Heartbreak

Ellie was at the corner where she was normally picked up, she waited for about 15 minutes before calling her brother to see if he had been picked up yet and Kendal was just running late, which had only happened once before. Kenny said he hadn't been picked up and he was at the playground waiting for someone to get him.

She told him to stay there and not go anywhere or with anyone until she got there. She trudged to her old school, which was about a 10 minute walk, when she got there she sat on a swing and watched her brother play while she called Kendal to ask what was going on.

When Kendal did not answer she called her grandfather, and no one answered so she gave up and called her dad.

Opie was slowing down to turn into a gas station when he felt his phone buzz, he took it out saw that it was Ellie, and thought that Kendal was playing dirty pool and using his daughter for more spring break ammunition. He answered fully prepared to just give in, knowing that his life was destined to be ruled by these girls and in about a month there would be another one to abide by.

"Daddy?"

"Hey angel," he said with a smile in his voice "what is going on?"

"Kay hasn't come to get us…I walked to Kenny's school and she isn't answering her phone neither is Grandpa." She explained in a worried tone "Can you come get us?"

Opie was instantly concerned this was very unlike Kendal "Stay put, I will call Kay and if she doesn't answer I will send some one to get you…don't leave with anyone unless you know them, okay?"

"Okay daddy…is everything okay?" she asked frightened.

"Everything is fine princess, go have fun with your brother someone will be there soon." Opie said and hung up.

He tried Kendal, then his father, then Gemma, and finally Tara…no one answered. All of his brothers were with him, he had no choice but to call Lyla. "Hey Ope…" she said friendly but with a twinge of guilt.

"Hey…I am sorry to ask but I am almost to Glendale, and the kids ride did not pick them up. Could you go get them? They are at the playground at Kenny's school…" he paused, he hated that he had to do this "I will be home soon to get them…I just need to figure out why there ride wasn't there."

"Of course I will go get them, I have felt bad about leaving them and not saying goodbye…" she said "Maybe when you pick them up we could talk?"

He knew his next move was assholish but he was limited on options "That sounds good…let me figure out what is going on, then we can…" he paused "talk."

"Okay, Ope…I will bring them back to my apartment in Lodi." She said flirting.

"See you soon." He said and hung up. "Kendal is going to kick my ass…" he lamented before waving at Jax who was coming out of the bathroom "I gotta go…Kendal did not pick up the kids and I can reach her…"

Jax tilted his head "Didn't you say you had a fight? Is she ignoring you?"

"Me, maybe…but never the kids, something's up…" he said looking worried "Tig?!" he yelled across the parking lot.

Tig was flirting with some young girls who were staring at his bike when he heard his name, he looked over to see it was Ope who called him, and went to see what was going on. "What's up?"

"Have you heard from Kendal?"

Tig took out his phone and checked "I got a text about 20 minutes after we left…" he read it aloud "I love you get your ass back home safe and while your at it bring that guy that lives here back with you.." he chuckled "Nothing since then, why what's going on?"

Ope checked his phone and saw a text from her too:

'I forgot to say I love you!'

'Your old lady is clinging bitch you should look into fixing that... if I had a girl like that I would fuck her in her cunt mouth...'

'after going down on her…'

'Seriously though, I love you Ope. Come home soon!'

And one voice mail "Hey you just left...this pregnancy brain is really getting to me…I am forgetting all kinds of stuff. I have a meeting with my OB on Friday, it's going to be the last one before I deflate. I thought you might want to be there...anyways…I love you. Bring your ass back home, in one piece if possible."

Something was definitely not right "Something's wrong…I gotta go." He said as he tossed his bed roll to Chibs.

"I'm coming with you…" Tig said as he handed his roll to Juice.

"We will call once we make the drop and see LaRoy." Jax said "watch your back."

They nodded and sped off, when Jax walked back to his bike Clay was there "What was that about?"

"Kendal is missing, never went and got the kids, they are going to handle it…" Jax said getting back on his bike.

"She's a lot of trouble…" Clay nitpicked.

"Less trouble than anything else we got going on…and the info she's been feeding Ope and me has helped out a lot…" Jax defended her "Ope is going to go take care of his family, you got a problem with that?"

Clay just gritted his teeth and started his bike.

When Lyla arrived she sauntered up to the playground with Colby who started playing with Kenny instantly. She went and sat on the swing beside Ellie, who had in her headphones and was watching something on her new iTouch.

"Hey Ellie, how have you been?" she spoke gently, not sure how Ellie would take her reappearance, as it was very rocky the last time, and Ellie would say 'we don't need you' to her daily.

When Ellie looked up and saw Lyla sitting next to her she flipped out "What are you doing here!?" she screamed putting her things away.

"Your dad said, Piney had not come to get you and asked me to come…" Lyla asked taken aback by Ellie's behavior, they had had their differences but she had never yelled at her.

"You're going to RUIN everything!" Ellie continued to shout. "GO AWAY!"

Lyla stood up and took a firm stance "Look here young lady, I will not have you yell at me like that."

"Go back to wherever you came from and just leave me alone! Come on Kenny!" Ellie said before she broke out in a run, she ran as fast as she could even when she knew her brother wasn't following, she took side streets and cut through peoples yards so Lyla could not follow her in the car.

Ellie started to hear sirens the closer she got to home, when she turned the corner she saw the flashing lights of police cars and ambulance was pulling away. She ran faster to her house...Kendal's house.

Ellie ran right through the crime scene tape and dodged hands trying to grab her, she was screaming for Kendal, though she could not see her. Two police officers finally caught her and tried to hold her back but she wiggled through and made it to the door to see blood everywhere and she screamed and fell to the ground crying.

