Okay guys, hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Again, as always, please take the time to leave some feedback! Thanks in advance. ~Shannon


Jax:

I had returned Autumn's phone to her, and was hoping she would text or call to say everything was alright. Of course nothing was alright. I now had pending assault charges only a few weeks before my son was to be released from the hospital, and nothing could prepare me for the phone call I received the morning after Autumn left.

I had been sleeping and my phone awoke me. I answered without delay, having already been disturbed I wouldn't be going back to bed.

"Yeah." I said into the cold phone. I hadn't been expect Unser's raspy tone so early in the day.

"Jax." He said clearing his throat, "There seems to have been a problem at the hospital. Wendy is dead." His chilling words washed over me, shocking and awakening me.

"How?" I asked, she had been fine the day before.

"Overdose" she replied bluntly. Of course, I couldn't be surprised. Wendy probably called someone to bring it to her, just so she could shoot up in the hospital bed. I was disgusted, but not grieved for I had been so angry. Now I was just a mound of hate with no one at which to direct my fire.

"Where did she get the drugs?" I inquired. My mother did not respond for a moment.

"She must have had them delivered." She vaguely replied. I chose not to delve any further.

"I'll call you back." I said before ending the call without waiting for a response. I had to get up and go to the clubhouse. This news was not something I would deal with right now.

I stretched my arms above my head and exhaled a long yawn. My nose tingled and my eyes began to water. I whipped the covers away from my body and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I ran my fingers through my hair as I stood up and went to the bathroom.

The first leak of the day is always so refreshing, I thought as relieved myself. I washed my hands and face before brushing my teeth. The minty goodness tingled as it cleaned my mouth and freshened my breath. I spit and wiped my face with a clean white towel.

When I had finished my morning routine I returned to my room to get dressed. Opening the first drawer of my dresser, I retrieved a white cotton shirt from the stack of folded tees and pulled it over my head. I went to the closet and donned the first pair of jeans I saw. They were old and holey. I stuck two fingers through the one next to my back left pocket and shrugged. My gun holster hung on my door hook beneath my cut. I reached for both of them and began to situate my leather to fit the way I liked. I made sure to grab a pair of socks and my shoes before heading out of the room toward the kitchen. I sat at the table to finish dressing before standing and moving toward the refrigerator. A bowl of cereal was just what I needed. The milk was good and cold.

The tasty crunch helped to kickstart my day. I wondered what Autumn was doing at 7 AM on a Monday and decided to text her for the first time since she left.

HOPE I'M NOT WAKING YOU, SWEETHEART. EVERYTHING OK?

I typed, at first, but then I backspaced the 'sweetheart' and hit the send key. When she replied almost instantly I was relieved and surprised.

I'M AWAKE. HAVEN'T REALLY TALKED 2 DAD. HE WAS WASTED WHEN I GOT HOME.

Of course, so we still didn't know how this would all blow over. I sighed and began pecking the letters out on the screen of my iPhone.

KEEP ME UPDATED. ARE YOU GOING TO SCHOOL?

Seventeen, I thought to myself, Goddamn, I'm stupid. I put my phone in my pocket and checked around to make sure I wasn't leaving anything as I always did before I left my home. My wallet was perched on the edge of the counter the same as I left it the night before. I tucked it into my inner cut pocket and felt another vibration on my rear.

YES. I HAVE TO WALK MY SISTER TO HER FRIEND'S HOUSE AND THEN TO SCHOOL.

I had forgotten about the little sister. I struggled to remember the name she had mentioned and eventually shrugged.

WHERE DO YOU DROP HER OFF?

I was hoping to catch her on my way to the shop even if I had to go a little out of the way; Charming is only so big.

CANTERBURY STREET

I smiled, Canterbury Street was only 3 blocks from the shop. I could give her a ride to school and still make it to the clubhouse before the guys sat down at the table.

I'LL MEET YOU AT THE END. 5 MIN.

I shoved my phone deep in my pocket and headed toward the door, locking it as I stepped out into the fresh morning sun. My bike roared to life as I cranked it and placed my helmet on my head. I pulled out on the road cautiously before hauling complete ass to Canterbury Street. The wind felt wonderful against my body.

As I approached the end of the road I saw her standing in a pair of black pants that fit snug against her slender teen body and a tailored white button down polo bearing the Charming High insignia. Her hair was down and in her face and she wore a red backpack. I slowed my bike to a halt in front of her.

"Hey you." I said casually giving her a smile. She responded with mile wide grin and proceeded toward me. I stood so that she could get on my bike and unlatched my helmet to give to her.

She gripped her arms around me tightly after securing her helmet. I took that as her indication she was ready. She tightened her arms around my waste as we rolled down the street a few blocks until we reached the school. There were students walking in from all directions. I pulled into the parking lot and killed my bike. I reached into my pocket for my phone. 7:55. I still had five minutes before the bell rang. I hopped off the seat to help her down.

"Thanks for the ride, Jax." She said, my name rolling like smoke off her tongue.

"Anytime, babe." I replied, extending my hand to her as she unsteadily returned to the ground.

"I will probably be grounded when I get home today. If I don't respond to your texts, just meet me at the gate of your clubhouse tonight at midnight." I was shocked when she said she would meet me again tonight. I expected her to be more subservient of her father's punishment. Her rebellion, however, seemed almost sexy. She unclasped my helmet and handed it back to me, staring into my soul with her massive green eyes.

"I guess I will see you tonight then, sweetheart." I told her, giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek and then hopping back on my bike. I watched her walk to the entrance of the school before actually leaving.

