-CHAPTER TWELVE
"Come on preggers," Gemma whispered as she pulled the sleeping woman up, Alyssa had only groaned out her protests, too tired to open her mouth, her heavy head dropping forward as Gemma tried harder to lift her off the couch,
"noo… why? I'm pregnant, leave me alone…" Alyssa finally whined from the constant movement, grumbling loudly as she lifted up slowly, only slightly helping out the older woman but still protesting the move.
"You're not disabled just yet. That belly isn't nearly big enough for that to happen," Gemma laughed, patting the still flat stomach at Alyssa's front, she wasn't showing at all, still in the first trimester. Though, Juice could tell anyone otherwise, explain how much the woman complained about how tightly her favorite pair of jeans fit, how much she cursed him for making her 'fat'. Neither of the parents were worried however, their doctor had explained everyone was different and this was a normal occurrence; which sat just fine with the mother, more time to still look good.
Scoffing at the older queen, Alyssa stretched out her aching arms and legs, the further she got with the pregnancy, the more she had to stop and take a nap, multiple times a day, which was getting rather old, she hated wasting her days like that. Only slightly thankful to Gemma for waking her up, Alyssa promised to help cook breakfast with the woman that morning and was happy to actually be awake at a normal time for it, be useful for once.
Juice had dropped Alyssa off the night before, him and some other members had club business to take care of before sunrise and Juice was never comfortable leaving the woman alone, she meant too much to him and he knew all too well what could happen to an Old Lady if left alone, he wasn't about to let that happen, not to his. Even though he still had yet to ask if she would be his official Old Lady; too scared of rejection and not used to all the love he felt for this one girl. The headstrong, cranky mother of his child, the one who still denied him any sort of affections- she was still too raw from his cheating of before, damn woman can keep a grudge. So he decided it best to just be there for her, let her warm up to him again before crowing the already crowed woman.
Washing up some of dinner's dishes from last night, Alyssa was full awake by now, with no help from her tiny ass cup of coffee, doctor's orders, she helped the queen the best she could, still not a fan of the older woman but had to push those feelings aside for the boys- they needed to know family would always be there for them, even with mommy away. "What's on the menu?!" Happy barked, startling the two women as he walked in,
"Christ happy, you're going to kill me over here!" Alyssa snapped back, swatting the man with a damp towel, Happy was assigned watch today and Alyssa was thrilled, she missed having the company. The smell of bacon sizzling in a pan, filled the air only a few minutes later, Gemma was working on making lots of tiny pancakes for the adorable grandchild that was in the room.
Looking over her shoulder, Alyssa smiled. "Able, baby, ask Happy if he can pour you some milk." Alyssa insisted while working on mixing a large pan of scrambled eggs, working as quick as she could, the kitchen was tiny and the two women kept bumping into one another. Happy was great with children, to everyone's surprise but Alyssa's, he was one of those men who didn't think he deserved a family but needed one to calm the hell inside of him, Alyssa always wanted to see him settle down but he was in too deep with the club for that to happen. At least he could always fill the hole with the club member's little ones, no child would be safe with him. Thankfully, neither bacon or eggs took that long too cook, "I'm all done here, thanks for the pancakes." Kissing Gemma on the cheek quickly, mainly out of habit, Alyssa joined Happy and Able at the table. Able was waiting patiently for everyone else to eat, even though he was the only who was hungry at the moment, busying himself with Happy.
"When are you getting an Old Lady and some kids?" Alyssa teased, jabbing Happy's side, waiting until after he had finished his very serious conversation with the child.
"Noooooo, no. You Old Ladies are trouble, don't need it," He denied, shaking his healing head multiple times, Able copying him with giggles.
Scoffing a bit, Alyssa frowned, "What do you mean, 'you Old Ladies?' I'm not an Old Lady, still haven't been crowed in that way." She laughed, moving her attention to her nephew because she knew that Happy would have many questions about the subject and frankly, she didn't want to hear them.
She wouldn't have to because Jax appeared within the same moment, catching everyone's attention now.
Happy was quick to greet Jax as he walked into the kitchen with Thomas in hand, Alyssa smiling and reaching up, patting the little one's butt before gripping at Jax's arm, squeezing it, anticipation from seeing that cute chubby face.
