Hi everyone! I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed my story. I greatly appreciate it! I know some of these chapters have been a little slow, but I've been trying to focus on the relationships between Abby and the important people in her life. I really think it's important in order to set up some of the stuff that will be coming up down the road. I know I mentioned in the beginning that my plan is to follow seasons 4 to 7, but I think I'm going to play around a bit with the story. I'm going to keep some of the stuff, but change some of the stuff to make it a bit different. I know how I want the story to end, now I just have to get there. I've been re watching the seasons and am realizing that the timeline of SOA is a little hard to determine so I'm just timing things the way I think seems right to my story. This chapter is my favorite one that I've written so far for Ghosts That We Knew. I really hope everyone enjoys it. Thank you again for all your support! It gives me the motivation to keep plugging away on this story :)
Opie got off his bike and looked around the plot of land. He grew up in this town all his life, but he never knew this place existed. It was off the beaten path at the end of town. There wasn't a neighbor for a good half a mile, maybe more.
He placed his helmet on his bike and slid his beanie onto his head. It was pitch black; the house was barely visible from where he was parked. It felt like he was walking into a scene from a horror movie.
"Is this the right place?"
Opie glanced over his shoulder to see Jax walking up next to him, puffing on a cigarette. He shrugged his shoulders. He pulled out his phone and looked at the text Abby had sent him with the directions to make sure he hadn't made a wrong turn somewhere. "This is what she told me."
"You haven't seen the place?" Jax questioned, raising an eyebrow. Laughing as Opie shook his head no, Jax pointed in the distance. "I think I see a house." Jax kept laughing as he started walking toward the building in the distance.
"Wasn't Tara over here the other night?"
"Yeah, all she told me was that I had to see it to believe it." Jax stopped at a set of unreliable looking stairs leading up to the porch. Glancing around, he ran a hand through his hair. "There is no way Abby Munson bought this shithole."
Pointing to a car parked off to the side of the house, Opie murmured, "I'm pretty sure that's your old lady's car." As his eyesight adjusted to the dark, he noticed there were a bunch of bikes parked off in the distance too.
Letting out a loud laugh, Jax placed a hand on Opie's shoulder. "Well this should be interesting. My mom is going to have a fucking cow when she sees this." He snorted. "I can't wait."
Opie rolled his eyes and watched as Jax gingerly placed his foot on one of the steps leading up to the porch. "If I fall through, do you think I can sue Abby?" Jax chirped.
"Here let me help you out." Opie punched him in the shoulder, laughing as Jax almost tripped in front of him. Jax retaliated, turning around, and trying to push Opie back.
"Hey, you two, get your asses inside."
Following Jax, Opie whipped around to see Gemma standing inside the front door, hand on her hip with a disapproving look on her face. He waited for Jax to reach the top of the steps before he followed suit. He wasn't sure the two of them could be on them at the same time.
Reaching the porch in one piece, he watched Gemma look them both over. "Either of you say anything negative to Abby about this place, you will have me to answer to."
"You can't tell me that you're okay with this?" Jax questioned, motioning toward their surroundings.
"Of course, I'm not, but Abby is excited about it and I'm happy that she bought a house. That means she's sticking around so if her taking on this project is what keeps her here, I'm not saying shit." She placed an arm around each of them. "And if you guys want to be without a lawyer and one of your best friends again, you'll be supportive too."
Opie followed the two of them through the front door, trying to remain stone-faced. He was flabbergasted at the state this place was in; it needed an abundance of work done. As he scanned over the living room, he couldn't help but think that Abby would be better off bulldozing the place and rebuilding it from scratch.
"My mom might be able to keep her cool over the state of the place, but there is no way in hell Bobby will be able to," Jax muttered quietly so Gemma couldn't hear. "Remind me to thank Abby for my entertainment for the evening."
Opie shoved him forward, ignoring Jax's laughter. He had no idea what Abby was thinking in inviting everyone over here. Bobby was going to flip his lid and Jax wasn't going to stop tormenting her about it.
Trying to keep his focus straight in front of him, he followed Gemma to the back door. He did glance into the kitchen, which looked like it was in the process of being gutted. Shaking his head, he made his way to the backyard. Stepping outside was like night and day. Abby had lights strung around some of the trees, some nice tents set up around the backyard with a full-size bar in one of them and tables of food in the other. Tables were set up with lanterns in the middle of each of them and there was a table set up with a decent stereo system laid out on it.
