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Tara's Story

Chapter 20 Recap

Thanks to Jax's phone call to Tara's father, she learns that her father has been looking at ways to end her fears of being sent to foster care including having her become an emancipated minor.

Just as it looks like Jax is finally seeing Tara as a girl and he might kiss her, Gemma interrupts them by banging on the door.

Chapter 21 Should Have Seen That Coming

I wanted to wait and see if Gemma could huff and puff and blow the house down like the big bad wolf in the three little pigs' fairytale. Maybe she'd have a heart attack mid-puff and she would no longer be a problem for me because she would be dead. That wasn't a nice way to think, but Gemma wasn't nice to me.

Jax opened the door and Gemma walked in.

"If you don't need to talk to me, I need to check on my computer. I'm downloading a new version of Windows," I lied.

Gemma's back was to Jax. He mouthed the word "coward" to me as I scurried from the room like a frightened little mouse.

We should have expected Gemma to make an appearance. She had taken the news Jax was staying with me just a little too well.

I went into my bedroom, closed the door and then pressed my ear against it trying to hear the conversation.

I heard a few words and put together what they were saying. Gemma wanted him to leave since the prospects were watching over me. She even offered to stay with me if he returned home.

My blood ran cold at the thought of spending an evening alone with Gemma. My mind refused to even imagine it. There are just some places too dark to go.

Jax told her that he was staying because he wanted to stay. He added that he enjoyed being with me. That made me ridiculously happy.

Gemma realized that Jax was immoveable. She had no choice but to accept the situation since she couldn't physically force him to go with her.

"Gemma's gone," Jax called to me.

I returned to the living room.

"I heard a bit of the conversation," I confessed.

"We pretty much had the same conversation that we had on the phone. Now that I've got that sorted out with Gemma and your father is cool with me staying over, we'll be able to have slumber parties whenever we want."

"That's great. I have a confession to make. When I watch DVDs alone, I always pick ones we've seen because the first time I watch a video I want it to be with you."

He grinned.

"I feel the same way. I just enjoy watching DVDs more with you. You want to pick up where we left off?"

"Sounds perfect."

I felt an intense rush of love for Jax. Every cell in my body loved him and I was on top of the world.

As always, my happiness was tempered by the concern that the happier I was, the more likely I was to feel soul crushing heartbreak. I pushed the negative thoughts aside. I was going to enjoy every moment with Jax. Heartbreak wasn't in my plans and I was going to quit thinking about it. It was spoiling my happiness.

Gemma may not have succeeded in getting Jax to return home with her, but she had succeeded in destroying all the romantic tension between Jax and me. Still, I was feeling unusually optimistic. Jax was finally seeing me as a girl and, based on tonight, it was only a matter of time before he kissed me and he was talking about future slumber parties.

We picked up where we left off by watching a Monty Python we hadn't seen. We had a great time watching DVDs and talking. The evening passed quickly. It always did when Jax and I were together.

Eventually, we both curled up on either end of the sofa and fell asleep. Jax had a quilt to keep him warm. I had a white afghan I'd crocheted a couple of years ago.

The next morning, I brought coffee out to the prospects. They were in good moods despite spending the night in lawn chairs.

I made scrambled eggs, sausage and English muffins for everyone including the prospects. I made each prospect a plate of food and brought them outside. The prospects couldn't leave the front yard until Jeff returned. Clay expected his orders to be followed exactly.

The prospects had just knocked on the door to return their plates and coffee cups when Jeff returned.

Jeff was a sorry sight. He was barefoot with torn, dirty, blood stained clothes. He was moving slowly, clearly handicapped by his injuries. Even from a distance, I could see that he'd taken some hits to his face and body.

I should have felt bad seeing how brutally he'd been beaten, but he earned it. If the MC hadn't intervened, he would have continued terrorizing me and eventually he would have raped me and maybe even killed me.

"I have a message for your psycho neighbor," Jax said.

Hulk accompanied Jax. I stayed outside to keep Squirrel company. OK, I really just wanted to see what was happening.

Jeff opened the door and Jax and Hulk pushed their way inside.

"I don't think Jeff's got much fight left in him," I said.

Squirrel nodded.

