After inking both Happy and Opie, arguing with a random guy who tried to say his botched tattoo was Emily's work and then the new owner of the Cigar shop next door trying to charm her Emily needed a very stiff drink, or five. So that's how she ended up in one of the local bars that were scattered around Charming. Nicky's was a quaint area to which one could disappear and no one would ask questions. Tonight she was sitting with her friend Lily, empty shot glasses and pint glasses covering the top of their table and the two of them making fun of some of the guys around them. It was an easy way to ignore the tension that was all but bleeding from her system.
❛ Oh boy – ❜ Lily groans.
❛ What ? ❜ Em asks, raising both an eyebrow and a new shot to her mouth. The glass resting against the curve of her lip as she waits for her friend to talk.
❛ The sons are here ! ❜
Em looks over to where Lily is looking, and from the corner of her eye she sees Jax, Happy, Opie, Tig and Juice walk in, their eyes scan the floor and when Jax's land on her he smiles but follows his fellow club members over to one of the darkened booths in the back. She guessed for the bikers it was the perfect place to do both business and pleasure without anyone thinking twice. Shaking her head she finishes the shot, purring slightly as the burn runs down her throat.
❛ What's your problem with them ? ❜ Em asks her friend
❛ You see the one with the lightning bolt things on his head ? ❜ Lily asks moving in the booth as though she doesn't want to be seen by any member of the club. And definitely not Juice aka the one she just described.
❛ Yeah – ❜
❛ Well I kind of slept with him ❜
Em chokes on the drink she had just taken a sip of and looks towards her best friend, her eyes wide, she can't help herself and bursts out laughing gaining the attention of those around her and by the skin tight feeling spreading over her she has also gained the attention of the bikers. The way she was feeling showing that one definitive biker was staring at her.
❛ You're kidding right ? ❜ Em asks laughing ❛ You college girl extraordinaire and pretend good girl took a wild ride with a biker"
❛ It was a moment of weakness ! ❜ Lily groans
❛ More like a moment of insanity – ❜
❛ Yeah that too – ❜ Lily huffs downing one of the shots as though it was her saving grace and would make everything better. ❛ But he ignores me now so I should ignore him too . ❜
❛ It would be a good idea" Em nods
The two of them work on getting drunk and try to ignore the bikers sitting and conversing in the back, Lily manages it only just but Em, she has a hard time shaking the feeling of eyes on her. It gets worse when she dances with some random guy; the feeling of the gaze is almost as though she's going to combust at any moment. Her skin was on fire, the flames stoked every time she moved, the intensity making her head spin and she didn't know if she was going to be able to handle it for much longer. She glances over her shoulder to see only Opie's gaze on her fully but after he smiles and looks away - after giving a warning glance to the guy she's with - Em knows it wasn't him who was making her skin crawl and a heat spread over her skin. She shrugs her shoulders slightly and instead walks over to the bar where Lily is having a shot race with her previous dancing partner.
❛ I'm off for some air babe – ❜
❛ Okay ❜
She smiles slightly before moving around the mass of bodies fighting her way to the door, once outside in the cool air she breathes a sigh of relief, the tightness in her body relaxing a little as she passes Bob the security guard and takes a few steps down the alley that rests between the bar and the little restaurant next door. A sigh flutters off her lips as she pulls her smokes from her pockets and lights one up, eyes closing as she concentrates on breathing in and out, inhaling and exhaling the cancerous stick in her hand. She can feel the sweat that was previously clinging to her skin starting to dry the longer she stood in the cool air. And where it previously would have annoyed her - now it was a welcome relief.
❛ Hey beautiful ❜
Em's eyes snap open as she hears and feels someone come to a stop next to her, she looks over to see it's one of the men she and Lily had seen and dismissed within five minutes of entering the bar. To some he would seem alright but both Lily and Em had seen enough to know this guy was on drugs, the hard drugs, the slight twitching of his hands and the crazy look in his eyes also confirming it now that he was stood pretty close to Em. She'd never been on drugs herself, but she had witnessed many of her friends give into the temptation and lose themselves to the addiction.
❛ Goodbye dick – ❜
Em didn't want to be nasty to the guy, in any other circumstance she would have nicely gotten rid of him but her patience was already thin today and the presence of this guy was just not helping. Thus her filter between being pleasant and being an all out bitch was now non existent.
