Thanks for the reviews! Totally forgot I had this chapter finished lol Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! I do not own anything in this chapter, besides the ocs, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 36

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The door opened to Savannah and Juice's apartment, Juice standing in the doorway with Savannah in his arms. After much protest on her part, he'd insisted on carrying her through the threshold. "I'm telling you, JC, I can walk." She attempted again, but it was no use. He was stubborn and wouldn't give in.

In all honesty, he knew he could have let her walk on her own, or at the very least just have an arm around her waist. He was looking to show off though. "You know you like the special attention, Savvy." He chuckled, carrying her over to the couch before carefully setting her down.

Gemma brought up the rear of the group, carrying in Savannah's bag. Shooting a glare at Juice, she shut the door and set the bag down. Her and Juice had been at each others throats all morning on who got to take Savannah home. Who got to care for her. "How you doing, baby? Your stitches okay?" She asked, heels clicking against the floor as she crossed the room.

Gemma leaned down and felt her face, stroking her cheek with her thumb. Savannah had missed her mom's babying. It'd been a while since someone had taken care of her like her ma would. It was one of things she missed about being home. "I'm okay, ma. I'm just getting hungry. We ordering in?" She asked, looking between her and Juice.

"Yes." Juice answered

"No." Gemma answered at the same time.

She should have seen that coming. While Gemma liked to do everything herself, Juice was fine with just ordering in. Her mom liked the keep busy, whether it was cooking or cleaning. Juice had his OCD tendencies, but other wise he was good with anything. "I'll whip something up. I stocked you up on actual-" She sent a glare to Juice. "food the other day. How you could eat off that crap before, I don't know."

The dig was clear as day. Gemma didn't think Juice was taking care of her. Not that she needed him to, but in her ma's mind, she knew she thought men were suppose to take of their women. Her ma had a warped view on relationships, she'd known that for a while. Savannah also knew she probably didn't like him simply because he didn't wear a kutte.

"Ma, lay off. I do the food shopping. I happen to love raman noodles and the quick tv dinners just fine." She said, hoping she'd back off. It was a wish unanswered though.

"How 'bout we just order from Wok's tonight? We can get that platter we always get." Juice said, looking for the phone.

He wanted to rub it in he and Savannah had a routine down, that Savannah and him were good together. Juice knew how her family thought of him. He was an outsider, and they didn't like outsiders. He planned on being in Savannah's life for a while though, and he'd be damned if he let them push him out.

Except, now he'd put her on the spot. Either she picked her mom's cooking, or take out from their favorite place to order from. Either choice would end in the other being hurt she hadn't chosen them. Looking between them, she looked conflicted. Deep down, she knew who to choose. "Ma, you're a guest. Let's just order in this time." She finally said, before she could chicken out.

Whether she picked her mom or not, she knew there'd be plenty of other times to have her mom ther to back her up. Her mom wasn't going to just leave her. They were bonded. She'd always have her mom.

She did want her to know Juice was part of her life too now though. He wasn't going to disappear, at least not right now. She loved him, and he loved her. "I'll go order." Juice said, phone in hand. He looked relieved. He gave her a small smile as he squeezed her hand before going to find the menu.

If looks could kill, the glare Gemma was shooting Juice would have killed him on the spot as he slipped by her. He moved around the kitchen without hesitation. He knew where everything was, just another sign that he'd been living here long enough. "Ma," Gemma turned her head away from Juice at the sound of her name. "Maybe we can have those banana pancakes for breakfast tomorrow? I've been dying for them since Christmas." She said, leaning up to reach for her hand.

Gemma held out on showing any sign of forgiveness for not choosing her side, but she took her hand and squeezed. They were okay. "Yeah, baby. Of course." The older woman said, nodding her head. Savannah squeezed her hand back, giving her a small smile in return.

"Thanks for being here, ma. I know the guys must be going crazy without you." Savannah laughed at the thought.

