Authors Note: I'M BACK! I finally managed to get this re-written. I had other things planned but I'm so tired of the boys being locked up I decided to do a re-write. My apologies for taking so long but by the next chapter we will be staring Season 4 with the boys getting out of Stockton. I hope you're still with me and this chapter wasn't too horrible. I kind of rushed it but I think it'll be worth it. Enjoy.
[Rory's POV]
I don't know what woke me up but the smell of blood and heavy duty cleanser were what I suspected brought me around. It was bright and I heard a steady beeping that was quickly driving me crazy. I couldn't open my eyes too wide without feeling the dull ache that made my head ache burn.
"Try and relax Rory." I recognized the voice. It was Margaret Murphy.
"W-what? What am I doing here?" I asked clearing my throat. Margaret held a straw to my busted lip and I took a drink of the water.
"Do you not remember what happened?" Margaret asked me as I struggled to sit up straight in the bed without pulling the IV's out of my arms.
"I don't remember how I got here, no." I rubbed my head and felt the bruises on my face and the throb of my head.
"Your neighbor called the police because your dog was barking so much. Sheriff Roosevelt's men found you. What happened?" Margaret explained as I quickly remembered what happened last night. I looked for my clothes or my cell phone but couldn't spot them.
"I've got to get out of here." I started to scramble but Margaret pushed me back.
"You aren't fit to leave yet. You have contusion all over and the results from your head scan aren't back yet. We need to make sure nothing has been re-damaged." She explained but I pushed back.
"I'm already fucked up, it won't matter." I threw the sheet off as Sheriff Roosevelt came waltzing in and putting his hands up.
"Whoa whoa whoa, Ms. Janowitz, where do you think you're going?" He asked blocking me from going further.
"I've got a birthday party I need to attend today so if you could-" He cut me off.
"Rory, they're out in the waiting room." Margaret spoke up and I glared at Roosevelt.
"Who the hell gave you the right to call them? I'm a big girl. I can handle my own shit." I yelled.
"Until we have a firm report of what happened, I cannot release you from police custody. Mrs. Murphy said that you just recently updated your family contact so that's who we called. It's no one's fault that they all showed up here." Roosevelt explained.
"You can't keep me here if I don't want to be here. There is nothing to report so where are my clothes." I caught sight of my face in the mirror and froze. Both of my eyes were blackened and swollen and I had a busted lip and cuts on my cheeks that were also swollen. I brought my hand up to my face and felt a bit faint. That's when I noticed my ring was missing.
"Where is my ring? Is it with my clothes? WHERE IS IT!?" I started yelling and the door opened as Gemma and Tara entered.
"Rory you need to lie back down." Margaret sat me down on the bed and Gemma practically pushed her out of the way.
"Jesus Christ." She breathed helping me back in the bed.
"I need to find my ring! It's important." I said putting my hand on my forehead.
"Where is her stuff?" Gemma looked at Roosevelt.
"It's being processed but there wasn't a ring in the bag. The only jewelery in the bag was a necklace, some earrings and a bracelet." Roosevelt read his notes and I felt tears coming on.
"He took it. Son of a bitch." I whispered and he stepped closer.
"I need to get your statement. Do you know who did this to you?" Roosevelt asked as Gemma sat on the side of the bed holding my hand.
"I fell down the stairs." I said without looking at him.
"Your house is a one level. You can tell me who-" I cut him off.
"I fell down the stairs. This was an accident and no one is responsible for this but me. Did you get your statement?" I asked meeting his eyes. He pursed his lips and stepped closer to the bed.
"Despite what you grew up thinking, I am trying to help you here. We can investigate and get the guy that did this to you." Roosevelt tried to get me to trust him but I knew he came to Charming hell-bent on ending Samcro. He wouldn't be able to give me the kind of justice I was looking for.
"Thank you for your concern Sheriff Roosevelt but it was merely an accident. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to rest now." I said firmly. He shook his head before walking towards the door.
"As soon as the hospital says you can be released, you can stop by the station and collect your things." He shoved his notepad in his chest pocket before walking out of the room.
"Rory-" I cut Margaret off.
"Can you give us the room please?" I asked as she looked at Tara and Gemma before exiting.
"What the hell happened?" Gemma asked sternly and I sighed.
