I know I haven't updated in forever. I've had a lot of personal issues that interfered with my writing, but I'm trying to get back into it. Please be patient with me.
The song for this chapter is Run by Snow Patrol.
The next morning when Honey woke up, she was alone with her gown back on and the blankets tucked around her. Half Sack was gone, but the scent of his cologne lingered on the bed beside her and she wondered how long he had stayed. After she had cried until her eyes were swollen and she could barely get her breath, he had laid with her and held her, closer than he ever had before and with no uncertain glances at the door or reservations about someone coming in. It was only the two of them for once.
Just as Honey swung her legs over the side of the bed to stumble to the bathroom, he returned with a guilty grin and a white paper bag in his hand. She smiles, her eyes drawn to the tempting bag as she smells the aroma of bacon and eggs. He chuckles at her expression, setting the bag on the rolling tray table as he looks down at her. "Morning, Honey. How'd you sleep?"
"Morning, good, food?" She answers quickly, her eyes glowing hopefully as she looks up at him, her hands clasped in her lap as she bounces like a child awaiting dessert.
He laughs and nods, gently nudging her arm. "I got breakfast from the diner. Go to the bathroom and," His fingers tug teasingly on her hair that covers half of her face in a fuzzy bush of tangles. "try to fix your hair or you'll end up eating it too."
"That was just once, ass." She smiles and stands carefully, her legs still feeling wobbly as she leans on the IV pole for support, slowly making her way to the bathroom on the other side of the room. After freshening up a bit, she returns to her bed where Half Sack had set up the food containers on the rolling dinner tray. She gives him a soft, unsure smile as she crawls into bed and relaxes, adjusting the back of the bed so she could sit up further. "Thank you for feeding me."
He shrugs, a soft blush on his cheeks as he shrugs, handing her a can of Sprite from the machine down the hall. "I like taking care of you."
I like you taking care of me, she left it unsaid as she used the blunt end of her plastic fork to pop the tab of her Sprite can, much to Half Sack's amusement. She raised an eyebrow at him as she took a long drink, daring him to make fun of her and her short nails. He wisely kept his mouth shut, merely chuckling as he handed her the foam container of breakfast.
They ate together in silence, every so often offering each other bites of food. He had gotten pancakes and Honey would reach over to dip her bacon in his leftover syrup every once in a while. She made up for it by giving him small bites of her scrambled eggs, smiling as he stared at her, a soft blush on his cheekbones.
"So...you're going to Seattle," He says softly once they're done eating, gathering the containers to toss out.
She nods, looking down at her fingertips as she stretches her hands out on the table, taking note of the small chips in her blue nail polish. "I guess so."
"...Cool." He mumbles, biting his lip softly as he looks down, standing by her bedside. "Uhm..."
"When I get back, I want us to talk...okay?" She looks up at him, her bottom lip tugged between her teeth nervously as she fiddled with her fingers.
"Okay...if you need anything while you're gone, text me?" He offers, rubbing the back of his neck as he steps back towards the door.
Honey nods, watching him leave before she flops back on the bed and sighs, waiting for Tara to come with her discharge papers.
-o-o-o-o-
"Do you honestly need this much clothes?" Kozik raised an eyebrow at the young girl stuffing clothes and shoes into two giant, blue, vintage suitcases.
"Probably not, but at least this way I'll have most of my stuff packed up when I come back." Honey shrugs, zipping up the last suitcase and perching on the edge of her bed to look up at the older man. "Did the vote go well?"
"Clay was pissed. Piney told him that JT would've wanted you to be free if it made you happy." Kozik shrugs, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. "You finished?"
"Mhm, think they'll fit on your bike?" She stands up, stretching her sore body as she slides her feet into some short, black boots and grabs her guitar from the closet. She knew that her mother would have no problem coming into her room and trashing it, so she tried to fit anything damageable that she wanted to keep into her bags.
"Should. Happy can carry them if you wanna keep the guitar." Kozik carries the suitcases down the stairs with Honey behind him, the guitar strapped to her back.
Honey nods and together, they stow her stuff away in the trunk of her car for the short drive to TM where the Sons were waiting.
-o-o-o-o-
"Are you sure about this, sis?" Jax murmurs as he looks into his baby sister's tired green eyes. She nods, playing with his hair as her eyes drift down to the VP patch on his chest.
"I need to learn to breathe again. I'll be back in a couple weeks." She kisses his cheek tenderly, giving him a soft smile before a set of thick, muscular arms wrap around her waist and lift her up. "Put me down!" Although her voice was annoyed, she couldn't stop the grin on her face as Opie spun her around a couple times in the crowded parking lot. The entire club had shown up to see her off, even the prospect.
Opie finally sat her down and she spun around, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face against his bushy beard, whispering, "I'll miss you, Ope."
As they stood whispering together, Half-Sack watched from where he sat atop a picnic table. For the first time, he could see the influence Honey held over the club. Tig, Chibs, Bobby, Jax, Opie, Juice, Tara...Even Donna had buried her deep distrust of the club to come to wish her friend well. They all adored her, even after the recent revelations, and he could see now why they called her the Princess. When she was in the giant, motley crew of Old Ladies and bikers, she transformed from a quiet wallflower to a charming young woman who got along with almost everyone.
After she had hugged everyone and talked to them, promising to call and bring back souvenirs for Kenny and Ellie, she came over to him and perched beside him, watching Happy and Kozik getting their bikes ready and saying their own goodbyes. "Hey."
"Hey, Honey. How are you feeling?" He smiles softly as he nudges her knee with his own gently, watching the soft smile forming on her rosy lips.