Jax bent the two down, giving Alyssa's cheek a quick kiss, "Good morning 'Lyss." He smiled back after standing up straight, waving one of Thomas' little hands at her, acting surprised. Alyssa gasped and waved back at the little boy, the smile one his face warming her soul,
"Good morning you handsome boys." She cooed in a baby voice, wrinkling her nose playfully as Jax moved on to Gemma taking that cute baby away.
Greeting his mother with a kiss, Jax handed the baby over the moment Thomas started to struggle, Alyssa getting up to help, moving over to the baby's side, buckling him into the seat as Gemma moved to get him some snacks, Jax moved back to greet his older son. Able's next words stopping everyone in their tracks, "When's mommy coming home daddy?" his little voice echoed the room, Alyssa's heart dropping and having to turn away, whenever Able asked for his mom she cried herself to bed and looks like she was going to add another night of tears to the list.
Jax promising that Tara would be home soon was just as bad, Alyssa hated promises that were filled with lies, never sat right with her. "You got him?" Gemma asked, Alyssa looking up at her once she realized the question was directed at her and nodded,
"This one's mine," She teased weakly, trying not to let the little slip ruin her day, turning back to the baby who was shoving eggs into his mouth, another smile soon shined on her features, goodness that was a cute baby. Jax and Gemma talked about other things as Gemma moved to the sink, Alyssa having a full on battle of noises with her nephew, nibbling his chubby little cheeks and beeping his nose, anything to have that bubbly laughter fill her ears.
"I'm gunna' go see Tara." Jax announced, stealing looks at the women in the room, who didn't know what to say at the moment, before landing on Happy, Jax wanted to ride alone but Happy, being so loyal wasn't going to let that happen,
"You can help us with the monsters." Gemma insisted, nodding over at Alyssa and Thomas,
"Yeah, you haven't seen anything until you've witnessed monster Able, we'll need the extra hands." Laughing, Alyssa added, winking at the older child who was protesting and shaking his head like a crazy person at being called a monster. Very hesitantly, Happy agreed to keep the women and children company, let the president have what he desired.
Jax made his goodbye rounds around the kitchen before slipping out, leaving the house slightly quiet in his absence after the roars of his bike died out.
Happy spilling words of honor for his president, "..His old man would be proud." He added, staring up at the smirking queen,
A loud sigh interrupted the moment, "Aw, Hap... How cute," Alyssa insisted, staring at the special moment she just had to ruin with a teasing smile,
"Ahh, shut up." He scoffed, trying his hardest to hide his own smirk, Gemma laughing at the two and served breakfast for the adults,
Waving Alyssa over, Gemma sat down, "Able still hasn't touched his food, we all better eat with him or we'll never make it back to TM." Gemma pointed out, Happy and Alyssa nodding in agreement,
"Come on big boy, come sit at the table." Alyssa giggled, taking a few more nibbles at Thomas' cheeks before pulling his high chair closer to the adults, taking her seat next Happy.
Finishing breakfast and running around the house trying to coax Able into the car took about an hour or so before they were all settled and ready to leave. The trip there not as bad, the two women managed to get Able singing with them while the radio blasted song of their younger days, it's cute how much listening to a single song can stick with the children listening to it. Slipping out from Gemma's van once reaching Teller-Marrow, Alyssa watched Trager dart over and grab Able from the back,
"Thank god for you guys, he's so hyper today. Let's ware him out, ya'?" Alyssa spoke, wrinkling her nose as Able stuck his tongue out at her from Trager's arms, the man laughing at the two and joining Able with the teasing of the aunt.
"Oh! Look out… Grandma's got a gun." Trager pointed out, Chucky handed a toy over to Gemma who confessed that it was for her new love thangs' kid, "Let's go awake up Uncle Touchy." Trager spoke out once more, turning on his heels and taking the child over to Unser's trailer,
Blinking, Alyssa frowned. "Uncle Touchy….?" she questioned to herself, looking after the backs of the two boys, she watched Able bang at Unser's door and decided enough time was wasted, heading into the office, duty called one way or another.