Those boys ran around like chickens with their heads cut off without her ma around. Even Clay and Piney. Gemma chuckled with her, knowing she was right. "Things have been quiet since . . . since Opie." She paused, glancing back at Juice who was on the phone with the restuarant. "Club stripped Kyle of his patch, ran him outta Charming." She whispered, filling her in on the gossip since she'd left.

Talking about Opie was still a sore subject for Savannah. Everyone else might have had time to get use to him being locked up, but she'd only just recently found out. Did he know she didn't know? Was it his idea not to tell her? What if he thought she was just ignoring him? He'd hate her for not reaching out. She'd have to send him a letter soon.

Gemma cleared her throat, suddenly looking uncomfortable. There was more she didn't know about back home. What could be worse? From the look on her mother's face, she could tell whatever it was, was bad. "Koz relapsed again. Didn't catch on til it was too late. Tig's dog got into his shit and she . . . it didn't end well. Tiggy's heart broken. Koz transferred to Tacoma." She confessed, keeping her voice low so Juice couldn't over hear.

Savannah covered her mouth in horror. Missy was Tig's pride and joy, besides his estranged daughters. He loved that dog more than anything else. She was like his third kid. Savannah wasn't sure what to be more upset about. Missy dying, or Kozik relapsing. He'd been acting strange when she'd come to visit, but she played it off as him being his normal weird self. If she had paid more attention, maybe she'd have-

"Hey, don't you blame yourself. You couldn't have known, none of us could have. Tig lived with him and didn't know." Gemma said, squeezing her hand.

Giving her a sad smile, she nodded her head. She knew deep down, she was right. "I know, ma. I just wish there was somethin' I could have done, ya know?"

"I know, baby. I know."

Kozik was good at hiding his problems. She was only back for a couple of weeks, there was nothing she could have done. He had to get clean for himself, not because of her. They weren't even together, she wasn't his old lady. She had no say in what he did. No matter what her mother thought or wanted. She knew Gemma wanted them together, she always paired them together at dinner, had them sit beside each other.

Savannah winced, laying up enough to give her mom a hug. Gemma was mindful of her daughter's injuries as she hugged her back, kissing her head.

Juice cleared his throat, phone in hand. The women looked up, pulling back from their embrace, to see what he wanted. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, food should be here soon. Anything you need me to do, Sav?" He asked, looking between them curiously.

Gemma brushed back Savannah's hair lovingly before getting up. "Why don't you pick up your clothes, bus boy, and go start a load of laundry? This place is a pigsty." Gemma said, pushing a dirty shirt into his chest before pushing past him to start cleaning up in the kitchen.

Savannah reached over and took his hand, tugging on him to sit with her. He gave her a small smile before dropping into the spot beside her. Savannah curled up into him as best she could with her casted leg. "Don't worry, she'll warm up to you, just like I did." She said, kissing his cheek. She knew he needed some reassurance. Going toe to toe with her mother wasn't something someone willingly wanted to do.

He was about to make a comment when his phone went off. Giving her a quick peck, he got up and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Savannah watched as his body tensed for a moment, just long enough for her to notice. "Something wrong?" She asked, wincing as she tried to sit up.

Juice immediately shook his head, clearing his throat as he sent a quick text before pocketing his phone. His entire demeanor had changed in the matter of seconds, something that didn't go unnoticed between Gemma and Savannah. "I-I'm fine. I'm good, it was just one of the guys from work. Asked if I could bring him something." He said, grabbed his bag and jacket. "I'll try to get back soon before my shift. See you later, baby." Kissing her head, he took off before she could even utter a word.

$^&*^(&^(*

Juice had to find a new meeting spot. The club was out, he was sure that spot for deals was just about blown. He'd been able to get in contact with most of his buyers to let them know he was gonna be dry for a while, but Prulow had been dodging his calls. Might be because he still owed him a few bucks from his last buy. So, when he'd called him, he'd set up a meet at the park, and just hoped he'd come.

He hadn't told Savannah where he was going, just that he needed to drop something off with one of his co-workers that he no longer had, but what she didn't know, couldn't hurt her. He knew it wouldn't go over well if she knew. She wanted him out of the dealing business. He just hoped it was that easy. Boss man hadn't been upset, but he'd had a feeling it wasn't gonna be as easy as it seemed to be.

