Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own OCs and storylines…

She Will Be Loved

Chapter 34: Showing Up

By Love Ink

Angela went through the exercises the physical therapist was walking her through with Chloe standing by. It was the Chloe's break, and for some reason, she decided to spend it in the physical therapy office with Angela instead of wherever else she could go. Angela was thankful for her, though. She couldn't stand the way the actual physical therapist babied her. Chloe was firmer, calling her on her shit and pushing her a bit more. Angela appreciated that a hell of a lot more than being coddled.

"So...I've noticed that every time you come for your check-ups, a certain...man is always waiting for you outside, and it's not the man who first brought you in," Chloe said, gently correcting Angela's arm positioning. "You ditch that loser?"

She grimaced, not wanting to get into this with Chloe. "Nah. Esai is...he's busy during the day, so I got Juice as my shadow." Plus, they'd gotten in a huge fight that morning, and she'd been ignoring all of his calls.

Chloe looked confused for a moment. "Your shadow? Why?"

"For protection," she clarified, a little satisfied by her shocked response. She liked that Chloe was so normal. When Ro and Vanessa had first heard she had to be followed, they didn't even bat an eye.

"Protection," she repeated, dumbfounded. "What the hell do you need protection for?"

Angela shrugged a shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

She scowled at her. "You can just say stuff like that and not explain!" she exclaimed, smacking her good arm. "Here I was thinking you traded one chauvinistic, sex-addicted asshole for a really sweet guy who follows after you with those big puppy dog eyes, and you're telling me he's following you for protection."

"Okay, first off, Esai is not sex addicted and second off, Juice is one of my best friends. He's actually my roommate," she explained, though she'd never thought about it before. Esai was selfish and used to getting what he wanted. He wasn't addicted to anything but getting his way. She winced as the exercise pulled at her injury. She knew it was supposed to, but it still sucked. "And he doesn't have puppy dog eyes."

"Stop. You live with that little cutie, and you're still with the asshole who asked about sex when you were injured?" she asked in surprised. "And he so does. Big brown puppy eyes. I dunno how you don't swoon when he looks at you."

You should see him smile, Angela added in her head, but she kept that comment to herself. "Esai was my first...everything. We got together when I was fifteen, and when I came back, I just...he's easy and I love him."

"No judgement here. He's also quite good looking. Very pretty blue eyes."

"You and eyes. You should've been an eye doctor or somethin'," Angela commented on a chuckle.

"Yep. Missed my true calling," she said on a wistful sigh. "The eyes are the windows to the soul, y'know."

"Well mine are very dark windows then."

Chloe laughed and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, but I like that. They're mysterious and deep. Very expressive."

"Um, thank you? Never heard them explained quite like that before," she said, genuinely touched by the compliment.

"Clearly, the guys you've been with aren't very poetic."

Angela nodded in agreement. Raj had been somewhat, but he was more into her intellect than her physical features, and Esai's vocabulary was limited to words like 'hot', 'beautiful', and 'sexy'. Plus, he was more of an ass man than anything. "Haven't been that lucky."

Chloe helped her put her brace back on, glancing over her shoulder to where Juice had just walked in. "Bet he would wax poetic about you."

"Shut up," she shot back, rolling her eyes. "We're just friends."

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes going from Angela to Juice for a moment, a small smile on her face. "Don't be so sure about that."

Juice looked between the two women. "What's goin' on?"

"Oh, nothin', Puppy. We're all good here," Chloe replied, her smile growing wider.

Juice's brows furrowed together in the cutest way. "Puppy?" he repeated softly, his nose wrinkling slightly.

Chloe stood from her seat and winked at Angela. "I'm goin' back to work. Put some ice on that and take some drugs. You're gonna be pretty sore tomorrow."

"You got it," Angela answered on a sigh as she stood. She nodded to Juice. "Let's go. You promised me a milkshake."

Juice still looked confused though. "Did she just call me Puppy?" he asked as they headed towards the exit.

She laughed at the look on his face, shaking her head at him. "Ignore her. She's crazy."

He smiled back at her, opening the passenger's side door of her car for her before getting into the driver's side. "Yeah, but Puppy? No exactly a badass name."

