Chapter 7: One Step at a Time
The van pulled up to a cabin in the middle of now where. Liv looked around, was this her safe place? The cabin was surrounded by trees and nothing else, it was secluded and alone. The man who she learned earlier was Montez didn't speak throughout the drive, she had been grateful for his silence. She didn't have anything to say, she did have questions but they could wait until the right time and it was not right then. As the van came to a stop she slowly stepped outside of it; she was happy enough to be away from the confines of the warehouse and the room she was locked in. She glanced at the men who had followed on their motorcycles, she was appreciative of them and their willingness to save her. As she looked them her eyes were met by Happy's as he got off of his motorcycle. He gave her a nod as he walked to the back of the van to help the others get Bobby out. She watched as they carried him to a picnic table that was next to the cabin. She watched as each of them said their goodbye to their friend, she had already said her goodbyes to him while they sat in the room together after August had killed him. Her tears flowed freely then, now she couldn't find it in herself to cry. She was numb to the pain, so she remained a respectful observer. It wasn't long before Happy walked towards her, he was wiping tears from his eyes; he oozed sorrow.
"We are going to bury Bobby so we will be here a while, is there anything that you need?" Happy asked Olivia. He felt responsible for her for some reason, like it was his job to protect her. The poor girl was a mess, she hadn't said anything since she thanked him so when she shook her head at him he wasn't surprised. Happy knew the girl had been through hell but he wasn't sure how much. Her face bore the bruises of the men who didn't know how to treat women and he wished that he could have caused the pain them the pain they caused her and Bobby. He wanted nothing more to avenge Bobby, he would've taken pleasure in it; slowly torturing any of the men from Mark's company, he got a hold of. He smiled slightly at the thought of it; it had been a too long since he felt the flesh of another man under his knife. His thoughts were immediately brought back to Bobby and what Moses had done to him. He was no better than him. He thought about it briefly and then came to the realization that he was, he would never had treated Olivia the way they had. He glanced at her, she had moved herself to a spot under a large oak tree and sat down with her back to it. She looked content enough until he saw her tense up when Tig walked over to her. Happy wondered if it was just too much for Olivia to know that Tig was her father at this point.
Tig wanted nothing more than to tell Olivia who he was. He walked over to her after she sat down again the old oak tree. "How's it going sweetheart?" Tig asked his youngest daughter. He wondered how he would tell her about what happened to her oldest sister, Dawn and how her other sister, Fawn hated him. He saw her tense up quickly as he knelt down next to her. "You don't remember me, do you?" He asked her.
Olivia looked at the man who had taken too much of an interest in her too quickly. It made her slightly uneasy, if she would have met him before this had happened she may have had some smart ass remark or a good come back but now she was just silent. She shook his head at his question. She didn't remember him, had she met him before? Was he someone from her past? Was this the Trager that August was talking about? Was this the man that was he father? It would make sense since when she looked at him she saw so many features that were her own staring back at her.
"I met you a long time ago, 23 years ago." He said quietly.
Her mother's funeral, she was instantly drawn back to that day. She wore a new dress that her adoptive parents had bought her for the day. Natalie was there with her, they held hands as her mother's casket was lowered into the ground. She tried to remember more of that day but all she remembered was how her shoes pinched her feet and the dress was uncomfortable. She couldn't remember the man who knelt beside her.
"Olivia, you…"He started to say as Happy walked over to them.
"Tig," he interrupted. "We need to bury Bobby." Happy knew what Tig was going to tell her, he had been listening. It was not the right time, she had been through too much.
"Shit," Tig muttered quietly under his breath. "Alright Happy. Can we talk later?" He looked at Olivia who nodded slowly. She wanted to know what he had to say but she was overwhelmed, too much had happened. She needed to process everything that had happened. Tig stood up and walked away from her, Happy remained for a second.
"Do you want to join us?" He asked her wondering if she would answer him. Liv just shook her head. "Alright." He respected her decision as he joined the rest of his brothers at the grave they sent Rat and one of the prospects up to dig the day after the video arrived at Redwoody.