❛ Oh don't be like that ❜ he tries to croon but sounds like a cat being strangled and Emily flinches as the sound meets her sensitive ears.
She sighs in annoyance as she drops her cigarette to the floor putting it out with the heel of her boot before going to walk past him and back inside the confines of the bar - where it was safe. Where there were bodies which built a barricade between herself and him. She comes to an abrupt stop as she feels a hand grab her arm and looks to see it's the man, not that she thought it was anyone else but she needed the confirmation.
❛ My names Matt – ❜
❛ Good to know ❜ Em nods ❛ Now let me go. ❜
❛ I don't think so – ❜
It took a brief moment for Em to realise she was in a world of shit, by the time she realised it the guy, Matt, had slammed her against the wall and his hand was gripping her throat painfully. Her vision begin to blur from both the slow loss of oxygen as well as the pain now flaring through the back of her head. Her fight instincts kick in and she starts to move, each action in vain. She had to internally chuckle for a moment - where she'd thought he wasn't a threat had just been proved wrong and as of right now. She was never going to go against a drug addict in the future. They were scary bastards.
❛ Let…Me…Go – ❜ she manages to breathe the force past the constriction to her air supply. The words sounded weak even to her.
Matt ignores her as he begins to tear at her jacket, his legs pinning hers so she can no longer kick him like she'd previously been doing. Her struggling intensifies as she can easily see what he was about to do; that and she never did like being the weak one. She manages to wrangle a leg free, her boot connecting with his shin a moment later and as her eyes meet his, she can see a now crazed look overtaking his previously pinned eyes. And for the first time she allows a drop of fear to enter her veins.
❛ You shouldn't have done that ! ❜
Before Em can blink he rears his fist back and slams it into her face, the force of his punch busting her nose and making her head hit off the wall again, the blurriness becoming more profound as she gasps violently. Doing anything to drag oxygen into her screaming lungs. She becomes weaker in his hold, fighting against his movements as his hand grips her trousers, the intent clear in his eyes. She wouldn't scream though - there was no way she'd give him the satisfaction of knowing she was scared. Instead she continues to fight - praying that she could stop the inevitable as she hears the rip of her trousers, the button holding the leather material together no longer there.
❛ Hey Asshole ! ❜
Emily feels more than sees Matt being ripped off her, but due to his hand still gripping her throat in a vice grip he pulls her forward a few steps, his hand lets go and she's unable to stop the inevitable as she falls forward, her knees slamming off the concrete and sending a whole new barrage of pain flaring through her body. She glances up to see Opie standing above her, his hands doing a careful assessment of how she is. Her breathing is ragged as she fights to work her now battered throat, her body screaming in pain and her lungs screaming for oxygen.
❛ You need to go the hospital – ❜
Em didn't know if it was due to the punch, the hits to her head or the adrenaline and fear coursing through her veins - or if Opie was just talking quietly - either way it sounded to her as though she was wearing headphones and his voice was miles away. She feels herself nod in answering to his words, even if she wasn't completely sure what was said, her head dragging to the side and looking over to where her attacker is, Matt, to see someone kicking the living crap out of him. She looks back at Opie and he must have gathered her thoughts as he answers her unspoken question whilst pulling his phone from his pocket. The look in his eye was a cross of sympathy and anger.
❛ Happy – ❜ he states ❛ We got worried when you didn't return so he came out to see what was happening on Jax's orders. I followed as I wanted a smoke and that's when we saw you and him ! ❜
❛ Is he going to kill him ? ❜ she chokes, the words getting stuck in her throat but she knows she needs to say them. She had gotten the kill vibe from Happy from the moment she met him. As though she just knew he was the guy who did the bad shit, the one the club could rely on to pull the trigger.
❛ Probably – ❜ Opie says with conviction before placing his phone next to his ear. She knew she wouldn't get anymore from her friend. And she also knew in that moment he wasn't going to argue with Happy's intentions. If it wasn't for the fact she was injured - she was one hundred percent sure that it would be Opie attacking the guy instead.
Em knew with conviction that she looked like some damsel in distress that needed a guy to fight for her and she hated every minute of it, but as her eyesight begins to blur and darkness creeps in from the corners she can't help the helplessness creeping in as she collapses against Opie, her whole body draining of it's previous adrenaline and soothing her into the abyss.
