AN: This chapter will mostly be angst and some Harlie/Koz fluff. :/ Sorry this chapter is a little short! D: Review! Lemme know what ya think! I'm already planning a sequel! But, lets just get this one finished first.(:
In less than ten minutes, everyone was there. It was all a blur. The last thing she remembered was being lifted into the shower by Opie and her mom. Her mom helped her chang, handing her blood stained clothes over to Tig. She let out a sigh of relief feeling the hot water hit her sore spot on her side. She heard her mom say Tara was on her way. Nausea was building up in her stomach. "Momma.." Harlie choked out, grabbing her mom's hand.
"I'm here, baby.." Krys helped Harlie wash away all the blood on her body. Harlie watched the red disappear down the drain.
"I killed him.." She whispered, shaking her head. In her head, she was wondering what Tig and Happy were doing with the body. She remembered Happy whispering she deserved a tat for this. She smiled a little at the thought. At that moment, she needed Happy more than anyone.
"Opie, hand me a towel." Krys said quietly, pointing to the closet across the hall. "It's gonna be okay, baby.. He's gone."
"Babe, can you come in here for a minute?" Clay asked from the door. "Tara's here to patch her up."
"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute. Tell her to come in here." Krys turned to face him, giving him a small smile. She could tell by the look on his face he was worried.
"C'mon, Harlie.." Opie mumbled in her ear, wrapping the towel around her body. He slid his arm under her shoulders to hold her up. "Ya okay?"
Harlie nodded weakly, taking a step out of the bathtub. It was like the ground was spinning underneath her. Her whole body throbbed in pain with every step she took. He helped her up on the counter. "Do.. Do you know what they did with the body?" She whispered.
"Don't worry about. It's done." Opie told her, kissing her forehead.
"Harlie?" Tara said from the door. "Can we get her to the kitchen? Better light.."
"Yeah, I got her.." Opie nodded, doing everything he could not to put pressure on her side.
"How is she?" Clay asked, closing the bedroom door. When Clay got the phone call from Half-Sack, he was astounded. The moment he walked in the kitchen and saw the body, he was speechless.
"She's.. In shock. The best thing to do is let Tara patch her up, give her some meds, and let her sleep. I'll call the school in the morning. Tell them she's got family issues goin' on or something." Krys sat down on the edge of their bed. "Oh, my god, Clay.. How did he even get in?"
"She probably didn't lock the door." Clay wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders. "She's a strong girl, Krys."
"Yeah, I know.." Krys whispered, wringing her hands. "I'm just worried. When is this shit gonna end?"
"We're workin' on that." He squeezed her arm.
Krys nodded, leaning her head on his shoulders. "Guess all that shit you taught her came in handy." She laughed quietly.
"Guess it did." Clay sighed. "Maybe you should lay down."
"I'm fine.." She kissed his cheek. "C'mon, lets go in here.." She stood up, holding out her hand.
"Yeah.." Clay placed his big hand in her small one, squeezing it gently.
Happy stared down at the burning body with a smirk on his face. He knew she had it in her, it's what she was raised to do. He was proud of his girl. Each limb he cut off Weston's body, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed knowing he got what he deserved. Blood was what Happy wanted and he got it. But, seeing in her in that state she was in worried him. He had never seen her so beat up before. She had been so scared she could barely hold herself up. He took a drag of his cigarette, leaning back against one of the trees.
"Any news on your Old Lady?" Tig asked, looking over at Happy.
Happy started to argue, but knew it was pointless. He didn't take Old Lady's. Plain and simple. He was too dedicated his job to waste his time on one woman, but.. Harlie changed something in him. It pissed Happy off that Tig noticed he had a weakness. "She had a broken rib, broken nose.. Her arm's gonna be in a sling, but other than that she's fine."
"I shoulda stayed.." Tig shook his head. "Goddamnit." Happy raised an eyebrow at Tig's words. He never showed guilt in the slightest, but tonight was different.
"She's alright, man." He clapped Tig on the back, watching as the fire turned to smoldering embers.
"Yeah," Tig nodded. "I'm proud of her."
"Me too." Happy laughed, tossing his cigarette butt into the dying fire. He felt a feeling of grim satisfaction sweep through his body.
"Take a deep breath." Tara told Harlie before popping her arm back into place. Harlie had never felt that kind of pain before. She let out a small whimper, gripping her father's hand with her good arm. She was glad Tara decided to do that last.
"Thanks, doc." Krys hugged Tara gently. "She's gonna be fine, right?"
"Yeah, she'll just be in quite a bit of pain in that rib. From the sound of her breathing, it didn't puncture a lung. There's a bottle of Vicodin in cabinet just in case she needs it. Give her one tonight. There's some Phenergan in the cabinet too." Tara glanced over at Harlie. "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah." Harlie said quietly, leaning against Clay's shoulder.
"You wanna talk about it?" Tara asked.
Harlie shook her head.
"Babe, maybe it's time we headed home. Neeta's still with Abel and it's late." Jax wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Alright, let me get my stuff." Tara smiled up at him.
"Thanks." Harlie said, sighing.
"You're welcome, honey. If you need anything or the pain gets worse, just call me." Tara kissed her cheek. Everyone looked when they heard the living room door close. Tig and Happy walked inside both looking like shit.
"Hey, Princess." Tig sat down at the table beside her. "Doin' okay?"