"Is this the same place or did I take a wrong turn at the gutted kitchen?" Jax whispered over his shoulder. "This is nicer than the inside." He yelped as Gemma punched him in the arm.
"I mean it Jackson, keep your mouth shut," she scolded.
Opie shoved Jax, ignoring the devilish grin on his face. He saw Abby standing at a table with Tara and Unser; his Pop was sitting down talking with them. He scanned the yard. Bobby was at the bar with Chibs, Tig, and Clay. Happy, Kozik, and the prospects were surveying all the food. Chucky was tending to the buffet tables. At the side of the yard was Juice with all the kids, kicking a ball around. He saw his two among that group and Lyla playing along with them. He felt his stomach twist in a knot at the sight of her.
Before she could see him, he turned his attention to where Abby was. He trapsed across the yard behind Jax. He knew Lyla would see him soon enough and be right by his side. Ever since their wedding, Opie felt suffocated by feelings he had been trying to ignore. He didn't know what to do with them. He woke up every morning, threw on his cutte and pushed through his day, trying to act like everything was fine. Inside he didn't feel fine; he wasn't sure how he felt, but he knew it wasn't the way a newlywed should feel.
"I didn't think you guys were going to show up," Abby greeted. "What do you think?"
Opie and Jax exchanged glances, then looked at Gemma. With a raise of her eyebrow, the two men turned to Abby, and with as much enthusiasm as they could muster, answered with an, "It's great."
"You both are a bunch of liars," Abby responded. "I don't know who you're fooling with that fake ass answer, but I appreciate the sentiment." She walked over and hugged Opie. "You can tell me how much you hate it tomorrow. I've already had to endure Bobby's wrath and that's about all I can handle for the evening. I just want to have a good time with everyone."
He nodded and smiled at her. "I'll save it all for tomorrow." He put his arm around her and looked over at Jax. Jax had his arms wrapped around Tara and looked genuinely happy in the way a man in love should look. Coughing, he called over. "Are we getting a beer or what?"
"I think we should do a shot," Abby chirped.
"That sounds like a fine idea," Jax responded in delight.
Rolling his eyes, Opie saw Abby pouring some vodka in a handful of shot glasses. Handing one to Unser, Gemma, Piney, Jax, and Tara, Abby turned to him and extended a glass out. Smiling, he took it from her hand and held it up.
"To Abby and her new house," he announced. Throwing it back, he smiled and did what he did best, pushed any negative feelings as far down as they could go. It was Abby's night, and he was going to do his best to put on a good face for his friend.
Surveying the food at the buffet, Abby settled on a pulled pork slider and some chips. She hadn't eaten yet and figured it might be a good idea to do that. This was her party, and she didn't want to pass out two hours into it.
She smiled at Chucky as she walked past him. "I really appreciate you taking care of the buffet and making sure everyone has what they need."
He beamed back at her, nodding. "I accept that."
Chucky sure was an odd little dude, but it was clear to Abby that he was a hard worker and dedicated to the club. He had already been a huge help to her, and for having those fake hands, she was amazed at how much he could do.
She retreated to a spot away from everyone else. She needed a minute to herself before joining everyone again. The party was in full swing and for the most part everything was going well, but Abby couldn't help but notice a few things that struck her.
Normally, her uncle and Clay were joined at the hip. Other than being together briefly when they first got here, they were far away from each other. She couldn't help but notice every now and again, her uncle shot Clay a look of disgust. Clay and Piney were also steering clear of each other, but that was less of a shock to Abby. It was no secret that Piney and Clay were always butting heads, that went back to when JT was club President and probably way before that. So, whereas that was pretty typical, her uncle and Clay avoiding each other was not.
Gemma and Tara had been sniping at each other all evening too. Abby knew the two had their share of ups and downs, but when the guys were inside the two of them seemed to have smoothed things over. Abby spent a lot of time with Gemma and Tara when she came back which was actually fun. Tonight, it seemed like things had hit a rough spot for the two ladies which had Abby wondering what was up now.
