Author's Note: Ok, so here is the first chapter of many sad ones. It wasn't easy to write but it had to be done. But, in all honestly, this won't be the saddest. I haven't written than one yet but if you have been paying attention, I have been throwing in clues to what will happen in future chapters. Every words was purposely put in for a reason and so was every scenario. I am dreading to write one chapter I have in mind but it will come to me soon enough. I anticipate it will be around chapter 20. Good thing is that I have written up to Chapter 18. All your questions will be answered in due time.
Another good note is that the chapters will be getting longer from now on. There will rarely be any filler chapters and I will be introducing characters that were not part of Sutter's SOA but they will serve their purpose just like Katie. I will also bring back some villains of SOA that made our bloods boil. Any guesses? So sit tight and enjoy the ride.
P.S.- This chapter contains a Gemma and Tara smack down.
Please review and respond and let me get at least ten reviews :). The more reviews I get, the faster I'll post the next chapter.
XOXO
Chapter 15
Sunday, May 18th, 1997
Tara hung up the phone again and grunted in utter frustration.
"Everything ok?" Derek took a sip of his coffee.
Tara glared at her father. "Everything is fine."
Derek folded the newspaper and took one last sip of coffee and made his way to the back door. "I'm going out with some friends. I don't know..."
Tara held up her hand. "Please Dad. We both know you are going to Lodi to drink yourself to oblivion. So, just save both our times."
Tara walked away without waiting for a response. She was closing her door when she heard the front door slam.
Sitting down on her bed, she picked up the phone and dialed the number to TM.
The phone rang and rang. Again she hung up, utterly frustrated that she hasn't heard from Jax in two days. All he told her before leaving was that he was wrapping shit up in Las Vegas before making his way up. When she returned from Stockton, she made sure to stop by TM and informed him that she had purchased bus tickets for them to leave on Tuesday morning. He was in full agreeance with the plan. She saw the hesitation in his eyes but he promised to leave with her.
The plan was easy. He would leave a letter telling Gemma he was leaving Charming and they would make their way to Stockton, where he would watch her graduate. Afterwards, they would drive to Sacramento, where they would take a bus that would take them straight to New York in three days. By the time Samcro and Gemma figured out where they were, they would be somewhere out of California. Tara counted that they would never find them in New York City. The city was too big and not even Katie's mother knew where her daughter lived in the Big Apple.
If only her boyfriend returned her damn calls.
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Tara grabbed her car keys.
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"What the fuck you want?"
Tara rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you to Gemma. Is Jax around?"
Gemma placed her hands on her hips. "No sweetheart, he ain't here."
An awkward silence soon followed. Tara glared at the Biker Queen. "Do you know where he is?"
"He is taking care of business. Club business. Might take him a while to come back."
Although Gemma and Tara have not had the best of relationships, in the three years that she has been with Jax, she has learned to read Gemma quite well. She saw the hint of fear creep into Gemma's eyes when she asked about Jax's whereabouts. Something was off. Something was very off.
"What's wrong?" Tara asked.
"Nothing, darling. Now if you excuse me..." Gemma turned to shut the door. Tara quickly put her foot by the door to stop it from shutting.
"Where is Jax?" Tara asked more forcefully.
"I told you, he is taking care of club business. So why don't you get in your old muscle car and drive the fuck off."
"No! Where is my boyfriend? Did something happen to him?"
"My boy is fine. He is with the club, handling business like real men do!"
Tara scoffed.
"Got something to say, sweetheart?"
"How could you live with yourself?" Tara asked.
Gemma rose one of her perfectly arched eyebrows. "Excuse me?"
"How could you live with yourself, knowing that your son is constantly in danger? How could you allow for him to stay here, in his backward, incestious town, knowing how much potential Jackson has? He could be anyone in this world and yet you are content in leaving him here, to follow a path of violence and crime. For what? So you won't be alone? You are a despicable human being who uses her sons' love for selfish means in order to leave him trapped. You just want to hoard his love for yourself. If you really love Jax, you would let him go. Let him make his own choices instead of forcing him to stay here to fulfill the dreams of his dead father."
Gemma stepped closer to Tara. "Poor you. I know you don't understand the love of a mother given that yours killed herself but let me educate you about something, darling. Fierce mothers protect their children no matter what. Jax is mine. He is my child, my only surviving child and I'll be damned if I let some pussy lead him anywhere but where he belongs-with me and the club. If you think I'll let you come between him and his destiny, you got something coming sweetheart cause listen and listen good. I'll kill you before I let you take my boy away from me."