"After Op dropped me off last night, I walked in hearing Max barking his ass off. I barely got two feet in when I noticed the back door was opened. He came out of nowhere before I could get my piece and beat the hell out of me." I explained shifting uncomfortably in the bed making Tara walk over and start to inspect me.
"Who did?!" Gemma pressed.
"I know who did it but I'll take care of it. I don't need the boys doing anything stupid." I said looking at her. She was clearly upset about it.
"You look terrible but I'm going to have to see your brain scan before I can say how bad the damage is. Did he hit you in the back of your head any?" Tara asked as she looked at my arms where dark finger prints bruised the skin.
"Not that I can remember. He said something along the lines of having me walk around with scars so people would know I wasn't untouchable." I swallowed hard and Gemma jumped off the bed.
"You need to tell me who did this to you? Some fucker isn't going to get away with-" I interrupted her.
"HE WON'T!" I yelled feeling my head vibrate with pain.
"Rory we need to check your head. Please just relax." Tara urged.
"Listen, I will take care of this. I promise you that. Right now I just want everyone to keep this quiet. Juice can't know, okay? Promise me that." I said looking between the two.
"Fine but the boys are here." Gemma crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm sorry I ruined Abel's birthday." I remembered that they must have all been together when Roosevelt called.
"Don't worry about it let's just get you taken care of." Tara said as Dr. Cane came in.
"Jesu-" I cut him off.
"If you all keep calling me Jesus I'm going to get a complex. Let's get this scan over with." I said lying back and waiting for them to take me out of the room.
[Opie's POV]
The moment we got the call from the hospital I felt my heart drop out of my chest. We drove over to the house but it was roped off as a crime scene so they sent us away. I needed to see her. I needed to know how bad it was or I was going to lose my mind. We ran down the hall of the hospital as soon as Gemma walked out of a room.
"She looks like a train wreck. Both eyes are black and her cheeks are swollen. Tara's checking her over now but it's not good." Gemma shook her head looking upset.
"Did she say what happened? Who did it to er'?" Chibs asked out of breath.
"She says someone was in the house last night after you dropped her off. Beat the hell out of her and took her ring. I think she's more worried about getting that back rather than finding the son of a bitch that did this to her." She looked at me and I knew it was my fault. Rory got hurt again because of my stupid decisions.
"This is all my fault. I should have gone in with her." I said aloud closing my eyes. Gemma stepped closer to us.
"She says she knows who it was but she won't tell me. I trust that if you find out that you'll take care of it. No one does this to our family and gets away with it." Gemma whispered just as the door to the room opened and they started to wheel her out.
"Christ." Chibs said in a gasp. She looked terrible.
"We're taking her for her head scan. You all can wait in the family waiting room. It should take about an hour." The doctor with Tara said.
"I'm alright." She said looking at me but I could barely hold her eye contact without feeling like I wanted to rage. I fell against the wall as she rolled by and Chibs put his hand to his face.
"Did you see her face?" I whispered and he looked over at me.
"Don't take this on yerself, boy. We couldn't a've prevented this. We don't know enough yet." Chibs gripped my neck snapping me from my thoughts.
"That's my little sister, Chibs. Her fuckin' face is bashed to hell and you want me to be calm about this?" I raised my voice and some of Roosevelt's crew came walking down the hall.
"Come in e're." Chibs pulled me into the family waiting room with the others following us.
"Yeh gotta keep it together fer her. Rory girl is gonna need yeh." Chibs said as I sat on the table putting my head in my hands.
"Heads up." Kozik said from the doorway as Roosevelt strolled in with a smirk on his face.
"Well Ms. Janowitz is saying she fell down some stairs in her one floor home so I'm going to assume you all know who did this to her and are making plans to serve your own justice where you think it's deserved." His words made me fume.
"You're UN-fucking-believable." I caught his attention.
"Excuse me?" I said looking down at me as I sat on the table.
"There's a woman in there beaten to hell and because she's associated to the club it's justifiable?" I seethed.
"I never said that. It's merely understandable with this life-" I cut him off looking up at him.
"She's a certified nurse who also just rebuilt an old Charming business in honor of a respected, local veteran. She's got a degree and does charity for the town as well as helps in the children's wing of this hospital. Her life is about helping other people not getting the shit beat out of her." I informed feeling Chibs put his hand on my shoulder.