"Heeyy. I need some water, like now.." Alyssa's hunched body stumbled inside, the morning sickness was hitting just as hard as ever and it never seemed to hit in the mornings anymore, more like every minute after eight o'clock. Slumping into a stool next to Chibs' Alyssa cried out,
"…remind me to kill the father when he gets back…" she moaned, chugging down the water bottle set next to her, as long as she was sitting with some water her body was alright and the vomit stayed away until it was time to eat.
Shaking his head a few times, Chibs' laughed, "Poor 'lass… Fiona wasn't like this with Karrianne… don't know how to help," Chibs' confessed, rubbing her back gently, a beer in his other hand, she was happy that the beer wasn't his full attention, she needed some fatherly love.
"Mmmeh…" she countered, placing her chin on the bar's surface, closing her eyes, but the peace was short lived, the sound of clopping high heels entered the clubhouse and with her eyes snapping open, she wasn't happy with that ran in. That porn star, Ima had ran inside screaming for Jax, a few men just as upset as Alyssa with her reappearance,
"What the fuck do you want!?" Alyssa snapped, slamming her hand on the bar, she was done with Ima and her constant need for Jax's attention, Alyssa wouldn't let the whore touch her sister's husband, not ever again.
"Please, I need your help…. Lyla's hurt really bad… please..." She wailed on the verge of tears, with Lyla's name spilling out, Alyssa was up and running after the blond, her other 'sister' was in trouble and with no questions asked, she was going to be there, period.
The moment Alyssa's body hit the floor and was darting out of her stool, Trager, Chibs, and Happy followed, both girls were their brother's ladies, meaning their family and someone important enough to protect at all times. With Lyla already hurt, they feared the pregnant one would do something to get herself in a shit-hole, like she had done before and they needed to make that wouldn't happen under their watch.
The scene that Ima drove them too was horrific, Lyla was beaten and stripped down to her underwear, "LYLA!" Alyssa screamed once catching sight of her dear friend, jumping right off Chibs' bike before he made a complete stop, both her stomach and the Scott disapproved greatly at her actions but she ignored them both and ran to the sobbing woman's side.
"Oh…o-oh god..!" Alyssa cracked, dropping to her knees and embracing her beaten body, Lyla had sobbed harder into Alyssa's arms, spilled a few ows when she had squeezed too hard,
"…Opie….Opie….!" The blond woman screamed into Alyssa's arms, shaking badly as she called out for her dead husband, Alyssa's heart racing and dropping all at the same time, not entirely sure on what to do next,
Gulping slightly, Alyssa's mind raced, thinking of places and people that would help explain the situation, then it hit. "D-Diosa, NOW!" She screamed, snapping her head back at the crowd before her, Happy and Trager nodded, moving Alyssa out of the way, lifting Lyla's body into Ima's back seat, Alyssa was already on the back of Chibs' bike before the other men returned to their own, all vehicles screeching down the street, making their way to the brothel.
Waiting this time for his bike to stop, Alyssa was off, "Nero!" Alyssa gasped out once dashing inside, "Lyla's hurt bad." She breathed, the look of panic hit his eyes once hearing Alyssa, turning to a window on one of the walls, yelling at it, Jax and Gemma making an appearance right as Lyla's sobbing body came trailing behind with the men.
Lyla broke down all over again once in Jax's arms, wailing for Opie as everyone shared looks of panic and questioning, Lyla didn't know what happened, so neither did anyone else. And that was fucking scary.
After another thirty minute break down, Lyla was starting to calm down, able to finally speak clear sentences, she explained what went down at the job offer she accepted. Not knowing the extent of the offer, Lyla walked into a set featuring torture porn, they refused to tell her details about the offer and ended up beating her, she had said that the more she begged for them to stop, the more she was beaten. Taken back by this, Alyssa shook her head, lifting off the couch, her stomach was not happy about the sudden mix of emotions and she needed to move around to calm it,
"I'm fine. Keep going." She pointed out, Lyla had stopped talking and looked up at Alyssa's twisted face, forcing everyone else's eyes as well, waving them off, she nodded at Lyla, who continued. Lyla needed the offer, she was really low on money with her now three kids, being too strong of a woman, Alyssa knew she wouldn't have accepted anyone's help if they offered. A few glares were given to Ima who had set Lyla up with the men, thinking they were good just because she met them once and they had references, Alyssa had scoffed happily once Jax had told her off, calling her a stupid whore and taking the address of the so called brothers' location. The men talked about how they were going to handle things with these guys, Nero suggesting talking with an ex-cop, who the guys didn't agree with, since the cops in charming worked with SAMCRO, they were scared that would be the same for this guy, agreeing they would check things out, it was settled.
