Adira sighed as she pulled her new Chevy Blazer into the lot of Teller-Morrow. This was the first time she had been back in over two years. She had gotten so busy with dancing that she kept in contact through Skype or the phone. The last two years she hadn't been in Charming she had been in Europe on her second tour. Now, here she was, twenty three years old and her career was over. The only thing she knew to do was go back home.
As she got out of the car she thought that maybe she should have called first, but that would have led to a long conversation she didn't feel like having at the moment. She knew it was inevitable, but she hoped her sudden reappearance would push back the interrogation.
Two months ago Adira has sustained an injury while rehearsing in Scotland. Her trainer immediately sent her home once she was released from the hospital. She had undergone surgery not even two days after she was state side.
The company she danced for had released her, not wanting her to hurt herself more or her becoming a liability. She had torn her ACL and had the surgery to repair it. She hadn't informed her family of any of this. While, in a few months she could dance again, it ended her career and she was devastated.
Adira was skilled enough and had enough school to become an instructor if she wanted, but right now she was lost. Right now she just needed to be with her family until she figured out exactly what she was going to do with her life.
Adira slowly limped to the office of the garage where she knew Gemma would be. Her knee was still stiff and she was still seeing her physical therapist in San Fransisco, but he did recommend a colleague of his that worked at St. Thomas. She had an appointment with her new therapist next week. She just hoped no one noticed. That hope was shot down when Chibs noticed her limping across the lot.
" 'ey little girlie. Wha' ya doing limping around here. Gem is guna 'ave your arse when she sees you. Showing up unannounced and shite." He laughed walking over to her.
"Hey Chibs." She smiled softly as she stopped her trek. "I just had to come home ya know. It's been too long and I want to be around my family." She smiled weakly, hoping Chibs wouldn't pry more.
" 'ight lass. Well if you need anything let me know. Your dad and most of the boys are out right now. They should be back la'er. Gem is in the office doing paperwork." He smiled. "It's good to have ya home 'ove." He finished as he kissed the top of her head before heading back to the car he was working on.
Adira sighed as she continued her trek to the office. When she made her way to the door she saw Gemma sitting at the desk with a mountain of papers in front of her. She looked stressed as she removed her glasses pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You know I can help you out with all that if you'd like." Adira said from the door way, starling Gemma.
"You little shit you 'bout gave my old ass a heart attack." She snapped holding a hand to her chest. "Now get your little ass over here and give me a hug." She smiled standing from her chair.
Adira returned her smile and limped over to Gem, who immediately noticed her change in gait, but said nothing.
"So you want to tell me why you're showing up here out of the blue, and limping no less?" Gemma asked releasing her as she eyed her. "Well there went avoiding that topic." Adira thought to her self. She sighed as she sunk into the chair across from Gemma.
"I tore my ACL a few months ago. Became a liability to the dance company so the let me go." She she said quietly with her head in her hands. "I'm not done dancing, but my career is over. No company is going to hire a young dancer with that kind of past injury. I didn't know what else to do so I came home. I still have six weeks of therapy left." She finished looking up to Gemma, her eyes tired and emotionally drained.
"Oh hunny." Gemma said walking around the desk to her. "You are a tough bitch, I should know I dealt with your ass when you got here." She laughed causing Adira to chuckle. "Just because you aren't performing professionally any more does not mean your life is over. You can help me here in the office until you're fully healed." Gemma finished giving her a hug.
Adira sighed as she sat across from Gemma a while later who filled her in on all the latest gossip with the Sons and the town. Apparently the woman Jax married a couple years ago was a junkie. She was pregnant now and and even bigger problem. Opie had gotten out of Stockton not too long ago, Donna was having a hard time. She told Adira about the new crow eaters and who got on her nerves the most. Told her that Luann had been doing well with the porn business. It seemed like not much had changed.
As Gemma and Adira talked a head popped into the office. When Adira looked back to see who had intruded, she saw Gage looking quite confused.
"Gage!" She squealed jumping up and limping to her brother who crushed her in a hug while lifting her up.
"Dee what the hell you doing home?" He said into her hair as he sat her back down. "And exactly why are you limping?" He asked holding her at arms length eyeing her.
"I tore my ACL a couple months ago. Had surgery to repair it, still have six weeks of therapy left." She said sitting back down. "Dance company let me go so I came home." She sighed.
"Well dad and the guys will be here soon. Let's go out to the picnic tables. I can carry you if you want." He laughed eliciting a glare from Adira. Gemma nodded and Adira rose again from her seat and limped behind her older brother.
Once they reached the tables Adira sat on the bench and Gage straddled it beside her. She leaned back against the table with her arms crossed at her chest, head hung low.
Gage took in her appearance. She had really grown up in the last two years she had been away. Her hair was longer, her eyes seemed lighter than he remembered, and she had grown into a beautiful young woman. The one thing that didn't change was her height, she was still a five foot tall fire cracker. He noticed she looked lost, almost broken. He knew that her career ending had hit her very hard. Now he just wanted to help her come back from it. She was his little sister and he felt responsible for her. He was her protector and he was going to do everything possible to get his happy and bright sister back.
"There's a party tonight. Hap is down from Tacoma and you know the guys love an excuse to party like rock stars." Gage laughed looking at his sister who had a small smirk.
"Of course, like you over grown children need an excuse to drink yourselves into oblivion." She chuckled. "Some things never change do they?" She asked looking at him with a smirk as a group of guys rode in.
She immediately spotted her dad and Bradley. She looked to Gage who gave her a nod before she lifted herself from the bench and went as fast as she could to her father and brother. As she got closer she saw Slade and Adam with cuts that said prospect.