"I suggest if yeh don't av'e anythin' useful to say, yeh best be on yer way." Chibs told him and he stood there stunned for a moment before Unser came around the corner.
"I suppose you'll take it from here?" Roosevelt said to Unser before leaving the room. His men stuck around but he left us alone.
"I just got back from the house. My guy on the inside said that it wasn't a robbery because they didn't take anything but the living room is a wreck. They said that's where the…the beating took place. How is she?" Unser asked finally.
"Tara just took her to get a brain scan but she looks like-" I cut Kozik off.
"She doesn't look nearly as bad as the guy that did this to her is going to look when I get done with him." I slammed my fist down on the table.
"You gotta calm down son. Getting riled up isn't going to help her. She's going to need support right now." Unser said making me roll my eyes.
"What are we going to do about the guys? Are we going to tell them?" Kozik asked.
"Let's keep it under wraps til' we talk to Rory." Chibs said looking down at me. I nodded agreeing. I would lose it if I found out about this shit while locked up. There was nowhere to go to escape my anger.
"I'm going to take a walk." I got up abruptly and started walking around the hospital. I somehow found myself in the chapel that was there and took a seat in front. The chapel was empty but there were plenty of candles lit. I couldn't help but think back to when we were kids and sat in this very same seat with Rory when Thomas died. She held onto my hand and I couldn't get past the fact that her hand was so small in mine. I knew then I would always have a need to protect her from the world. We had grown up together and she had seen so much pain, so much more than I had and I was almost envious. She was so strong, so young and I had never truly experience have the pain she had I felt like I was weaker. People don't tell you that watching the ones you love go through painful things is so difficult. It's like you just have to learn to deal with the weight of it because it's not happening to you directly.
I didn't realize how long I had been in the chapel until Chibs came in to retrieve me. They had Rory's test results and were going over them.
"Yeh okay?" Chibs asked and I just nodded as we approached the doctor whose name tag said Dr. Cane as he was looking at X ray's with Tara.
"With the amount of repeated damage her brain has seen it's a wonder she's seen no real side effects yet." Dr. Cane said.
"What are you talking about? She sees things and just stopped getting crippling leg cramps a few months back." I explained and he turned towards me.
"I'm not sure you understand how severe her head traumas have been. She's lucky to be alive, let alone walking and talking. I know grown men that would have succumbed to the motorcycle injury." I felt my chest clench at the mention of that night. It's like every time something bad has happened, I could have prevented it. When she went to Belfast, when she went alone to Jax's that day, when I wrecked the bike and now this.
"Well what does all of this mean? Will she bounce back from this or what?" I asked clearing my throat.
"The blows to the face weren't meant to effect her brain so whoever did this to her wasn't intending on killing her. You can see they inflicted damage to her body and her face but not to upper or back of the head." He put pictures up on the X-Ray machine of her bruises and I flinched. I think Gemma was right when she said she looked like a train wreck. It was hard to look at. I turned away and walked towards the waiting room only to have Chibs follow me.
"I can't look at her like that. We have a lot of enemies but this was a sign. Who would torture her like that?" I asked out loud.
"We're gonna find the bastard, boyo but yeh gotta keep it together." Chibs hit my arm to snap me out of it but I just shook my head.
"I can't even go in her room and see her!" I raised my voice looking at him and Chibs gripped my neck again.
"Hey! Listen to me! She doesn't need fer yeh to be pissed off or pity er', she needs her big brotha. Go in there and hold er' hand. When she's ready to talk, we'll get the bastard for what he did. Alright?" Chibs talked me down. I leaned against the wall as Gemma walked out of the room.
"She's awake and asking about you." Gemma pulled me into a hug and I hugged her back.
"Find out who did this to our girl so it can be taken care of." Gemma and I had the same thing on our minds. All we wanted to do was end the guy who did this. I tried to keep what Chibs said in mind as I took a deep breath and entered the room. I couldn't even tell her eyes were open at first until I walked further in. She tried to smile but the split on her lip didn't allow much room for that.
"It looks worse than it feels." She said as I walked in closer.
"That's because they have you on enough pain meds to kill a horse." I mumbled moving towards the chair.
"Well the brain scan came back negative for anymore damage but the pain can induce headaches that could become a problem. They're going to give me more meds to control the pain but I think we may need to invest in a helmet." She joked and I couldn't understand it. She laid her hand up and I shook my head.
