Anna stood in her classroom, writing along the whiteboard. She was working on a math lesson and her students watched in awe. She explained the problems in great detail before she handed out a worksheet.
"If you have any questions, let me know." Anna took a seat at her desk.
Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out, checking her messages.
The text was from Tara. 'Heard anything about Jax wanting to go nomad?'
Anna's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. More than anything, she wasn't sure as to why Tara was asking her. Jax didn't include Anna in on his plans regarding the club. 'Nomad?' She shot back.
The students in the classroom worked on their worksheet in silence. Anna threw her phone back into her purse before she rose to her fee and she moved back to the front of the classroom. She went over the worksheet before the bell rang for lunch.
"I'll see you all back after lunch." Anna clapped her hands together with a smile.
She took a seat at her desk with her lunch and pulled her phone from her bag. She dialed David's cellphone number while she prayed that he would pick up. The phone rang and rang with no answer. Anna let out a long sigh, taking a bite of her lunch before she called her mother. This time, the phone was picked up on the first ring.
"Hey Annie." Gemma answered.
"Mom, why is Tara asking me about Jax goin' nomad?" Anna asked.
The line was silent for a minute until Gemma cleared her throat.
"I'm not real sure, this is the first I've heard about it." The older woman sighed.
Anna wasn't quite sure why Jax wanted to go nomad. If he went ahead with it, Anna knew it was dangerous for Jax, there would be no protection for her brother.
"What's goin' on?" Anna asked.
Truly, Gemma didn't know where to start. She knew that things had been tense between Clay and Jax but she didn't know that either of them had reached the breaking point.
"Let me call Jax and talk to him." Anna told her mother before hanging up the phone.
Anna inhaled a deep breath, finishing off her lunch before she typed out a text message to Jax.
"Hey, call me when you get a chance. I need to talk to you."
Her classroom started buzzing with activity once again and she threw her phone back into her bag.
The rest of the day, Anna was on edge. If Jax was planning on leaving, then Anna had no desire to stick around anymore. She couldn't stand to lose another brother. At least not right now.
Finally, the afternoon had rolled around and Anna had several missed calls and a few text messages from David, Jax, and her mother. The most important one in that moment was Jax though. She dialed Jax's number and listened to the ringing. Just when she was about to give up, Jax picked up.
"What?" Jax snapped at her.
Anna inhaled a sharp breath.
"First off, heard you're goin' nomad. What's that about?" She asked.
Jax was hesitant to answer at all.
"It's between me and Clay, just a bunch of shit in the club." Jax told her.
The line went quiet for a moment while Anna sat in thought.
"Listen, Jax. I can't lose you too." She told him, sadness laced in her voice.
"Anna, don't do this — you have Hale and Olivia." Jax retorted.
"You have Tara and Abel." She huffed in the same breath.
They both had Teller blood rushing through their veins, which meant both of them were complex and stubborn as hell. All their lives the siblings had butted heads and nothing would change that now.
"We can go round and round about it, Jax." She told him.
Jax knew Anna was right but he really didn't want to admit it.
"Meet me at my house and we can talk about it, okay?" Anna offered an ear.
"I'll be there in a little while then." He answered.
Anna packed up her work before she rushed to her car. She sped out of the parking lot and made her way home to find David's Jeep in the driveway. The one time David was home early was when Anna needed to talk to her brother. The sound of Jax's motorcycle filled the street and Anna looked in the rearview. He pulled into the driveway behind her and he dismounted the bike.
The woman pushed the car door open and she stood beside the door, looking over at her brother. Jax was apprehensive to even speak, looking over at the front window to see David peeking out. Jax waved at David before he looked over at his younger sister.
"Now what do you want to talk about?" Jax leaned against the SUV, his arms crossed over his chest.
Anna mimicked his stance.
"What's going on with you?" She raised an eyebrow.
"It's between me and Clay." Jax was quick to answer.
Of course, Anna was practically clueless to what happened between her brother and their step-father. She stayed out of club business for her and her family's safety. When it came to her brother though, she wanted to help or at least listen.
"You can't leave, go nomad, whatever." She sighed.