Liv watched as the men slowly lowered Bobby's body into the ground. She wondered if she would ever be able to lay Juice to rest. She wanted to be able to say goodbye to him; she wanted to tell him that he had saved her as much as he said she saved him. She was a lost soul until she met him. Her heart ached for him, she could feel tears falling from her eyes. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. She sobbed quietly thinking about the man who she loved beyond words and wondered if she would ever feel like that with another man ever again.
"Olivia?" A hand touched her shoulder, she instinctively flinched. She looked up slowly, wiping the tears from her face to see Jax staring down at her. "Are you okay?" He asked as he knelt down next to her. What was he talking about? He knew she wasn't okay, the girl had just been beaten up and saw another person be murdered in front of her. She bit her lower lips as she looked up at him, he could tell she didn't trust him. He didn't blame her. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all this. We will make sure that nothing like this happens to you again." He wouldn't let another person hurt her, he was sure that most of his club felt that way as well. He wouldn't let what happened to Tara happen to Olivia.
Liv believed his words for some reason. The man named Jax offered her his hand after he stood up, she took his hand and stood up next to him. She looked at him for a moment and then swallowed hard before saying, "Thank you." She was thankful for what his club had done for her. For the sacrifices that probably they made to get her out of her hell.
"Think nothing of it sweetheart." Jax flashed her a warm smile as he walked with her back to the van where Montez was waiting for her to get in.
The van ride was again quiet, again she felt grateful for the quietness of the man who introduced himself briefly as Montez. That was the only thing that he told her, it wasn't as if she didn't know who he was since they had referred to him several times while she was nearby. They pulled up next to a warehouse, Liv tensed up quickly. She would have been happy if she never saw another warehouse in her whole life. She didn't get out as quickly as she did when they arrived at the cabin. She sat in the van still buckled in even after Montez got out and started walking toward the building. She was pulled back to the moment she realized she was locked up. She instantly felt the cold hard chair under her; her arms tied behind her back and she saw the man with a knife in front of her. She felt the panic of her captivity creeping back, it wasn't until her door opened and Happy was standing in the door she realized that she was safe.
"Come on." He said, his voice was gruff. She wanted to have him wrap his arms around her. She wanted to feel safe again. They walked through the doors of the warehouse and it was like she was on a set of a movie. There were video cameras facing a set that looked like a school room. Across from that set there was a bar, she relished the thought of being able to have a beer. She also instantly felt inadequate, as a beautiful medium blonde haired woman who was walking towards her and Happy.
"Hey Hap." The woman smiled at him and looked over at Liv with concern.
"How's it going, Lilah?" Happy asked.
"Jax's called and said that you might need my help." She said to Happy. She looked over at the girl who was with Happy.
"Nothing we can't handle." He said quietly as if he didn't want Liv to hear.
"I'm sorry sweet heart but I think you need a woman's touch here." She shoved Happy slightly.
Liv didn't know what to think of their interactions. She wondered if they were together or if they were just close. She wanted nothing more than at that moment to take a shower. She wondered if it would help wash away the memories of the men who had raped her only a short time before Happy had walked through the door.
Happy lead Olivia to a table where he sat down. She stayed standing, he looked up at her wondering what was going on. He frowned at her. "What is it?" He asked, not expecting an answer. Olivia frowned at him and bit her lower lip. "It's okay you can tell me."
She took a deep breath and then said with tears in her eyes, "I want to shower and brush my teeth."
Happy just about fell off his chair, she was in tears about wanting to shower and brushing her teeth? "Of course." They hadn't thought about her comfort as much as they thought about her safety. He looked over at Lilah who was giving him a, know it all look. She was right, they did need a womanly touch. He had no clue what women really wanted, he never took the time to understand them. They sucked his dick or he fucked them into oblivion but he never took time to understand them. He never saw the point. The only woman he cared about was his mother but she was long gone from the constraints of the world.
