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General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.

CHAPTER 84: GUESTS OF DISHONOR

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Sydney strutted up the walkway to Jax's front door ten minutes late with her helmet under her arm and a giant smile plastered on her face. Any longer and her entrance would've taken too much attention from the party guest of honour - but being back on her bike had given her a rush of much needed power, and now she was hungry for more.

And the rush of power only grew as she swung the door open and every pair of eyes in the room landed on her, catching the smirk on Tig's face as he shook his head knowingly while he skimmed over the tight black jeans that she was wearing with the revealing green bodysuit - the outfit that he'd picked for her to wear to Gemma's dinner all of those weeks ago.

"Took you long enough!" Gemma broke the tension between the two as she rushed to the door, grabbing Sydney's helmet from her and ushering her into the living room so that her grandson could finally make his debut to the masses.

Sydney chuckled as she was practically shoved into Tig's arms where he had stood from the couch that he'd been lounging on. "Decided to let me hold onto some of that peace of mind a little longer, huh?" He smirked as he stroked his hands down her bare arms while looking down at the boots that she was wearing.

"Can't ride in heels." She grinned up at him deviously.

Tig chuckled again and shook his head, turning Sydney's towards the hallway that Gemma had disappeared down while he draped his arm over her shoulder. Now he wouldn't have to worry about her leg or her riding.

Sydney leaned back against him and clutched his arm gratefully, revelling in the comfort of his closeness as she took the moment of anticipation for Abel's reveal to look around the room. She was shocked - the MC had really shown up for their VP. Everybody was there - members, old ladies, croweaters, children. But as her eyes landed on each familiar face, she felt her heart drop a little lower - Piney, Opie, Donna, their kids, Lowell. It was a cesspool of people who had betrayed the club.

Tig felt Sydney's grip get tighter, following her gaze to the young junkie that they had carted off to rehab just weeks ago. "Finished his program - early discharge." He explained when she looked up at him questioningly.

"And that's a good idea?" She did her best to keep her voice down despite the wave of frustration that she felt. The last thing that they needed right now was another threat.

"Don't know. Gonna have to keep an eye on him…" Even though Tig worried just as much about Lowell's loose lips as he had about his father's all those years ago - he knew that it was a problem for another day. But if Sydney wanted to worry about something that wasn't him - he wasn't going to stop her.

As Sydney's heart steadily descended down her chest, she felt it plummet straight into a newly formed pit in her stomach when Wendy emerged from the hallway holding the baby that she had almost killed.

Tig breathed a regretful sigh of relief when he felt her squeezing his hand even tighter. Yes, he would be the least of her worries tonight.

The cheers, whoops, and hollers all faded into the background as Sydney felt a rage building within her, but it wasn't the blind, violent rage that she was familiar with - it was a rage that she could feel clawing up her throat, desperate to escape as she began gasping for air.

Tig felt her break away, bolting from the crowd that was too preoccupied with their newest addition as she made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. He wanted nothing more than to follow after her, to comfort her, to allow himself to share in the exact anger towards the heinous woman that he knew she was feeling - but he couldn't. Not until his job was done.

Sydney clutched the edge of the counter as her chest heaved violently, watching her knuckles turn white until her vision eventually went blurry - her entire body buzzing with a hatred that she hadn't even known she was capable of. She let herself hang over the sink for a few minutes as she listened to the excitement die down outside of the door, regaining her composure as she looked up into the mirror to see an evil, vengeful look behind her still bruised eyes.

Gemma stood cradling her grandson as a gaggle of croweaters and old ladies formed around her, fawning over the sweet baby in her arms. But she only looked up from Abel's face when she felt a shift in the energy - being met by a hardened green stare as Sydney stood in front of her with her arms crossed over her very exposed chest.

"Can I talk to you?" She plastered a fake smile on her face as her eyes squinted and her head tilted to the side.

Gemma kept her eyes on the young girl as she passed the baby off to Luann, following her into the kitchen where she knew she was about to get a scolding that she hadn't thought to prepare for.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Sydney screeched the second that they were alone.

Gemma blinked a few times in surprise when she got such a reaction from the blonde whom she had seen keep her composure under the most trying of scenarios - not expecting that this would be her breaking point.

"She is the mother of my grandson." She explained mundanely, not even believing her own excuse.

"Gemma… She almost killed him."

Just as the harsh reminder had left her poisonous lips, Wendy walked into the kitchen - feeling her entire body freeze when she realized what they were talking about.

