Chapter four:
Prince Charming, my knight in shining armor
We walked into the clubhouse, that looked more like a bar on the inside, than anything else. The sound of low rock music resonated throughout the place, and there was about twenty to thirty people scattered around, playing pool, drinking, smoking, talking and having a good time. Jess' introduced me to her mom, Gemma Teller-Morrow, the rest of the club members, and their "old ladies" as Jess called them. And I can't forget Chuckie, the goofy bartender with prosthetic hands.
Gemma was a pretty woman, with brown shoulder length hair, and a visible scar in the middle of her chest, that made me think of the heart problem Jess told me about earlier. For her to be fifty four, I thought she could've passed for someone in their early forties. Jess was a spitting image of her mother though, with the same high cheekbones, defined facial features, and somewhat full lips. Jackson didn't really favor either of them, aside from the beautiful blue eyes he shared with his sister. This made me wonder what their dad looked like. If he didn't take after his mom, then I was sure that he was a spitting image of his dad.
Everyone seemed like cool people from what I saw. Definitely not the monsters Eli tried to make them out to be, and shockingly not racist like a lot of people in Charming were. I was the only black person in a sea of white people and not once did they make me feel uncomfortable, or out of place. I wasn't blind, though. I knew there was more to them than what was on the surface. I just wasn't sure what it was, but I knew I was bound to figure it out, since I was going to be coming around a lot, with Jess and I becoming friends and all.
After only being around her family for all of twenty minutes, I learned a little bit about them. Like the fact that that her stepdad, Clay Morrow is the President of the club and Jackson is the VP, which explains why the rest of the club knew to follow their lead the other day.
I also learned that Jess wasn't lying when she said she was free to do what ever she wanted. As I sat next to Jess at the bar, I found it interesting to see her carry a full blown conversation with her mom, while rolling up a joint, and sipping on a bottle of pineapple Smirnoff ice. I mean the difference between my family and hers was like night and day. Her family was big, even if they weren't blood related, while mine was small. Her family was laid back, while mine was strict, and most of all, they knew how to have fun, while my family's idea of fun was trying to figure out different ways to keep me from having fun.
'Hey, that could be a good topic for our presentation!' My eyes lit up as a light bulb went off in my head.
I started to think that we could write about laid back versus strict parenting, and how it affects the child in the long run. For example, my parents are always on my ass, and hardly give me any room to breathe on my own, so as a result, I keep a lot of stuff to myself, and feel like I have to be sneaky about the things I do in order to avoid being grounded, or yelled at. Jessica's parents, on the other hand, allow her to do more and talk to them about anything, which makes her want to open up to them more because she knows they won't get upset, or tell her she can't do certain things. It was the perfect topic, and I was sure we would get an A on it.
"You smoke?" Jessica asked, bringing me back from being deep in thought. I looked over to see her holding a perfectly rolled, unlit joint in her hand. It was small, and looked nothing like what me and Renae would smoke back home. We always rolled fat blunts that could barely hold all the weed we would stuff inside of it. This joint she was holding in front of me, was the equivalent of a kids meal fry from McDonald's, compared to what I was use to. I knew she wanted me to smoke with her, but I was gonna have to pass on it tonight. I had to face my mom in less than four hours and I was not trying to be high when I did. I've never been caught being high, and I didn't plan on it tonight. Not only that, but I wasn't really familiar with my surroundings yet, and I wanted to be on alert if something was to jump off.
"Yeah I do, but you're on your own tonight, boo. I have to be home by eight and I'm not trying to go home smelling like weed. My dad would kick my ass, and probably keep my locked inside the house until I finish school if he found out I'd been smoking." I joked.
Jess shook her head. "Well, maybe some other time then. Hey, look, I'll be outside if you need me okay?" She told me and I nodded, watching as she stood up, grabbed her drink, and headed out of the clubhouse. I decided to do my first check in with my mom, while I waited for her to come back in. She stayed out there a good fifteen minutes, and came back in, high as a damn kite.