Lilah walked over to them, "Come with me Olivia. I will show you where the shower is." As they walked away from the table, Lilah turned and said, "sometimes they don't think of things, don't worry I have your back." She smiled softly at Liv. Liv liked her immediately. She was thought it would be nice to have another woman around in the room full of men.
To Liv there was nothing better than the feeling of warm water on her skin. It burned the wounds on her wrists and under her breasts. She scrubbed her body with the soap that Lilah had left her which smelled of lavender and roses; until her body was red and burning. She wanted to wash away everything that had happened to her while she was being held captive by August and his men. She must have been in the shower for an hour before she stepped out feeling somewhat clean. Lilah had brought in clothes for her while she was in the shower, she apologized if they were not the most desirable of outfits but it was the best she could do with the amount of time she had. Liv found a pair of black leggings with a black shirt that had the letters SOA on the front of it. She also left her a pair of underwear, black thongs. She held up the strap of fabric and looked at it with disgust. She had always hated thongs. Olivia thought about the time that Natalie had talked her into wearing one with a dress, she felt naked. She was more of a lacy boy shorts kind of girl. There wasn't a bra in sight but the shirt was large enough where she could hide that fact. She was happy enough to just have clean clothes. She got dressed, brushed her teeth which felt like such a blessing to be able to do and walked out of the bathroom. Never again would she take such minor things for granted.
There was a large mirror right outside of the bathroom in the dressing room that was attached. She looked at herself, her face was painted with bruises some of them larger than others. Her lip had a large cut that went from the middle of her bottle lip to the inside of her mouth. She barely recognized herself, she pulled the towel off her head and let her hair fall in waves down around her shoulders. Finally she could see a resemblance of herself and it made her feel somewhat human again. She walked out of the dressing room towards the main room where she heard the murmur of voices. A man with two deep scars on either side of his face walked up to her.
"Those wounds on your wrists look pretty bad." He said with a thick Scottish accent. "Let me bandage them for you." He stepped aside where he had a table that had first aid supplies on it. She sat down at the table and offered her wrists up to the man. "I'm Chibs." He offered up.
Olivia smiled at him as Tig sat down at the table with them. He had a beer which Olivia immediately wanted. "Can I have something to drink?" She asked Tig.
Tig was shocked hearing his daughter's voice for the first time since she was a little girl. "Of course, what would you like?" He asked. She sounded slightly like Aria had but her voice still sounded like a quiet little bell to him. He was glad to have her safe.
"A beer would be great." Olivia replied. She wondered if it was wrong that she wanted to drink away her losses and shame. It instantly occurred to her that maybe that was what her mom was doing when she started to take drugs. She didn't want to be like her birth mother. But one beer wouldn't hurt her. Tig returned with a beer as Chibs had finished bandaging up Liv's wrists. "Thank you," she said to both of them.
"Anytime." Chibs said as he packed up his stuff. But not before taking Liv's face in his hands and turning her face to look at the bruises on it. "You should heal up with some time. They really did a number on you didn't they sweetheart?" He said as he released her face.
If he only knew, Olivia thought to herself thinking of the marks they were unable to see. The ones she couldn't erase, the scars that would be there forever in her head. The loss of her virtue, or what she considered her virtue. Granted she had been with Juice and Matt but she had loved both of them when they were together. She wanted so badly to forget the way they touched her. She wondered if she would ever be able to get past what they did. It was all too fresh to her. She took a large drink of the beer it was cool and it trickled down the back of the throat and coated her empty stomach. Sweet nectar, she thought to herself as she looked at the dark brown liquid in the cup. She looked over at Tig who was staring at his pint of beer. "Are you my father?" She asked straightforwardly.
Tig looked back at Olivia with sadness in his eyes. She looked so blank, he didn't know how his answer was going to hit her. "Yes." He responded.