"Because Juice is so badass," she teased with a grin.

"More badass than Puppy," he muttered, starting the car. "Ready for milkshakes?"

She nodded emphatically. Her arm ached, and her anger at Esai was still driving her crazy, but milkshakes and quality time with Juice might be just the thing she needed to make her feel better. "Hell yeah! Let's go!"

Juice loved the sound of Angela's laughter as it filled the car. They'd smoked some weed in the diner parking lot before going in and inhaling two large milkshakes and a huge plate of fries. He could practically feel the happiness emanating from her in waves, making him smile. She was happy. Whatever shit had sent her into a panic attack that morning was out of her head now. He took the long way home, just enjoying the sound of her singing along to the radio as the wind blew in from the windows. A part of him wondered if this would be what their drive from New York would've been like if she'd left Raj and had escaped to California with him. It would've been a lot more fun and a lot less scary with her at his side.

A sense of dread filled him when he turned on their street and saw the motorcycle parked in front of the house. The ape-hangers and chrome sparkled in the sun. He gripped the steering wheel tighter, looking over at Angela. She'd stopped singing, the smile fading from her face as her whole body tensed. "What the hell?" she murmured softly as he pulled into the driveway. Esai was sitting on their front steps with a bouquet of red roses in his hand.

Red roses. Angela hated red roses. Juice knew that for a fact. She associated them with funerals and cheesy, fake expressions of love and remorse. If the Mayan was trying to apologize, he should've brought her lilies. Preferably tiger lilies. She loved those. "You know he was comin'?" he asked, nodding to him.

"No," she breathed, shaking her head. She got out of the car slowly, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Esai?"

Esai stood as she approached, puffing out his chest as he took his sunglasses off. His icy blue glare fell on him for a moment, that stupid smug look spreading across his face. Juice hated him. "Hey chiqui," he said, offering her the roses as she neared. "Wanted to apologize for the shit I said. I was outta line."

"Wow. Flowers and an apology," Angela mused, taking the roses looking astonished. The smallest hint of a smile turned up the corners of her mouth as she touched one of the roses. "I um these are...beautiful. Thanks, E."

Esai reached out to touch her face, tucking a stray hair behind her ear and dipping his head to put his lips to hers. Juice saw her shoulders tense, but she didn't pull away from his kiss. He murmured something to her in Spanish to which she nodded slightly. This time, she stood on her toes to kiss him before she headed inside with the bouquet.

Juice approached him slowly, nodding to Esai in greeting. He nodded back, a smirk on his face. "I'm gonna take her out to dinner and then follow her to my place," Esai explained, hands in his pockets.

Juice did his best to not look disappointed. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he nodded. "Okay. I got club shit I should be doin' anyway," he lied on a shrug.

" 'course you do, prospect," he replied on a chuckle.

He ignored the triumphant grin on Esai's face and walked into his house. Slowly, he made his way down the hall, stopping in Angela's open doorway. The roses were on her bed next to her overnight bag. She was throwing things into the bag slowly, not looking at what she was doing. "Nice roses," he commented, catching her attention.

Her eyes met his, a small smile turning up the corners of her lips. "Yeah. Pretty."

"You hate red roses."

She scowled at him, shaking her head. "It's the thought that counts."

"Raj never bought you red roses."

"He knew I hated them," Angela said, the smallest hint of impatience in her voice.

"Does the Mayan?"

She didn't answer him, just shrugged. So Esai knew she didn't like red roses, and still bought them for her. "He doesn't remember that kind of shit."

"He should," Juice said boldly, crossing his arms over his chest. "If he loves you so much, he should remember little shit like that."

She sighed in exasperation, throwing a t-shirt into the bag a little aggressively. "What do you want me to say, Juice? How many times do we have to go through this? Esai isn't Raj!" she exclaimed, anger in her tone.

Had she not just had a panic attack over something Esai had done? Was she not angry with him? Juice didn't understand. "But you guys were fightin'..."

