This chapter is more or less a filler to set up the next chapter. Just wanted to put that little note in here before everyone starts reading. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, followed and favorited my story. I'm having fun writing the sequel to "The One That Got Away". It's been nice getting back into Sons of Anarchy. Enjoy the chapter :)
Abby poured the rest of the wine into Tara's glass. With a laugh she held up the empty bottle. "One bottle down." She stretched out her legs in front of her and looked around at what was soon to be the living room of her house. "Is this place really that bad?"
Tara looked at her seriously then burst out laughing. "Did you finish a bottle of this by yourself when you decided on this place?" She kept laughing as she drank some of her wine. "Do you remember that apartment we had at USC on Chestnut?"
"The one where the tile fell down from the kitchen ceiling and the lights would randomly go out?"
"I still think the place was haunted," Tara answered with a snort.
"I remember I was taking a shower one night and all the lights went out. That was an interesting walk trying to get back to my bedroom to light a candle." Abby chuckled as she opened the second bottle of wine. "That house we rented the next year was better."
"Um, are you forgetting the tub that leaked into the living room?" Tara scratched her forehead and put her glass down. "Now that I think about it, weren't you the one who found both of those places?"
"Shit, maybe I do have bad luck picking out real estate." Abby stopped and looked at Tara then broke into hysterical laughter with her friend. Once they quieted down, Abby leaned back on her elbows and stared up at the ceiling. "I have plans for this place. I'm going to hire a contractor and make this house exactly the way I want it. Just wait, you will be amazed once it's all said and done."
"If I know you, we will be able to submit this to one of those home makeover shows." Tara grabbed the wine bottle and topped off her glass. "So, I heard you brought Lucas over to see Juice today. How did that go?"
Abby continued to stare at the ceiling, thinking back to earlier that day and the interaction between father and son. After they left, Lucas talked nonstop about all the things he wanted to do with Juice. When he got his schedule of soccer games at practice, he begged Abby to make a copy of it for Juice. She promised him she would. She was relieved that their meeting had gone so well, but now the anxiety was hitting her as to how things would go for them as Lucas's parents.
"It went off without a hitch. Lucas loved Juice. He wanted to come back tomorrow to see him again. When Bobby got home, he talked his ear off about their time together."
"That's good, right?" Tara probed.
Abby let the question roll around in her head as she thought about how to answer that question. She felt Tara's foot nudge her. "I hope it's a good thing."
"What do you mean?" Tara asked.
"After what happened between me and Juice, I don't exactly trust him. He needs to be consistent and reliable before I let go of all this anxiety I have about his relationship with Lucas." Abby stopped and thought back to her conversation with Bobby the other night. "I'm sure I could have done more to bond father and son when I was in Chicago."
"Juice could have too," Tara backed her friend. "You can't let him off the hook."
"I'm not, but I did tell him that I would keep in touch with him." Abby stopped and leaned forward. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Juice isn't the most assertive and doesn't always make the wisest decisions."
"I may have noticed that." Tara twirled her glass around, watching the wine make circles. "How's Bobby with all of this?"
Abby let out a snort. "Fine, he's totally fine. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. Either that or I dreamt how he reacted when he found out about my relationship with Juice. He had some heart to heart with me about Juice seeing Lucas and why I should consider letting them meet. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I feel like there's more to it. Why would Bobby suddenly have a change of heart?" She stopped and shrugged. "Maybe he's getting soft in his old age or maybe there's more to it."
"With this club," Tara paused, "who the hell knows. If there is something more to it, you'll find out, at some point."
The two of them sat, drinking their wine in silence. Abby put her glass down and cleared her throat. "Listen, I owe you two apologies." She paused and watched Tara look over at her. "First, I'm sorry for just showing up tonight. I should have called first. You don't get to see Jax that much and I just showed up to steal you away."
Tara laughed. "You know Jax, if he didn't want me to go with you, he would have slammed the door in your face."