To Abby, the biggest oddity of the evening was Opie and Lyla. Abby had seen them together for about ten minutes over the past two hours. Opie was hanging with Piney and Jax while Lyla was playing with the kids. She had talked to Abby a bit, but other than that it seemed like she was playing babysitter instead of being with her husband and the rest of the gang. Abby felt an air of heaviness between the two newlyweds and she had no idea why. If she had to make a guess, she would bet that it had do with Opie getting inside his head and shutting Lyla out. He was good at that.
"I think you have the right idea hiding back here."
Abby looked up to see Tara had walked over to her. "I needed a minute."
"You and me both," Tara agreed with a sigh, parking herself onto the grass. "Everything seems to be going well."
Abby let out a snort. "My uncle seems to be pissed at Clay. You and Gemma are being catty with each other, and Opie seems to be avoiding his wife. Yeah, I'd say this party is a success."
Tara started laughing. "I don't know about Bobby, Clay, and Opie, but you know how Gemma and I get. As much as I wish life with her was rainbows and unicorns, it most definitely isn't."
"Rainbows and unicorns are bullshit." Abby finished off her sliders and pointed to where Juice and Lucas were, kicking the soccer ball around with Kenny and Abel. "Those two have been joined at the hip since he got here."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"I think so." Abby stopped and let out a groan. "Lucas has such a big heart, and he wants to be friends with everyone. I don't want him getting his heart broken if something happens to Juice, whether that be because of the club or because of him doing something stupid." Abby stopped and added. "Oh, and don't forget, him doing something stupid because of the club."
Tara reached over and took Abby's hand. "You have every reason to be nervous about their developing relationship. The two of you really need to have a heart to heart."
"What about co- parenting?"
"Among other things," Tara remarked, looking up at Abby. Abby was intentionally avoiding eye contact with her. "You know I'm right."
Abby knew what Tara was saying was all valid. She hadn't dealt with what had happened between her and Juice. The week between finding him and Jessie together to when she left, she spent most of that time sleeping and walking around Bobby's house in a daze. Even finding out she was pregnant didn't sink in until she was on a plane to Chicago. Going to Chicago kept her occupied; between settling into a new place, job, handling her pregnancy, and becoming a new mom, she was able to ignore all the feelings about her life back in Charming. Abby had spent her whole life ignoring her emotions and shoving them aside; it's what she was used to, but she knew in order to move past this she would have to deal with them.
Pushing herself to stand, she looked down at Tara. "Enough of this depressing talk. I feel like I need a drink and I want to turn on some music. This is my party which means we can play all the songs we like and irritate the shit out of Jax and Ope."
With a giggle, Tara stood up and hooked her arm in Abby's. "I'm in."
Juice stepped out of the bar tent holding a beer. Grabbing a cigarette, he leaned against the tree next to him and took a drag. Gemma had taken Abel, Thomas, and Lucas back to her house about an hour ago and he didn't know what to do with himself. Since arriving to the party, he hadn't talked to any of his brothers or to Abby. He had been spending the whole time hanging with his son and the other kids which wasn't what he was used to. Normally, he was in the midst of the party, right alongside everyone else, drinking, smoking, being loud, and flirting with the ladies. Much to his surprise, he found engaging in this new role came naturally to him. Running around and playing dad made the things weighing on him evaporate even if it was just momentarily.
Not talking to Abby gave him mixed feelings. On one hand, he longed to talk to her, to spill out everything that was inside of him in hopes that it would bridge the gap that was between them. On the other hand, unleashing what was weighing him down put him in a vulnerable position which wasn't a risk he was willing to take. This wasn't just about what happened between them years ago. Sure, that was a lot of it, but this included his feelings about his fears of being a father as well as what happened when he met with Roosevelt.
"Where have you been all night, brother."
Juice glanced over to see Jax and Opie approaching him. Plastering a smile on his face, he answered, "I was hanging with Lucas and the kids." Locking eyes with Opie, he said, "that was the most I've been around Kenny. He's a really great kid. Hell, of a soccer player too. You should be proud."
"Thanks man," Opie remarked. "Lucas is a great kid too."
Shrugging his shoulders, Juice brought his beer up to his lips. "I had nothing to do with that." Glancing over to where Abby was laughing with Tara, Happy, Kozik, and Chibs, he pointed to her. "That was all her."
"How you doing with all of this?" Jax asked curiously.