A few hours later, around 6:30pm, the party was in full swing. It was dark out, and everyone who had been outside, was now inside the clubhouse. The rock music was now blaring, and people were dancing in one area of the building, while some played cards, and others stayed at the bar the whole time, chatting and getting their cups refilled. I was in the middle of whooping Jess in a game of pool, and even though I was all the way on the other side of the room, I couldn't help but notice that Jax was one of the people at the bar. He just sat there babysitting a bottle of Jack Daniel's, looking around the room at everyone. He seemed withdrawn and uninterested in his own birthday party, and I wondered what that was all about, so after I beat Jess for the fifth time, I directed her attention towards him.
"Is he okay?" I asked, using my head to point his way.
"He's probably thinkin' about his ex." She paused, followed by a hiccup. "Fucking gash left him while he was in prison, and no one knew about it until he got out... Is it hot in here to you?" Jess said, slurring her words, and fanning herself with her jacket. It became clear to me that she was drunk and high off her ass when she started swaying back and forth, almost bumping heads with me. I caught her before that happened, quickly wrapping her arm around the back of my neck, and walking her over to an empty black sofa nearby. I laid her down, looking down at her, shaking my head.
"What'd you do that for?" She asked.
"You're drunk, Jess. Just lay here and take a timeout. I'll be back with some water and a plate of barbecue so you can try to sober up, okay?" I instructed, and Jess shook her head, no.
"I don't want any food, Elise... I feel like I'm gonna... BLAHHHHHHH!"
Next thing I knew, I was covered from my chest to my lap in chunks of foul smelling white and brown stomach bile! This girl really puked on me! I jumped to my feet in shock, allowing some of it to fall to the floor. I looked up to see that all eyes were on me, and the humiliation of it all caused me to turn beet red. No one offered to help either until I heard a deep voice behind me shout at everyone who was just standing around.
"Well, don't just stand around looking stupid! Someone go get my mom so she can see about Jessica!" The voice commanded, and I turned around to see Jackson walking up to me. Everyone seemed to catch a wild hair up their asses when he spoke, because they immediately sprung into action.
"C'mon, darlin'. Let's go get you cleaned up." He held out a hand, and I refused to grab it because I had throw up on mine.
"You mind if I just follow you instead?" I asked, and without words, he took my hand, turned around and led me through the clubhouse, down a long hallway, and into a bedroom. I found myself fighting back a smile of admiration, as my short legs struggled to keep up with his long strides. I guess I was just turned on by how he took charge, without waiting for the approval of others.
We eventually stepped into the room, and I pulled the door up behind me. As I looked around, I could tell that it was being occupied at the moment, because there was a big black duffel bag laying on the bed and the red sheets were ruffled up, telling me that someone had recently been here. On the nightstand, there was a lamp with a stack of Harley Davidson magazines next to it, and there were posters of bikini models on motorcycles pinned up on the wall, so let's just say it didn't take me long to figure out that this room belonged to a man.
He let go of my hand, and made his way over to a tall wooden dresser off to the side of the room.
"The shower's straight ahead and the towels are on the shelf above the toilet. I'll have some clothes laid out on the bed for you when you're done, and I can bring you a bag to put your dirty clothes in." Said Jackson, as he started rummaging through the dresser, I'm guessing to find me something to wear. You would think this was his room with the way he was carelessly messing up the clothes.
"I appreciate it." I thanked him, still standing near the door.
"No problem. And I apologize about my sister. She can be a real slob when she's drunk. Kid can't hold her liquor for shit!"
"Oh, no need to apologize. Especially if her puking on me means I get to be helped by the real life Prince Charming." I said, watching to see his reaction. He just glanced over his shoulder at me, shook his head, and chuckled before going back to what he was doing. I heard him draw in a breath as if he was about to say something, but before he could, a familiar voice shouting over the loud music came through the walls, catching both of our attention. We couldn't really make out what the voice was saying, until the music went off, and everyone got quiet.
"There's been a number of complaints about a noise disturbance in the area, so we just thought we'd stop by and tell you all to either keep it down, or shut it down completely." The voice announced authoritatively, and my eyes got big, because I immediately realized that it was Eli's voice in the other room. I looked over at Jax, who already had his eyes on me.
