Clay called Jax as soon as they'd found out about her. Or what little they had found out about her. As Clay sat in his seat at the head of the table, he began to think. This new bit of information about this young woman changed things. How could he best use this to his advantage? How could he use this girl to draw out the other bikers and get to the bottom of the meth pushing?
Juice sat at his computer staring at the screen. As much as they all wanted to know about this woman, Juice was starting to wish he'd never found it. She'd had a hard life, from what he could tell, and he was wondering how she came from living on the streets to being so amazing in martial arts. He wanted to sit down and chat with her. Find out what the whole story was about her. Upon knowing her name, he was able to track down where the one scar came from.
It was the one in between her shoulder blades. According to the hospital records, she'd gotten into quite the fight and was stabbed. Her statement to the police was that she was trying to defend herself from a couple guys who were trying to physically and sexually assault her. In the struggle against one assailant, the other took out a large knife, stuck it into her back and tried to run it downwards. They underestimated the fight in her, however! Juice really wanted to hear the whole story from her on this.
Jax was stunned. This was definitely the root of her trust issues! He relayed the information to Tig, Bobby and Ratboy. The FO and SAA were still a bit hesitant about her. The information just made Ratboy more curious about this woman. Tig had been through everything in the house and they didn't find anything. She didn't own much, really.
"Find anything else?" Jax questioned as Tig entered the living room
"Nothing." The SAA replied, plopping down on the chaise part of the sectional, "Except a bag of cash."
"Bag of cash?" Bobby questioned
"Yeah. Several grand. Big bills, small bills, some in money bands, some not." Tig replied
"Well she did tell Gemma she was only cashing that check." Ratboy stated with a shrug, "Why doesn't she trust banks and shit though?"
"It's all part of the trust issues I guess." Jax replied
"She answered questions when Jax told her to. Maybe she'll open up to him." Tig stated, "He does seem to have that effect on women!"
The guys all laughed knowing damn well what was implied. Jax Teller had a reputation for being a man-whore. In the past few years things had slowed down, in that respect, for him and he was now wanting more stable relationships than ones all about sex. Not that he would turn down a booty all when he had all that pent-up sexual energy. The rumbling of a Harley could be heard pulling up to the house. A minute or so later, Chibs walked through the door with his medical kit.
The guys were just sitting around chatting about club business when Kalila burst through the door. She glared at all five men in her living room as she stalked to her bedroom. Chibs looked over at Jax for an explanation. Bobby got the Scotsman up to speed on what had happened that morning. Jax got up to go check on her. Bobby was telling the resident medic about what they'd been told by Clay on her. Chibs just wanted to check on her and make sure she was ok.
Gemma walked in and immediately asked if Kalila had made it home. Tig just laughed and pointed down the hall. Jax was knocking on her bedroom door trying to get her to open up. Gemma headed down the hall to talk to her. Not only had she shut the door but she'd locked it as well. They had tried very hard to get her to open up the door but she dug her heels in and refused. While people were knocking on her bedroom door, she was packing up her few possessions.
She had two medium bags, one large bag, and one small bag. Jax and Gemma were shoved aside as she burst through her bedroom door and headed down the hallway. The other four people in the living were also quite shocked to see her stalking through with her bags.
"Kalila! Stop!" Jax yelled, briskly walking after her, "Please!"
She wasn't having any part of it. Since Gemma's car was blocking her in, she just headed down the street. Jax turned towards his mother as he got to the front door and firmly told her to stay put. She looked at him in shock before he slammed the door shut. He jogged towards the obviously pissed off petite woman. It didn't take him long to catch up. He grabbed her right arm and forced her to stop walking.
"What's wrong, Darlin'? Why are you just taking off?" Jax questioned
"I told you this fucking town wasn't right for me. You bastards don't know how to keep your noses out of other peoples' lives! You don't know how to leave people the fuck alone!" She yelled, "Get the fuck away from me! Leave me alone!"
"NO! Tell me the real reason you're running." Jax demanded, tightening his grip on her arm
She fought her natural instincts of fight-or-flight. Fighting him then running off was what she normally did. There was something about him, and she was fighting it hard, that drew her to him.
"Why can't you people just leave me alone?" She sighed
"Chibs is here to look at your shoulder and bruises. Come back to the house. Let him look you over and then you and I can talk in private." Jax offered
Her pain level was getting worse. She knew she wouldn't be able to walk very far. Sighing again, she merely nodded. He took most of her bags for her as he walked her back to her house. As they entered, everyone stopped their conversations to look at the pair. He shook his head no as he walked her down the hall to her bedroom. Gemma was starting to follow but he yelled over his shoulder for everyone but Chibs to stay in the living room.
Jax didn't want her to know that they knew most of her story. He wanted her to tell him in her own words what had happened. Chibs entered the master bedroom and shut the door. Jax set all the bags on the floor by the dresser as she plopped down on the side of her bed. Chibs immediately got to checking on her bruises and shoulder. She winced in pain, and hissed a time or two, but tried to keep things under wraps.
Chibs handed her an anti-inflammatory pill and a lower dose of the painkiller he'd given her yesterday. Once he had finished looking her over, Jax nodded towards the door. Chibs just nodded back and quickly left the room. Gemma shot out of her seat to ask Chibs what was going on. The Scotsman just shrugged his shoulders and said all he had done was take a look at her shoulder to make sure it was healing properly. Gemma frowned, hating not knowing what was going on. The Queen Bee told Tig to go and see what was happening. A few minutes later he returned stating that Jax had told him to tell everyone to stay in the living room until giving other instructions.