"You aren't going to hurt me Op. Just give me your damn hand." She said sternly and I hesitantly gave her my hand before sitting in a chair next to her bed.
"How can you be so calm about this? Have you seen your face? Rory, I feel like killing someone." I told her and she squeezed my hand.
"That's exactly why I won't tell you who did it. This isn't like all the other times bad shit has happened to me Op, this was mean to humiliate me. That doesn't haunt me or make me blame anyone, it pisses me off." She said simply.
"I should have gone inside with you." I said looking down at her hand.
"This wasn't your fault. You've never been responsible for me getting hurt Opie." She defended but I shook my head.
"Belfast? Cameron Hayes? Hell Rory, I crashed the bike that one-" She let go of my hand to put it up.
"I chose to go to Belfast and I chose to go to check on Tara alone without a vest on. As far as the wreck was concerned, you weren't the only one at fault. I could have gotten off the bike Opie. Why do you suddenly think all the bad shit that's happened to me is your fault? I grew up in this club too but that doesn't mean because you found out you're my brother that you get to take my stupid mistakes onto your shoulders. I fucked up and I'm going to fix it." She said sternly.
"How are you going to fix anything? You are on bed rest for the next week and I don't even know how I'm going to explain this to Jax-" She cut me off.
"You aren't. Once I get off bed rest, you can drive me to Stockton so I can tell him but other than that this stays between us." I felt my mouth hanging open slightly.
"You know I'm older than you right? The whole sibling thing means I call the shots here." I pointed between us.
"Why settle into those roles? I'm serious Opie. I can handle this one. I started it and I'm going to finish it." Her words made me think about what she was saying and I suddenly knew who had done it to her. She must have known I figured it out because she sighed.
"He transferred. I already asked. He'll be back though. He's smug not stupid. He'll wait until he thinks I don't expect him and he'll swoop in." The look on her face was venomous.
"How do you know it was him?" I asked her and she looked at me.
"House full of things he could pawn and he took my ring that he knew Juice gave me. That and there was one moment I got him so heated that he spoke and his accent slipped. I knew it was him as he beat me into unconsciousness." I gripped her hand again and she seemed to calm.
"When he comes back, we'll be ready." I reassured her. There was a moment of silence between us as she settled back into the bed.
"So how was the party?" Rory asked making me laugh.
"Gemma was bitching about how you hadn't shown up yet. I guess she changed her tune once she got the call." I explained making Rory chuckle.
"I bet. You know how much she lives for the drama." Rory rested her head back and looked at me through her bruised eyes.
"Do you ever think about leaving Charming? Just picking up and leaving all this shit?" I asked her honestly.
"A few years ago I would have said yes but now I just don't know. I've started so much here and Juice and I haven't had a lot of time to talk about life outside of Charming. Honestly, I don't think he'd leave the club." She said frowning.
"He could join another chapter." I pointed out and she made face.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" She asked confused and I shook my head.
"No I just...I hope one day I can see what life would be like outside of all this. Where people don't know where we grew up and what we come from. I know you got to do that in New York but I've never been able to escape this, even if it's just for a little while." I sat back in the chair and Rory kept her gaze on me.
"Maybe one day we'll take a trip. Just you and me. You can be Harry and I'll be Aurora and we'll just roam New York for a bit, no cuts or clubs." She said with sinking eyes.
"Get some sleep." I patted her hand as the meds started to kick in. I sat with her the whole night and watched her sleep. Nurses came in every once in a while but didn't bother her. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up with a start when someone put their hand on my shoulder.
"Don't stir boy, you'll wake her up." It was Piney. He looked down at Rory like he was stunned. I put my hand on top of his and gave it a pat.
"She'll be alright, Pop. She'll be alright." I promised him hoping it wasn't lying.
[Rory's POV]
It had been a week before the hospital let me out. Opie had barely left my side but when he couldn't be there Phil and Miles were. It was sweet that they were so delicate with me but I always had to remind them I wasn't going to break. It was a joke that no one really seemed to like while my face looked like a raccoon. I talked to Opie and Lowen about the plan I had in mind and they both agreed it was risky but if it could work. I put on a jacket despite the weather and threw on a huge pair of sunglasses that Gemma had gotten me. She suggested I have Lyla do some make up on me to cover up the cuts and bruises on my cheeks but I need Jax to know how serious I was about this plan. I walked slowly into the prison and everyone gave me looks of surprise. They knew who I was by now but none of them asked. The guard that let everyone into the room gave me a sad nod which I returned but I could tell he was sympathetic. I sat down at the table waiting for Jax to enter and I was starting to rub my hands raw with nervous. The buzzer from the door made me jump as the inmates walked in. Jax looked around and furrowed his eyebrows as he approached.