"Come on, I'm taking you girls back to the club." Gemma sighed, retreating to grab her purse and fling it on, Alyssa getting up and taking a stance next to the queen as a few men took Lyla in the back to help her clean up and the others moving outside. A slight silence hit the room before Gemma walked slowly behind Ima, grabbing her by the back of the head and slamming her face into the surface of the bar, the sudden crack snapping Alyssa's head towards the noise,
Not too surprised, Alyssa shook her head, "Gemma…" she scoffed out, "Did you break it?" an amused smirk slipping onto both the women's faces before sensing eyes, those of a disapproving Chibs' who had been glaring at the demented women.
"She'll be fine." Gemma huffed, walking away, Chibs' eyes followed Gemma until going back to Alyssa,
"Leave the poor girl alone Lassy', come on," He demanded, grabbing at Alyssa's arm,
The moment he started to pull her away from Ima, Alyssa glared at the bloody woman, "You're so lucky you stupid bitch," Alyssa hissed out in a hushed tone, she knew Chibs could hear every word but she wanted to pretend that he didn't, keep her slight innocence fresh in his mind.
"Ayyyye, pregnancy has made you spiteful," Chibs sighed out, pushing the pouting woman after everyone else,
"….Blame Juice, not me." Alyssa's pout curling into a smile, the two laughed all the way into the back room, Chibs was in charge of patching up anyone's wound while Tara was away and the laughter had to come to a quick stop once he turned serious.
Alyssa swung back and forth on the swings as Able played ball with Unser, chatting with an sweet crow eater who kept her company, "Wait, hold that thought…" Alyssa interrupted the woman once her eyes caught sight of a familiar face, hopping off the swing and walking quickly at woman, watching her eyes stare at the little boy as she removed her sunglasses, walking quicker, Alyssa moved into the view, blocking the child, only slightly, Wendy was taller after all.
"What do you want?" Alyssa spat, manicured brows pulling up,
"Gemma, that's all." Wendy's arms threw up in defense, both of the women's faces turning as Gemma seemed to sense when something was off, closing the club door behind her as she stepped outside,
"What are you doing here?" Gemma repeated Alyssa's tone but with a different question,
"Lookin' for you." She replied placing her hands back down to her sides. "I heard what happened to Tara." She added, Alyssa just scoffed, sitting down on the bench they met at,
"Yeah…I guess that puts a wrench in your plans," Gemma spat back, dropping her purse down on the bench next to Alyssa's arms, the question twisting both Alyssa's and Wendy's faces in confusion.
Gemma just stared at the women like they were both idiotic, Gemma began, "Tara put together a will… That named YOU as guardian to those boys." Alyssa's face twisted even more, why was Gemma looking at Wendy while she spoke, there would be no way in hell Wendy would get those boys, not before she did,
"Excuse me?" Alyssa urged, staring up at Gemma wide eyed,
Who only nodded at a Alyssa with a fake grin, "Oh yeah, I read it myself." Gemma scoffed,
"I… I didn't ask her to do that." Wendy added before what Gemma said had processed through Alyssa's mind, not only did Tara deny wanting to see either her or her husband, she was now offering guardianship to the ex-junkie? What the hell was going through Tara's mind!? Wendy went on about how she couldn't take Able away from his father, how she was worried for her life and the child's if things did end up turning in that direction, begging for the two women to keep the little boy safe before trying to retreat.
"What if Tara tries to push that will on Jax?" Gemma added, making the ex-junkie turn around, denying the position as a guardian, spilling some out of nowhere confession of missing the place, forcing another scoff from Alyssa who kept quiet during the conversation, "The club sure doesn't miss you, never will," With her last dose of venom Alyssa retreated first into the clubhouse, Wendy was not going to come into this place and fuck up everything all over again, Alyssa wouldn't allow that, not when that junkie whore did more damage than good.