It was out of character for the VP to just order his brothers, and especially his mother, around that way but it also spoke to the seriousness of the situation. With nothing else to do, Gemma went to get the laundry going. She needed to keep herself busy while she waited to hear from Jax. Tig was on the phone with Clay explaining the little outburst and what had happened since then. The President was getting more concerned about this women. Not just because she could be a threat to the club.
If this rival club was after her then they either want something she has or want her for something. Until they figured out what that was, they had to keep her close. It was for her own safety and her own good. He hoped whatever Jax was doing was going to work on the girl. He went back to continue working on a car that had come into the shop a few days ago while he thought about the situation at hand.
"Ok. We need to have a long conversation. I need to know all about you and in return, I'll tell as much as I can about the club and myself." Jax stated
"What the hell do you people fucking want from me?" She exclaimed
"Tell me about you. Where did you come from? Where's your family? Why do you have these extreme trust issues? Who taught you how to fight?" Jax questioned
He watched as she sighed, "I have no family. That's where everything starts."
He just nodded for her to go on. She hadn't really opened up to anyone or told a single soul the whole truth about herself. She never trusted anyone to let them get close.
"If I tell you all about me, will you fuckers leave me alone and quit asking questions?" She stated, trying to give him the 'evil eye'
He nodded silently just wanting her to open. They already knew about her but he wanted to hear things from her point of view. Her body had started to tremble slightly as she thought back to what had started her on the path she was on.
"My parents hated one another. My dad loved me but mom… not so much. She cheated on him since before I could remember. I remember the day my mother's boyfriend killed my dad. There was so much fighting and shit breaking. I tried to stop it…." She started, taking a deep breath, "My mother….. she um….beat the shit out of me for it. After that, the mother packed up and left me by herself."
"What do you mean 'left you by herself'?" Jax questioned, turning his body towards her
"I mean she locked the house up and left. I couldn't get into my home. I wound up having to find shelter for myself. Have you ever been homeless? It's not a fun experience. Not knowing where your next meal is coming from, unsure of who to go for help. I didn't know what to do. I didn't think my teachers would believe me.
A few weeks later mom returned to find me. I was never sure why she came back. All she did was let her flavor of the month nearly beat me to death. She didn't step in to do anything about it. That was the first real lesson she ever taught me. She left me there to die." Kalila explained
"I was put into foster homes twice. Each time I wasn't allowed to eat or bathe, I had limited clothes and they wouldn't even wash my clothes. I basically had to basically fend for myself. I was caught and beaten into unconsciousness." She told him, "Thankfully I was moved to a second home but that wasn't much better. The second time I ran, I was never caught. It was then that I realized the only person I could count on was myself."
"So what happened after all that?" Jax asked
"I grew up on the streets. Learned to defend myself, learned how to fist fight. Did my best to stay in school but it wasn't easy. Lived day to day. Some of the homeless folks looked after me, especially when I was younger." She confessed
She looked at him but couldn't read his emotions. It was a bit scary telling all of this to someone who's basically a stranger but at the same time it felt good to just let it all out.
"So how did you get into martial arts?" He asked
"After getting into a particularly nasty fight, which wasn't exactly a low-key kind of fight, there was this older man who approached me. Even though I was only 14, he took me under his wing and taught me all he knew about the martial arts." She explained, "He eventually set me up with a close friend of his for advanced training. We started small. With the competitions and such I mean. By the time I was 21, I was one of the top female underground martial artist in the US."
"Oh damn. Only seven years of martial arts training & competitions and you're one of the best in the US?" He exclaimed, staring at her
He had to admit that was impressive.
"Yep. I train hard when I can. Keep myself in shape. Always learning new techniques and new styles of martial arts." She replied with a half-smile
"Then why do you seem to be living off the grid? Why didn't you have a car? Why were you staying in a motel instead of buying a house?" He asked, firing question after question at her again
"I don't trust people. Staying in one place for too long leads to people asking too many questions. No point in sticking around any one place." She shrugged
"You've made that statement about asking questions and that leading to bad shit. Explain that."
"I learned a long time ago to keep my head down and out of the way. Every time I've ever seen someone being questioned by the cops, there's always someone who wants to beat the shit out of them for whatever they think that person knows or saw." She tried to explain, "Even if they didn't actually see or hear anything. Better to just keep your nose out of other people's shit and your head down, ya know?"
"You like living off the grid so people won't bother you. I get it." Jax stated
"People don't seem to really bother me when they think I'm helpless and homeless." She chuckled
This was very interesting!
"It sounds like you've never met anyone who didn't betray your trust. I get that, really. But pushing everyone away simply because you're afraid to trust isn't really good either." Jax stated
She huffed at his words.
"Let me tell you about me and the club. I trust my brothers with my life. I trust them to have my back when I need them." He stated
She sat there, watching his face and body language, as she listened to him telling her all about his "club" which was better known in the community at the Sons of Anarchy. He explained how the club came into existence, who ran it, his position in the club, and where his mother fit in. She found it odd that his mother was so revered with these outlaw bikers but most women, according to Jax, were considered "sweet-butts" and "crow-eaters". Upon hearing that she was the wife of one of the late founders and now the wife of the current President it made a little more sense.
He explained how most women were treated, about being an "Ol lady", and their general ideas on women who weren't the aforementioned names (sweet-butts/crow-eaters). They were respectful when shown the same courtesy. He told her a little bit about what they did, leaving out names, dates, and important details, which was really just giving her the basics. She remained quiet as he talked about what he clearly kept close to his heart. The club to him was like martial arts to her.