Upon arriving at the clubhouse a couple minutes late for my shift in the shop, my mother approached me before I could even make it through the door.

"Have you been to the hospital yet?" she asked. I rolled my eyes, having banished that news to the back of my mind.

"No, I'm not going. She was not my wife anymore, she tried to kill my son, and her life was of no more value to me." I replied trying to push past her.

"Say that to the wrong person and they'll be saying you slipped her that needle." Her voice rang in my ears as I walked away.

The shop lights were up and our first customer of the day was a young girl with a blowout. I walked toward her and extended my hand.

"Jax Teller, can I help you with that?" I asked pointing to the tire. She smiled and gave a nod.

"Thank God you guys were open so early. I might still be able to make it to my appointment on time thanks to you." She said with a grin. I gave her a once over. She was pretty, with golden hair and sea green eyes. Her classic 50s style halter dress held up two perfect melons, accentuated her trim waist and flared outward ending at her knees.

"Of course, this kind of thing happens all the time." I replied, pulling the tire off, checking the size, and dropping it by the tire machine on my way to the storeroom for a new tire. I opened the door to the room and was assaulted by the smell of new rubber. Where's the fucking lightswitch? I thought, feeling around in the dark until I found and flipped the switch. It had been a long time since I pulled some hours in this shop and with Lowell out sick, it was time for me to do my share in picking up the slack. I finally found the size I needed and retrieved it from the rack, hurrying out to get this done so I could make it to the table.

She stood there, impatiently leaned on her car inspecting her nails when I walked out of the storeroom and over to the tire machine.

First I separated the old tire from the rim, and moved it onto the clamps to begin removing the rubber. Using my crowbar hung on the wall beside the machine, I used a little leverage to lift the rubber over the rim and the separator. After rotating it once, the thick rubber covered the outside of the rim and it was time for the other side. I again used my crowbar and pushed the other lip over the separator once more and rotated another turn until the old tire slipped off. I replaced the ragged rubber with the new tire I had just retrieved.

When I returned to her car from the tire machine, she was gone. I glanced around the shop to see her across the way flirting with Juice. Damn whores. I thought to myself. I was glad that Autumn had more self-respect than to throw herself at every man she finds attractive.

Reattaching the wheel to the car was the easy part, getting her attention again after I was finished however..

"Miss," I said, placing my hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Oh!" she jumped, "you startled me." she breathed with a smile.

"I've got you all fixed up. Take this paperwork up to the office right over there and Gemma will take care of you." I told her, handing her the papers. She accepted them and thanked me.

I hurried to the table, everyone was waiting. Thankfully Juice had explained why I was late.

"Look who finally dragged himself in this morning," said Piney. I shot him a dirty look and seated myself beside Clay.

Autumn:

I knew it was stupid to let Jax drop me off at school. It drew more unnecessary attention to me. However, it made my story believable. No one would ever find out about what really happened. I sat alone at lunch, having been shunned by my friends. I watched across the commons at the small group of students everyone referred to as the outsiders. They were sitting in a circle, undoubtedly conducting some satanic ritual. The ring leader, Emilia, stood from her previously cross-legged state and stared directly into my eyes for a half a second before looking down at her minions. She wore a black cashmere sweater over her white button down and her rich black hair hung perfectly straight down her back. She never wore anything but mascara, she didn't need to. Her eyes were darker than the devil's heart and her pallor ghoulishly white. She surrounded herself with the misfits of our school; mostly emo kids and the occasional queer. She had been in the same grade with me at school for as long as I could remember, however I could only recall speaking to her once in the entirety of our knowing each other.

We were in the fourth grade and it was picture day, I was surprised to even see Emilia at school that day. She had been out of school for over a week due to the death of a close family member, her mother. Everyone in town knew Zuria Matthews slit her wrists in the bathroom of their home. No one expected to see Emilia so unaffected at school the week after. I complimented her on her braid, and she replied a blunt, but polite thank you and walked away. That was the first and only time I ever spoke to her. I, like most other students avoided her like the plague.

Her eye contact with me was strange, like she knew that I wasn't the girl I used to be. I felt bad about all that had happened. I wished I didn't have to lie to my father, but there's no comfort in the truth. I knew it was only my own paranoia, but I felt that somehow she knew I was a liar. I stood and decided to go to my locker to check my phone.

Walking toward the hallway, I felt eyes following my steps, watching me, judging me. When I finally escaped their gazes, I gave a sigh of relief. My locker was at the end of the 300 hall. I walked as quickly as I could without looking too anxious. Glancing in all the class rooms as I passed, I saw teachers mingling and students catching up on overdue assignments.

My combination lock clicked as I turned its dial to my familiar code, releasing the mechanism and opening the lock. My phone had no text messages, but I had already walked all the way down the hall so I decided to shoot a text to Jax.

THANKS FOR THE RIDE TO SCHOOL.

And send.. I said to myself as I pressed the key that would put my message through. I replaced my phone in my locker and closed the door, clicked my lock and went on my way. Of course, I was saved by the bell and it was time to go to my last real class of the day, math 161.

The tardy bell rang as I sat in my usual chair in the front row. My father insisted I sit as close to the front of the classroom as possible, for it was essential to learning to the best of my ability. I could not be mad at my father for acting just the way I knew he would about my whole situation. I couldn't really be mad at him for anything, because in my heart I knew he only did what he thought was best.

I dreaded the rest of my day, and anxiously awaited dismissal.