Juice had no idea how to answer that question. The guys didn't exactly sit around talking about their feelings and sharing, so what should he say? These guys were his brothers, but they were also Abby's best friends. If the only thing that was bogging him down was adjusting to being a dad to a four-year-old, then he would dish it out to them since they were fathers juggling life with the Sons. Unfortunately, that was only a piece of it. "I'm adjusting" was all he could think to say. It was the truth. He was adjusting to this new part of his life, so he wasn't lying; he just wasn't sharing everything.
"Look, Abby is a complicated individual. As long as you're stepping up with Lucas, that will help your relationship with her," Opie advised. "If she didn't want you in his life, she would have stayed in Chicago."
Juice nodded his head, letting Opie's words sink in. If anybody could offer advice regarding Abby it was Opie. He heard Jax snicker as he turned his eyes to his VP.
"Yeah, trust me, if Abby didn't want you involved in some way you would know. That girl has a mean streak in her that she keeps tucked away, but when it comes out…" he trailed off as Opie elbowed him.
He watched Opie give Jax a look that conveyed that he should shut up. Juice could read between the lines as to what that meant. For a brief second, he had a flash of the night that hung over him like a dark cloud. Opie and Jax had been front and center to the drama in the dorm room five years ago. He saw Abby's mean streak come out in a fury that night. There were nights where that look of anger on her face would haunt him in his sleep. He had been the one to do that to her, thinking it was for the best, but deep down he regretted every moment of it.
Turning his attention back to the group behind him, he watched her scurry over to the stereo system and call Tara over. The two stood behind the stereo system, whispering, and giggling before turning on the next song.
Jax and Opie started walking back to where everyone else was, motioning for him to follow along. Pulling his shoulders back, he fell in line behind them, stopping once the three of them got to the table where Bobby was sitting with Piney.
He slid into a seat and lit a cigarette. Jax and Opie were joking about the music choice that the girls had picked. For a second, Juice had the urge to join in on their banter, but he stopped himself. That wasn't his place anymore; he made a choice, and as much as he regretted the choice, he had to protect it.
From the distance, Juice's head shot up when he heard Tara and Abby start squealing as the next song came over the speakers. Tara came dancing over to Jax and took him by the hands. "This was the song that Abby and I played every weekend at the 901 in L.A." She was swinging his arms back and forth while Jax was looking at her like he wanted to jump her right there.
Shaking his head, Juice looked back at where Abby was dancing with a vodka bottle in her hand. She was singing and swaying with the music.
We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young
Abby looked so carefree, caught up in the music, not a care in the world. This was the Abby that Juice had fallen in love with, and all he could do was sit and act like he was fine.
And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you used to live
When you were young
Abby had made her way over to Chibs and had her arm around him as the song kept blaring over the speakers.
You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentlemen
Like you imagined when you were young
Talks like a gentlemen, like you imagined
When you were young
Chibs was laughing as she serenaded him. Juice felt his stomach churning inside of him as he downed the rest of his beer and turned his eyes away from the good time being had in front of him. As his eyes drifted across the lawn, he caught sight of Bobby looking at him. Bobby nodded at him, Juice offering him a slight nod in return, then averting his eyes quickly away. His mind started going a mile a minute with all the thoughts he had been overloaded with as of late. Juice sprung up from his chair and took a few steps back.
"You okay?" Jax called.
"Yeah, I'm good." Juice held up his empty beer. "Refill. You want one?"
"Nah, I'm good, thanks."
Juice nodded and hauled ass to the tent with the alcohol. He needed a minute to regroup so he could finish out the party without having his emotions spill out in front of everyone.
Opie stretched his legs out in front of him and looked around. Tara was sitting on Jax's lap. They were laughing quietly with each other, Jax nuzzling her neck here and there. Clay had left for the evening. Tig, Kozik, and Happy were laughing and carrying on over by the bar. Bobby was puffing on a cigar, staring up at the night sky while Juice sat, staring blankly into the darkness of the trees. Opie couldn't help but wonder if Juice was trying to ignore Abby and Chibs who were standing at the table joking very loudly with each other.
His dad had left to go to the cabin, surely to drink more and do whatever he did up there. Lyla had taken the kids home a couple hours prior. He knew he should go home, but he felt glued to his seat. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had this unbelievably hot wife who had embraced his kids like they were her own. She was one hundred percent loyal and didn't bitch about the club. She knew this was what he was involved with and she stood by him like an Old Lady should. So, what the hell was his problem? They had been together for over two years now; he shouldn't be feeling this way anymore. It was understandable in the beginning, but what was his excuse now? He felt like he didn't know himself anymore.