An officer picked her up and carried her out of the crime scene and sat her on the trunk of his car, telling her to breath and to calm down, that everything was going to be alright. She was just about calmed down when Lyla drove up and Kenny ran forward and started to cry looking at his home.

Lyla ran forward and hugged him, "it's okay, lets go home…" she said and reached out to a still snifflely Ellie.

"This is our home!" Ellie yelled at her replacing her grief for rage "I don't want you! I want Kendal!" she spat she turned to the officer "She is not my mom! I don't want to go with her…" she said as she got down and took Kenny from her.

"Ellie, I thought we had been through this…" Lyla looked at the police officer "I am sorry about them, I am their stepmom…"

"Do they live here?" he asked in a curious tone.

"No they live down the street, their father called me to come and get them when their grandfather did not pick them up, we have been separated for a few months." She explained.

"We do too live here!" Ellie protested.

"Ellie we do not lie to the police!" Lyla finally but some bass in her voice.

Another officer approached and whispered something in the officers ear "I don't think their the ones lying ma'am." He said placing himself between Lyla and the kids, and as he did the other officer took the kids away "we are going to take them to the station, and this can get all worked out there."

When Opie was forced to stop for gas again he checked his phone to find 2 voice mails, and 2 text.

Both texts were from Lyla:

'The kids live w/ Kay now, wtf?'
' police station, come home asap'

The first voice mail was from his daughter and it made his heart stop she was crying and he could hear Kenny in the background crying too "Daddy?! where are you? I think Kendal is…d..d…dead...there was so much...bl…blood..." she bawled "no...no no no one will tell us anything..." she sniffled "We are in a police car...Daddy please come and get us."

The next was from the San Jaquin sheriffs department:

"Mr. Winston, we are calling you to let you know there was an attack at the residence of Ms. Kendal Devlin, where we understand your children have been staying. They are now in our custody. Please call us back as soon as possible. Our number is…."

Ope had lost all of his color, he stopped breathing it wasn't until Tig hit him hard on the back that he spoke but it was more auto-pilot than anything. "Kendal…she may be dead. The police have my kids."

"What?!" Tig had time to reply before Opie was already speeding off.

Opie arrived at the police station first. He swarmed in ignoring Lyla and Colby who sat on a bench outside in the make shift lobby, and did not answer the officers asking him what he needed. He barged into the Sheriffs office and demanded "What happened! Where are my kids?!"" two police officers were at his side about to try to take him down.

"Mr. Winston, why don't you sit down, calm down, and we can talk about this..." he said firmly.

"Cut the bullshit, tell me what happened to her..." Opie said and his voice cracked.

"Now how did you know she was the one attacked?" the sheriff said with a hint of accusation in his voice.

Opie took one step and slammed down his hands on the sheriff's desk and leaned across and was in the Sherriff's face when he yelled "WHAT HAPPENED TO KENDAL?!"

"Officers I do not like Mr. Winston's tone, would you say he is threatening an officer of the law?" the Sherriff called to the officers still at the door.

"I think so." said the deputy leaning against the door jamb, holding Lyla at bay.

"FUCK!" Opie erupted and sat down seething he took a second to get his anger in check before he was able to speak again "Please tell me what happened to her, she is my girlfriend, and she is pregnant with my child...be a decent fucking human being and let me know what happened..."

Before the sheriff could speak another enraged biker slammed in the doors and yelled "What fucking happened to Kay?" Tig was at the door to the sherriff's office within seconds and looked from Opie who looked brow beaten, Lyla who was almost in tears , then to the Sheriff who looked like a chess match was being played in his head. "What happened?"

"Mr. Trager, what do you have to do with Ms. Devlin?" he asked with and arched brow.

"She is my sister..." he said softly "what has happened to my baby sister?"

"There was no record of you being her brother..." the Sheriff looked at him questionably, "and no connecting evidence to Opie being the father…"

"We just met last year, what the hell do you want man, a blood test...?" Tig threw out his forearm "fucking take it man, just tell me what the fuck is going on why my sister?"

The Sheriff gave him a once over before nodding his head slightly "I have questions for you both, and for your children Opie…they have refused to speak to any one until you got here." He said "Then we will go over to the hospital and run some test on both of you. Then and only then can we or the Hospital release any information on Ms. Devlin's condition."

Opie's face changed from placated rage and despair to hope in a second "Hospital?" he asked barely able to speak "she's not..." he swallowed hard "she's..."

The Sherriff continued to speak but Opie was not hearing anything at the moment because his heart was beating almost out of his chest and he thought he could feel the blood in his veins. "Mr. Winston! Opie!" the Sherriff yelled at him and his world came back into focus "They are going to need to speak to you about the baby, as well."

It was another hour before two officers escorted them to St. Thomas. They questioned Opie first then his kids, then Opie and even Lyla. The questioned seem superfluous to Ope and Tig. They asked what here schedule was, where she went, how she got there, they asked about each of their relationships with her and with Tig asked why there was no documentation. The questions they asked the kids under Opie's watch were also seemingly silly.

Opie felt like the Sherriff was purposely wasting time, so he was annoyed with all the questions but answered them truthfully the on questioned that pissed him off the most came after series of questions about Kendal's past that he did not know or could not say the sheriff replied "You sure she is your girlfriend? You don't seem to know anything about her…seems like she is just your babysitter that you knocked up."

Opie scowled because this was one of the many things Kendal said early in their relationship to push him away "I don't have to know her past to love her for who she is…"

After that he was no longer minutely cooperative.