A/N: Here is a new chapter for you guys, let me know what you think of the chapter.
Also officially the actress for J.T. is Imogen Poots (Tammy from 28 weeks later) I changed her since I wanted to make her look a little older and Sabrina Carpenter wasn't doing that for me
Deciding against heading immediately for Georgia, J.T. decided to go find her mom. She figured that it would throw Juice off of her trail a little bit and it would give her some answers, like why her mom wanted to see her and if she wanted J.T. back. The address in the file Stahl had shown her said that AnnMarie lived in Texas. Her phone kept ringing different people from the club calling along with Destiny, Lena, and her siblings. She ignored the calls and texts, keeping her eyes on the highway in front of her.
Several hours later J.T. was pulling in front of a nice Texas house. She got out of her car and walked up the path to the front door, taking note of the toys scattered across the lawn. She knocked hard on the door taking a step back when a large man opened it up
"Can I help you miss?" he asked in his thick Texan accent
"Um, I'm looking for my mom, this is the address I got for her," she told him
He opened his mouth to reply when a female voice interrupted him
"Honey who is it?" it said, opening the door
It was none other than AnnMarie herself
"Well this little lady is looking for her mom, said this is her address" he answered
"Yeah this is where I can find her," J.T. said staring at her mom
"Well, I sorry to say that it's not correct. My husband and I have lived here for years and unfortunately I don't have any daughters" AnnMarie said
"No?" asked J.T. her voice slightly wavering
"Mommy mommy! Ben took my ball!" came a little voice
J.T. looked past her mother and stepfather to see two little boys chasing each other. They looked a lot like J.T. did as a child
"I'll get them," said the man
He went to corral the kids into the kitchen, leaving J.T. and her mom alone
"Cute kids" whispered J.T.
"Thank you, they are" AnnMarie replied "Now look, my husband doesn't know you exist and I plan on keeping it that way, so don't come here again"
"Was that what you were coming to Charming for? To tell me not to speak to you ever again, that you had a new family?" J.T cried
"Exactly. Now go" she said closing the door in J.T.'s face.
Tears rolled down J.T's face as she walked back to her car. She looked back and saw through the window her mother and her new family sitting around a table, passing plates around. An intense anger surged through her, she reached down and picked up a rock hurling it at the window, causing it to smash. Not wanting to stick around for the aftermath she got into her car and sped off, going back on the highway going to Florida. Within a few more hours she arrived at her brother's shop in Miami, the co-owner Peter coming out to greet her.
"Hey Jude!" he sang
"Peter Peter pumpkin eater!" she replied
He stopped in front of the car and popped open the hood "How's my baby?"
"Running smooth, but she hasn't been able to really hit top speed lately" she answered
"What have you been doing?" he joked
"Trying to stay out of trouble, but it seems that trouble just loves my company" she replied sarcastically
"Yeah your brother called me, told me you would be coming by"
"My brother? How did he know?"
"I don't know all I know is that I got a call from him saying that something happened where you were and that you'd more than likely come back here"
"He was right" she took out the keys and held them out to him "Need the truck"
"What? Why can't you take the car?"
"Because people are looking for the car. Plus the backroads near the trailer would wreck the car"
"I see your point. But why don't you just stay here? I can hook you up with some work and you can crash in the spare room upstairs"
"I appreciate it, I do. But I just need to go home, get my head clear. I found some ranch work"
"Where did you find ranch work?" he asked
"One of the Kingston farms" she answered with a shrug
He nodded and took the keys from J.T.'s hands "I'll be back with the truck"
He walked back into the garage and J.T. pulled her bags out of the car, then pulled out her phone calling an all too familiar number for the last time
"Hello?" Juice asked
J.T. just breathed, suddenly unsure of what to say
"J.T.? Is that you?" he asked
"Yeah. It's me" she finally replied
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Juice answered his phone, thinking that the number was one of his informants with some information of J.T. but when he was met with just breathing he knew it was her calling. He grabbed Jax by the collar of his shirt and put the phone on speaker
"J.T.? Is that you?" he asked
A Pause
"Yeah. It's me" she answered
Jax let out a sigh of relief
"Where are you?" Juice asked
There was the sound of sniffling "I went to see my mom"
She was crying, Juice thought "Where? Are you still there?"