Abby giggled. "He would have enjoyed slamming the door in my face." She stopped and took a deep breath. "The other thing I need to apologize for is the way I reacted to your news the other day. I don't want you to think that I don't want what's best for you. It just took me by surprise."
Tara reached out and took Abby's hand. "You don't have to explain yourself. I shouldn't have dumped it on you like that."
Squeezing Tara's hand, Abby smiled. "I do need to explain myself." She stopped and exhaled. "You and I have always wanted more than what this town had for us. Being tied with the Sons never left us many options. I was only going to be here to study for the bar and then I was going to leave. Never in a million years did I imagine I would fall in love with one of them." Abby paused and took a minute to keep herself from letting the wine make her emotional. "I really thought that we could leave and have a life away from here, but Jax was the one who told me it would never be able to happen so to hear you tell me what you did…" she trailed off.
"Struck a nerve," Tara whispered.
Abby shook her head. "Listen, I want you and Jax to be happy. We both know that's not going to happen here. I will support you guys with whatever you decide to do." She moved over and put her arm around Tara. "Besides, I'm going to need a place to getaway to. Plus, Jax wouldn't know what to do without me being a pain in his ass."
Tara wrapped her arm around Abby and put her head against hers. "Maybe I should have a party here," Abby suggested.
"Seriously?"
"Well, it's already a mess so if any fights break out or things get out of hand, it's not going to matter." Abby glanced over at Tara as they both started laughing again.
Abby finished making her copies and went searching for a paper clip. She looked up as the door came open. "I don't know how you work like this," she began, pointing to the piles of paperwork strewn all over the desk. "This mess is making me crazy and all I'm doing is looking for a paper clip."
"Chuckie comes in here and thinks he's helping, but he reorganizes everything then I have to sort through it to find one damn piece of paper," Gemma answered. "I think buying those fake hands for him was a mistake." She points toward the clubhouse. "I made a pot of coffee, figured you could use some."
"I am dying for a cup of coffee. Besides, I wanted to run an idea by you."
Raising her eyebrow, Gemma leaned against the door. "An idea? This I can't wait to hear."
Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Abby went to the door, linking her arm in Gemma's and followed her to the coffee. Entering the clubhouse, Abby surveyed the room. The makeshift chapel doors were shut and the only guys milling around were a couple of the prospects. Abby pointed toward chapel, "church?"
Gemma nodded, pulling out two mugs. "They're heading out on a run in a few days, have a few things to tie up beforehand."
Abby watched Gemma as she put together their coffee meticulously. She knew exactly how Abby liked her coffee. "Bobby never mentioned a run."
"Clay was filling everyone in about it this morning."
Taking the mug from Gemma, Abby knew there was more to it than she was letting on. For as long as Abby had known Gemma, she always knew the majority of what was happening in the club and liked to keep it to herself. On the rare occasions that she would let any information slip, it would come out in riddles, leaving the other person more confused than they started. It was Gemma's way of always having control of the situation.
Gemma lit up a cigarette and leaned back against the bar. "So, you said something about an idea you wanted to run by me?"
"I want to have a get-together at my new house," Abby blurted out. She heard the chapel doors fly open behind her and footsteps filtering out into the main room.
Before she could continue, she heard her uncle's voice coming from behind her. "What are you two beautiful ladies doing?" Bobby asked, sidling up next to Abby. He kissed her cheek before lighting up a cigarette.
"Abby was just telling me she wants to have a get-together at her house," Gemma chimed.
"Really?" Bobby inquired. "Are you hoping by having everyone there, I won't flip out over the house?"
Rolling her eyes, she chose to ignore what he just said. She already knew he would flip out over the house, and until it was renovated, he wouldn't stop hating on it. Other than Chibs and Tara, nobody had seen the house. She already anticipated the snarky comments that would be thrown around once everyone laid eyes on her new property.
"Abby, have you thought this idea through?" Chibs added to the conversation as he came to the corner of the bar.