Harlie nodded, staying silent. Her eyes drifted over towards Happy who was leaning against the bar. The smell of the bleach finally reached her nose and burned her lungs. She felt the bile rising to her throat. She swallowed it back down, sighing. "You guys stayin'?" Chibs, Juice, Kozik, and Half-Sack were all passed out in the living room.
"You think we'd leave you like this?" Happy finally spoke up, his gaze softening. Harlie's cheeks blushed bright pink.
Krys narrowed her eyes, clearing her throat. "Hey, Hap.. Maybe you guys should head back tonight. We're good on protection."
Harlie's heart sank as she looked up at Happy. She saw him nod silently, lighting a cigarette.
"C'mon, lets get you to bed.." Clay sighed, helping Harlie up out of the chair. She took one last look at Happy then followed Clay down the hallway.
"Goddamnit.." Harlie winced, rolling over off her bad rib. She heard her stomach growl from under the blankets. She groaned, forcing herself to sit up. Her legs felt a little shaky, but she felt better than she did earlier. It all felt like a bad dream. She grabbed the flannel pajama pants off the floor and jerked them on. She slid out of bed and made her way into the kitchen.
"Hey." Kozik said, sitting down at the table. "Can't sleep?"
"My side is killing me," she frowned. She looked down at the floor and that's when the dream became real.
"There's gotta be somethin' else." Kozik glanced up at her. "Sit. I'll fix ya something to eat."
"Thanks." Harlie sat down where Kozik had been sitting. "You're up late."
"Couldn't sleep."Kozik shrugged.
"When I saw you sleeping earlier, you were drooling." Harlie laughed, drawing in a sharp breath when she felt her side throb.
"Be careful." He said, grabbing the eggs from the fridge. "Ya want cheese?"
"Please?" Harlie laid her head down on the table.
"I'm proud of you." How could he be proud of her? She killed someone. It was someone who caused her so much damage, but it didn't matter. She killed him. It wasn't the first time she had seen a dead body. Growing up with the Sons, she'd seen one or two in her lifetime.
"Don't -" Harlie started, but was cut off.
"He deserved it. Just think if your dad woulda gotten to him. Or even worse, Happy. So I say he died pretty damn easy." She had to agree with him. She almost felt relief knowing Weston couldn't hurt her anymore.
"Yeah," was all she said, playing with the ends of her hair.
"You did what you had to. That's what you were taught to do." Kozik grabbed a pan out of the cabinet. "You had two of the best teachers out there."
"Who?" Harlie asked, sitting back up.
"Your dad, of course." He was right about that. Not only was Clay a good fighter, he was huge. He was only 6'2", but he towered over her. He had the tendency to intimidate most people. Except for her. "And, Tig. You tell him I said that.. Well, just don't tell him." He chuckled, sitting the plate of scrambled eggs down in front of her.
"Thanks." Harlie smiled, digging in. Surprisingly, Kozik made the best damn cheese eggs.
"Ya know, I think your mom is picking up about you and Hap." Kozik sat down at the table, running his hand across the top of his spiked hair. Tig always said he looked like a douche, but Harlie always thought he was hot.
"Yeah, she knows.." Harlie shifted in her chair, sitting her fork down.
"What's she gonna do?" He asked, grabbing his cigarettes from the middle of the table.
"Nothing, yet. We haven't really talked about it." Harlie ran her hand her hair with her good arm.
"He cares about you." Kozik said matter-of-factly.
"How do you know?" Harlie asked, taking another bite.
"I know Hap." Kozik shrugged. "You got him wrapped around that pretty little finger."
"I've had you there for years." Harlie smirked.
Kozik leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and eat."
"I'm workin' on it." Harlie smiled slightly. "Why are you up?"
"Have you ever heard Chibs snore?"
Krys stepped into the clubhouse the next day, sitting a bag of groceries down on the counter. These guys ate more than anyone else she knew. It couldn't be human. She spotted Happy and Bobby playing pool, surrounded by Crow Eaters. She felt the anger bubble up inside her. "Hey, Hap!" She yelled.
"Yeah?" Happy looked up, noticing the angry flash in her eyes. Shit.
"C'mere." Krys motioned for him to come over. Happy did as she said, knowing better than to not. "Me and you gotta have a talk."
"What's up?" Happy leaned back against the bar, eyes drifting over to the Crow Eater in the tight clothes. He couldn't deny the fact her body was nice, but every time he looked at her Harlie came to mind. There was a reason he never fucked brunettes.
"You wanna explain to me what's gong on with you and Harlie." Krys glared up at him. "And don't lie to me." That was one thing none of the guys could do.. Get away with lying to Krys.
Happy shrugged silently, looking at the ground.
"You do know she's sixteen, right?" Krys shook her head, crossing her arms.
"I know how old she is." He practically growled.
"Good glad we got that covered." Krys took a step back. "But, listen to me. You can't just shove her off like you do the women around here. Harlie is Old Lady potential. She's SAMCRO blood."
"You think I don't know that?" Happy scoffed. Krys was right. Harlie was gonna make one hell of an Old Lady.
Krys caught his gaze. "She's vulnerable right now, Happy. I don't want her hurt when she finds out you don't care about her."
"Bullshit I don't care about her!" Happy snapped, his eyes glowing with anger.
Krys smirked. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear." She picked up the groceries off the bar, walking into the kitchen.
Happy sat down at the bar, shaking his head. That's what she wanted. She knew if he got mad like that, he gave a damn. Krys was a tricky woman.