"Are you still recovering from you birthday or was Abel's party that off the charts that you are still recovering a week later?" Jax joked and I lifted my head showing him my busted lip and bruised cheeks. His smile disappeared.
"What the-" I cut him off.
"I need to show you something but I need you to promise me you'll stay calm. I have to get through a story and I don't want you getting in trouble before I can finish. Promise?" I said and Jax shook his head.
"What's going on?" He asked quickly as I slowly pulled my shades off. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he took it all in. I took a deep breath and reached out to push his chin up.
"W-what the fuck happened to you?" Jax had to clear his throat to get the words out.
"I was attacked." I said simply watching his expression harden.
"Who? Who the fuck did this to you?" He said through gritted teeth.
"I'm going to take care of that but I need you to do me a favor. It's kind of a big-" He cut me off.
"Fuck that. I want to know who did this to you right now." Jax demanded.
"For once in your fucking life will you trust me to handle something?" I said getting frustrated.
"Like you handled shit in Belfast?" Jax spat and I tilted my head at him. I went to get up and he pulled on my arm.
"I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." HE said quickly but I slammed my hand on the table.
"You're damn right you're sorry. I've taken care of my shit for years, including what happened in Belfast. I took years of abuse to keep my family alive, sacrificed myself for your son and old lady, so don't look at me and tell me I don't know how to handle my shit." I seethed at him and he looked down.
"It's not easy seeing you like this. How about you cut me some slack and throw me a bone. When did this happen?" Jax asked making me calm down. I sat back down.
"The night of my party, I went home and he broke in through the back door. Beat the hell out of me and took my ring." I waved my hand and he glanced at it.
"Max was barking so much the neighbors called the cops and they found me. I was released yesterday from the hospital." I said seeing Jax shake his head.
"Explains why Tara's been so busy." Jax said laying his hands on the table.
"I told her that I needed to tell you in person. I'm sorry for making her hide it from you but it wasn't her secret to tell." I said honestly. Jax took my hands in his and rubbed them gently.
"I bet the guys are losing their minds about it. Have you told them who did it yet?" Jax asked.
"I told Opie and he said he would let me handle it. He hasn't left me alone since it happened though. Something tells me I'm going to have a permanent shadow with a cut from all the prospects looming around." I joked but Jax didn't laugh.
"So Op knows and you want a favor from me. Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this? Not that I'm in love with the idea of you keeping a secret about someone kicking your ass or anything." Jax said making me look down at our hands.
"It's hard enough having everyone at home look at me like this. I knew it was going to be a struggle for you to see me like this when you're stuck in here but I would rather come to you about this then Clay." I said uneasy.
"I'm listening, Ar." Jax pushed.
"I-I can't have Juice see me like this. When I took the beating from Cameron, it destroyed him. He barely left my side to take care of himself and I'm afraid of he finds out that this happened-" Jax cut me off.
"He'll do something stupid like get himself killed." He finished.
"I know you all have to vote on things but I don't want the others to see me like this either so you'll just have to sell it to them." I said and Jax furrowed his brows confused.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" He asked.
"I want you to get into a fight. Nothing too crazy of course. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to any of you but Lowen said that they would probably take away your visitation for the next three months since you're on track to leave on time. A minor fight could take that away and not make you do the additional time." Jax looked a bit caught off guard.
"I know its a lot to ask Jax but I've helped the club as much as I could since you've all been inside and I know this was my fuck up but-" He gripped my hands tighter.
"Hey, you helping the club doesn't have anything to do with this. This is a family thing. I will talk to the guys but I'll make sure Juice is taken care of. You gotta promise me that you'll take a picture of my boys every day so I can catch up when I get out of here." Jax smiled and I shook my head.
"We've come this fair and I don't want anymore shit to keep you guys in here. I need a serious vacation." I said making Jax laugh.
"Thing's are going to be different when we get out Ar, I promise you that." He stroked my hands and I sighed.