"Dee baby!" Her father yelled when he saw her. Her three brothers perked up when they heard their father. Soon she was engulfed in hugs by her brothers and father as the rest of the guys made their way over to welcome her.
"Hey daddy!" She squealed as he sat her down and held her at arms length. He couldn't believe how grown up she looked but noticed a darkness in her eyes but knew now wasn't the time to interrogate her. He saw Gage at the picnic tables and knew he could ask him. He was sure he got what was bothering her out of her before he got there.
"Alright let me have a hug from my favorite little shit!" She heard a voice that could only belong to Tig Trager. She smiled as she turned around to see the crazy haired blue eyes man approaching her.
"Tiggy! My love!" She smiled as he picked her up and swung her around in a circle. When she was in Charming he was the dirty old uncle who always made her feel better. He was the only one who could get through to her when she was running wild after she moved to Charming. Her father hated to be the bad guy because she already resented him so much. So Tig took it upon himself to help dish out her punishments and lecture her when she got into trouble sometimes to take the heat off her dad. Between her dad and Tig she grew to be an amazing woman.
"Now doll we are going to go out to the diner soon and have a chat. No buts." He said sternly smirking at her crossing him arms over his chest. "Yes Tigger." She laughed as she made her way to the club house with the guys.
They all noticed her limp and how she wasn't moving as fast as she normally did. No one said a thing about it though. When they got to the club house Gage took it upon himself to carry her over to a bar stool and sit her down before instructing Slade to get them all beers. He cut his eyes to Adira who gave a small nod acknowledging his unasked question of if she could drink.
As she settled in she felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked around the room and met the eyes she felt on her. Happy stood at the end of the bar, beer in front of him, watching her carefully. Ever since her graduation party she had ran into him many times over the years. At one point he made regular trips to see her when he came down from Tacoma to visit his mom. He even came to one of her shows she headlined when she was twenty in Seattle. He usually didn't spend much time around her when he was around, just long enough to make sure she was taken care of. Sometimes he would crash at her apartment, and on a couple occasions stayed a couple days while she was going through stuff. She figured her dad asked him to stop by her place in San Fransisco when he came down from Tacoma and to stop on his way back.
When Adira tore her ACL Happy had been down to see his mom. He stopped by her house on his way back to Tacoma, calling before he stopped to see if she was back from her tour. When he stopped by to see her, he found her laid up on the couch with ice on her knee and stitches. She hadn't really been expecting him, she was out of her mind on the pain killers her doc gave her. She didn't even remember him calling her to let her know he'd be by on his way back to Tacoma.
He had called his president and asked for a few more days, said he had something come up he needed to deal with before he came back. Adira begged him not to tell anyone about her injury. She said she needed to deal with losing her career before she told her family. He promised not to say anything but said he couldn't lie to his brothers if asked.
"So Dee darling, how have you been?" Clay asked smiling at her. She liked Clay, he was abrasive but always made sure she was okay. She guessed it was due to Gemma's love for her but never dwelled on it.
"I've been good. Making some decisions with my life right now." She said trying to satisfy Clay's curiosity. It seemed to work, he just shook his head and took a pull from his beer.
Adira looked around the room. She was glad Gage and Gemma were the only ones to interrogate her. She didn't feel like sharing with everyone her failure yet. She excused herself and slowly made her way outside for air. She took the place she had been at earlier when she was talking to Gage.
About five minutes after she left the inside of the club house she heard the door to it open and close before she heard boots making their way to her. It could have been any of the guys. She didn't feel like turning to see who it was, she was too wrapped up in her own head to care at the moment.
"How's the knee?" She heard a raspy voice ask her. She turned her head to see Happy at the end of the table, forearms on the table as he leaned foreword on it, looking at her.
"Stiff, but better." She said shifting under his gaze. She had been alone with him plenty of times but he still made her squirm. She wasn't afraid of him, there were even times she felt completely at ease with him. His gaze though was powerful and would make anyone squirm.
"You find a therapist yet to finish your PT?" He asked moving to sit beside her. She didn't look up at him, rather she looked at her feet, hands gripping the bench she was sitting on.
"Yeah, doc in San Fran referred me to a colleague of his in here in Charming, works at St. Thomas." She said not looking up, just staring at the scar on her left knee. The one part of her body that betrayed her.
"Good, you need any thing let me know." He rasped before getting up and heading over to his bike.
Adira shook her head, she didn't know why Happy felt the need to go out of his way to make sure she was okay. She had four brothers, a sister, a dad, a step mom, and everyone else to worry over her.
Later that evening, she was back at her dads house. She had taken residence in her old room and Gage had brought her bags in for her. She sat on the edge of her old bed after a shower working a comb through her long, wet, and tangled hair.
She hadn't felt much for partying tonight. She just wanted to be alone. She assured her father and brothers she would be fine and to go to the party. She needed time to decompress after her day. Her father still hadn't asked why she was suddenly home, but she knew he would either ask or get it from Gage.
She had no idea where to go from here. Everything she had known since she was eighteen was now just a memory. She had to start over on her career. She had dreamed of becoming a star in the world of dance, and was well on her way to that when she was injured. Sure she could teach or coach but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be working under someone else. If she taught, she wanted her own studio. After years of training she had a way of doing things, and she did not like outside forces to interfere with that.
When she was with the her old dance company she learned the routine in from the choreographer then cleaned everything up herself. She didn't need much instruction which is why she was loved by her bosses. They hated to let her go, but Adira knew when she signed her contract that if she got injured, she was finished. Now, here she sat unsure of what to do with her life.
Finally after giving in to her exhaustion she settled into bed. She pushed all her thoughts out of her mind and tried to fall asleep. When she finally did it was well near two am. She still had no idea what being home would bring her. She just hoped it would be something good.