"Um, hi." She forced her lips into a smile as she looked between Gemma and the little blonde croweater, deciding that if she was going to stick around, she needed to take the high road - plus, if Gemma was allowing the short girl to speak to her that way, she probably wasn't somebody to mess with. "I'm Wendy… It's nice to meet you." She stuck out her bracelet-covered arm for a handshake.

Sydney stared blankly at Wendy's hand, her eyes travelling up her arm to where Jax's crow sat under the crease in her elbow - flicking her eyes back up to meet hers in a warning. She would never be one of them.

Wendy took the hint, nodding slowly as she backed away - making her way back to the crowd that would force her to keep her emotions in check. Then she saw it… Her beacon of light in the dark sea of people that were thinking exactly what the mystery woman had expressed: Lowell - the one person who knew what she was going through, who was just as much of an outsider.

"Hey, Lowell." She placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly as she approached him where he was standing alone near the entrance to the hallway. "How you doing, man?"

"Good." He blinked a few times in surprise - not expecting all of the familiar faces to have triggered him so badly as he stood shaking among the people responsible for the death of his father.

"Yeah? You good?" Wendy narrowed her eyes. She knew that he wasn't good, because she wasn't good either.

Gemma raised a brow at Sydney once Wendy took her leave. "You know… I seem to remember a certain conversation that we had a few weeks ago… One where you told me that shit with her 'didn't bother you'?" Her brow raised higher in challenge.

"Yeah…" Sydney nodded as venom laced her tone. "And I seem to remember that a few weeks ago, you tried to kill her for what she did to your family. So what's the play?"

But Sydney didn't need to wait for an answer as the two women turned their heads to the sound of the front door creaking open as Tara walked in - suddenly it all made sense. She turned back to Gemma - catching the glint in her eye which confirmed her newly formed suspicion, scoffing and shaking her head in disbelief. "In case you've forgotten… There wouldn't be a homecoming party if it wasn't for her." She spit angrily before heading to the door to greet the woman that should have been the one by Jax's side.

"Hey, Doc." Sydney greeted as cheerfully as possible, knowing that at least somebody would be on her side about Wendy.

"Hey." Tara smiled, feeling some of her discomfort washing away when she saw the friendly face - bruised, but still friendly. "I feel underdressed." She chuckled, looking down at the burnout tee that she was wearing with a pair of dark washed skinny jeans.

"Eh, you'll get used to it." Sydney winked. "Want a drink?" She asked, not waiting for an answer as she swiped the wrapped gift from her hands and pulled her into the kitchen where Gemma was glaring at her warningly, ignoring the matriarch as she pulled two beers from the fridge.

Tara avoided Gemma's eyes, but she couldn't help the crease that formed in her forehead when she could've sworn that Sydney was acting purposefully…

"How is it so far?" She asked once they were safely out of Gemma's field of view, nodding towards the party where Jax was on the couch with Abel and everybody was watching Piney try to balance a full beer on Kenny's head.

"Too many junkies under one roof for my liking…" Sydney told her out of the side of her mouth, her eyes landing on Wendy and Lowell where they stood in the hallway.

"Yeah…" Tara followed her gaze, realizing that maybe she did know something after all. "Tell me about it…" Her voice trailed off as she made her way over to Jax, sliding herself onto the armrest next to him and resting her hand on his shoulder.

Jax flinched slightly under her touch, looking up at her briefly before looking back down at his son - not needing any more time with his head up to know that both Wendy and Gemma were watching them.

Tara felt her ego shrinking even more when he avoided her eyes, inadvertently squeezing his leather covered shoulder a little tighter.

Jax flinched again, realizing that he couldn't avoid her. "You doing okay?" He asked somewhat impatiently, shifting his gaze down to where she had him in a death grip.

Tara nodded as convincingly as possible. "Yeah." She looked at Wendy across the room, smirking slightly before she leaned down to his lips - taking him into a deep kiss.

Jax couldn't fight the physical recoil this time as discomfort inhabited itself in every cell of his body, pulling back where the first pair of eyes that he was met with were Wendy's - ripping her eyes away and looking down at her lap where she fiddled with the woven bracelets on her wrists. He blinked a few times, pulling his eyes from the guilt-riddling sight where he landed on one that wasn't any more comforting - his mother glaring at him from across the room.

"I'll be right back." He told Donna who was sitting next to him, passing her the baby which she accepted gratefully.

