A.N: Another update because @UnderElectricCandlelight has made my day. (If you're a Walking Dead fan, go and give her a look).

Love, Daisie. x

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Chapter Thirteen:

Gemma turned up at my house and let herself inside without bothering to knock, then woke me up by tapping my face. "It is eight o'clock on a Friday night and you're in bed? Are you really this pathetic?"

I frowned up at her and didn't comment on how pathetic I was, because I was. I was pathetic. "What are you doin' here, Gem?"

"I came to get you. Get up, get dressed, we're going out." She turned her lip up at the bottle of whiskey and snacks next on the table that I'd taken to bed with me when I'd passed out after work. "You haven't been drinking with me in two months, it's time to get out of your funk."

I groaned and rolled over so I was facing away from her and pulled my blanket up. "I just want to sleep, Gem, just leave me alone."

In two seconds she'd torn the blanket from me so that the cold air hit my pyjama-clad body and she pointed a blood red fingernail in my face. "No. I am fucking sick of you wallowing because my son is an idiot. Get. Up."

There was no arguing with her when she'd made up her mind, so I gave her a filthy look and walked into my bathroom to do my makeup.

I looked at the stranger staring back at me, at the sad turn down of her lips and slim figure. I might have only been with Jax for a short span of time, but he'd gotten under my skin and had done a lot of damage with our breakup. I didn't recognise the girl in the mirror anymore.

By the time that I'd done my hair and painted my face, Gem had laid out a flowy dress for me and nodded to it. "I'll leave you to get changed and then we'll get going."

I just followed her instructions without a second thought and joined her in her car.

The drive to the bar was quiet and she seemed to realise that I was lost in my own thoughts because she didn't try to make me speak, just offered me a cigarette and let me be.

Gemma gave me a comforting smile when I practically drained the bottle of wine that we'd meant to share in a continuous cycle of pouring a glass and then chugging it since I was too classy to drink it straight from the bottle. "Oh, baby."

"I hate him." I waved at the bartender and pointed at the bottle with a pleading look before I turned back to her. "No, I don't. That's a lie. I hate that he's torn my heart out because he couldn't keep his fuckin' dick in his pants."

Gemma hummed and sipped from the single glass of wine that she'd poured before I devoured the bottle, but she didn't say anything, she just watched me with understanding eyes.

"He told me how badly her leavin' fucked him up. And then he went and got between her legs?!" My eyes welled up with tears and I blinked rapidly to keep them from spilling over. "And seein' how happy she was when he got to the diner..."

"You know that he said he only went there to tell her to stop contacting him, baby." She shook her head and frowned at the table. "It was terrible timing, and a stupid thing to do, but I believe him. He was torn up about it when he got back to the clubhouse."

She'd told me Jax's explanation that afternoon when she'd stormed into my house and had found me crying at the counter, and, like her, I believed him. He didn't have any reason to lie, the damage had already been done between us, but it didn't stop my heart from aching at seeing the stunning woman smiling at him like he was her sun.

"I can't keep lovin' a man who tore me to shreds, so why can't I get over him?"

When the little redhead on the bar brought over another bottle of the Semillion, Gemma caught her eye. "We're going to need six shots of your best whiskey, thanks."

The bartender let us know that she wouldn't be a minute before she disappeared to get the drinks and Gemma sighed, leaning back in her chair while she bit her lip and tapped her fingernails on the table.

Her eyes filtered through the sea of people before she made up her mind and looked back at me with an expression of sucking on a lemon at letting her emotions be heard. "It's hard for me because Jax is my son, but you're ... well, I guess you're my best friend."

I downed one of the shots that had been placed on a tray in front of us and grimaced with my guilty conscience. "I'm sorry, Gem. I don't want you to be in the middle of it-"

"There shouldn't be anything to be in the middle of." She slammed down her shot glass with a huff. "Jax shouldn't have created this situation where you're apologising, you deserve better. He threw away the best fucking thing he ever had because he got swept away by the pussy he lost his virginity to, and it took him fucking it up to realise how much he loves you. All he does is fucking cry and scream, he's driving me nuts. Besides him freaking out over Carlos, and-"

"Who's Carlos?" I asked with a frown. It was a name that I'd never heard before.

"Carlos De Leòn." Gemma flipped her hand nonchalantly. "Mafia boss in Columbia who sells drugs and guns to the Mayans. Now that Clay's dead and the club's have a relationship, Jax is thinking of expanding the business to a higher-scale gun operation, but he can't figure out how to bring it up with Alvarez without looking like he's stepping on his toes and cutting his profit. Not important."

The weight on Jax's shoulders bypassed what we were going through, and I prayed that the 'higher scale gun operation' didn't turn into drugs, but it was no longer my business.

The shots quickly disappeared and I ran a hand through my curls. "I really do love him, you know?"

"I know." She sighed. "And if it were anybody else and I hadn't seen the way he lights up when you're around, I would tell you to get the fuck over it and move on. You deserve better than the shit he's pulled."

She shook her head sadly. "But, I know better than anyone, what it's like to be in love with someone who you're better off without."

Her words crushed me rather than made me feel better, and I refilled my glass. "Is it always goin' to hurt this badly? Honestly? Is this still how you feel about Clay?"

Her ex-husbands name made her wince, but she shook her head. "No, baby. It's not always going to feel like this."

She sighed again, and I swore that I saw a tear slip down her cheek before she shook her head and cleared her throat. "Okay, enough about Jax. I'm planning a fundraiser for the school next month, and I want you to sing."

I choked on my mouthful of wine. "Gem-"

"No, hear me out." She cut me off. "You'd be doing me a massive favour, and I'll owe you one. But, besides that, don't you want to get up on a stage, knowing that he'll be there watching you, and show him that he didn't ruin you?"

"He did ruin me." I whispered.

Gemma reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "No, baby, he didn't ruin you. He broke a piece of you, and it feels like he ruined you. But you're a helluva lot more than my son's woman, and you need to show him that you're not going to let him break you."

I used my empty hand to drain the rest of my glass and bit my lip while I considered what I should do. She made a good argument, and it would be good to get out on stage and do what I loved again. But, I didn't know if I would be able to see him and not run off the stage with my tail between my legs.

Finally I nodded once. "Shove it, yeah, let's do it."

"That's what I wanted to hear." She smiled warmly and squeezed my hand again. "You're more than a girl who's gotten her heart broken, baby. Time to start acting like it."

And, even though it hurt to admit it, I knew that she was right.

The lights dimmed and I looked around the crowded bar at the patrons who were facing towards the corner where there was a makeshift stage. "What's goin' on?"

"Open mic night." She smiled the smile that always promised she'd meddled or started trouble. "And they'll be calling your name in a few minutes."

"Gem! I haven't been on stage since I left Georgia-"

She cut me off with a roll of her eyes. "You just agreed to get up in front of all of Charming, and you're worried about singing in front of a bar?"

"I usually have my guitar." I grumbled underneath my breath when I realised how stupid it sounded.

She smirked. "I'm sure that they have one that you can borrow, baby."