"I'm pretty sure you aren't the first to have said that Jackson but I sure as hell hope you mean it more than the others." I said hopeful. The buzzer went off and I jumped slightly making Jax frown at me.
"I'll take care of this, you just take care of yourself okay?" He leaned forward to give me a kiss but saw how battered my cheeks were so he kissed my lips softly.
"Thank you Jax." He got up from the table and went towards the guard stopping to give me one last glance at me giving me a nod. I got up from the table and walked out to see Opie waiting for me.
"Ready to go home?" He asked and I nodded at him much like Jax had nodded at me. We drove in silence to my house and I felt exhausted. I walked through my front door and checked all the windows and doors like I had done since I got home from the hospital. I sat down on the couch and Opie sat next to me, putting his arm around me and hugging me to his chest.
"Just breathe." He said into my hair before kissing the top of my head. Max jumped up on the couch next to us and that's how we dozed off.
The room was dark but I knew where I was. It was the clubhouse. I couldn't hear anything but the air was dewy like being outside after a rainstorm.
"Opie?" I called out as I pushed through the doors to the chapel only to see it lined with long, black caskets from wall to wall. They were all empty but as I touched the dark wood I felt a hard pain in my head and I had to close my eyes. When I opened them back up the caskets were filled. I dropped to my knees looking at Jax and the rest of the boys lying motionless in the dark caskets but it was when I heard his voice that I looked up.
"Rory?" I moved around the caskets to the one on the end and saw it was Juice. I could hear myself crying but all I could feel was myself trying to get closer to him and not getting anywhere.
I jumped off of Opie when the phone rang and he woke up confused. It was now dark out as I got up to get the phone.
"Hello?" I said clearing my throat.
"Hey did I wake you?" It was Juice.
"Uh yeah but it's okay. Opie and I were working in the house and took a break. Must have passed out. Is everything okay?" I asked walking back to the bedroom.
"I've got some bad news but I don't want you to be mad." Juice said and I raked my hand through my hair.
"As long as you are all okay then I won't be upset." I said honestly.
"No no just a little banged up. We got into a fight during basketball with some Mexicans. We came out on top but Lowen said in order for us to get out in three months we'd have to do it without visitation. It'll keep the feds off our back." Juice explained.
"Well I guess we'll have to just talk on the phone for the next three months. It'll give me time to work off some of this weight I've gained." I teased feeling an ache in my side.
"Shut up, you're gorgeous and you know it." He laughed. There was a moment of silence and I sighed.
"I'm sorry about all this." Juice said making me feel guilty.
"Don't be. It'll make seeing you in three months so much more joyful if I can't put my hands on you." I said making him chuckle.
"If it wasn't for that stupid wedding then I'd just lock us in the house the first week I'm out." Juice said making me smile.
"That would be perfect." I said looking at his picture on the nightstand.
"I love you Rory." He said softly.
"I love you too. Stay out of trouble okay?" I said.
"You too. Talk to you in the morning." Juice said before hanging up. I let out a breath and reached under my pillow where I had hidden a gun.
"I take it, it's done?" Opie said from the doorway and I nodded. He walked over and leaned against the dresser to look at me.
"When he comes back I'm going to be the one to do it. This is my mess and I'm going to clean it up." I said feeling the weight of the gun in my hand.
"Are you sure?" Opie asked and I thought about how Aiden had come into my life and started shit with my family, blinding me and trying to turn me against them, causing problems with Juice and thinking it would just be looked over that he put his hands on me.
"I've never been more sure of anything. He's going to die and I'm going to be the one to kill him." I said sternly looking up at Opie. He gave me a look of understanding and I knew that he knew I was dead serious.
84 DAYS LATER (ALMOST 3 MONTHS)
The first month after the attack was spent with everyone babying me. When I finally went back to work at the hospital it was a bunch of little tasks but I did them without complaining. The last of the gym equipment arrived heading into the second month and I went back to planning the grand opening which would fall a week before the boys got out. I also spent the second month planning on Aiden's return. The babying turned into strange looks that made me feel slightly psychotic but I didn't care. I was going to be ready this time. When Gemma asks you if you need to talk, you know you've gone a bit too far on the dark side.