With a sigh, she took a sip of her coffee. "Yes, I thought it through. I know the house isn't up to par…" she trailed off as she heard Chibs let out a snort. "But this way everyone can see the before and I can deal with all the complaints at once. Then, I'll have another party when it's finished, and I can hear everyone marvel about my house renovation skills."
Chibs and Bobby started laughing as Abby flung a straw at Chibs. "I figure I can grill, and we can all hang out in the backyard."
"Do you have a grill, lass?"
Twirling a piece of hair around her finger, Abby locked eyes with Chibs. "Okay, so I'll have it catered."
"In that case, why don't you just have it somewhere that doesn't need a complete makeover?" Bobby asked.
Before Abby could come to her defense, she felt Gemma's arm wrap around her shoulders as she spoke. "Don't give Abby such a hard time. She bought a house and wants to do something for the club. Let's celebrate that and leave her the hell alone."
The two club members stepped away from the bar to head out with the rest of the guys. As they were walking away, Chibs added, "You say that now Gemma, just you wait."
Rolling her eyes, Abby called out to him. "You can forget about me letting you hang out on my wrap around porch, drinking the whiskey I'll have stocked in the bar I'm putting in." She laughed as she saw him give her a wave before he disappeared out the door. Turning her eyes back to Gemma, she added to what Chibs had just been saying. "I'm going to warn you Gemma, it really is a shit hole right now. You'll probably want to take me and Lucas and tuck us away in your home, but I have a vision for the house. It's going to be great."
Gemma placed a kiss on her forehead. "I have no doubt, baby."
Abby felt Gemma squeeze her tight as she relaxed into her motherly embrace. Her eyes began to the scan the room, stopping abruptly as Juice stood up from the computer and began to make his dissent to exit. She felt her breath catch watching him move across the room. One of the prospects called his name from behind her and before she could turn away, Juice's eyes caught hers. She held his gaze, watching him nod at whatever was being said to him, not taking his eyes off her.
After he exited the clubhouse, Abby placed her head against Gemma's arm, closing her eyes. Pushing what just happened out of her head, she focused on the way Gemma made Abby feel taken care of. Being in the clubhouse with her right now made Abby feel at home. There wasn't any craziness, no arguing, no unnecessary drama; it was actually pretty peaceful. It was moments like this that reminded Abby why she missed being around all the people she considered family.
The night sky was clear with plenty of bright stars stretching far and wide. Juice wasn't sure where he was going, but he just needed to ride. He needed to clear his head. There was so much noise screaming inside his mind that riding on the open road was the only way to make it stop. He couldn't go home to nothing. Normally, the clubhouse would be a distraction, but right now that wasn't going to work for him.
He saw the 'Leaving Charming' sign not too far ahead. Before he knew it, he was slowing down and pulling off the road. Shutting off his motorcycle, he hopped off and made his way to the sign. He sat down on the grass, leaning his back against the one post, and stared off into the darkness.
His day which had started off well, quickly went downhill. He woke up in a fantastic mood. He got to spend time with Lucas the day before which went better than he ever imagined. The time spent with him felt so natural and he was more than happy that Abby had been civil with him. After the guys got finished with church, Clay sent Juice out to check on the warehouse with Happy and Tig. When he returned to TM, he was shocked when Gemma handed him a piece of paper that had Lucas's soccer game schedule. She told him that Abby had left it for him. He was riding high when he walked into grab a beer with his brothers.
As he was sitting at the bar joking with Tig, Chibs came stumbling out of the bathroom looking like death warmed over. All that processed food had caught up to him and it was wreaking havoc on his insides. Juice made a wild suggestion that Chibs should go to the weed shop that Juice had stock in for a colonic. He couldn't believe that Chibs agreed to it, but at that point Chibs felt so miserable he said he was willing to try anything.
Chibs came out of the shop completely different than when he walked in. He couldn't thank Juice enough for the suggestion. Juice had been getting a lot of shit from the guys for putting his money into the shop, not because of the weed, but because of the colonics. Now that Chibs changed his tune on the colonics maybe the other guys would take his new endeavor more seriously.
