Hey Guys! Thank's so much for all of the follows and favorites! I couldn't believe it when I logged back in. I apologize for the long wait! Believe it or not there are some places that don't have internet and my house is one of them! :D Anyway I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Leave a review and let me know what you think!
Rio's phone rang again for the second time that morning. Chibs was persistent. She huffed and covered her eyes before finally finding the courage to answer him.
"Hello?" She really wasn't sure what she wanted to say to him.
"Aye, thought ya might be avoiding me."
"No, I'm just… I was asleep."
"Ahh I kept ya up too late last night?"
Rio felt her cheeks flush as she grinned and shook her head.
"No. I'm fine." Rio didn't know why but she felt shy now. Like she had opened herself up too quickly.
"Well we're going on a charity run today."
"Yeah I know. I live at the clubhouse." Rio laughed as she pulled herself up and out of Opie's bed.
"Right well, I was wondering if ya wanted to come see us off." Chibs sounded hopeful and it made Rio feel terrible. She had asked him to leave last night after they had finished, and it clearly had hurt his feelings. He was trying to me patient with her and she knew it.
"I don't know if that's a good idea. Last night was fun. I mean it was amazing, but I don't think it should happen again. At least not…." Rio was cut off by his annoyed voice barking back at her.
"I'm not asking ya to come for that. I was just wanna see that face before we head out."
Immediately Rio felt like an idiot as she stepped out into the living room and walked into the kitchen. The kids were still asleep, so she figured she would make them breakfast before they woke.
"Oh okay. Yeah, I was gonna go to see Ope anyway, so I'll be there."
"Who's that?"
"Jesus Christ!" Rio screamed as she spun around and saw Opie standing behind her.
Quickly she hung up the phone and stared at her brother.
"How are you so big but so sneaky?"
"It's a gift. Who were you talking to?"
"Gemma. She wants me to help around TM and go see the guys off. She was calling to make sure I showed." Rio averted her eyes from her brother and opened the fridge to start the eggs.
"I don't know if I like you hanging around there. Tig is handsy as hell with you." Opie said sitting down at the kitchen table.
"Wrong one Ope." She thought to herself, but she just shook her head.
"I can take care of myself with Tig. I grew up with him. I know what he sticks it in…I'd be afraid of going there."
Opie just nodded. "Yeah well just be careful. We got enough shit going on, don't need none of our family shit causing anymore problems."
"What's going on Ope?"
"Club shit…Clay and Jax. Seems like a pull for power. I don't know." Rio just nodded back at him knowing that was where they needed to leave it.
"You want some eggs before the trip?"
"Sure. Mary should be here for the kids soon, so you can head to TM whenever you need to."
Rio smiled and continued cooking the scrambled eggs. She was sure Opie didn't suspect anything, but the thought of him finding out scared the hell out of her.
When Rio pulled up to TM her eyes immediately found him. He was sitting on the picnic table in just a wife beater and jeans. He had sunglasses on, so she couldn't tell where he was looking, but she was almost sure his eyes were on her car.
She pulled into a parking spot and couldn't bring herself to get out. Anxiety was pulsing through her chest, so she stared down at her palms and tried to calm her breathing.
"Calm the hell down." She spoke aloud to herself trying to snap out of it. What was it? Was it the fear of falling for him? Was it the fear of her family finding out and the drama that would follow? Or was it just the simple fact that he was sitting behind her and she didn't have the slightest idea what she really wanted.
A knock on her window made her jump and she looked up to see Gemma staring down at her.
Quickly Rio undid her seatbelt and opened the door.
"You know you could knock a little softer, so you don't scare the shit out me." Rio spoke slamming the car door shut.
"You've been in there for 5 minutes and didn't get out. Chibs got worried asked me to go check on you."
"Of course, he did." Rio rolled her eyes. She couldn't just have five minutes to have an anxiety attack without him, Opie or Gemma checking on her. She wasn't used to people paying that much attention to her anymore.
Gemma looked over at the Scott and back to Rio.
"There something I should know?"
"No. He's just…he cares about me. It's annoying."
"Well we all care about you. Do we annoy you to?" Gemma smiled as she turned away to walk towards the clubhouse, not bothering to wait for Rio's answer.
"Sometimes." Rio mumbled to herself as she followed.
She walked past him, and she could feel his gaze follow her into the clubhouse. She was giving him the cold shoulder, but she didn't know what else to do. Gemma and Jax were already onto her so she was afraid of someone else getting the wrong idea, or the right idea.
As she walked into the clubhouse she saw her father sitting next to Tig.
"Hey Pops." She said walking up to him and giving him a hug. They still weren't as close as they had been, but they were both working on it.
"Hey…where's your brother?"
"He should be here soon. Stopped by the house before the guy's head out."