When the grand opening finally rolled around I felt his eyes again. He watched from a distance and I could feel it. I watched everyone move around in the gym, looking at the remodeling and the old pictures on the wall. People sighed up left and right before putting money in the donation box. Opie bumped my arm and I realized I was lost in my thoughts while giving a speech.
"Sorry I guess I was just thinking back over the last year and half at how far we've all come. It's not just this gym but this town. I grew up here and every day I think about what it is that makes Charming home. It's not just a name engraved into a piece of wood just at the end of our town borders. Charming is all of us. It's the shops that are run here by men and women who have lived here their whole lives. It's the children that play in the streets and know that they are safe." I saw Roosevelt walk in with his wife and a few of his officers.
"I know that you all want to turn your back on what this community has always been made of but I want you to remember that no matter how bad tings have gotten, the good of Charming has always been the first priority. Don't let new comers make you think they are here to make things better. We've always been a town that takes care of our own and we will continue to do that. I promise you all that as long as we remember that the heart of Charming is made of a piece of us all, we'll make it through anything. Thank you all for coming and please enjoy yourselves." Everyone clapped and Roosevelt laughed as he made his way over to me.
"That was some speech. It appears your town doesn't seem to hate authority as much as you'd hoped." He said smugly.
"I don't hate law enforcement." I said simply.
"I'm going to start taking it personal then." He said but I stepped closer to him.
"I hate that you've come into my town and acted like you are here to protect these people when really you just want to take the club down. You are no different from every other person who's spit that game here and look at where they ended up." I said through my teeth so I didn't cause a scene.
"How can someone who grew up around chaos, who was literally beaten to a pulp not even 3 months ago back something so hard. What has this club ever done for you?" He asked confused.
"They're my family. Through the good and the bad. Would you leave your wife if things got rough?" I asked and she looked at me.
"That's what I thought. You two have a nice evening. I've got some thing to attend to." I moved towards the back room and nodded to Opie who took Chibs, Kozik and the prospects out front. When I heard them drive away I hit the button to the storage unit under the gym. I walked over to the cellar shelf and I heard him chuckle.
"I thought they'd never leave." It was Aiden. I turned around slowly and looked at him as he left the darkness of the cellar.
"It's about time you've come out of your hole. I was starting to think you had run scared." I said watching him carefully.
"Nonsense. I've been around. I see you've healed up nicely. I know your boy toy gets out this week and figured I would leave him a present to cmoe home to." Aiden waved a knife around and I laughed.
"You know, it's funny because I was hoping that we could end this peacefully but then I realized that you're a lacky with a bitter agenda." He looked at me slightly confused.
"I've been doing my research too. I should have known you were one of Jimmy's men. I would be bitter too if my boss got ganked by a woman." I saw Aiden lock his jaw.
"You know, I was going to just have fun with hurting you but I think killing you will be more enjoyable." He came at me with the knife and I knocked it out of his hand. We wrestled for only a few moments before I took his knife and stabbed his arm into the ground. He let out a scream and I used my own knife to stab his other arm into the ground. I was straddling him when the boys came in through the back to see I had him pinned down.
"You see the one thing you forgot about me is that Jimmy spent a whole year torturing me so I know his tricks. That son of a bitch is dead and everything that goes with him is dead to me too. You are merely a loose end. You should have just walked away. I'm not the girl Jimmy used to torture anymore. I'm the one that should give you nightmares, I'm the one that will leave you scared and broken. I'm the one with nothing left to lose." I growled at him as I took another knife out of my boot.
"You want to be closer to Jimmy? Here you go." I stabbed Aiden square in the chest. His eyes went wide and he started cough blood.
"Tell Jimmy I said Hi." I leaned on the knife and Aiden's head rolled to the side. I sat there for a few moments before Opie knelt down.
"Rory, it's over." Opie put his hand on me and I looked up at him.
"Come on Rory girl. It's time to go." Chibs put his hand out and they helped me off of Aiden's dead body. Miles handed me a towel to wipe the blood off my arms.
"Where did you want us to dump the body?" Kozik asked Opie but before he could answer I stepped in.
"I got the acid. Use the bins and ship it to Belfast. Let them know that if they still have a problem then they know where to find me." I tossed the towel into the bin of acid before walking out of the room. I know the boys were probably still standing there in shock but I was done with my past. Juice was out at the end of the week and I planned on doing exactly what Jax had said. It was time to make a change and I'll be damned if I let my past sneak up on me again.