He glanced up when he heard Abby clear her throat and start to say something to the table. Groaning, he looked her way, seeing that she was clearly tuned up from the vodka and who knows what else. For a second, he had a flashback to the last time she was drunk in Charming.
"I can't believe that you two are getting married," Abby chattered. She put her arm around Jax. "I remember when you used to chase Tara around, trying to convince her to go out on a date with you. You tried to get me to talk you up."
"And you never did," Jax joked, wrapping his arm around Abby's neck, and messing up her hair.
Abby pushed his shoulder with a laugh and stood up. "It didn't matter because you got the girl." She smiled at Tara then turned toward Opie. "And now you're married to Lyla; I'm the last man standing. Out of all of us, I never thought that I would be the last one left to tie the knot."
Watching the smile leave Abby's face, caused Opie to mutter, "shit." He had a bad feeling about where this conversation was about to go. Before he could get out of his chair to pull her away, she had already veered off down the path he didn't want to her go.
"What happened to that ring you had for me?" she called over to Juice.
His head shot up from where he had been staring down at his lap. He started to open his mouth, but she cut him off. "Yeah, I knew about the ring. I could have been married to Juan Carlos Ortiz," she stopped and scanned the table of faces. "Did any of you know that? I could have been Mrs. Juan Carlos Ortiz, but he decided that hooking up with that skank, Jessie Phillips, was the route he wanted to go. Not exactly the way to propose…"
Opie stood up, trying to decide if he should let her continue and get this all out or cut it off before it got any worse. Before he could make a move, Bobby had joined the conversation.
"Abby, this isn't the place to rehash old shit." He locked eyes with Juice. "You and Juice should have a conversation at another time to work this out."
"What the hell is going on with you, uncle? Suddenly, you're Team Juice? I'm having a hard time understanding the change of heart." She stopped, glaring at the two men across the table. "Care to elaborate?"
Opie looked around to see that Chibs had stepped away from the table to go grab his cigarettes which were sitting beside the stereo. Opie shot Jax a look, knowing she wasn't going to stop pushing for an answer. Jax motioned for him to intervene. This wasn't the time or place for all that shit to come out. He grabbed his beer, threw back the last of it, and sidled up next to Abby.
Leaning down to get close to her face, he grumbled, "I think it's time for you to call it a night."
She stepped back and stumbled a bit. Opie saw that Chibs had rejoined the party, reaching out to keep her from tumbling over. Opie heard him quietly interject with, "I think Opie has the right idea."
Opie reached out to take her arm, but she shrugged him off. She turned in the direction of the house. As the two of them started to walk away, she stopped and looked back at the group. As she started to open her mouth again, Opie yanked her by the arm and pulled her to the back door. He wasn't sure where he was going to set her up for the night since her house wasn't exactly equipped for overnight guests, but he'd find somewhere. He knew as soon as she settled down, she'd pass out for the night.
Bobby let out a long exhale as he watched the smoke from his cigarette disappear into the night sky. He glanced over at Juice who was playing with the label on his beer bottle while his knee bounced up and down quickly. He couldn't talk to him at that moment about Abby's little outburst. He knew some of the guys had their suspicions about his involvement with what Abby walked in on at Tig's party. He didn't want to let the cat out of the bag right then and there, at least not until he had some time to think about this.
"You're going to have to talk to Abby."
Bobby shifted his eyes to Jax, who was directing his statement to Juice. Juice didn't speak, he just nodded his head. He watched Jax's eyes move to him.
"Look, I can't say for sure that you had a hand in what happened, but if you did, you know this will come out at some point. We can't have Abby flying off the handle whenever the mood strikes, and we can't lose our lawyer." Jax stood up, holding Tara's hand. "Make it right."
Bobby watched Jax and Tara disappear into the darkness as he glanced over at Juice. Juice jerked up from his seat and stepped back from the table. He locked eyes with Bobby. "I should have gone to Chicago with her." He grabbed his cutte and disappeared the same way Tara and Jax had.
Taking a drag off his cigarette, Bobby let his head fall back and closed his eyes. "Yeah, you should have gone," he muttered. If only they could go back and do things over.