Tara hadn't slept a wink after Venus had come back to the compound on Tig's bike, shaking like a leaf. Nadine had taken a very hyper Harper with her, and Venus had delivered the worst piece of news she could have.
Jax had exploded with anger, saying he would kill the man, and cut several parts of his body while he was still alive. Tig had tried to talk him down, but he was himself hitching for violence. He was torn, wanting to let Venus know he had her and nothing would happen to her, while at the same time trying to tell his president that it was not a good idea. Tara had paced, not listening to what they were saying. She was reliving again and again when her face had been sliced open. She could almost feel the blood running on her face. When Nadine had come back, saying she had put Harper to bed with Hayley who was staying over too, Tara had snapped out of it, sort of.
Her daughter was in danger. She needed to take care of her daughter. Venus was not speaking, and Tara had realized that she needed to be the one to make the decisions for her family. She had turned to Jax and asked:
"Can we come to Charming? For a while. A little while…."
"You can stay until Harper retires from her job, I don't give two fucks about it. Grab the language jar, we're taking you all back to Charming."
Things had not been so simple, of course. Smitty had driven her back to her house along with Venus, as the boys needed to get things in order. They had known that Nadine would watch over Harper. Back at the house, the two women had grabbed all the stuff they could need for a few weeks. They didn't care about being perhaps watched, they only wanted to get out of here.
When they had come back, Smitty had ordered a prospect to drive a car with their belongings, the two women and the sleeping Harper, while the two Sons rode on their bikes, on in front of the car, and the other behind it, like a motorcade.
It had been an 8 hours long trip, and when they had arrived, they had been greeted with grim faces at the auto shop which still served as a front for the Sons. Jax had given them a room, before going to talk to his men with his second in command.
She couldn't sleep. She needed to, she could feel it in her bones, but she was waiting for Jax to come back.
Finally, there was a soft knock on the door. Tara saw that her friend was awake, and was motioning for her to go see, while she stayed with the little girl. Harper had woken up when they had started their road trip, and both her mother's and her aunt's anxiety had started bleeding into her.
Tara went outside the door, and Jax was there, looking dead on his feet, but more in control. Once again, she was stricken by the fact that he was not the boy she had left behind. He motioned for them to go into the room next to where her daughter was, and she agreed.
"I talked to my men, they'll be on alert for the fucker."
"That's good, but Jax, and I mean no offense, we can't stay here. There's no feminine touch here, and maybe it's just my memory playing tricks on me, but…"
"You're entitled to feeling things like that. I'll drive you to my house when everybody is up…"
"We couldn't…"
"Yes you could, and you can. You'll sleep in my bed, all three of you, and I'll sleep on the couch. I have a spare room for Harper if you want to use it… It was supposed to be Abel's… But it's kid-friendly."
"I need you to know that I'm just too tired to argue with you."
"Duly noted."
He looked at her, and said:
"You need sleep, babe…"
"Don't call me babe… I could sleep with you to chase the anxiety away for a moment."
"I would let you, if it made you feel better…"
She had to snort.
"I love how you would be sacrificing yourself for my needs."
"What can I say, I'm a knight in shining armor."
She bumped her shoulder against his, and he bumped back. She put her head on his shoulder and then…
Then she must have fallen asleep, she figured, as she was fully clothed in bed with Jax. She checked her watch, they had been sleeping for about two hours.
"Jax…"
"I'm up…"
"You're not… We fell asleep."
"You did. I just… mimicked you."
"It's okay to be tired."
"Right back at you," he said, raising from the bed and stretching. "I think I heard Venus and Harper get up earlier…"
"Should we go see them? Won't your mom…."
"No she won't… They're safe, for now. Tig and Chib should be the only one around."
"Ok."
She went to join her kid and her best friend, putting her best "everything is fine" face on.
SOASOASOASOASOA
It felt weird to be in Jax's house. Truth be told, she was not certain she liked the idea of another woman having been in his bed. Therefore, Venus and her had changed the sheets.
Venus had mentioned that Tig had offered his place for her to use, and Tara had felt genuine surprise that the guy had a place. When she had been there, growing up, he had always lived inside the compound. He used to have a house when he was with his ex-wife, but she remembered that it had been sold. Turned out, Tig had bought it, not too long ago, investing some of his money in something that could not be stolen. Venus had explained that she had loved the idea but that she wanted to stay for a couple more days with the little one, because she needed to know she was fine. *
"Then, if we have our talk, maybe more will happen. I don't know. My Alexander is a gentleman, your Tig was not. I feel like I could sleep at his house, no pressure intended. It feels genuine, and I sort of want to see where it may lead me."
"Honey, if you want to go right now, I'm all for it. I love you, and I know that you love me, and Harper. We've been living together for so long. I love it, but never believe that you need to stay. You're here because you want to be. When you want to be somewhere else, it's okay. It won't change the fact that you're my soul-sister."
Venus had hugged, before saying that she would not cry, and that they needed another subject. She would be staying two days at least as she had said, then would decide if Tig's place was a solution, as she felt awkward being in Jax's bed.
"Same here," Tara had laughed.
They had not wanted to change anything in the kid bedroom, but Jax had surprised them and had made room for Harper, for when she'd be ready to sleep away from her mom. Poor kid still felt uneasy…
Then Tara had caught up on some sleep, and she had woken up, and had taken in her new surroundings. On one of the shelf, she found something that made her pause, and when Jax came back hours later, looking a little rested too, she tore her eyes from the manuscript she had in her hands.
"You found this, uh?"
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. I would have hidden it if I had wanted to prevent you from seeing it. Where are Harper and Venus?"
"Tig came by and offered to take them to the old ice cream shop. I needed time to regroup, so here we are I guess. Can we talk about this though?" She asked, raising the manuscript.
Jax placed the language jar which had been tossed on the ground when they had arrived, and placed it on the table. He sat down, and lit a smoke, before saying:
"My father had a vision, for the charter. I found it just before Abel was born, looking through some stuff in the garage at my mom's. At that time, I only kept it but I didn't read it. I was too… It was just too painful. Then one day, I read it. My father wanted to get the charter out of guns and drugs, and well, that's what I've been trying to do for the past few years. At first, the guys didn't think we could survive without both, but I managed to prove there was a middle way, where we didn't embrace society, but also managed to not make blood money, if you will."
"That is… amazing…" She said, blown away.
"I thought so too."
"How did your mom react?"
He flinched, once again, but said nothing.
"It was not her place to react. My father was building something she and Clay didn't believe in. They killed him."
"How can you be so calm? I'm freaking out right now…"
"You'll see my mom, in a couple of days, once the dust settles a bit. Are you okay, apart from the John Teller revelations?"
"I guess I am. I'm sure your father is proud of you."
He was not hiding. He was giving her everything, as in everything he believed in, and everything he stood for. He was not the boy she had known, but this man didn't feel so foreign either. She read in his eyes the uncertainty, as if he wondered what would happen next. She knew in her heart what she wanted to happen. She felt empowered by the knowledge that she was calling the shots.
"I hope he is…"
Wordlessly, she took his hand, and he squeezed it, still smoking.
On impulse, she reached out for the cigarette and took a puff before coming to sit on his lap, like she used too…
"Tar…."
"Shush. We've just changed your sheets, and I would feel awkward sleeping in a bed where we would have done anything. Also, I'm too tired for any acrobatics. How about some good old-fashioned necking? Let's pretend we're 16 again," she said in a voice that was much more confident than she felt.
He smiled, and she went for his mouth, needing to feel like a woman again, and even more like she was his and he was hers again.
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