"That sounds like your old man." He said quietly, and I nodded, trying to keep calm. That didn't work out so well, when I heard my dad once again.
"Well since we're here, we might as well take a look around to make sure there's no illegal activity going on. Officer Cane, you take this area. I'll head down the hall and check these rooms." He said, his voice growing closer than before, and I began to pace back and forth, trying to figure out what I was gonna do to keep from getting caught.
"Oh, fuck! He's gonna kill me if he catches me here! What the hell am I gonna do now?!" I whispered to myself in a frenzy. I looked to Jax for help, only to see him walking up to me, calm as ever.
"Okay listen. I think I have an idea, but there's no time to explain it now, so what I need you to do is go into the bathroom, lock the door, and wait in there with the light off until I say it's cool to come out okay?" He told me, looking me dead in the eyes. I couldn't do anything but nod, as I was basically hypnotized by those damn blue eyes of his, and I quickly followed his instructions. Once I was in the restroom, I locked the door, and left the light off. The feeling of cold soiled clothing pressing against my skin was making me feel sick my damn self, so I quickly peeled off my clothes, leaving me in nothing but a pink bra with white polka dots, and the boy shorts to match. I then sat on the edge of the tub, waiting to hear what Jax's how jax was gonna get me outta this situation.
Not even a minute later, I heard the bedroom door creak opened, and my heart started racing a mile a minute. I didn't know what the hell was about to go down.
"Well well well, if it isn't my main man, Jackson Teller..." My Dad paused and sniffed three times, before asking, "You mind telling me why it smells like rotten cheese and hot dogs in here? And why the hell you're on the floor?" He asked, causing me to furrow my eyebrows, because I was also confused on why he would be on the floor. I quietly got down on all fours, and peeked under the door to see him sprawled out on the floor, hovering over a pile of vomit, that I'm guessing, dripped off of my clothes on the way in here. I couldn't really see much with one eye, but I had a feeling that I knew how he was gonna play this out. I knew I was right when I heard him start talking.
"Oh hey, Sheriff Roosevelt." Jax said, in a forced sick sounding tone. "I uhh... guess I got a little carried away with my liquor tonight, and had an accident." He added, wiping his mouth. He even went so far as to throw in a few hiccups, and I had to put my hand over my mouth to contain the laughter that was building up inside of me.
"And you couldn't make it to the bathroom?" Eli asked.
"As you can see, I tried. Come to find out, the damn door is locked." He fake hiccuped again, and I accidentally let out a muffled giggle. I caught myself before it turned into full on laughter, but I think Eli heard me, because he slowly made his way into the room, walked up to the bathroom door, and my eyes shot in the direction of the knob, as he started to twist it from side to side. I thought my heart was racing before, but in that moment, I felt like it was gonna jump out of my chest. I was so scared that I held my breath until he finally backed off of the door, and turned to walk back over to the bedroom exit.
"Well, Teller, I was about to do what I do best and mess up the night for you, but I can see you already got that handled. Go clean yourself up and clean this funky ass room up." Dad commanded sounding disgusted, before walking out. I listened closely as his footsteps got further and further away, and let out the loudest sigh of relief when I felt like he was far enough. 'That was a close fucking call!' I thought, watching Jax stand up and creep over to poke his head out of the room. He stood there for about thirty seconds before finally closing the door, and walking towards where I was hiding. I stood up, just as I heard him knock on the door, and I quickly unlocked and opened it, before leaning back against the sink.
"It's all clear out there." Jax said, flicking on the light. "You can take a show-" He paused, with bug eyed expression, as he looked me up and down. I flinched in confusion, wondering what caught his attention, and as I looked down at my body, I realized that I was half naked. I totally forgot that I took my clothes off when I first came in here! I felt a hot flash of embarrassment come over me, and as a reflex, I reached over to my right and grabbed a towel off of the shelf. I wrapped it around me faster than I don't know what, and held it close to my body, with my arms crossed over my chest.
"Forgot I took my clothes off when I came in here to hide." I said shyly.
"I see... How old are you anyway, darlin'?" He asked, looking curious.
"Seventeen for two more days... How come?"
