"Get lost." I said to the blonde perched on Opie's thighs. She looked up at me and pursed her lips. I shifted my eyes to Opie who looked down right livid. I grabbed the girl's wrist and repeated myself. "Get lost."
"Don't touch me! First come, first serve." The blonde said with a smirk. I nodded and smiled.
"In that case, maybe you should take your own advice. Lyla, his wife, comes first." I growled and motioned back towards the bar. The girl traced her hand across Opie's chest as she stood up to try and back me down.
"Doesn't look like that's who he wants anymore." She hissed, leaning in towards me. I shook my head and brought my elbow to the side of her head with a thud. She jerked back and moved to shove me. I dodged her retaliation and took advantage of the open shot to her mouth. I sent my fist flying, twisting my fist to line up directly with her bleached teeth. I knew it would hurt us both.
"You stupid bitch!" She screamed as blood poured out of her mouth. I'd caught a tooth to my knuckle and it was busted open now but she'd also earned a chipped tooth and bloodied gums. She landed a solid blow to my stomach and it took my breath away. I grabbed a handful of her blonde hair and slammed her face down into the coffee table.
"Woah, killer." Happy was pulling me off of her as I slammed her face into the table for the fourth time. She rolled off of it, barely conscious as Happy held on to me. Opie shook his head at me.
"Trying to go back inside, Lennon? Jesus Christ. Jax, can you go get Tara?" Jax stood up with a groan and shoved past me to go get the good doctor for the whore.
"Maybe you shouldn't be a fucking man-whore like Jax and Dad. Your wife was literally less than twenty feet away!" I yelled, giving my hand to Happy who was wrapping a bandana around my busted knuckles. Opie shook his head and motioned around the club.
"It's part of the life, Lennon! You're the one who chose to stick around for it. If you can't handle it then maybe you should reconsider who's dick you ride." Opie snapped at me. Happy looked up at him with a glare.
"Not part of this, brother." His voice was even deeper than usual and I could tell he'd taken major offense to Opie's suggestion that he would cheat on me.
"No, Opie, it's not part of the life. The life is about sticking together and family. After all the bullets fall and the bikes are up for the night, it's family. That's not just for the men wearing the kutte, Opie. We're all in this. Stop using your dick as a weapon and be a decent fucking human." The room had gone completely silent as I yelled. I didn't even realize I was crying until I caught my breath.
Tara looked up from the broken whore and I noticed a softness in her eyes. Sure, what I had said didn't put my previous actions in the best light, but I was okay with that. I meant every word I said.
"She's right, Ope." Jax said with a shrug. Tara seemed surprised but didn't say anything as she continued cleaning the woman on the floor up. She was breathing and alert but her face was already swelling. I felt bad for taking it that far.
"Look, obviously you don't have anything forcing you to listen to me but you may want to think about your family. I'm not just talking about the kids and Lyla, Opie. This isn't who you are. Would Donna want you teaching the kids this is okay?" I stumbled as the back of his hand connected hard with the side of my face. His ring cut into my cheek and I could already feel the blood.
"Lennon, wait! Damnit, I'm sorry." Opie was yelling at me as I stormed outside. I knew Happy would follow me. I didn't care. I wasn't going far anyways. He gave me a few minutes alone before I heard him start climbing the ladder.
"You okay, Lennon?" He asked, lowering himself down to sit on the patch of roof next to me. I shook my head and took another drag of my cigarette.
"We used to come up here when we were younger. Sometimes it would be a good place to dodge chores and sometimes it was a good place to hide when Piney and our mom were fighting. It's the same roof, in the same town, but everything is different." I stood up and walked further towards the road, just looking out over the town.
"Nothing ever stays the same, pretty girl. Shit changes every day. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not." He was still sitting where I left him when I turned back to face him.
"How does that work, Hap? How do you go through day by day knowing that what's good can go bad?" I felt like waves were crashing down around me and I couldn't breathe. Happy stood up and walked over, cupping my face in his hands.
"Lennon, breathe. You're looking at shit all wrong. Bad can turn good to, baby. There's a lot of it that you can control. Fuck, good shit can get better. Look at this, Lennon. I'm serious. You and me, this is good and I'm not letting it get bad, pretty girl." He gave me a smile as I nodded and my chest started loosening. I took a deep breath and placed my forehead on his chest.
"I think I love you, Happy." I didn't risk looking up at him and wondered whether or not her heard me.
"Let me know when you're sure, pretty girl." He kissed the top of my head and stood with me for what felt like forever. Eventually, I looked up into his eyes and nodded.
"I love you, Happy." I kissed his lips gently before pulling away and heading back down the ladder. Happy followed but didn't say anything. He didn't have to.
"Lennon, come here. I'm sorry. I didn't even realize I hit you before it happened." Opie blocked my path to the dorms and grabbed my shoulders. I looked up into his eyes and shook my head.
"I don't care about that, Opie. Fix shit with Lyla. I'm tired of having a broken family." I ducked past him and headed for Happy's dorm, officially done with the night.
"Scoot over, bed hog." Happy growled a few minutes after I'd changed and gotten into bed. I smiled and scooted over a couple inches, earning a chuckle from him.
"You could have stayed out there, Hap." I watched him as he folded his kutte carefully before stripping his shirt and jeans off. He raised his brow when he noticed me watching him.
"What?" He rasped, pulling the sheets back and getting into bed next to me. I hitched my shoulder and rolled to my side so I could look at him.
"Thanks, for earlier." I said, tracing my finger over the large snakes on his chest. He nodded and turned his face towards me. I smiled and kept tracing his tattoo as I thought.
"You're welcome, Lennon." He snaked an arm around me and hugged me closer to him. I smiled.
"Are you cuddling?" I asked with a little laugh. He nodded and trailed his hand up and down my back.
"Only because I love you." He said as if he'd said it a million times. The comfort between us felt familiar and safe. Just what I'd been looking for in all the wrong places.
Author's Note: for the time being, I will not be continuing this story. I feel that I'm at a decent stopping point and do not have plans of continuing at this time. Thank you for all the support, as always!