One Week Later. DAY 9, EVENING

So technically, I should've been gone two days ago. Nero made sure to let me know I had missed the deadline for my time in Charming by calling my phone continuously, even though I never answered. I shot him a quick text, telling him I was fine, and left it at that.

The last seven days flew by quickly, and in the morning, I would be searching out the Messengers and trying to join their club. I was part nervous, part excited, and fully committed.

I'd spent the last week holed up inside Ellie and Kennys house during the day, and training with the boys at night. Fortunately for them, I already knew how to wield a gun, not that I had ever shot anyone before or anything. Nero made sure both us boys took gun safety classes in high school, and we would often have target practice behind the barn as somewhat of a bonding experience. Wendy hated it, but Nero always said it was best that we know how to protect ourselves safely, with a full knowledge of how firearms worked.

Kenny came back the day after he got shot and hobbled around the house for a few days before he regained his freedom and was able to ride again. While he was around we spent a lot of time together, watching Jerry Springer re runs, smoking pot and pigging out on whatever we could get our hands on. Luckily, Ellie went shopping and there was more to eat then just pop tarts.

I had even managed to get him to come out back with me and work in the yard as I had promised El I would. There's nothing more amusing then a man Thor's size potting daffodils in an undersized lawn chair, with his massive bandaged leg propped up on the fire pit in front of him.

El worked at St. Thomas Hospital as an E.R physician, and disappointedly spent a lot of time working. We had developed a sort of routine with each other over the week. I'd hear her alarm sound from her room down the hall every morning at 5 am, and I would roll off of the couch and start a pot of coffee for her while she showered and got ready. I'd sit with her in the kitchen, we'd make small talk for a little while as she drank her coffee, and then she'd hurry off to work and I'd go back to sleep. Then, when I got up again, I would hang with Kenny or work in the yard. She'd get home around 6. One night she brought dinner home, but most nights I just made dinner. (Yes, I can cook. Just don't spread that shit around. I already got a hard enough time about it from Ken.)

Then, around 8 or so, I'd disappear with the boys, usually coming back pretty late. Sometimes El was up, but most of the time she wasn't.

While my relationship with Ellie remained platonic, there was definitely something brewing there. At least, I liked to think there was. Everything about the way we were together seemed right, easy, and now that I was staying in Charming for awhile, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe things between us would eventually shift toward a more romantic type of relationship.

I knew that I was, supposedly, too young for her. There was a definite age gap between us that most people would consider strange. But the thing about me is, I could give two shits what people think about us. I didn't care when it was my Senior year English teacher, and I didn't care now, when it was Dr. Ellie Winston. (Yes, I banged my Senior English teacher. Don't judge me.)

Luckily, throughout the week, I also learned more about who my parents were. The boys would randomly bring up old war stories involving Jax, or fondly recall a time Tara wasn't a complete bitch to them. Through the club, I picked up more and more pieces of the lives they lived here, and with each tale I felt the void in my heart fill.

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"Lucy! I'm home!," I heard Ellie yell from the front door in possibly the worst Desi Arnaz impression I'd ever heard. "And before you ask, No. You can not be in the show!"

"I'm in the kitchen," I called to her, smiling to myself at her exuberance. A few seconds later she joined me, taking in a big over dramatic whiff of what I had been cooking. She walked toward the stove and lifted the lid off of the spaghetti sauce that I had left simmering to keep warm.

"Better be careful, Tommy," she said, smiling back at me as I finished up the dishes in the sink. "A girl could get used to this."

"And you haven't even tasted it yet," I commented as I wiped my hands on a towel. She smiled. "Should be ready," I said, handing her a plate. We made our plates in silence, and then sat across from each other.

"So where's my brother?," she asked before biting into a piece of garlic bread.

"Got a call from Chibs this morning. He hasn't been back since." She sighed, and I could see the brief flash of worry in her eyes, before she shrugged it off and smiled.

"This is really good," she said with a mouth full of noodles. "Actually, everything you cook is delicious. You could make a career out of it," she said smiling.

"Not quite sure what I want to do with the rest of my life, El, but spend every day in a hot and sweaty kitchen just isn't my idea of a good time."

"But you cook here almost every day," she said.

"Yeah, but I'm cooking for you, so it's different," I replied easily. I smiled when I noticed the blush creep into her cheeks. It was fucking adorable.

"So umm..," she stammered. "You training tonight?," she said, clearly trying to swerve the conversation into more comfortable matters. I told Ellie all about the clubs plan to train me and then submerse me into the Messengers MC, and I told her why. Should I have? Probably not. But over the last 9 days, her and Thor had become my best friends and I told them a lot of shit I probably shouldn't have.

"Tig said he'd be here in about an hour or so, about an hour or so ago," I replied. "I guess it's gonna be just him tonight. We're going to go over the plan one more time, and tomorrow I'm gonna seek them out and find my in."

"You sure you want to do this, Tommy?," she asked, her voice laced with concern. It was a question I had asked myself once or twice. This shit was dangerous, and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't at least a little concerned for my safety. But safety be damned. Since I had come to Charming, I finally felt alive. Free. I wasn't planning on going anywhere. And since I wasn't planning on going anywhere, I felt it my civic duty to protect the town and the people who resided in it.

"It'll be fine," I responded gently. We finished our dinners, chatting comfortably about her day at work, the crazy patients who had come in. I nodded out the window as we washed the dinner dishes together, and showed her that I had finished the yard that day. She thanked me with a lingering hug that was interrupted by a knock at the front door. I released her, and left her standing at the window surveying my finished project.

We had both figured it would be Tig. What we did not figure, nor did anyone else, was the person who was actually standing on the other side of the wooden door, staring back at me with cold eyes and a judgment laced half-grin.

This could ruin everything. We had a plan, and he was definitely not a part of it.

"Abel," I said, trying to contain my anger, as Ellie walked slowly into the room behind me. "What the hell are you doing here?"

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A/N: Dun Dun DUNNNNN… lol.. So yeah.. I time jumped a little. Hope that didn't bother you all. Did Abels arrival surprise you? Just so we're clear, it totally surprised me.. Lol.. The next few chapters should be more action packed. I'll update asap. In the meantime, don't forget to review! TBC..