"No, I left. She has another family Juice. She told me that she didn't want me to contact her anymore. She was going to come all the way to Charming just to tell me that" J.T. cried
"Oh Jude, I'm sorry kid"
"I tossed a rock through her goddamn window. What if Tara was right Juice? What if I'm unlovable and no one wants me? What if they really just keep me around long enough to feel good about themselves then they just pass me along"
Jax grabbed the phone "Jude none of that is true. I love you, the club loves you, Gemma, Destiny, Lena, your brothers, and sisters. They all love you"
"No you all lied to me. You don't lie to the people you love Jax!" she yelled
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to protect you. I'm not a good man and I didn't want you getting caught in the crossfire"
"It's a little late for that. Look I have to go, I'll keep in touch" she said
Before Jax or Juice could stop her the line went dead
"What did she mean by what Tara said?" Jax asked
"Tara said some awful shit to her at the hospital, after J.T.'s heart surgery. Apparently, she's been giving her shit for awhile" Juice told him
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she asked me not to, and I wasn't going to screw her over and lie any more than I already was! Plus when shit hit the fan I was more worried about her running her car off a bridge than you and Tara's goddamn problems!"
Jax growled but Juice just ignored him and pushed past him out the room, hitting his shoulder as he went
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOAS
The next few weeks were hell for Jax and the club. J.T. would send a letter with no return address letting them all know that she was alive and doing fine. Gemma was on the warpath with Jax and said that she wouldn't let up until J.T. came home. Destiny and Lena were making plans to move back to Anchor Beach since they knew that even if J.T. came back she would be put in a group home. After Donna was killed Opie decided to take off but he had no plan as to where to go.
His bike was packed and he was just about to head onto the road when his phone was ringing, the caller i.d. reading a restricted number
"Who is this?" he answered
"Christ Ope calm down, it's just me" J.T. joked
"Jude?" he asked
"Yeah, but keep it down will ya? I don't want anyone to hear this" she replied
"What's going on?"
"I heard about Donna, I'm real sorry man"
"Thanks. Was that it?" he asked
"Alright alright, I get you're tired of hearing it. But I'm extending an offer, and again you can't tell anyone"
"I got that, what offer?"
"Come down to the ranch I'm at. You can earn some side cash and try and get your head together"
Opie thought for a moment "Yeah alright"
"Ok, I'll text you the address. See you when you get here"
Opie hung up the phone and went to say goodbye to the club. They asked where he was going and he just replied that he wasn't sure yet. He set out onto the open road and by the next morning he was pulling up to the gates of Kingston ranch. He was directed to the horse stables, where he saw a now slightly older looking Jude lifting a bale of hay. One of the other ranch hands got her attention and pointed Opie out to her, she smiled when she saw him and tossed the bale to the side
"Hey, you're here" she greeted
"Look at you, how do you look older in barely a month?" he asked
"It was a stressful month. Had to grow up" she shrugged
He nodded his head and pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight to him. He finally released her and she wiped a few stray tears from her eyes
"So uh how is everyone?" she asked
"They're ok, they miss you. Jax is pissier than usual and Gemma's on a warpath until you come back" he answered
"If I come back" she replied
"Yeah if. Juice told Jax by the way. About Tara"
"What did he say?"
"He was pissed, told Tara off. Then a few days later they were banging in the dorms again"
"I figured. Beer?" she asked reaching into a cooler. He nodded and she handed him a bottle, popping the cap off another one for herself. "So that big ranch house you passed by is where I got you set up to sleep and eat, just when you go ask for Miss Julie she'll show you around. You'll get a few hundred dollars a week, but since you won't be here long a hundred or two a day. The work isn't bad, I'll show you what you have to do. Otherwise, you eat when we eat and sleep when we sleep"
"So what is this place?" he asked
"It's like a reform thing, they help bad kids and ex-cons do something productive with their time" she explained
Opie nodded and stood up "I'm going to get my stuff put up, then I'll come back and we can get started"
"Yeah, I'm just gonna have you help me move these hay bales out to the other stables"
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thick orange envelope "Here I almost forgot, this is for you"
"I thought I told you not to tell anyone you were coming to see me" she scolded, taking the envelope
"I didn't. Juice insisted that I take it though. For an idiot he can pretty smart sometimes" he told her walking away
She pulled out a stack of pictures and a letter from inside "Hey take your time man" she called to Ope
The letter read:
Dear Jude,
I know Opie is coming to see you, wherever you are, even though he denies it. I also had Juice hand him this envelope in case you saw it was from me and threw it away before you read it. I have a few confessions to make. Your mom did tell me that she was pregnant back when we were teenagers, but I had broken up with her to get back with Tara and your mom was always lying to get whatever she wanted so I thought that she was making it up to get me back. I swear that if I knew the truth, that she really was pregnant, I would've been there from the start for you. But the truth of it all is, is that until the day you moved to Charming I had no idea you existed. And I'm so sorry for that. What really happened is that the day Gemma and I met you and your foster family, she was suspicious since outsiders don't really move to Charming, so I had Juice look into all of you guys history. That's when we found out, after opening hospital records that you were my daughter. At the same time I found out all of the hell you went through and I felt angry and sad. I was sad because no one deserves to go through what you did, and angry at myself for letting it happen. If I had just looked into what your mother had said, I would've known that I had a baby girl, and I could have saved you from all the bad things that happened. But I didn't and I hate myself for failing you, and now failing Abel. I couldn't save you then and I couldn't save him either, both of you falling victim to bad mothers and an absent father. I can't do anything but apologize for that, but my apology extends to lying to you all this time as well. Like I told you, I'm not a good man. I'm an outlaw and a criminal. But I love you and I love Abel more than anything in this world and I would do whatever it takes to prove that to you and to give you both a better life. As much as it hurt me, and it hurt me every day, I let you stay with Destiny and Lena because I saw that even though you struggled sometimes, you were happy with them and they cared about you and gave you a good life. I couldn't just take you from that. This life can be dangerous and unstable, I couldn't let you get hurt. So I just never told you and let you work at the garage, and hang around with us so I could still be close to you. But as close as you were it never took the hurt away.
