Chapter 11

Jax and Tara spent that weekend locked away in her dad's house. They made love anytime and anyplace they wanted. Jax would gently coax Tara into more and more diverse positions and locations as the time passed, laughing loudly at each blush that would cross over her face as she tried to picture them in the positions he suggested. But Jax had to give his girl credit. He knew she had fire in her, that it lurked just underneath that calm, good girl façade she showed everyone, but he knew better. He knew the girl who went out and bought sexy clothes, the girl who blushed when he propositioned her one moment, then had his pants down the next. Tara took every one of his suggestions and ran with them. Well except for the kitchen. She wouldn't have sex in the kitchen, said it was unsanitary and she'd never be able to look at the place the same the next time she had to cook dinner.

Opie agreed to cover for Jax with Clay and Gemma; the grin evident in his voice as he ragged on Jax about disappearing the same weekend Tara's old man was out of town.

By the time Monday morning rolled around, Jax and Tara were barely able to pull themselves out of the bed. Jax dropped a quick kiss on Tara's lips, so tired that even the lure of her lips couldn't tempt him, before heading out the window. Tara watched him leave with a small smile, before sighing and crawling back into bed.

Opie was waiting for Jax at the garage when he finally sauntered in. Opie caught the satisfied look on his best friends face and smiled.

"About damn time man." He said getting up and giving him a brotherly hug.

"Don't I know it." Jax replied, looking around the garage. "Anyone miss me this weekend?"

"Your mom was pissed that she couldn't get a hold of you, but I told dad you and I were heading up to the cabin for a few days, so that should have thrown her off the scent."

"What the hell did you do with yourself all weekend then?" Jax asked. He'd called Opie first thing Saturday morning, so if Ope went so far as to get out of the house to cover for him, what did he do for two days?

"Hung around the cabin, went out to Lodi. Shit like that."

"Nice."

"Jackson!" Gemma yelled emerging from the garage's office. Jax cringed as he watched his mother barrel towards them.

"Shit." He cursed. "You better make yourself scarce man. You've done enough for me." Jax said in an aside to Opie. Opie jumped to his feet, attempting to make a quick getaway, but was halted by Gemma.

"Oh no you don't Harry!" She yelled stopping in front of the two boys. Opie cringed at her use of his first name, they were definitely in deep shit with the queen.

"Morning ma." Jax said shooting her a loving grin. It was a grin designed to bail him out of trouble with his mother and most of the time it worked. Apparently today was another story.

"Don't try that shit with me Jackson. Where the hell have you been?"

"Up in the cabin with Ope. We were roughing it for the weekend."

"Bullshit!" Gemma spat. "I sent Bobby up to the cabin to look for you boys, Clay needed you down here. He said the place was empty."

Jax and Opie exchanged uncomfortable looks as their plan fell to pieces in front of them.

"We were at the cabin." Opie began, shrinking back a bit as Gemma's angry eyes focused on him. While Gemma wasn't his real mom, she was as close to one as he had and he never liked being on her bad side.

"But we got bored and went out to Lodi." Jax interjected.

"And decided to stay for a day and a half?" She responded skeptically

Jax shrugged, knowing he was backed into a corner. He didn't have the chance to think up a good excuse for his disappearance, having expected it to be covered already.

"This sudden interest in the cabin and Lodi. That have anything to do with Sam Knowles being out of town on a pub crawl?" Gemma asked pointedly. By her tone Jax knew she was already well aware that neither he nor Tara had been seen by anyone for days. Specifically since her dad high-tailed it out of town for the weekend. In all honesty Jax was surprised Gemma hadn't shown up at the house and dragged his ass home. It must have been Clay who held her in check.

"You really think it's a good idea getting mixed up with this girl? Now?"

Jax tamped down the annoyance he felt at his mother's tone. He knew how most if the people in town viewed Sam Knowles and his daughter. But Jax knew her, he saw who she really was and she was someone who didn't deserve to be looked down upon by anyone, even his mother. His jaw clenched as he fought off the desire to defend Tara, he knew that he would only enflame his mother more if he did so.

"The club needed you this weekend. And you were MIA. Keep this shit up and kiss that prospect cut goodbye." Gemma said nodding towards the leather cut he was proudly wearing.