Piney grunted in response and Rio took it as her que to leave.
She headed back to the dorm and collapsed on her bed.
A small knock came at her door and she groaned.
"All I wanted was five minutes Gem." She called out as she got up and walked to the door.
As soon as she opened it she regretted it. He walked in past her and shut the door behind them.
Opie parked his bike and walked directly into the TM office behind Gemma. He closed the door behind him and Gemma turned quickly, startled.
"Everything okay Ope?"
"Yeah…I mean not really. I know you asked Rio to help around TM. I heard her on the phone this morning."
Gemma eyed him curiously. She knew damn well she had not spoken to River this morning. Now she knew there was something going on.
"Yeah and?" She lied. She was going to find out more before she went and worried Ope about his sister.
"Well…I just don't want her around here too much. I want to help her get her own apartment. I want her to start her life. She's not stable…and we have so much shit going on. Chibs told me he's caught her sneaking liquor into the dorm. Found her drunk on the floor of the bar one night. I just don't think we are good for her. I don't want her to go through what Donna did."
"She won't. I agree that she needs to get away from the clubhouse and find an apartment, but she doesn't need to be away from us. You're right she isn't stable. She needs us. We can't let her run away again."
Opie nodded knowing that Gemma was right.
"Will you just keep an eye on her while I'm gone. I don't want her doing anything she'll regret in the morning just because she's hammered."
Gemma nodded at Opie as he turned to walk out of the office. She knew that Rio was struggling, but she was going to find out if Rio was finding comfort in the old Scott.
"Chibs!" Rio hissed as quietly as she could. "What are you doing? What if someone see's you?"
"Is that really it? Ya don't want people to know? Or are ya just afraid of the way I made ya feel last night?" He walked into her and she backed away from him.
"No. Opie almost caught me talking to you this morning. Jax saw you walk out of here yesterday and Gemma is totally onto us. Ope made it clear that he didn't want me fraternizing with his club. You know I have to respect that."
"Aye. You should, but you haven't." He walked closer to her again this time reaching out for her hand.
"When I get back from this run. I want to take ya on a date. I'll even ask Piney and Ope if ya want me to."
Rio shook her head and yanked her hand from him.
"I'm not ready."
"Ya were last night."
Rio turned to him and glared. She knew what she had to do, and it hurt, but it would ultimately mean protecting her brother. It would mean protecting all the club members…even if it tore her apart.
"No. I wasn't ready for this clingy bullshit. We fucked. I asked you to leave when we were done. I didn't expect you to call. I didn't expect you to want more than a lay. You don't know me. I don't date. I fuck then it's over. You weren't the first guy I kicked out of my bed and you won't be the last."
She could feel herself shaking as she watched the hurt in his eyes. She was doing this to him just like she knew she would but hoped she wouldn't have to.
He stared down at her, his eyes dark with anger. She had never seen him like that and it chilled her.
"Ya know it wasn't just a fuck." He stepped close to her. "But I'm not going to play these mind games with Ya. Ya figure this shit out… I ain't gonna be here to help ya…crazy bitch."
With that he turned and stormed out of the dorm slamming the door behind him.
Rio screamed as she hurled the lamp from her bedside table into the wall across the room. She hated herself. She hated him. He was right, again and she needed a drink.
The guys would be back from the run today. There hadn't been a minute of the day that Rio didn't spend thinking about him. Thinking about the club and what they were doing or thinking back to the night of the assault.
The whole time they were gone she struggled with her head and her heart. Gemma had questioned her, but she stood firm that there was nothing going on between them. She didn't want anyone to know what was going on, but when she heard the bikes pull up and Jax marched into her dorm she knew that something was off.
"Jesus Jax…what is going on?"
He looked down. His eyes had anger in them. It wasn't a look she was used to getting from him.
"You want to tell my why Chibs pulled some reckless shit, almost got himself killed?"
Rio looked at him dumbfounded. What had Chibs done that had been so bad? And why did Jax think it was on Rio to know why?
"I don't know why Chibs does anything."
"Oh, don't play this bullshit with me. Bobby saw him storm out of here yesterday morning before we left. He was in your dorm, left pissed off, then almost got himself shot. That's not him. He is always calm, follows my lead, but now he's taking shit into his own hands. Not to mention he was an asshole the entire time."
Rio looked away from Jax and stood up off the bed.
"We had a thing. I ended it. It was just a fling and he thought it was more."
"Opie knows?"
Rio spun around to look at him again.
"Do you think I would be sitting here if he did? He would probably kill both of us."
Jax smirked and shook his head.
"You two are going to drive me nuts before I ever get the gavel."
Rio rolled her eyes and went to walk past him, but Jax grabbed her arm and spun her around.
"He cares about you. You hurt him. I expect you to make that right."
