. He sighed with relief when he heard the lock click and quickly stepped into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. He flipped the light on and looked around the apartment. Dude was clearly a neat freak, borderline OCD. There wasn't a single thing out of place. He hoped that would make his hunt easier.
He looked around the kitchen – Stacey had mentioned the checks were usually sitting on the counter, but the counter was clear. He opened several drawers, careful not to disrupt anything as he dug through them. He was eventually forced to realize that the checks were not in the kitchen any longer. He prayed they were still in the apartment somewhere and he hadn't already deposited them.
He made his way down the hall and into the first room he came to, which looked like a small study. This room was exactly like the living room – completely spotless and tidy. He walked over to the desk and looked around, practically shouting 'Eureka' as he opened a file to see several personal checks stuck in there. He grabbed a notepad he'd brought with him out of his pocket and a pen from the desk as he looked through the checks. None of them were made out to Brad Willis; most were all made out to a company called CZ Construction and a few were made out to names he didn't recognize. He frowned, scribbling down every name, account number, routing number, and bank name for every check in the file. He replaced them quickly, making sure they were still in the same order he'd pulled them out in, and shoved the notepad into his pocket.
Wherever these checks were deposited, he'd know. And he'd also be checking out 'CZ Construction,' especially its financial records, as well as run those unfamiliar names through his database and see what he could find. He grinned to himself as he showed himself out of the apartment, locking it behind him. He had a feeling he just might be able to get the information he was looking for now.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
Opie sat on his bike outside Clay and Gemma's for several minutes before finally mustering the courage to walk up to the door. He knocked softly and waited as he saw her outline walk up to the door. He saw her hesitate as she realized who he was, before finally opening the door, peering up at him through the crack.
"Opie?" she said in surprise.
"Hey Stace," he said softly, "Can I come in?" She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip like she always did when she was nervous. It still drove him fucking crazy.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Ope," she said. Opie sighed, looking around.
"I really need to talk to you," he said, his voice urgent. He could see the conflict dancing behind her eyes before she finally gave him a small nod, opening the door wider and letting him in.
"Just… make it quick," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest as they stood in the entry way. She raised her eyebrows expectantly as she waited for him to say what he came here to say. He paused, looking at her, unsure of where to begin.
"What you said to me, about tossing you aside-" he began.
"What I said to you right after you beat up my boyfriend for no reason," she amended curtly. Opie sighed.
"I'm really sorry about how that all went down, and I had a reason, trust me, but I don't want to get into all that today," he said. She looked at him stonily, like she was preparing for an argument but thought better of it and let him speak, "I just needed you to know… I never wanted to toss you aside. I can't tell you how sorry I am you feel like that. It fucking kills me." She stared at him for a moment, letting his words sink in.
"How else am I supposed to feel?" she asked, her voice shaking, begging herself not to start crying. She hadn't ever expected an apology from him about that; had thought she'd read his actions loud and clear, "We slept together. And then you just… ignored me." Opie stroked his beard, nodding, his eyes filled with remorse.
"I know, Stace, I know I was shitty about the way I handled things with you. I wanted to talk to you about it, tell you how I felt about you, but I just kept thinking about Clay and Jax and it was so soon before you left and I wasn't sure about the whole long distance thing," he started rambling, "I was an asshole. I know that. But I need you to know you weren't just some one night stand." He paused, trying to get his train of thought back, knowing he needed to get the words out or he would continue to be haunted by them.
"The truth is there hasn't been a day since I stepped out of that van last August that I haven't thought about you and wanted you and that day, at your house – that fucking meant something to me. And I've never said that to anyone in my life." He focused on her, trying to gauge her reaction. She was chewing on her bottom lip again, but he noticed it shake slightly. She took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling.
"I care about you, so fucking much, Stace. I might even fucking love you, I don't know," he continued, shocked at the words coming out of his mouth as her eyes returned to his and her lips parted in surprise. All the air in her lungs seemed to disappear and she couldn't breathe.
"What?" she finally managed in a near whisper. Opie sighed, taking a step closer to her, staring into her eyes, searching them.
"I don't know, I've never loved anyone before. But I've never felt like this about anyone else before either and I couldn't stand you not knowing that, thinking I'd just… tossed you aside," he said as she hurriedly brushed an escaped tear off her cheek, understanding what a big deal it was for him to tell her this. Growing up with SAMCRO, not a whole lot of feelings were ever discussed. Her eyes moved all around the room, landing on the ring on her right finger – the symbol that her heart belonged to someone else – before finally returning back to Opie, wishing she could give him a different answer.