"Juice?"

Juice looked up at the sound of his name. It was Prulow. He wasn't a tall guy, maybe a few inches shorter than him. He was on the heavier side too. Juice had only talked to him a handful of times, but he was nice guy. A little on the smartass side, but a good guy none the less. Kid moved all the way from Woodhaven to come to school here. He was smart, if you really took the chance to talk to him, but the weed he smoked was killing a good amount of brainstems.

Standing, the two shook hands before bumping shoulders. "Hey, man. Thanks for showing up. I need to talk to you about somethin' real quick." He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Prulow suddenly looked pale, which looked bad on his carmel skin. Juice knew he was worried this about the money, but they were good as far as he was concerned. He knew Prulow would get it to him when he could. School wasn't cheap, he knew that first hand. He wasn't looking forward to paying off his loans either.

"Look, Juice, man, I can get you the ca-"

Juice held up his hand to stop him, shaking his head. "Nah, we're cool, man. This ain't about the cash, I know you're good for it. You know I got fired from the club, right? Location's dead as far as pick ups go. I'm gonna be dry for a while, looking to get out. Make honest cash to treat my girl right." He explained, hoping there were no hard feelings.

Prulow looked conflicted, on one hand he was happy for Juice, on the other he was sad to see him leave. He liked Juice, he was a pretty cool guy. He knew if not for their dealings, their paths would have never crossed. He felt bad for him too, he knew losing the job plus this was gonna be a major hit to Juice finanially. "Anything I can do for you, man?" He asked, sitting beside him on the bench.

Juice ran his hands over his face in frustration. He'd been looking for a job for weeks now, and still no luck. It was like the world was against him, and there was only so much longer that he could keep this from Savannah. He still hadn't told her about the job. He didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes again. "This job search is fuckin' killing me, man. Either no one's hirin', or no one's hiring a guy with a record." He said, running a hand through his hair.

It's gotten long again, he realized. He didn't have the spare cash to get it cut, and he didn't want Mrs. P or Savannah to know that. The second he could though, he was taking a buzz cutter to it. Shit needed to go before he pulled it out himself. "How's your girl taking it?" Prulow asked.

That was a problem in of itself. He hadn't told Savannah yet. He wanted to, but they were just getting past his lies about Mel. He couldn't tell her he'd lied about something else. He wanted to wait until he had good news to go with it. He'd be graduating in just a few weeks, and he needed to figure something out soon. "She's not taking it, cause she doesn't know. I don't have the balls to tell her. I wanted to get something else before I did." He confessed, glancing over at the other man.

Prulow seemed to be contempting something over in his head. Maybe he had a solution for all of Juice's problems. If only. "I might have somethin' you can do. Boss man down at Rossi's looking for someone to de-bug his crap. You're a genius at that shit, ain't ya?" He asked, having remembered Juice mentioning that once.

Rossi's, Juice knew that place well. It was a front, everyone on his old block knew the man who ran it. Dominic Rossi, mob boss. He owned the streets of Queens, even after her relocated here. Juice had been friends with his kid Lucca when they were kids, but Lucca and his family moved years ago, he doubted they'd remember him.

"Yeah, I'd be up to doing it. Money's money at this point, man. I wanna take my girl out soon, make sure she knows I still love her, ya know?" He said, giving him a quick grin.

It'd been a while since he'd taken her out, and he missed seeing her all dressed up just for him. He liked sitting in watching a movie and getting taking out with her, but he wanted to treat her like she should be. Nights out, nice little presents occasionally.

"I'll bring it up to him and get back to ya then." Prulow said as he raised to his feet. Juice followed suit, adjusting his bag. "See you around, Juice."

The two slapped their hands together, bumping shoulders again, before parting ways. Juice really hoped this job would come through. He needed it now more than ever, he'd definitely owe Prulow one if he could pull this off for him. Pulling out his prepaid, he cursed under his breath. He was gonna be late for the one job he had left if he didn't haul ass and hurry up.