Olivia flinched at his response, so he was part of the reason why she was taken from Juice's house that night. How was it, that August and Moses knew who she was and she did not? She took another drink of her beer as she tried to think of something to say. Then it hit her, he was at her mother's funeral, she remembered. "Why didn't you take me with you?" She asked as if he could read her mind.
Tig frowned at Liv's question knowing that she was talking about the day at the funeral. "I thought it would be better for you to have a mother and father who loved you and were not involved with this club." He paused and then continued, "Your mother didn't want you to be a part of this life."
"Aria didn't know what she was talking about. She was a drug addict." Olivia bit back at Tig. "She would lock me in a closet when she whored herself out so she could get money for her drugs. If I acted out when she was on one of her highs I got beat. Is that the life you wanted for me when you let her go?" Liv directed her anger toward her father. She wasn't really angry at him but she needed to direct her anger at someone and unfortunately for Tig, it was him.
"Where Sasha and Tom not good parents?" Tig asked not taking his daughter anger personally. He knew she had been through a lot.
At the mention of her adoptive parents, Liv calmed down. She stared at the table thinking about how much she loved them, they had always treated her like she was their own. "They were the best." She whispered without looking up at Tig. She could feel his eyes on her so she looked up and stared back at the man was her father. "I'm sorry I was rude. I am just a bit overwhelmed and with everything…." She trailed off.
Tig looked Olivia and shook his head, "It's fine. I get it." Olivia snorted at him, obviously it wasn't the response she expected from him. "I bet you are tired." He looked at her, she had dark circles under eyes and her eyes drooped as she nodded at him. "We were going to put you up here but Happy offered to let you stay at his place, he has an extra room. I would have you at my place but I only have one bedroom. Jax also said you could stay at his place starting tomorrow if you want but tonight the boys are already in bed and he didn't want to wake them."
Olivia was actually okay with staying at Happy's. He seemed to be able to read her and he didn't push her to talk if she didn't want to. He had also stepped in a few times earlier in the evening when she was feeling uncomfortable with Tig. "I'm fine where ever. When can I go home?" Olivia asked as Jax and Happy walked up to the table.
"When we get things sorted out with August." Jackson piped in.
Liv glanced up at him with disbelief, she was free but she couldn't go home. She was a prisoner yet again or at least she felt like one. She was sure if Natalie knew what had happened she would be looking for her. She knew if they found Juice then they would have known something bad had happened. "I have people who will be looking for me." Liv said sadly. Thinking about how Juice would not be one of them.
"You can call them tomorrow." Happy said to her. "Let's go." He said to her but she frowned at him. He didn't know how to deal with this girl, he wanted to caudle her but he knew if he did he would instantly regret it. "Come on." Happy scowled at her.
Liv took one more drink out of her beer glass and set it down on the table. She followed Happy out of the warehouse. He stopped at his bike and handed her his helmet. She took the helmet but didn't put it on, he had to be crazy to think she was getting on that death machine with him.
"What?" Happy asked with some annoyance in his voice. "Get on the fucking bike." He glowered at Liv. She was sure stubborn for someone who should be grateful for him saving her life. Olivia shook her head at him. "It is safe." He just wanted to get home, shower and go to bed but she was making his evening difficult. Liv looked at him with disbelief in her eyes as she strapped the helmet to her head and climbed on to his Harley behind him. He started his bike and he felt Olivia tighten her grip around his waist. He wondered if it was the first time she had been on a bike. He smiled at the thought of making her learn to love Harleys. When she was up to it he would bring her on a long ride out through the desert. He often took rides out there to clear his mind, there was something about long straight roads with his bike between his legs that caused clarity in his life. Maybe that would help her as well.
A/N: I am overwhelmed by your support. Thank you all so very much for your comments…I enjoyed reading all of them while I wandered through a local art museum yesterday. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it wasn't super exciting but it is setting up some friendships that will develop along the way. I will try to get another chapter out soon but with it being NYE I don't think it will be tonight…too much fun to be had. Let me know what you think…again thank you and I am humbled!