"Opie," she said, trying to give time for her voice to steady, "God, I wish… I wish you'd told me all of this sooner. It's just… it's too late now, I'm with someone else." Opie tried to keep his face straight, tried not to let it distort and show the pain he felt.
"You don't have to be," he said. She gave him a small, sad smile, shaking her head.
"I'm not with him to hurt you, or get back at you, or as a rebound from you," she said, "I'm with him because he makes me happy, Opes, I'm happy when I'm with him."
"Do you love him?" he asked her, not breaking away from her gaze. She bit her lip as he took a step closer to her, now only inches apart. She continued to look up at him.
"I don't know, Opes," she said honestly. He nodded, bracing himself to ask the question he knew he needed answered.
"Can you honestly tell me you don't have any feelings for me?" he asked. She tried to look away from him but he cupped her chin lightly, bringing her gaze back to him. Whatever her answer was, he needed her to look him in the eye when she gave it.
"You know I can't," she said finally, and he lowered his hand, "But it doesn't matter. Like I said, I'm with someone else, someone who makes me happy."
"He's not the guy for you Stacey," Opie told her, having to stop himself from spilling every thought he had about Brad, knowing it would just piss her off and push her farther away. Stacey shrugged.
"Maybe… maybe not," she told him, "But you and me… it shouldn't be this difficult."
"So you're picking him because he's the easier option?" Opie asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
"I'm picking him because he's never made me cry," she snapped back. Opie ran a hand through his hair, finally breaking his gaze with her.
"Look, I'd still… I'd still like to be friends," she said, realizing as she said it how lame the words sounded coming out, but knowing, despite her promise to Brad, that she wouldn't be able to stand not having Opie in her life. Opie shook his head.
"I don't want to be friends with you," he told her solemnly, "I can't." he turned to walk out of the house.
"Opie!" she called after him, her voice cracking. He turned to look at her, one hand on the doorknob as she walked up to him, "I'm sorry." He smiled sadly at her as he kissed her forehead.
"I'm the one who should be sorry, Stace, and believe me, I am," he said, walking out the door and back to his bike. She watched him pull away from the curb, streaking down the street before closing the door and leaning against it, finally allowing herself to cry.
SOASOASOASOASOASOA
Stacey spent the next few days in Charming avoiding the clubhouse like the plague. Her brother and Juice had both pestered her to come down but she'd always had an excuse ready for them. They didn't bother her too much about it, they were both busy with their own stuff, but her mother was a different story.
Gemma came home from Teller Morrow to see Stacey sitting on the couch in the living room. She crossed her arms, watching as Stacey flipped through the channels.
"You know, it would be nice to have your help in the office from time to time," Gemma said to her as she sat in the arm chair across from her. Stacey looked up at her mother and nodded.
"I know, I'm sorry," she said, "Do you, um, know who's working tomorrow?" Gemma raised her eyebrows.
"I think it's Chibs, Jax, and Juice on the schedule," she said. Stacey nodded.
"Alright, I'll go in tomorrow and help out for a bit," she said. Gemma eyed her calculatingly.
"You avoiding someone?" she asked. Stacey shook her head quickly.
"No!" she said a little too forcefully. Gemma smirked.
"Why're you avoiding Opie?" she rephrased. Stacey sighed, shaking her head again.
"I'm not avoiding Opie," she grumbled.
"Baby, you've had a crush on that boy since you were in the third grade," Gemma responded, "Latched on to him for the next 10 years. I think I can tell when you're avoiding him." Stacey glowered at her mother for several seconds before she responded.
"It doesn't matter, I'm with Brad now," she reminded her.
"Ah yes, Brad," Gemma said, "So you've made your choice then?" Stacey shrugged.
"Things are easier with Brad," she said, reiterating what she'd said to Opie, "He's safer, nicer… I don't have to worry about all the club bullshit with him. I don't have to worry about fucking run rules with him. He's normal."
"Baby, I'm gonna tell you this as someone with a lot of experience with men in the life," Gemma said, crossing her legs and leaning towards Stacey, "When it comes to your heart, words like 'easy' and 'safe' don't always mean 'better'. You just think about that." Stacey watched as her mother stood from her chair and made her way upstairs.
A/N - please review and let