I felt goosebumps, as I saw his lips curl up into that sexy devilish grin that he was blessed with. "Two more days huh? No reason...", he said lowly, as he squeezed past me to walk over to the tub. He turned the shower water on, and made sure it was a good enough temperature, before walking back over to the doorway and looking down at me. "I'm gonna let you wash up now. I'll be out here, cleaning up if you need anything."
I nodded, and thanked him again. He said it was no problem and shut the door, leaving me in the restroom alone. I turned around to look at myself in the mirror, and instantly shuddered at the person staring back at me. I had tiny chunks of Jess' throw up in my hair and on my chest. I didn't understand how Jax even looked at me the way he did, when I looked like complete shit. I quickly turned away from the mirror, not even trying to figure it out, before dropping my towel, stripping out of the rest of my clothes, and getting in the shower. Once I was in, I looked around for some soap, only to find a bottle of men's axe body wash, sitting on the corner of the tub. It was all that was available so I just shrugged, grabbing the soap and dumping a generous amount on my towel and washing up with it.
I stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out, trying to make sure I was completely clean. When I was done, I got out to see that my dirty clothes were gone. A fresh set of clothes were neatly folded and set on the towel rack. I didn't even hear anyone come in the bathroom, that's how focused I was on getting clean I guess. Anyway, I dried myself off, got dressed in the oversized gray T-shirt, that had the word 'SON' spelled out in all capital letters on the front, that I tucked into and a pair of lighter gray sweatpants. They were an extra large, but they fit me just fine around my waist and hip area. I did have to cuff them at the bottom though, or else they would've been dragging as I walked. I went out into the bedroom where Jax was sitting at the foot of the bed, looking down at the floor. The room was clean, and the smell of lemon Pine-Sol lingered in my nose, as I walked out of the restroom. Jax looked up at me and smiled.
"My clothes look good on you." He lowly said, and I chuckled.
"Well, thank you. I added my own personal touch to them. Hope you don't mind" I responded, taking a seat about a foot away from him on the bed.
"Oh before I forget, here's your phone. It was in your jacket pocket when I went to get your clothes out of the restroom." He said, digging it out of his pocket and handing it to me. "I gave your clothes to Chuckie to wash. I'll have Jess give them to you at school tomorrow."
"Thank you." I took my phone and slid it in my pocket. "So if these are your clothes, does that mean this is your room?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Temporarily... I have a house, but I have movers taking out some old shit that I don't need anymore. I'll go back when it's all gone." He told me, and I knew he was probably talking about stuff his ex left behind. But I didn't let him know that though, because I couldn't imagine someone I just met, knowing that my ex left me high and dry, without a trace or explanation. I wouldn't want anyone knowing that, so I acted oblivious for the sake of how it would make him feel.
"What kind of stuff is it?"
"Just a bunch of junk. I told the movers to take it all to the nearest pawn shop and sell it." He shrugged. The subtle animosity in his voice made it obvious that he was trying to hide how he truly felt. Since I knew what he was going through, I could tell he was hurt. Who wouldn't be after something like that.
Jax and I spent a while talking and getting to know one another. During the course of our conversation, we found out that we had a lot in common. Like the fact that our birthdays are two days apart and we both share the same zodiac sign; Aries. We also shared some of the same personality traits, like how head strong we are, and how we like to be in control of ourselves. We hate taking orders from people, and we would much rather lead than follow in behind others. We spent the majority of our conversation laughing because our senses of humor were so much alike, and Jax told me that I had a beautiful smile. He ended up giving me the nickname 'cheeks', because of how big they are, and how deep my dimples sink into them when I'm laughing. I really liked Jax, and now it was for something more than just his looks. His personality was on point, and I can't remember vibing with any guy I've ever talked to, the way I did with him.
We got so carried away with our conversation that I completely lost track of time. I checked the time in my phone, and tensed right up when I saw that it was 9:40. I had ten missed calls from mama, and a text from her that said, "Your dad said you would be home by eight thirty, and it's nine so where are you?! All I know is you better get here before he does at ten!" My phone must've been on silent because that's the only way I could've missed all that. I wasted no time jumping off the bed and slipping my shoes on. I didn't care that I wasn't wearing any socks either, the only thing on my mind was that I needed to get home before Eli. I looked over at Jax, who couldn't help but look confused.