Jax flinched as Gemma brought the club into the argument. She knew how much the club meant to him, and he felt a tinge of guilt for blowing off the club to spend the weekend with Tara.

Gemma allowed a smirk to cross her face as she watched Jax stare across the lot, an embarrassed flush moving across his face. Knowing the seed had been planted she made her way back to the office, watching Jax and Opie talked animatedly to each other for a few minutes before heading into the garage.

It was midday by the time Tara pulled herself out of bed. She stretched, lightly flinching at the soreness in her muscles and decided a hot shower was needed before she even attempted to accomplish anything else. Returning to her bedroom feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day, Tara's gaze fell onto the schoolbooks that were piled in a neat stack on her desk. Thinking back to Ms. Adams' words from Friday, Tara sat down and pulled out her biology book. She flipped slowly through the pages, and feeling guilty as she honestly reminded herself that she hadn't put much thought into those plans she'd been making for her future since Jax became such a large part of her life. Tara put the book back and went over to the hall closet where the local phone book was kept. It didn't take long for Tara to find the number for the high school.

She sat down in the couch, the phone book spread out before her and the cordless in her hand. She stared off into space trying to decide the best course of action to take. When she, Jax, and Opie had chosen their classes, Jax was so happy that they were going to be together all day. He cracked jokes about having all the more time to talk her into cutting class and making it his goal to distract her from her notes. She knew he'd be disappointed if she switched out of the regular biology course to transfer into the AP Biology class. But just as quickly as the thought crossed her mind, Tara dismissed it with a guilty feeling. Even though Jax wasn't into school and didn't care about his grades, he was proud that she did so well, he spent the latter half of the school year leaning over her shoulder to get a peek at her test grades so he could congratulate her. She knew that while Jax wouldn't be happy about losing that extra time with her at first, in the end he'd understand why she did it.

Nodding to herself, Tara picked up the phone and began to dial. The teachers must have been in school this week for meetings, because the secretary had Ms. Adams on the phone within a few minutes.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Adams?"

"Yes?"

"This is Tara Knowles."

"Tara! How are you?"

"I'm well thanks."

"Have you given any thought to what we talked about Friday?"

"Yes. That's actually what I'm calling about." Tara took a deep breath and continued. "I'd be interested in trying to get into the AP Biology class." She said in a rush.

"That's fantastic." Ms. Adams replied excitedly. "You just have to take an exam, it covers basic topics, just to make sure you have the background that you'd be able to keep up throughout the course."

"Okay. When should I take this exam?"

"I should be in my office tomorrow morning. Would you be able to stop by then?"

"Sure."

"Perfect. I'll have everything ready for you then. Say around eleven o'clock?"

"That works for me."

Tara quickly said goodbye and hung up the phone, feeling the rush of anticipation at the thought of the more challenging science class.

Tara woke up the next morning full of nervous energy. Jax had snuck into her bedroom around midnight the night before, apologizing as he complained about Clay holding him hostage at the garage after his disappearing act over the weekend. Then he had to make an appearance at home so Gemma wouldn't accuse him of sneaking off again, before doing just that to go to Tara's. Tara felt bad that he'd had such a rough day because of her, but Jax brushed off her apologizes with kisses as he gently steered her towards the bed. Tara played with the damp ends of his hair, glad that he'd used some of his time as he waited for the all clear at home to take a shower and get the smell of the garage off of him.

Afterwards they lay tangled with each other under the sheets, each savoring the feel of the others bare skin against them. They drifted off to sleep after only to be awakened an hour or so later by the slam of the front door as her father stumbled into the house. Tara knew he had went straight to work that morning, the mill never called looking for him, so this was his after work binge. Jax jumped out of the bed and quietly checked to make sure her door was locked. The last thing they needed was her dad walking in on them. Jax returned to the bed and pulled her close against his side, his arms tightening around her as they listened to the slamming drawers and her father's loud curses as he moved around the house. Tara hid her face against Jax's chest, embarrassed that he was a witness to all this. The slamming of the drawers quieted as Sam moved into the living room, and then the silence was filled with his sobs. When her father finally stumbled into his bedroom with one final slam of his door, Jax dropped a kiss to the top of her head, then cocked his head until she lifted hers and their eyes met.