I remember the day that ATF agent Kohn was in Abel's room, watching him. You threatened him even though he could've gotten you into trouble, then you stayed awake all night, refusing to leave Abel's side because you needed to protect him. The only way I was able to get you to leave was to put the prospect on the door and drag you back to the clubhouse to sleep in my dorm. I think that was the most peaceful I've ever seen you. Then there was the day Abel got out of the toaster. You were there all day waiting until we go to take him out and hold him, and when the moment finally came you cried while I held and rocked him. I had you sit next to me in the rocking chair while you held him. Gemma watched and took pictures of us and I couldn't help but think that that moment was it for me. My two amazing kids and I together and everything was going to be ok.
I'm sorry that my mistakes cost us that. But I want to fix it. So please come home. I need you. Abel needs you. We all do. I'll give you space and time to think about what I told you, but just know the door is always open for you. Here. In your home.
I love you so much my baby girl.
Love, Dad (Jax)
J.T. finished the letter and wiped the tears out of her face. She wanted to toss everything away and run back to Jax and hug him and tell him that she loved him too and that she also needed him and Abel as much as they needed her. But there was a strong part of her that wanted to remain angry with him.
"Hey, you ok?" Opie asked putting a hand on her shoulder
She shook her head "I'm so confused Ope"
"About what? Jax?" he asked
J.T. nodded "He explained a lot and I just want to go home to them"
"So why don't you?"
"Because a part of me wants to be angry with him for lying to me and I made a life here that I don't know if I can just walk away from"
"How about this when I go back, come with me and we can sort it out from there" he suggested
"You're not gonna turn around and leave tomorrow are you?" she chuckled
"No, I'm not ready to go back yet" he stated "Come on let's get to work"
J.T. folded up the letter and stuffed it back in the envelope along with the pictures, tossing it into the glovebox of her truck and going to help Opie move the hay.
About a month later, Opie decided that it was time for him to go back to Charming, but J.T. just wasn't ready to do so. She told him that she would hopefully be along in a few weeks, but when the weeks passed she still wasn't ready to leave. She looked at the photos that Jax sent every day and read the letter over and over again. It caused her to be distant with Joseph, referring to him as 'old man' instead of 'dad' which made him angry, causing him to drink and use drugs more and hit her more often too. She had gotten a few calls from Opie saying that things in the club were getting bad and that she should talk to Jax. Then she got a call that Chibs was critical in the hospital after being blown up. The next call told her that all of the guys were in prison on gun charges. And the last call was that Juice had gotten shivved in the prison and was in the hospital and that the guys were all out on bail.
After that last call, J.T. packed all her belongings into her truck and called Ope to let him know she was planning on coming back the day after. He told her it was the best idea because LuAnne was killed and something was wrong with Gemma, that it would help them out when she got there. The day for J.T. to leave she went to wake up Joe to say goodbye but he remained unmoving on the couch
"Joe come on wake up" she yelled, shaking him. She checked his pulse, then began to panic when she couldn't find one
"Joe! Joe come on! Come on old man! Don't do this wake-up!" she cried
He still wasn't moving, and a now distraught J.T. called 911 for help.
Joseph Riley died the previous night from a crystal meth overdose. Vince wasn't allowed to go to the funeral, so J.T. had to deal with it alone. She ended up staying in the house for a bit longer, selling things and throwing things away. The house itself belonged to Vince so that wouldn't be sold but since he was going to be gone for so long and J.T. still wanted to go back to Charming she sold almost all of the contents with the exception of the things in Vince's old bedroom. All of her things were packed in her truck, ready to leave but she still felt stuck there. That is until she got a frantic phone call from Juice
"Juice what's wrong?" she asked
The answer froze her blood and took her breath away
"Someone kidnapped Abel"
A/N: Ohhhh holy shite! things are really hitting the fan. Joe is dead, J.T. is really fighting some demons and now Abel is gone. Let me know what you guys think and let me know how you feel about Jax and his letter to J.T.