"Everything alright, darlin'?" He asked.
"Hell nah, everything's far from alright! I was supposed to be home at a certain time but it's way past then! Now I have to be there before my dad gets home at ten or I'm done for. I know Jess is too drunk to drive, but do you think your mom can drop me off?"
"She's taking care of Jess right now. I can take you on my bike." He said, standing up.
"I know you're not serious! My dad would kill me if he pulled up and saw me getting off of your bike. I'm not even supposed to be around you, or your club in the first place."
"I'll just take you in Jessica's car then. You won't get caught, and everything will be fine, chill out'." He assured me, and I slowly started to feel my anxiety ease up. I thought it was crazy how that happened. How all he had to do was tell me everything would be okay, and it would be enough to calm me down. Maybe it was because he had already helped me out of a sticky situation, so I trusted him enough to help me again.
Anyway, Jax made sure I had all of my stuff and then we were out the door. As we made our way though the clubhouse, we saw that the party had died down but what still going on. There weren't as many people in the front room as before, but the ones that were, looked worn out and wasted. There were people, some of them fully naked, knocked out on the pool tables, and bar counter. I didn't know their parties were this wild! There was no sign of Jessica, however, and I hoped she was at home, sobering up for school in the morning. I still couldn't believe she had gotten drunk in front of her parents like that, but then again, it's better for her to do it around her family, than some strangers who might try to take advantage of her. It took Jax a few minutes to find his sister's keys, but as soon as he did, we left.
I spent the majority of the ride, telling Jax the way to my house, and fearing for my life, because of how recklessly he weaved in and out of traffic, trying to get me home in time to beat my dad. It didn't take long to reach my neighborhood, and the time was now 9:52.
"You're gonna make a left in that gate right up there, then make another left on a street called Claremont, and my house is the fourth one on the right." I instructed, and he did as told. We pulled up to my house at 9:54, and words can't even begin to explain how relieved I was to see that Eli didn't spontaneously get off earlier than he was supposed to. As Jax pulled up to the curb in front of my house, I let out a deep sigh of relief, and unbuckled my seatbelt.
"Told you I would get you home before your old man." He gloated, looking over at me with a half smile.
"You say that like I doubted you in the first place... You already got me out of trouble once, so I trusted you to come through one more time. Thats why from here on out, my nickname for you is Prince Charming, my knight in shining armor." I joked, and just then, a set of headlights flashed in the rear view mirror, and I quickly looked back, to see if it was Eli. I felt my heart sink into my stomach as the car slowly crept past us, but luckily it was just a neighbor that lived two doors down from us. I looked back at Jax, who seemed to be just as nervous as me, and let out a shaky laugh.
"Well, I better get in here before the sheriff pulls up and loses his shit. It was really nice meeting all of you today. Thanks for everything you did, happy birthday, and tell Jess I'm gonna pray for her." I hurried to say. I didn't even give him a chance to respond, before I grabbed my book bag, hopped out of the car, and speed walked up to the house.
"Hey, Cheeks!" Jax called after me, and I stopped halfway through the front yard to turn around and look at him.
"I'll see you around... I hope." He shouted out of the now opened passenger side window. I sent a warm smile his way, and nodded.
"Yeah, see you around!" I whisper shouted back, and then quickly went back to hauling ass up to the front porch.
When I finally reached the door, I went to unlock it, but was shocked to see it open on its own. I looked up to see mama standing there in her long silk burgundy robe, , and black satin hair bonnet. She had her arms crossed, and a scowl on her face that told me she wasn't happy. I stood there staring at her like a dear caught in the headlights for a second, until she grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me in the house. She shut the door and glared at me for a moment before finally asking,
"Where were you?! Why didn't you answer my calls?!And WHY ARE YOU WEARING THOSE CLOTHES?!"
I tried to think of an elaborate lie to tell her, but decided not to because I could never lie to her. Mama's the type of parent that you can talk to about anything, and she might get upset, but she'll go easy on me because at least I told the truth. I let out a sigh, and walked through the foyer to go sit on the marble stairs. Mama followed, and stood over me, with her hand on her hip.