"Is he always like this?" He asked quietly. Ever since that first study date Jax hadn't been by the house when Tara's dad was around. Even though he'd tried to change things up when she and Jax began dating, Sam eventually fell back into his normal routine, which was a pretty predictable schedule, so they were able to quickly figure out what nights Jax could come over earlier as her father would be gone all night, and what nights he needed to wait until her father had already stumbled home and was sleeping off the nights alcohol. Tara never liked to talk about her dad, she always changed the subject whenever Jax tried to bring it up. Over the months he'd noted the bruises he'd sometimes see over her arms, but Tara always brushed them off and avoided his questions, sometimes even initiating a hot make out session to distract him as they'd become closer and she grew more confident.

Tara remained silent for a few minutes, embarrassed that Jax had heard her dad and was probably thinking the worst of her home life.

"Hey." Jax said quietly, reaching over and tipping up her chin with his finger so he could see her face. "Are you okay?"

Tara hated the rush of tears she felt at Jax's words.

"I hate this shit." She replied, shaking her head as she willed the tears away. "He's going to kill himself."

Jax remained silent knowing that if he opened his mouth, the only thing that would come out would be a comment along the lines of would it be so bad if her father did drink himself into an early grave? He already wasn't a father to his only daughter, he drank himself into a stupor every night and he took out his pain and anger on the one person who needed him. So instead he simply held her close, more than willing to be her rock, her support, when she needed him.

The next morning Jax snuck back out while it was still dark, knowing Gemma would be on high alert and wanting to get back to the house before she was up and began looking for him. Tara lay in bed, listening to her father's lagging footsteps as he moved around the house getting ready for work. Tara knew he was hung-over, the fact that he avoided her room was a clear indication that he felt too sick to even bother with her. After he left Tara got up and ready to head over to the school for her exam.

Tara smiled when she entered the classroom and Ms. Adams warmly greeted her.

"Perfect timing!" The teacher said standing up from her desk. She pulled out a packet of papers and led Tara to one of the desks. "Any questions?"

"No." Tara answered, dropping into the seat and pulling out a couple of pencils. She took the test paper from Ms. Adams with a thankful smile and set to work.

Tara was back outside in the summer sunshine within two hours. She was surprised how confident she felt about the test and knew that sooner or later she'd have to tell Jax about her plan to switch into the more advanced Biology class. Tara smiled to herself as she thought about how doing well in this class could help her in the future. It wasn't often that she allowed herself the luxury of thinking about her future plans. Her current situation didn't offer much support or opportunity to think about bettering oneself. But ever since she and Jax got together, Tara felt lighter, like a whole new world of possibilities were open to her.

She continued through the streets of Charming noting the townspeople as they made their way through the small town. She smiled at the group of kids peering in the window at the small video store, home not only to movies, but video games as well. She continued down the street, passed Floyd's barbershop, passed the government buildings and onto the small public library housed at the end of the street.

Tara blinked once she was inside the dim library and peered around as she tried to determine who would be the best person to talk to. The library was practically deserted, for the most part the kids in town weren't overly interested in educational pursuits, especially in the summer.

"Can I help you dear?" An older woman's voice asked from behind her.

Tara jumped slightly in surprise and turned, putting on a friendly smile.

"Hello." Tara said with a smile, holding out her hand. "I'm Tara." She hesitated a moment, glancing around the empty space. "I was wondering if you had any job openings available?"

"Oh. I'm sorry dear." The woman began apologetically. "The library runs mostly on public funds and donations. Most of the staff here are volunteers."

Tara nodded slowly, slightly dejected. Even though she had mentioned the diner as a possible job opportunity, Tara didn't really like the idea of having to serve the citizens of Charming, who would more often than not be her classmates, especially when her income would depend on their tips.

The woman watched the young teen kindly then looked around the library before saying slowly. "We may be able to hire someone for part time work. Maybe twice a week. We could use a young person to help stock the shelves and organize the larger books."

"That would be perfect." Tara said quickly, but in an even tone so as not to appear too excited.

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days the new books come in and we use that opportunity to check the shelves."

Tara quickly agreed to the proffered days and minimum wage salary, excited to have something to break up the monotony of the summer, and have the chance to have funds of her own.