Jax pulled a cigarette from his pocket, offering one to Anna. She took it from his hand and slipped it between her lips.
"Anna, hate to tell you but you don't really get a say so." He lit his cigarette and handed over his lighter.
Anna knew she didn't have a say in whatever he did because it wasn't her place, not like he would listen to her anyways.
"You won't have any kind of protection, and what about Tara and Abel?" Anna took a long drag from her cigarette.
Jax held his cigarette between his fingers, his blue eyes focused on the burning end.
"I don't know Anna." He spat at her.
Anna just rolled her eyes.
"You've got other people to think about than just yourself these days."
Jax flicked his cigarette to the ground before he moved towards his bike. Anna followed behind him and she wrapped her hands around the handlebars.
"I know you don't wanna hear it but it's true." She stated.
He pulled his helmet on, ignoring what Anna was saying. She pulled her hands away from the bike before she grabbed her bag from her car. She stormed into the house and the front door slammed behind her. Anna listened, the motorcycle in her driveway not leaving quite yet.
Anna walked into the kitchen and dropped her stuff off on the table. The woman leaned against the sink and she felt an arm wrap around her midsection.
"What was all that about?" David asked.
Anna inhaled a slow breath, not even knowing where to begin.
"Did you know that Jax was thinking about going nomad?" It was the first question.
The hesitation from David said it all.
"I didn't think he was seriously considering it." David answered.
Anna rolled her eyes, pushing herself away from the counter.
"Well, he is." Anna told him.
Anna wanted to be upset with Jax for her own selfish reasons but she understood. Clay had been a part of her life since she was a teenager and she had butted heads with him enough times to know.
David was silent. He didn't want to say too much because it wasn't his place. He wanted to leave it up to Jax but he knew that the day was coming soon.
"David, if he leaves, I want out." Anna sighed.
He pulled Anna into his arms and he squeezed her tightly. He understood why but he knew neither of them could leave Charming that easily.
"Do you really think it'll be that easy for him?" David asked.
After Anna had talked to Jax, it seemed like his mind was well made up. Maybe Jax didn't want to put Tara and Abel through the things that they had both gone through when they were young. Maybe Clay had finally pushed Jax over the edge. She pulled away from David's embrace and she inhaled a slow and steady breath.
"I'm going to get in the shower." She announced.
"Take as long as you need, I've got Olivia." David told his wife before he kissed her cheek.
She walked down the hallway and she slipped into the bathroom. She ran herself a hot bath, letting her hair down. She climbed into the tub and she let the water rush over her shoulders. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door and she looked over to see David peeking in.
"Wine?" David held up a bottle.
Anna looked over with a smile.
"What about Olivia?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I got her down about thirty minutes ago." David sat on the edge of the tub and poured out two glasses of wine.
Anna clinked her glass with David, a soft smile on her lips.
"I needed this." She let out a relaxed breath.
David nodded his head. He knew that Anna was under a lot of stress, they both were. They had to juggle their daughter, working a lot of overtime, and passing like ships in the night sometimes. Their life had changed a lot since they were in high school.
David sat beside the tub, looking at his wife with adoration in his eyes.
"If you really want to leave, we can start lookin' when you're ready." David offered.
Anna felt a small sense of excitement but she looked over at him.
"Really?" She asked.
David had worked so hard to become chief once Unser retired and a part of Anna didn't want to take that away from her husband. Maybe she wanted to move for selfish reasons. She took a sip of wine, her thoughts running ninety miles an hour. She kept her mouth shut with her gaze focused on the ceiling.
Anna opened her eyes to sound of her phone ringing. She looked over to find David gone and she pulled herself out of the tub.
"Mom, it's a little late, don't you think?" Anna answered, wrapping the towel around herself.
There was silence on the other end for a moment.
"Get over to the house." Gemma demanded before she hung up.
The woman tiptoed into the bedroom, grabbing some jeans and a t-shirt. She grabbed David's shoulder, leaning down to whisper in his ear, "I've gotta head over to mom's."
David groaned softly, turning over. Anna cracked the door behind her before she picked up her purse and snuck out the front door.