Gemma stepped back into her house. "Now, get the fuck of my property, you little bitch. My son is not here."
Tara felt the tears burning in her eyes. "You think you might have won some big battle but Jax loves me. He loves me down to his bones, Gemma. Not you or the club will ever change that. You think you are so fucking untouchable sitting in the Queen throne of Samcro but if Jax becomes what you want him to become, he will hate you. And we both know that his hatred runs deep."
Tara didn't even wait to hear what Gemma had to say. She walked away and got into the Cutlass and drove away.
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Monday, May 19th, 1997
She hung up the phone again.
She still hadn''t heard from Jax. She had packed the Cutlass with her bags and the few clothes Jax had left behind over the years in her room.
They were suppose to drive out to Stockton together for her graduation. They were suppose to be on the road 15 minutes ago. Now, she was running late. Grabbing the keys to the Cutlass and her cap and gown, Tara ran out of her house.
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Parking the car, Tara got out of the car and stomped her way to the clubhouse. She noted that there were a few bikes parked in their spots but didn't see her boyfriends'.
Making her way inside, Tara allowed for her eyes to adjust to the poor lighting of the clubhouse before noticing Tig and Clay whispering to each other.
Tig noticed her before Clay did. Making her way to them, Tara squared her shoulders.
"Have you guys seen Jax?" she asked without preamble. She needs to get to Stockton quickly and she needed to know where Jax was.
"Nah, sweetheart, he ain't here. He is in Nevada." Clay took a drag of his cigar.
"He can't be in Nevada. He promised he would be here for my graduation. He promised me."
Clay shrugged his shoulders. "We make a lot of promises we know we ain't never going to keep, sweetheart. Club comes first, Tara."
Tara swallowed the lump in her throat. She wasn't going to allowed for Clay or Tig to see her cry. "Well, I guess you are right, Clay."
She turned to leave.
"Hey Tara," Tig yelled. "You look real nice."
Tara did the only thing that came to mind...she flipped him the bird as the door to the clubhouse slammed shut.
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After the ceremony was done, Tara ran to the bathroom and shut herself in a stall and cried. She didn't know how long she sat there crying but she cried for all the broken promises made by Jax.
He had promised her a clean break and he didn't even have the balls to call her to tell her he would never show.
She heard the door to the bathroom open. A small knock into her stall soon followed.
"Tara?"
She looked up in surprise and wiped her tear stained cheeks. She stood and opened the stall door. She saw him standing by the sink.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" She walked over to where he was standing.
"The Hale kid gave me a ride over here. He told me about your graduation a couple of days ago. Thought it would be nice for me to surprise you on your big day."
Tara nodded. "Thanks, I guess." She took a big sigh.
"He didn't come."
Tara looked down to the floor. "I know," she whispered as her lips trembled.
Derek took a step forward and hug his daughter. Tara stiffen under his embraced but soon relaxed as the tears started flowing again. "I know," she said again as sobs took control of her small frame. "I know," she said as she hugged her Dad for the first time in years.
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"Are you sure about this?"
"Of course, Tara," Hale wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Derek shut the trunk door of the Cutlass and made his way to where Tara and David stood.
"Well, I guess this is good-bye."
Tara stepped away from David and embraced her father.
"Thanks for today, Daddy."
Derek hugged her tighter. "You haven't called me Daddy in such a long time."
"I know," she whispered.
He pulled away and reached into his pockets. Derek handed her an envelop.
"What's this?"
Derek cleared his throat as Tara opened the enveloped and saw a bunch of one hundred bills.
"Dad, I can't accept this..."
"No, you are going to take this Tara. I haven't been the best of fathers since Madi died but at least I could do this. Take the money and leave and don't ever look back. Be brave, my little girl, and be all who you could be. Be what I couldn't be and what your mother wanted you to be."
Tara wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks Daddy."
Both of them walked towards the Jeep. Derek gave his daughter one last hug. Afterwards, he turned to David, "Please get my daughter safe to Sacramento. And if you hear any motorcycles, please step foot in that gas peddle. Get her far away from Charming boy..."
"I will, sir."
Tara got into the Jeep and shut the door just as David got into the drivers seat.
"Are you ready, Tara?"
Tara nodded as he turned the key in the ignition. She waved good-bye to her father and watched on the side mirror as his figure and the Cutlass got smaller and smaller until she couldn't see them anymore.