She nodded at him and walked out of the dorm. He was telling her what to do like she was a goddamn old lady, but she knew he was right. Chibs couldn't be running around trying to get himself killed. It would put the whole club at risk, including her brother.
She walked out into the clubhouse and saw the Scott sitting on the couch with a croweater in his lap. A flash of jealousy came over her, but she quickly pushed it away. She had no right to be jealous after the way she had treated him.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Rio walked up and the croweater gave her a dirty look. "Don't worry princess. You can have him back as soon as I'm done."
As the girl stood to walk towards the bar Chibs stood up and huffed. He wasn't in the mood for this back and forth shit again. He had a shitty day no thanks to her.
Rio nodded towards the dorms and walked back, hoping he was following her but too scared to turn around and check. The door closed behind her she looked up to see him standing there. He towered over her and she felt so small in his presence.
"I'm sorry. Jax told me what happened."
"Not on ya. I can make my own shit decisions. That all?" He went to walk back towards the door and Rio grabbed his hand. His skin felt like fire against hers.
"No… I mean I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I hurt you."
"Don't worry about me. I'm a grown man, not some little boy who wants to play games. Ya made it clear what ya wanted and now I gotta accept it."
Rio felt broken at the defeat in his voice. She did want him. She wanted him so badly, but she couldn't get close to him and risk losing her family or hurting the club.
"Filip…. I did want you to stay that night. I just know it won't work. I told you before that the people who love me get hurt."
"Or they hurt ya. I saw that scar."
"He didn't do that to me. He would have died before he let someone hurt me. He did die because someone hurt me."
Chibs looked at her confused. He had no idea who she was talking about.
"I was engaged. I never told anyone. He was killed… because of me." Rio started crying and he instinctively pulled her into him.
She fell into his chest and let her tears fall.
"I get people hurt." She mumbled looking up at him.
As he stared down at her glassy eyes he knew that it wasn't over. He knew that he couldn't just walk away from her. He couldn't let her walk away from him. He would restore her somehow.
"Ya don't hurt people. Other people hurt ya."
Rio smiled and shook her head as she pulled away from him.
"You are too kind to me."
"Lass…ya know that since the moment ya stepped onto this lot there has been something between us. I want to see where it goes."
"I don't think it's a good idea."
"Ya don't have to think just feel."
With that his lips crashed against hers and he pushed her down on the bed. His hands ran up her body and cupped her breasts. He was hungrier this time, and so was she. She pushed his cut off of his shoulders and began pulling on his belt.
She was trying her best not to think about what might happen after this. She tried not to think about Carlos or her family. He kissed her roughly forcing his tongue down her throat as he pulled her jeans off. She tensed as he ripped at her pants, the familiar feeling sending her back into her trauma.
"Stop." She said grabbing his hands.
Chibs stared down at her. There was fear in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." He spoke softly and laid a kiss on her head.
"I want you, but right now I need you to be gentle. I need you."
Chibs kissed her softly and began to caress her again. He didn't want to scare her away, so he stood up and removed her pants and panties slowly.
"You are beautiful Rio."
She blushed as she watched him remove his clothes and climb back on top of her.
He entered her slowly and buried his face in her neck as she let out a small whimper.
"Where's Rio?" Opie asked Jax as he walked into the clubhouse. He had been calling her phone for the last hour, but she hadn't heard from her.
"Back in the dorms I think." Jax knew that Opie would catch Chibs and Rio in the room together, but it was something that had to be done. Besides with Opie putting all his focus on Clay he was hoping it would be a distraction.
Opie nodded and walked back towards the dorms. He knocked on the door loudly.
"Rio you in there?"
Rio was laying with her head on Chibs chest drawing circles on his stomach with her fingers when Opie banged on the door.
"Shit." She said grabbing her clothes off the floor.
"Calm down." He tried to comfort her as he reached for his clothes, but it was two late. Opie opened the door to see his sister naked with one of his brothers.
"What the fuck!?" He ran at Chibs as Rio screamed for him to stop.
She quickly pulled her pants on and ran to try to get her brother off Chibs. Soon the entire club was in the room yanking the two apart.
"Knock it off!" Clay bellowed as he walked in behind them. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Scottish prick is bedding my sister! Right in my goddamn dorm! Right under my fucking nose."
Clay looked between the three of them and Rio found herself ducking behind Juice. She was insanely embarrassed.
"Jax call Piney. Chibs and Opie chapel now."
Chibs looked over at her with pity in his eyes. She knew that something bad was going to happen and she was right. He hadn't expected Opie to become so protective over her. He grabbed her hand and kissed her forehead as he walked by.
"It'll be alright my love."
With that he followed Opie out of the room. Rio was stunned as she stood there in her bra and unbuttoned jeans.
"My love."