Exiting Clear Passages, Juice couldn't wait to see where the rest of his day went because for a change everything was going great. He could have kicked himself for thinking so positively because he jinxed his day. Roosevelt's men pulled up in front of the shop and patted both men down. Finding weed on Juice gave them reason to drag him to the police station since he was on parole and in possession of marijuana. It was complete bullshit, but there was nothing Juice could do about it.
To Juice's surprise, he wasn't taken to a holding cell, but straight to Roosevelt's office. An immediate sick feeling hit him as he was left waiting for the new Sheriff to make his appearance. It was becoming clear to him there was more to this little visit.
He stared up at the sky and saw a lone cloud setting in, covering a few of the stars shining down on him. He placed his head in his hands and tried to push out the information that had been laid in front of him by Roosevelt. He tried to think about Lucas and the brief conversation they had before he hit the road on his bike, but that just made the events of his day even heavier.
Every time he drove past this sign, he had a flashback to one of the best weekends of his life. This was where he met Abby to go on their weekend to San Diego. It was their first real time they spent together. She took him to a soiree at her law school advisor's house. He wore a suit and was thrust into a world he had never been a part of. Much to his surprise, he felt completely comfortable. He couldn't get over how normal he felt among a bunch of lawyers and law students. On top of that, he left San Diego head over heels for Abigail Munson.
As crazy as it sounded, coming here to this sign made him feel close to her. Ever since she left to go to Chicago, there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think of her. After she left, he went back to drowning himself in alcohol and croweaters. Every time he woke up next to one of them, he hated himself even more for what he did to force Abby to leave. He tried to convince himself that what he did was the best for her. When she got kidnapped by Darby's guys, it drove home the fact that not only did he put himself in danger every day, but Abby too. He didn't think he'd be able to live with himself if something happened to her.
Now here he sat under a sign on the edge of town, all alone, his body swimming in a bunch of emotions. The meeting with Roosevelt, the good memories with Abby, and the demise of his relationship with her was eating him alive.
Pushing himself up to stand, he reached into his pocket for his phone. It was almost midnight; he knew he shouldn't call, yet he dialed her number anyway. As he paced around nervously, his heart pounding in his chest, he considered hanging up, but it was too late.
He heard "hello" from the other end of the phone and he froze. He didn't know what to say, he just knew he needed to hear her voice in hopes it would help push all his crap out of his mind. Swallowing, he spoke, "Abby, I know it's late. I'm sorry if I woke you."
"Is everything okay?" He could hear a hint of concern behind the question which made him feel slightly better.
"Yeah, yeah, everything is okay," he answered as upbeat as possible. "Um, I just wanted to check with you, are you sure you're okay with me coming to your party this weekend?"
She sighed on the other end. "If I wasn't okay with it, I wouldn't have extended the offer. You're part of the club so why wouldn't you come? We have to get used to seeing each other now that I'm back."
Juice rocked back and forth as he stood in place. He wanted to tell her what had happened to him that afternoon. He wanted to tell her where he was and why he had come to this spot, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. He didn't know how to tell her all of that. He didn't deserve her confidence or her being civil to him.
Clearing his throat, he quietly added, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it."
She let out a soft laugh on the other end. "This is what you called me for at midnight?"
"Yes," he squeaked, trying to contain himself from spilling his guts. "Goodnight, Abby." He hung up the phone after he heard her say goodnight.
Shoving his phone back in his pocket, he trudged over to his bike. He couldn't go back to his apartment, so he decided he'd head back to the clubhouse and crash there. He knew there'd be a croweater he could escape with to take away some of this, even if it was just momentarily. It wasn't ideal, but the place he wanted to be wasn't possible. He screwed up that avenue years ago, and no matter how much he wanted it back, chances of that life being offered to him again were slim. He lost his chance to be a part of a family with her because of the choices he made, and depending on how things played out for him, he might lose that family too.