Tara hurriedly made her way over to the garage, eager to share her good news with Jax. Tara was surprised by the eerie silence within the lot as she arrived. It only took a moment to see that none of the mechanics were working in the garage. She caught a few of them talking in a small group in the back corner, but Jax was nowhere to be seen. Tara slowly moved around the lot, trying to see into a window of the clubhouse, looking for any sign of her boyfriend.

"Tara!" Opie hailed her as he emerged from the garage.

Tara smiled a greeting, and with a quick glance back towards the clubhouse made her way over to the tall boy.

"Have you seen Jax?" She asked, trying to fight off a blush when Opie's eyes dropped to her face. She knew Jax had called Opie to cover him for the weekend, so it would go to say that Opie knew exactly how they had spent their weekend together.

Opie resisted the urge to shoot her a teasing grin. While Jax would just laugh off his insinuations, he knew Tara would be embarrassed by any outward indication of his knowledge of her activities this weekend.

"The club's having a meeting inside." Opie said casually, watching the blush that had coated her cheeks slowly fade. "Jax was called inside in case they need anything."

"Oh." Tara replied disappointed. She wanted to share her news with Jax, but didn't want to hang around the garage waiting to see if he'd be free for a few minutes. While Tara internally debated whether or not to stay, Opie took pity on her.

"They don't usually meet like this during the day, so it's probably big." He said carefully. "It'd be best to head out. I'll let Jax know you were here, as soon as he's free." He continued glancing towards the clubhouse. While his dad kept a lot of the club business from him, Opie knew enough that a mandatory club meeting outside of church was never a good sign. The last thing Jax or Tara needed was Clay or Gemma spotting her at the garage when things were tense. They weren't above taking out any worry or annoyance on the challenger for Jax's attention. Plus Opie knew that if shit was going down, Jax wouldn't want Tara anywhere in the vicinity.

Tara left the garage at Opie's urging, believing him when he said he'd have Jax call as soon as he could. When Tara arrived home she noted the uncommon blinking of the answering machine. She didn't think it would be Jax, if he had gotten out of the meeting with the club so quickly that he had already called, he would've tried to catch up with her.

Tara hit the play button and was surprised to hear Ms. Adams voice coming through the speaker. She listened to the teachers words of praise, congratulating her on how well she had done on the exam and assuring Tara that she had a spot in the AP Bio class waiting for her. Tara smiled as the message ended, feeling a sense of pride coming over her.

Tara cleaned the house and cooked dinner, leaving a plate on the stove for her father. All her chores done and some extra meals made for during the week, Tara curled up on the couch to watch TV.

She didn't pay much attention to the shows, there wasn't much on TV during the summer to interest her, not that she watched TV much to begin with. She yawned and checked the time, surprised how late it had gotten.

Tara debated staying up longer, but shook her head at herself. She knew she had delayed going to sleep in hopes of hearing from Jax, and chastised herself, reminding herself that she wasn't going to be one of those girls. She wouldn't be one of those girls who after sleeping with their boyfriend needed constant attention from him, constant reassurances. Tara understood how much time and effort Jax had put in his pursuit of her, that he really did care about her, believed him when he said he loved her. She knew deep down that their relationship was more than just physical, that just because they'd slept together didn't mean everything would change. Consciously Tara knew that Jax was at the beck and call of the club, that his time wasn't always his own, but she couldn't help the creeping worry, the little voice in her head that wondered, now that she'd slept with him, would Jax lose interest?

Tara shook her head again, annoyed at her own foolishness as she turned off the TV and stretched. She left the lamp in the living room on for her father, then got ready for be.

Author's Note: Thank you all again for the reviews! You guys are so amazing! My apologies for the short chapter, but it was kind of a filler chapter before the next one, so it had to be done. I admit to some writers block, well that and total craziness as work, so I will do my best to keep up with the once a week updates, but apologies in advance if I end up being late. I can't believe Tuesday is part 2 of the season finale. It's such a shame that the season for this show is so short, I understand the perks of it as well, but man it's going to be a long nine months. I admit to still being on a high from Tara last week, absolutely amazing. So it's fitting that this chapter was the young Tara still trying to better her future opportunities. Hope you're all doing great!