"Yes! He's an asshole! We fight all the time!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out to the side. "But I've been with Esai since I was fifteen years old, and the one thing I can say about him, is he shows up. Does he remember little shit like my favorite flowers? No! But that's fine. He's there when I need him. He...he has time for me and makes time to hand deliver flowers unlike Raj who'd have had them delivered because he didn't have time to go to the store to pick them up! And usually, his flowers meant he was cancelling on me again, and I'd find out because he wrote a note with the stupid, beautiful flowers! So yeah, Raj remembered the little shit, but he didn't show up! Esai is here! He took the time to pick up the flowers and drive his ass out here! I don't give a fuck that they aren't the flowers I like, I care that they're not just some vase left in front of my door! He brought them here for me to say sorry because he was an ass! He went out of his way to show up!"

He blinked at her, trying to process everything she'd said. Esai showed up. That was why she was still with him. Because he showed up. Ever since he'd started prospecting, Juice had been picking the club over her. Had that led her straight to Esai? "Jeez. Didn't mean to upset you."

"I know. I'm just..." She raked her hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I'm just tired of defending him to people. I'm with him. I love him, and I...I wish people would stop questioning me about it."

Juice nodded slowly. He understood her frustration; it was likely the same way he felt when she hadn't wanted him to prospect. All he had wanted was her approval, and while he was pretty sure she still wasn't a fan of the idea, it felt like she'd gotten over hating it. Having her somewhat approve of his choice had taken a weight off of his shoulders, so he understood why she was so angry and frustrated. "Okay."

"Yeah?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Yeah. I get it," he conceded, hating himself for it. "If he makes you happy, then I'll shut up."

Her shoulders relaxed in relief. "Thank you," she breathed with a small smile.

He knew he'd made the right decision when he saw her reaction. "Don't. Just want you to be happy. Are you happy?"

"Yeah, 'course," she answered, though the look in her eyes wasn't so convincing. "Very happy."

Something didn't sit right with the way she'd said it, but he decided to let it go. "You...um...you stayin' with him tonight?"

Angela shrugged a shoulder. "Haven't decided yet. Depends how good he is at apologizing," she said on a laugh. "He's taking me to dinner tonight. Not sure where we'll go from there."

"Okay. I'll probably be at the clubhouse. Just...let me know if you need me."

She smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah, thanks...for everything," she murmured, shifting awkwardly. Then she surprised him by pecking a quick kiss to his cheek as she walked by him towards the living room.

He knew she probably said some sort of good bye, but he couldn't hear it over the loud beat of his heart in his chest. His cheek was tingling from where her lips had brushed against it. By the time he regained his senses, she was gone, the sound of Esai's bike filling the air. He sighed heavily and sat on the living room couch, staring at the bouquet of roses she'd left on the coffee table in a pretty purple and blue blown glass vase he knew Raj had bought for her. It didn't look great with the red roses inside of it. The colors clashed like the two men who'd bought the items for her. Leaning back on the couch, he let out a long breath. Things were going to change. He was going to be there for Angela as best as he could, which was going to be more often than not since Hap and Kozik had him tailing her. He was going to prove to her that he'd always be there for her. That he'd show up just as much as Esai, if not more. Then maybe she'd end things with the asshole Mayan, and he'd finally get a chance to be with her.

Gemma was surprised when she saw the prospect pull into the SAMCRO compound. He hadn't been around much lately since he'd been assigned to follow Happy's little traitorous cousin after she'd been attacked. Gemma had heard the girl had put up one hell of a fight, and her little run in had put the rest of the club on high alert. Clay had been forcing her to stay at Teller-Morrow until he could take her home, and Gemma had noticed when she did stay home, one of her boys tended to show up to "spend time with her". She wasn't stupid; she knew they weren't there just because they liked her cooking. Trouble was brewing, and it was only time before the rival crew struck out again.

"Hey sweetheart," she greeted the prospect, leaning against the door to her office.

Juice smiled at her and nodded his greeting. "Hey Gemma. Where's everybody at?"

"Church. If you don't want to get cleaning duty, I'd leave now and say your babysitting duties were needed," she suggested.

"She's not home, right now," he explained with a little shrug. "Rather be here with the guys than home alone."

"Not good at being alone, huh?" she asked, taking a step inside as if asking him to follow.

He shrugged again. "Not really," he answered honestly as he followed her in. He nodded to the computer as she sat down in front of it. "How's it been working?"