After checking up on Lyla and calming down after the lovely visit from Wendy, Alyssa walked around the office, cleaning up the small room, Gemma and her finally catching up on work and bills, getting things up to date. There wasn't much to do but wait for new calls and customers today, pretty boring. With the pregnancy came the slightly new behaviors, Alyssa hated to clean but the past few weeks and with her sister being locked up, all she could do to calm her nerves was to clean and clean for hours, cleaning was all that made her happy these days.
"What are you doing?" That amazingly familiar voice reached her ears,
turning to face him, she gave a weak smile, "You're finally home," Alyssa sighed out, grabbing a cup off the ground before straightening up, placing the trashcan down in it's usual place and dusting herself off. The couple stared at one another, unsure at what to say, it wasn't like they left things on a bad note but Alyssa saw the changes in him as well. He was different lately, after coming home from Clay's when he was arrested, Juice broke down, blaming himself for everything, which she knew wasn't true, not everything was his fault, he was too loyal to the man but what Jax made him do, how he made Juice betray the one person he respected so dearly was a little much. She could see how badly that was starting to hurt him inside but that's the punishment for being a rat, no matter how it is and that fucking sucked.
Feeling uneasy, Alyssa moved first, pressing her head into his chest, "How're you?"
"Tired, I just want to head home." He breathed, pulling her close and resting into her neck, pushing his face into her skin to hide himself from the world, the sudden lack of spark in his personality was upsetting. Alyssa tried everything she could think of to cheer him up, all but the sex, no matter how much time kept passing, she just couldn't let him touch her again, he still felt dirty and it broke her heart, and in small ways, like these, she was happy she wasn't an Old Lady. Their duties include making sure to keep their man happy in every single way and Alyssa couldn't, even though she knew that was adding to his lack of happiness, she would never be Old Lady material, even pregnant.
The constant thought of how she was failing him, tears started to form at the edge of her eyes, how could she make the man of her dreams so miserable? Alyssa dug her fingers into his back, squeezing him hard, "We'll go home soon… Just wait... can you bum it here with me for a while? We... we missed you." She tired, the mention of his child usually brought his spirits up,
"Yeah, sound good." He murmured into her skin, pulling their bodies down towards the couch, he wanted to stay in her arms for a little while longer, bathe in the warmth of her body against his and she didn't complain, if it helped in any way, she'd stay in his arms forever.
Alyssa moved her head away from Juice's chest, she didn't realize that she fell asleep against him, "sorry... I didn't-" she began, rubbing the sleep from her doe-eyes. Juice moved to kiss her lips, there were so many things about the woman he loved but it was this sleepy, grumpy face she got whenever she woke up that was his favorite, besides making her face twist with pleasure, he couldn't help but fall for her each and every time he saw that face. Her brows pulled up in surprise from the sudden kiss, she didn't move, kissing was the one thing she could do for him, his kisses were something she'd probably never be able to get over, the sex was also just as unforgettable but as of right now- it was just too tainted and this was as good as they could get.
Reality sucks, doesn't it?
After a small make-out session, Alyssa managed to coax Juice into getting a beer and to hang out with a few of his brothers, she had to check up on Lyla and didn't want to leave the man alone sulking in the office.
Lyla and Alyssa talked for a good three hours, about nothing and everything all at the same time, the usual women banter, once they got started talking, there wasn't much to shut them up, especially if they were such good friends. Alyssa had to stop randomly throughout the talk however, she wanted to make sure that Lyla was indeed okay, constantly asking if she needed anything.
"Good god woman, I'm fine, leave me alone," Lyla barked with a laugh, waving off the worried woman, Alyssa opened her mouth to counter but the sight of a prospect entering the room stopped her. Both women stared at the man awkwardly, "What's-" Alyssa started, "I think something's about to happen to Juice." Rat interjected after pacing the room a few times, she guessed he was listening in for the perfect time to act but not finding one, he acted the only other way he knew how.