❛ Ope – ❜ she starts to voice but doesn't finish as she blacks out - her body finally giving up, the sounds of Opie cursing and the screams from Matt being all she hears before she hears nothing else.
- ʚɞ - ʚɞ - ʚɞ -
The sound of beeping, annoying beeping is what wakes Emily up from what seemed like a year long sleep. Even without opening her eyes she knew where she was, the beeping, the sterile smell and the sounds of people walking past the room constantly were the main signs. She was in the hospital. She cracks her eyes open slowly, each lid feeling like it weighs around fifty pounds and flinches as the harsh light hits her sensitive eyes, after a few blinks she begins to adjust. The first thing she sees is her sister looking at her, her face a mixture of worried and annoyed - a look that only a sister who was also a trained doctor could perfect. Em groans as she closes her eyes and hopes to block out her sister.
❛ What's the verdict ? ❜ Em asks Tara. Hating the way her voice sounded like a rival for sandpaper and she now notes just how dry her throat was.
❛ You've got a bad cut on your head from the wall, a broken nose and a mild concussion but considering you were already asleep we couldn't stop you from sleeping. ❜
❛ Awesome ❜ Em replies sarcastically. Unable to help herself.
She didn't mean to let her sarcasm out but she hated being weak so she resorted to the only defence she had, cruelty and sarcasm. What Em hated the most was the fact that it was Happy and Opie who had to save her, she didn't want their help, yes she needed it but she didn't fucking want it.
❛ If Opie and Happy hadn't come looking – ❜ Tara starts but stops at Em's growl of annoyance.
❛ I am not a fucking damsel in distress that they can swoop in and fucking save. I'm not one of the women who are going to swoon at their feet either ! ❜
❛ Em don't start – ❜ Tara sighs
❛ No I will, I didn't want their fucking help ! ❜
❛ So you'd rather have been raped ? ❜ Tara asks and Em opens her eyes to see her sister staring at her with wide eyes. She can't help the snort - even like this Tara couldn't help but be self righteous and it was annoying as shit.
❛ Maybe ? ❜ Em shrugs and instantly knows it wasn't the right thing to say. ❛ Anyway what happened to the man ? ❜
❛ You don't want to know – ❜
❛ So that means he's in a shallow grave – ❜ Em drawls and sighs before sitting up, groaning as the pain in her head flares up causing her eyesight to swim. She can also feel her stomach flipping violently and was almost positive that in a moment she was about to hurl everything that was in her gut.
❛ Are you okay ? ❜ Tara asks rushing forward and instantly slipping into doctor mode making Em roll her eyes.
❛ I'm fine. ❜ Em chokes out ❛ When can I get out of here ? ❜
❛ Tomorrow at the latest. ❜ Tara sighs ❛ But you'll have to be off work for a week. ❜
❛ Fuck that – ❜ Em shouts and cringes as her head again flares ❛ I have a ton of appointments this week ! ❜
❛ Em you need to rest. ❜
❛ I'll rest when I'm dead ! ❜ She replies carelessly as she reaches over to the glass of water that was situated on the small table beside her. Groaning in pleasure as it soothes some of the dryness in her throat.
❛ Well if Opie and Happy had been any later you might have just got your wish ! ❜
Em watches as her sister leaves the room and chuckles a little, Tara was always the most melodramatic of the two of them, she blew everything out of proportion and made everything work in her favour. Even if that meant blackmailing people to see things her way - Emily was one of the few who never gave in and it drove Tara insane. Em knew where she was coming from but sometimes it was just too darn much, like now when her head hurt she just wasn't in the mood for her sisters' drama.
Once she's had another drink getting rid of the feel of sandpaper in her mouth completely, she drops back onto the pillows and begins calculating how she was going to get out of this room whilst her sister was on duty. She hated hospitals, always had and probably always would. She'd spent far too much time inside them.
❛ Fuck my life ! ❜ Em groans to no one and decides to go back to sleep, her concussion be damned.
- ʚɞ - ʚɞ - ʚɞ -
A / N - so if you read the original of this story - you will notice that quite a bit of this chapter has been edited aka rewrote as i never liked the original. So i hope the changes make sense. And work. Reviews are love - so let me know.