"I'm good." She bites her plump bottom lip gently before slowly laying her head on his shoulder, giving him a chance to pull away if he wanted to. "I'm still upset at you..."
He nods, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as Tig cast them a curious glance, though he ignored it. He wanted to have this moment with her before she left. "I know. I deserve that."
"We really have to talk when I get back." She sighs softly as she notices Happy and Kozik finishing up and grabbing their helmets. "Guess that's my cue. I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?" She stands up and begins to walk off, only to be stopped by his hand on her wrist.
He hesitated only a moment before he leaned down, brushing his lips against her forehead gently and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. Club members be damned, he wasn't going to let her go to another state without at least trying to show her he still cared. Honey stiffened for a second before melting into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist and ignoring the surprised stares of the other members.
They only broke apart when Happy barked, "Honey, get your ass moving."
Honey sighed softly and reluctantly pulled away, kissing Half-Sack's cheek gently. "Few weeks."
With that last show of affection, she turned and scurried over to Kozik's bike, casting a hurt, saddened glance at Happy as she seated herself behind Kozik and wrapped her arms around his waist. The entire club watched them pull off of the lot, Honey's dark hair blowing freely in the wind.
As soon as they were out of sight, Clay stepped over to the prospect with a suspicious glare. "Let's have a little talk."
-o-o-o-o-
The ride up the coast was long and Honey stayed cuddled up to Kozik's back most of the way there, her eyes taking in the landscape of Northern California, then Oregon before they finally entered Washington. It was almost 2 am by the time they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building Kozik stayed in and Happy unloaded her bags from his bike wordlessly, carrying them into the apartment and dropping them unceremoniously in the rarely used bedroom. Kozik followed behind, carrying a half-asleep Honey with her guitar dangling from his arm.
He laid her in the bed, tucking the sheets around her as if she were a child and smiling as she curls up in a tiny ball, mumbling what could have been a thank you or a fuck you. "Goodnight, Honey-Bee." He whispers, sliding her boots off before gesturing for Happy to follow him out into the living room. "What the fuck is your problem with her?"
"I don't have a problem." Happy grumbles, glaring at his good friend.
Kozik scoffs, shaking his head. "You've done nothing but yell at her since she woke up in the hospital."
"She wouldn't have been in the hospital if she hadn't been a dumbass." He retorts, then immediately feels the unfamiliar, unpleasant churning of guilt in his stomach as Kozik stares at him in disbelief.
"Are you actually blaming her for some sick fuck raping her? She went to a party, she didn't ask for-"
"She's showed up with bruises covering her body because she said she wanted it rough. She knew the risks of going to that party, she knew it was wrong. She-" Happy cuts himself off as he begins to raise his voice, not wanting to wake Honey up and not able to take the sick feeling in his gut that told him he could never blame the young girl for what happened. Memories of his own dark years after his woman had left resurfaced and he could see the similarities.
"Maybe so, but it wasn't her fault that asshole forced her into that bedroom. She's trying to clean up, and if you're going to keep being an asshole to her she's not going to last long." Kozik cast his friend one last, incredulous glare before plopping onto the couch for the night. Happy stares at the door to the bedroom for a moment then sighs heavily and turns to leave to blow off some steam at the clubhouse.
-o-o-o-o-
It was easy for him to find a curvaceous, dark-haired croweater at the SAMTAC Clubhouse. She looked barely legal, but she was covered in scratchy, poorly done tattoos and he could see the small, purplish track marks in the bend of her knees when he pulled her into a spare room and commanded her to bend over the bed. She obeyed, hiking her denim skirt up over her curvy hips and bending over, showing him the black string of her thong disappearing between the cheeks of her ass. The sight was enough to make his cock twitch, but he couldn't get his mind off of the hurt in Honey's kind, green eyes when he had yelled at her.
He reached one hand out and rested it on the girl's pale ass, his other hand fiddling with the buckle of his belt until it came open and his jeans sagged lower on his hips, showing the cluster of smiley faces nestled amongst the other tattoos. The girl stayed in her position, her hands resting on the bed with her knees bent slightly, arching her ass up for him as he shoved his jeans down around his knees. He tore open a condom and put it on emotionlessly, then leaned over and gathered her long, thick brown hair into a ponytail in his fist as he tugged her thong to the side and shoved his length into her warm center without giving her time to adjust.
She shrieked, her back arching more as his powerful thrusts made her legs buckle, her knees pushing against the bed as she tried to bounce herself back against him. A hard smack to her ass made her whimper and freeze, pressing her face against the mattress to muffle her sounds.
Happy continued mercilessly pounding into the young girl, though his mind was conjuring up images of the girl he had loved as a best friend, a sister even. He knew it was wrong. It was fucked up on every level, but ever since the night they spent in Hollywood she had been on his mind. He had been so close to losing control and taking her, he would have without regret if she hadn't passed out.
The girl beneath him was panting and moaning when he finally let out a loud grunt and released into the condom. As he pulled out and tossed the condom into the trash can, she collapsed on the bed to catch her breath and get the stability back in her legs. He didn't speak to her as he fixed his jeans and lit a cigarette, showing no interest at all in her now.
"My name is Kelsey..." She says quietly as she moves her thong back into place, stumbling a little as she stands to pull her skirt back over her reddened ass.
"What?" Happy growls, staring up at her coldly, a cigarette dangling between his lips.
"You called me Honey. My name is Kelsey." She says again, louder this time as she walks clumsily over to the door to return to the bar area, leaving him with his thoughts.