"Okay, so you know how I was supposed to go and study with a friend?" I asked. Mama nodded, and I told her the truth about how I really went to a party, and how I lied about going to study because I knew Eli wasn't about to let me go to a party. I told her Jess got sick, and threw up all over me, so I had to take a shower, and use some of her brother's clothes. I didn't tell her the whole truth about how Jess got sick though. All I said was that she ate something bad, and it didn't agree with her stomach. I also told her that I came home so late because I lost track of time in the shower, and I didn't answer my phone because it was on silent. I begged her not to tell Eli what happened because I knew he would never again let me see the light of day if she did.
"Well im glad that you told me the truth, so I'll keep this between me and you, but I think it's best if you don't leave the house for a couple days. The shop is opening on your birthday, so that's where you'll be after school, helping me run things, you hear me?" She basically put me in check, and all I could do was nod.
"Yes ma'am, I hear you."
"Good. You're lucky you made it here before your father, or your punishment would've been a whole lot worse. Now gone upstairs and get ready for school tomorrow. "
"Alright, goodnight. I love you mama." I said, standing up, and leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.
"I love you too, goodnight." She said, then I was on my way.
When I got to my room, I dropped my book bag at the door, ran over to my bed, and threw myself face first onto the peach colored down comforter. I rolled onto my back, and stared up at the ceiling for a second, thinking about the crazy night I had. I remembered that I was going to tell Renae everything that happened, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and turned it on. I put my passcode in and instantly became confused when I saw that it unlocked in my notes app. On my screen there was a note that read,
"209-553-6709 here's my number. You can text or call me any time. -Jax"
Even though I was melting on the inside, a part of me wondered how in the hell he managed to unlock my phone without knowing the passcode. I went ahead and saved his number under Prince Charming, and sent him a text saying,
"Hey, it's Elise. You mind telling me how you got in my phone when I didn't give you the code?"
He didn't text back right away, so I decided to text Renae and tell her that we needed to talk. She was most likely asleep at the time, so I didn't expect a response from her. Jax on the other hand, had me staring at my phone for a good five minutes, before a text popped up on my phone.
"I have my resources... How did things go with ur mom? She didn't look happy when she opened the door, and I saw her snatch u up when I pulled off lol."
"Yeah, she was pretty pissed, but I told her most of the truth about what happened, and she just grounded me for the next 2 days. Nthing major."
"So she has u on lock down for ur bday?" As soon as I read his text, my ears perked up to the sound of the front door opening.
"Hey honey. How was work?" I heard mom ask, as I listened closely.
"Same ole same ole. Where's Elise? Did she have her tail at home when she was supposed to?" He asked.
"She's upstairs probably sleeping now. Everything's alright, don't worry." She told him. I smiled to myself, glad to see that she really had my back. I went back to texting Jax, and told him that I would be working at mom's shop on my birthday if he wanted to come see me. We texted back and forth for hours, and Jax confessed to me that he liked me, and I seemed pretty mature for my age. I asked him what he was going to do about liking me, and he told me that we would just have to wait and see after my eighteenth birthday. I knew he didn't want to get in trouble for messing with a minor, and I totally understood. Especially with my dad being a cop, I knew that could only end badly for Jax, and I didn't want that.
Renae ended up calling me to see what I wanted, and I put her on speaker, so I could talk to her while texting Jax.
"What's up? You said we needed to talk?" She asked. Her voice was bubbly, per usual and she didn't sound tired, which was good because I was about to talk her ear off.
"Girl, you're not gonna BELIEVE what happened to me today!"
Yassss! Two chapters in one day for my readers! I feel bad for not updating in three months, but that's because I've been so busy with school and work, that I just haven't had time. It's hard trying to get good grades, work full time, stay fit, write fanfiction, all while trying to maintain a stress free life lol. Enough of my rambling though. Thank you again, to my readers and those of you who leave reviews, letting me know you enjoy my story. I won't be updating until I gain a little bit more interaction. Don't want to feel like I'm wasting my time writing this story.
-Honey
