A.N: This goes without saying, but for the purpose of not getting into trouble, I DID NOT WRITE THIS SONG. It's Every Little Thing by Carly Pearce.

Chapter Sixteen:

3RD PERSON P.O.V:

The band we good, Jax had to admit that despite his life-long distaste for country music. And, admittedly, he was slowly coming around to it.

Ellie had played it so much before he'd fucked up and she'd moved out of his house, that he'd grown to miss the sound of Kenny or Willy playing through the speakers that Juice had installed for him, so his Spotify playlist was full of grown men practically crying about how they'd messed up and lost the love of their lives.

As he looked around the field at the swarm of people who'd come to enjoy the night, he handed it to his mother, she'd done a fucking fantastic job, as she always did.

Happy grunted at something Tig had said, then hit him and pointed to the stage like a caveman when Gemma walked into the spotlights holding a microphone and large smile gracing her lips, signalling for all of his brothers to shut up and watch her like he knew something the rest of them didn't.

"Hi, guys! Thank you so much for coming. There's one more surprise tonight. My very special friend has agreed to come out and sing for us." Gemma said into the microphone with a smile on her face.

All of his brothers looked confused apart from Happy, who had obviously been let into the plan that she'd kept from the rest of them. "Please give a round of applause for my best friend, Ellie Squires!"

Jax felt his whole body stiffen as some of the members walked off so only the singer and drummer was left. Then she walked out onto the stage and all of the breath left his body until he was almost numb.

She was wearing a white dress that was tight around her bust but flowy from the waist, and it went down to mid thigh to show off her gorgeous tan. On her feet she was wearing a brown leather pair of cowboy boots that looked old and distressed by years of wear-and-tear, not a factory, and they made him harder than a fucking rock.

Her honey blonde hair had been straightened to add a smidgen more of length than her natural curls allowed, and she had the guitar that had been a staple at his house months before hanging on a strap over her shoulder to lay lazily at her waist. He could see that she wasn't even nervous. She'd obviously been on stage before, was used to performing.

He hadn't even known that she could sing.

Jax watched as she hugged Gemma and they exchanged a few whispered words before she made her way over to the second microphone and greeted the singer who stayed on stage like he was an old friend. Jax had to fight his urge to get on the stage and put his fist through the fucker's head when he smiled at her.

"Hey, y'all. Thanks for stickin' around tonight, how good is this!" The crowd cheered and she smiled. "A massive shout out to my girl Gemma, who organised all of this for us tonight."

There was another cheers, mostly consisting of Happy and the guys who - unlike Jax - hadn't gone into shock at the sight of the gorgeous blonde.

For an hour, he watched her sing happily on stage to country songs that he didn't recognise, but he stood there with a wide mouth and wide eyes.

She danced around the stage with her guitar and hit all of the right notes, singing her heart out like it was what she was born to do. She had a beautiful voice, Jax hated that he'd never heard it before. Jax hated that he'd never sung to him before. More than anything, though, he hated that he'd taken her for granted so much that he'd never even bothered to ask her if she could sing, no matter how many times he'd thought to after she'd moved her guitar into their living room.

After she finished an upbeat number that she'd swayed her hips to and tapped her cowboy boots, the stage fell silent like they were waiting for something, and she bit her lip before she sighed. She looked at the vocalist and drummer and nodded her head who were staring at her, asking a silent question.

Two members of the band who'd gone off came back into the stage, a small woman walked to the keyboard and a male walked to the bass guitar to make a full band.

Ellie started picking the strings softly and looked out over the crowd. "Now y'all, this song means ... well, it means a lot to me, and it's the first time I'm playin' it. So I just wanna say thank y'all for givin' me the opportunity."

Dickhead who kept smiling at his girl chimed in. "Thank you for writing it."

She wrote a song?

She writes songs?

Jax was stunned.

Ellie threw her head back and laughed, but it sounded wrong to his ears. He knew her well enough to know that she didn't really mean the laughter as the drums started a slow beat to match her picking of the strings. "I wish I didn't have to write it, y'all. But that's the way life goes sometimes, and that's okay."

She smiled sadly, like she was trying to put on a brave face but couldn't convince herself that she was okay. "This is Every Little Thing."

The scent that you left on my pillow.

The sound of your heart beating with mine.

The look in your eyes like a window.

The taste of your kiss soaked in wine.

Every little thing.

I remember every little thing.

The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting,

Of every little thing.

He wanted to turn and run, but he knew that she was singing about him. At the same time that it made him feel sick, he wanted to hear the rest of the song so he stayed put like his feet were made out of led and bolted to the ground.

Guess you forgot what you told me,

Because you left my heart on the floor.

Baby, your ghost still haunts me,

But I don't want to sleep with him no more.

Every little thing.

I remember every little thing.

The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting,

Of every little thing.

I remember every little thing.

The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting,

Of every little thing.

The dickhead who'd been looking at her when he sung the harmony in the chorus smiled as he stepped away from the microphone and played his guitar, giving her the spotlight as she went into the second verse.

Jax didn't think he'd needed to step away - the man was there for backup, but the way she was glowing on the stage like it was what she was made to do, he doubted anybody even noticed his existence.

They say time is the only healer,

God, I hope that isn't right.

'Cause right now I'd die to not remember;

He stepped back up to the microphone and joined her for the chorus, his body moved between facing her and facing the crowd. If it wasn't rehearsed, the two of them obviously knew each other well. They knew exactly when to look at each other to keep the crowd drawn in to the love story playing on stage. Jax hated it.

Every little thing.

I remember every little thing.

The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting,

Every little thing.

Even from where he was in the crowd, he could see the single tear that slipped down her cheek as she said the word so defeatedly. He had crushed her. He had broken her.

And she'd done the same to him in the form of a song and a single tear.

I remember every little thing.

I'm haunted by the memories of

Every little thing.

The high, the hurt, the shine, the sting,

As a final stab in the heart, she looked up and locked eyes with him as she sang the last line, like she'd known exactly where he was in the crowd the whole time.

Every little thing.