"Clay ordered Hulk to go with Jax. If Jax loses his temper and starts pounding Jeff, Hulk will pull him off after he's gotten a couple of hits in."

"How much longer do you have as a prospect?"

"It's a minimum of one year. My year won't be up for another four months."

"Jax told me that it's a grueling process."

"Yeah, but it will be worth it. Riding down the road with my cut, fully patched with my top rocker and my brothers all around me on their bikes. It's going to be great. People in this town really look up to SAMCRO."

Jax and Hulk returned. I noticed a few specks of blood on Jax's shirt, so I wasn't sure how his talk with Jeff went.

He and I went back inside the house.

"I wanted to see for myself that Jeff understood the lessons the MC taught him," Jax said. He paused a moment and shook his head. "He understands now that he is to leave you alone."

"That's a relief."

The pessimist in me had some doubts. I wanted to believe that everything was OK now. Always worrying, especially without reason, that was me.

"The prospects are going to leave and I have to get over to TM. I have a bunch of stuff I have to do. You're safe. If anything happens or you get scared, call my cell."

"Thanks for everything."

"It was a great weekend. I'll meet you tomorrow at the corner."

"OK."

He slipped his arm around me, resting his hand on my hip as he brushed his lips against my cheek. He paused and, for a moment, my pulse raced certain that he was going to kiss me, a wonderful romantic kiss smack dab on the lips. Instead, he sucked in his breath as though he were calming himself. He released me and stepped away.

"See you tomorrow," he said and then he left.

I wondered at Jax's hesitation. He had no problem making out with random girls in the hallway, but he couldn't bring himself to kiss me. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Jax didn't see me as a girl, or did he stop himself because he had a girlfriend, the mysterious Heather? Maybe I was just being overly dramatic and imagining things or I could even be right. That happened too sometimes. I was right about stuff occasionally.

I wanted desperately to believe that Jax was finally seeing me as a potential girlfriend. I might be reading too much into what happened between us. I wished I had someone to get advice from. My friends didn't have guy problems yet, so they weren't a source of help. I wouldn't tell them anyway. I couldn't share my hopes for a future with Jax because I was too insecure and I didn't want to look like a desperate idiot, but I felt like one most of the time. This was something I carried over into adulthood.

After about an hour on the internet, I was certain that becoming a legally emancipated minor was the perfect solution for me. I would never have to worry about foster care again.

When my father returned from San Diego, he told me he would support my petition to become an emancipated minor. He didn't want to change our living arrangements. He left it to me to find the attorney and make the appointment for us. He also said that he would pay for all the costs, which came as a pleasant surprise to me.

He immediately burned through all the goodwill he earned when he went next door with a six pack of beer to smooth things over with Darby and Jeff.

I told him he could smooth things over as much as he liked, but if psycho Jeff speaks to me or does anything else, I'd call Jax and SAMCRO would deal with him.

He accused me of overreacting. Apparently, if a guy climbs through an open window and deposits semen all over a teen girl's sheets, being upset about it is overreacting. Since my reaction wasn't the right one, I asked him what he thought I should have done. He didn't have an answer for that.

I don't know how long he stayed at Darby's. I'd gone to bed and read for awhile before I fell asleep.

While walking to school the next morning, I told Jax about what happened with my father. He was as surprised as I was that he had gone over to Darby's.

Hale normally ate lunch with my friends and me on Mondays, so it was easy to pull him aside. I told him my father and I needed an attorney and asked him if he could ask his father for the name of an attorney.

I tried to be subtle about the next part of our conversation, but I don't think it worked. There probably wasn't a subtle way to bring it up.

"I heard this rumor floating around school that Jax has a girlfriend. Have you heard it too?"

Hale studied my face for a moment.

"You see Teller every day. Why don't you ask him?" Hale suggested.

"Uh, well, um, that's a good idea, but I . . . uh . . . don't want him to get the . . . um . . . wrong idea."

"What's the wrong idea?"

Damn, Hale. He was going to force me to say the words.

"I don't want him to think I like him," I said, trying for cool with my face on fire from the worst blush of my life up to that point.

Hale nodded and pretended to think about what I said.

"Well, you do like him. Just as friends, of course. What difference does it make to you if he has a girlfriend?"