Tara practically rolled her eyes when he stood from the couch, avoiding his scolding gaze for as long as she could while he stood above her until he finally spoke. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked flatly before disappearing down the hall - not pulling her along with him in a way that told her this was going to be the fun encounter that she would've hoped for.

Sydney watched the entire exchange with a smirk on her face, slowly shaking her head as Jax lead Tara away where he was surely going to tell her off - yet another stupid move by the even stupider man.

"What's the matter?" Tara asked as she followed him into Abel's room - unable to keep up her charade any longer as the disappointment laced in her low tone as she set her beer down on the change table.

Jax winced as he tried to find the best way to approach what was quickly becoming a very complicated and touchy subject. "Nothing, it's just… Look, Wendy's like a heartbeat sober. We don't want to do anything to set her off." He tried to explain gently, praying that for once she would set her emotions aside and look at the situation for what it was.

"Because she's still in love with you." Tara spit out harshly.

"No." Jax stated firmly, losing all hope that he'd had for a rational conversation. "Look, I'm just saying we should be cool with whatever this is around her, you know?"

"Whatever this is?" Tara sneered in disbelief.

"You know what I mean." Jax sighed, his features softening - not having meant to upset her with his lack of consideration for the semantics.

"No, I don't." Tara admitted as all of the doubt she'd been harbouring ever since they'd started seeing each other again came to the surface, turning to leave.

"Tara." Jax groaned at her dramatics, reaching for her hand.

"No!" Tara choked out, turning back to him where her palm collided with his face harshly - his shaggy hair falling into his eyes.

Sydney almost gasped in shock from where she'd stood in the doorway - a wicked smile coming to her face as she found a whole new appreciation for the previously considered meek brunette.

Tara turned around to see Sydney as the realization of what she'd just done hit her, her mouth falling open as she looked between the two blondes who had completely opposite expressions before taking off down the hall where she raced towards the front door.

Sydney raised a brow at Jax as his face fell into his palms where he sighed heavily, chortling as she followed Tara - catching up with her where she was pulling the door open. "Hey-" She stopped her with a gentle grip on her wrist.

If Tara hadn't been so upset, she would have been proud of herself for the way that she'd been able to absorb the urge to pull away from Sydney's unexpected touch - not flinching or fighting back as she had been conditioned to do since Kohn. But she stood completely still with her hand on the doorknob, letting out a deep sigh as her tear-filled eyes stayed glued to her black flats.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sydney asked gently, rubbing her hand up and down Tara's arm soothingly as she glanced over her shoulder to see both Wendy and Gemma watching intently.

"No." Tara choked out, looking up to meet Sydney's eyes thankfully. "No, it's okay. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay." Sydney nodded softly, pulling the door open all of the way for her and ushering her outside before turning her attention towards Half-Sack who was standing near the entrance to the kitchen - trying to look like he hadn't been eavesdropping. "Make sure she gets home safe, okay?" She nodded out the door.

Half-Sack nodded his understanding of her request quickly, racing out the door after the disgruntled guest.

Sydney blinked her thanks to the helpful young man before he made his hasty departure - looking back across the room where Gemma hadn't looked away from where she was standing with Luann

She shook her head slowly at the older woman who did nothing but smirk back at her. "What was all that about?" Tig's voice broke the tension.

"Nothing." Sydney told him as she pressed her hand against his stomach reassuringly, not moving her hardened gaze from Gemma. "I'll tell you later." She finally looked up at him, softening her expression as she leaned up to peck his lips.

Tig took the signal - craning his neck to meet her halfway from where she stood almost a full foot shorter than him without her heels. At this point, he almost hoped that she wouldn't tell him later - that she would go back to keeping secrets so that he wouldn't have to feel bad about doing the same.

Wendy wasn't at all surprised when she saw that Tig had scooped up the beautiful young blonde, but what she was surprised about was the length at which they stood together before separating - not sneaking off outside or into a back room the way that he usually did with his conquests.

"You see my worry?" Gemma raised a brow as she spoke quietly into Wendy's ear as she came up beside her.

"What? That she's with Tig?" Wendy's brows furrowed.

"Mhm." Gemma hummed her confirmation. "His old lady."

"Old lady?" Wendy's entire face scrunched up in surprise.

"On top of that? She's gunning for a patch." Gemma scoffed.

"Damn…" Wendy blinked a few times, looking over the green-eyed woman much more intently now that she knew who she was.

"Yeah." Gemma nodded. "That one could be a problem…"

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