"What? What do you mean?" Alyssa snapped her head from Rat to Lyla's, lifting her brows in question before moving her head back to Rat,
who shrugged his shoulders dramatically, "I-I don't know.. Chibs' told everyone in the garage to leave and for me to shut everything before I left... they are both still inside." He confessed, his eyes darting from the floor and to hers multiple times, panicked Alyssa thanked him for the heads up and dashed outside, the garage doors were all shut, like Rat said, but the office wasn't. A sudden crash echoed from inside and brought her feet running forward, coming to a stop in the office, huffing once inside, Gemma did a double-take before rushing in front of Alyssa, hiding her view of the window, but the sound of Juice's wail of pain forced Alyssa to push the queen with all her might, moving her from the window.
The sight before her send unimaginable panic within her body, "What are you doing!?" She screamed. Chibs' had beaten Juice to a bloody pulp and was still going at him with even more punches, raging chilling her body as she ran to the door,
"Alyssa, no!" Gemma yelled, grabbing the wild woman and pulling her away, the other hand of the queen grabbed at Alyssa's cheeks, forcing her to stare into her eyes,
"They need to do this. They need to get this shit out in the open!" Gemma hissed into Alyssa's face, squeezing tightly on her cheeks and forcing her to look back at the man she loved being beaten down by a brother, "He's not fighting back… he knows this needs to happen as well. Just leave them be." Ripping her face out of Gemma's grasp Alyssa walked closer to the window, rage spilling from her body with each hit Chibs' took, even more so when both of the men had glanced her way, Juice's eyes widened at the sight of her before taking another hit to the nose, huffing Chibs' nodded her way,
"I guess I need this too...," Alyssa's whisper shaken and low, maybe after Juice was beaten, he'd be reset into his old self again, maybe Chibs' had this beating dwelling inside of him for so long that it needed to come out before he did something worse to his beloved brother. After all the shit Juice put her through, Alyssa didn't mind the beating so much after taking it all in, he had been acting like a coward these past few weeks and that needed to change, the father of her child was no rat coward, the real father of this child was someone she felt safe with, someone who knew he was a bad ass and right now, before the kid was born, he needed to get it together.
"Yeah… I think we both did." Gemma replied after a few moments of silence, before heading out the office, Alyssa stayed and watched till the very last punch, this was Juice's punishment for all the shitty mistakes he's ever made and she needed to see it to the very end.
Chibs motioned for Alyssa's help and she complied, walking into the garage slowly, she took her place under Juice's other arm, heaving Juice out of the room arms wrapped around both of them as they headed back into the clubhouse. Alyssa kept silent as Chibs dropped off the two at the first couch they could get near, leaving to get the medical kit from a different room,
"I'm sorry.." Juice whispered, pulling weakly at the back of her shirt, forcing her a few steps back and beside him,
"…shhh…" she countered, pressing his bloody head against her hip, one of his arms slithered around her, wrapping around one of her thighs.
Sighing, Alyssa looked down at the bloody mass at her hip, to her surprise, Juice was smiling to himself as he pressed his cheek harder against her, Chibs must have hit him harder than she though. "You hurt him pretty good." Alyssa pointed out, whipping the blood from under Juice's nose, sitting on a chair in front of him as Chibs took his place on the side of the couch and started to patch up any cuts on Juice's face and head.
Petting at Alyssa's head, Chibs nodded staring at her from under his glasses, "That I did Lass… that I did."
He went back to his work after looking over Lyla, who was taking a few shots with Happy and being watched over by Chucky and Rat, "Thank you…" Alyssa whispered, the tears coming out of nowhere, spilling from her eyes and landing on the bloody towel in her hands that was being gripped too hard for it's liking. Sliding off her chair and dropping to the floor, Alyssa wrapped her arms around Juice's waist, sobbing into his stomach, she was starting to blame her hormones for any sudden change in emotions and right now, they were hitting her hard. Though, deep down, Alyssa felt that this was also the stepping stone she needed to forgive Juice herself, maybe this was a sign that things could get better from here on out, but still, it was going to be hard.
"I… I love you… Juuuannn…." She wailed out as another wave of sobs escaped her body, his arms squeezing around her tightly as he shushed her all over again, she was probably being too loud but he'd never say so, he was more worried that he wasn't going to be seeing that bright smile on her face after this, he was afraid that he was ruining everything all over again, if only he wasn't such an idiot.