"Great. Fast and reliable. No complaints. You did a good job, baby," she complimented, smirking at his look of pride. He blushed a little, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his cut. Clearly, he wasn't used to such praise. God, he looked young. Young and sweet. A little lost boy. Gemma had to admit, he didn't look like the type to join up with the club. He was too soft and kind. He either needed someone to protect and care for him or needed to toughen up, or he was never going to earn his full patch.

"Thanks," he said on a smile.

Gemma nodded slowly. He was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as if unsure what else to do or say. "How's your little traitor girl doing?"

Juice glared at her and for the first time, she saw how he might just be a little bit intimidating. "She's not a traitor. It's not like the Mayans are our rivals or some shit."

"Oh honey," she clucked at him as she leaned forward in her seat. "Today, we're not rivals. Not so long ago, we had an all-out war with those Mexicans. Lot of people got killed in the crosshairs."

He looked genuinely surprised by the information. Clearly, Bobby hadn't gotten around to teaching him a lot of SAMCRO's history like he was supposed to with the new prospects. "Oh."

"Yeah. Just a matter of time before they turn on us again. Better hope your girl stays outta the cross hairs or hope she don't start it."

Juice scowled, shaking his head. "Nah, she stays out of club shit."

"Ain't her I'm worried about. She pisses off that boy, 'n' he might try to start somethin'," she explained. He looked so worried, she almost regretted saying it, but he had to keep that in mind if he was going to play with fire. And the amount of time he spent with the little undertaker and the puppy dog eyes they exchanged was certainly playing with fire. It was only about time before one of them gave in, and it could end up burning the whole club.

"I don't think she'd do that."

"Not intentionally, no, but if she wants out of that relationship for whatever reason," she stated, looking pointedly at Juice. If there was any reason for her to leave the Mayan, she had a feeling it would be because of him. She had no doubts about that. "If she wants out, no matter how right she is in wanting that...if he's not okay with it, we're gonna have a big problem on our hands 'cause he don't strike me as a guy who plays fair."

Juice frowned, his eyes trained on his feet. "Yeah. We'll see."

"Just be careful with her, sweetheart. I know you care about her, but the last thing we need is that asshole showin' up ready to chop off your head 'cause you touched what was his."

He nodded in understanding, looking worried and anxious. "Yeah," he rasped, disheartened.

Gemma softened a bit. "You really love her, don't you?" she asked. Juice swallowed hard, letting out a long breath as he seemed to contemplate answering the question. Her heart went out to him; she knew what it was like to love someone she couldn't have. First with JT, and the way her parents hated him, then later when she'd fallen for Clay when she was still married to JT. Both times, she'd ended up getting what she wanted, and that feeling was second to none. "You can tell me, baby. I've been there before."

Juice shrugged a shoulder, staring at the ground. "I don't want to mess anything up with the club," he hedged on a frown.

"She worth fighting for?"

He lifted his head, his big brown eyes meeting hers. "Absolutely," he answered, without a second thought.

She nodded slowly, considering what that meant. "Well, then fight for her. Club'll be here to back you up, sweetheart. We've taken 'em on before, 'n' we can do it again."

"You think? I'm...I'm just a prospect."

Gemma smiled warmly at him. "You'll earn those patches soon enough, and I'm sure Hap would rather have her with you than with him," she assured him, knowing that despite his sweetness and naivety, he was an asset to the club because of his technology skills. There was no reason for him not to get his full rocker. "You're family now. Family shows up for each other. Has each other's backs. Just make sure she's worth it."

His shoulders relaxed a bit as if he'd been given permission to do something he desperately wanted to but had thought he wasn't allowed to do. A small smile spread across his face as he nodded. "Thanks Gemma."

"Uh-huh," she replied, already busying herself on the computer. "Just be careful. Doesn't do anyone any good if you go and get yourself killed over a girl."

He chuckled and nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Good. Now go make yourself useful over there so they see you as something more than a glorified babysitter."

He nodded again, heading towards the clubhouse with a little hop in his step. She sighed heavily hoping the little forbidden romance between him and the undertaker wasn't going to land the club six feet under.

Love exploring Gemma's head a little bit.
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