He was enjoying watching me squirm. He knew exactly why I wanted to know if Jax had a girlfriend.

"Just curious. That's all."

"Then ask Teller."

"OK, Hale. I give up. I want to know if Jax has a girlfriend and you know why. Her name might be 'Heather'."

"OK. I will find out what I can without being obvious. Above all, I will make sure it doesn't get traced back to you."

"Thanks, Hale. You're the best."

"Yeah, that's me."

I wasn't attracted to Hale and assumed that he felt the same way about me. Part of that was me being a selfish, self-involved teen-aged girl and part of it was me being naïve and foolish.

After dinner that night, my father was in an unusually talkative mood. He even asked me about school and he actually listened to my answers.

I told him that I talked to David Hale about asking his father for an attorney recommendation. He thought that was a good idea and he was still on board for making me a legally emancipated minor.

I was torn by the new attentive father. Part of me was encouraged by his new attitude and part of me was suspicious, wondering what was really going on with him. My father didn't keep me waiting long. We had just finished watching a TV crime drama.

"Tara, I have something to tell you. You have to promise you won't tell anyone."

Whenever someone wants to reveal a secret after requiring a promise to tell no one, it's never good. Run. Just run from the room. It isn't going to be some cool, juicy, interesting secret. It's going to be bad.

"Remember when you told me that Mark was an undercover DEA agent?"

"Yeah."

"You were right."

I'd been tense and nervous when he told me he wanted tell me a secret. I relaxed a little. His confirming that Mark was DEA wasn't much of a secret. In fact, it wasn't a secret at all.

"I work for the DEA too. I'm a confidential informant for Mark."

Oh, hell! That was really bad news. Jax told me that rats were killed. Did that apply to all rats? Did ratting carry an automatic death sentence or could my father's ratting be excused because it wasn't SAMCRO related?

That was the moment that I realized I loved my father. He wasn't perfect, but he wasn't a bad person. He didn't yell at me or hit me. He could have been a lot worse. I didn't want him to get killed. I wasn't even thinking about me for a change. I wasn't worried about his death sending me to foster care. I didn't want him killed because I wanted him in my life.

I should have seen this coming. It made perfect sense. That's why he and Mark were spending so much time at Darby's.

"That's dangerous," I said. "Maybe you shouldn't help Mark anymore

"I like it. It's fun—like being a secret agent."

"Didn't you ever worry about someone finding out that you were working with the DEA?"

"I haven't done anything for them in over a year. I use weed, but I don't think of that as being a drug. It's not like coke or meth. I like feeling that I'm helping get hard drugs off the street."

"I hope you're careful. I don't want anything to happen to you."

My father looked at me and smiled.

"I know I haven't been the greatest father, but I do love you. The whole emancipated minor thing is my way of showing it."

"I haven't been perfect," I said. "I like to think that I've been the perfect daughter, but I know that I've been difficult. It's just been hard for me with losing my aunt and everything."

This heartwarming father/daughter moment came to a quick end.

"There is something else I have to tell you. Jeff isn't Darby's nephew," my father said slowly.

"Jax told me that they met through a cellmate of Darby's," I said.

"Yeah," my father said, shaking his head, "that isn't it."

Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse, they got worse. It was a basic fact of life in Charming. Still, it caught me by surprise. Dumb, stupid me.

"Jeff's father is the head of the biggest drug cartel in South America."

Oh, hell. Oh, double hell. Oh, hell to infinity. This was bad news for me and really bad news for SAMCRO or bad news for SAMCRO and really bad news for me depending on how I looked at it.

Next Up for Tara's Story Sword of Damocles

Poor Tara is in a tough spot. If she tells Jax, she has to out her father as a rat. That might not get her father a death sentence, but SAMCRO isn't going to be happy if they find out Jeff's dad is the head of the biggest drug cartel in South America. Imagine Gemma finding out. That isn't going to be good either.

Is Tara going to be forced to do something disgusting with Jeff to smooth things over with him and keep SAMCRO safe?

Next Up for Me

52 Shades of Jax Love Hurts

In the next few days, I will post another chapter.

Jax Is Really Alive What the Hale?

In the next week or so, I'll post a new chapter.

If you haven't discovered 52 Shades of Jax or Jax Is Really Alive, what is wrong with you?