Past: Surprise Visit

Lucy stared at the clock, hanging above the entrance, it was almost 8 p.m. and she still had four hours to go. She sighed and continued cleaning the table. She then balanced two plates and a couple of cups as she walked to the kitchen. She placed them next to the sink then leaned against the counter and faced Charlie her boss, who was standing opposite her drinking a coke.
"Nothing much to do today," he said as he put his drink down next to him.
"It's always quiet on Wednesdays," Lucy shrugged.
Charlie nodded and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket: "I'm gonna take a break. Wanna join me?"
"Sure, let me just tell Delia." Charlie pushed the back door open and lit his cigarette.
Lucy went back into the seating area of the little diner she had worked in for the last three months and walked towards her coworker.
"Charlie and I are going to take a short break. Are you okay by yourself?"
Delia chuckled and looked around: "It's kinda dead in here. I'll be fine."
When Lucy stood next to Charlie he offered her a cigarette but Lucy declined.
It has been over six month since her mother's death. Her father was still awaiting his trial and she and Jax hadn't talked for a very long time. Lucy missed him like crazy. She had spent thanksgiving by herself and flown to Florida to visit her grandmother for Christmas. Her anger towards the club had subsided but she didn't know how to face any of them. She looked at Charlie. He spent almost every night at her place but every time they slept with each other Lucy could only think of Jax.
"Want me to take you home later?" Charlie asked, his mouth brushing over her cheek. She smiled, gave him a quick kiss and pulled the door open.
"Yeah that be great," she smiled at him: "I'm gonna get back to work."
When she entered the seating area her heart stopped. Opie Winston was sitting at one of the tables looking directly at her.
"He said he's a friend of yours," Delia said from behind her.
"Yeah, he is."
She slowly walked towards him and when he got up and pulled her into a bear hug she could barely hold back her tears. His smell reminded her so much of Jax that it hurt. They stood with their arms around each other for a while until Lucy stepped back her hands still on Opie's shoulders.
"You good? No bullet wounds or knife stabs?"
Opie grinned: "Nope. Healthy as a horse."
"Good," Lucy hugged him again before sitting down opposite of him.
"It's great to see you, Ope."
"You too."
"Don't get me wrong. I'm really glad to see you. But what are you doing here?"
Opie looked around: "Since when do you work here?"
"I started after thanksgiving," then all color left her face: "Did something happen to Jax? Is that why you're here?"
"No, don't worry," he patted her hand as she sighed in relief.
"I'm here because I wanted to see how you are doing and," he paused for a moment, grinning at her: "tell you that Donna and I decided to get married."
Lucy jumped up: "What? Oh Opie, that's fantastic." She pulled him into a stance and hugged him.
"The wedding is at the end of March and we would really love for you to come." He handed her an envelope that probably contained the invitation.
"I don't know," Lucy looked at the green envelope in her hands: "I don't think I can face anyone. I treated you guys horrible."
"After what happened to you parents no one blames you. We all miss you," he said.
"What about Jax?" Lucy shoved the invitation into her uniform pocket and didn't look up.
"He misses you."
Lucy looked up and saw the sincerity in his eyes.
"Is he seeing anyone?"
Opie nodded.
Lucy swallowed hard.
"He's still thinking about you," Opie continued and she knew that he would get into real trouble if Jax ever found out about this conversation. Jax was a proud man and Lucy had hurt that pride. She would have to beg on her hands and knees for him to ever consider taking her back.
"Anyone I know," Lucy didn't even know why she asked. Did she really want to know?
"One of the girls."
Lucy saw Charlie standing at the counter watching her.
"I have to go. My shift isn't over yet," she motioned towards the kitchen.
"No problem," he leaned forward, kissed her cheek and then left the diner fast paced.
Lucy fell onto the chair and buried her face in her hands. She thought about Jax. She saw him from time to time. Just last week she had watched him and one of the other prospects buy food at the market. She had felt ridiculous doing it, but she had hidden behind a stack of soda cans and observed them for a while. Ever since she had sold the house and moved into her new apartment the club had stopped to babysit her. She had felt free and lost at the same time because now, she was truly on her own.
She heard someone approach then Charlie hugged her from behind.
"You okay baby?"
"Yeah," she got up and turned around to him, hoping he wouldn't see through her faked smile.
He smiled back: "Who was that?"
"Just a friend."
"I thought you didn't have contact with anyone from the Sons of Anarchy anymore?" He asked, eying her intently.
Charlie knew that she had been with Jackson Teller, hell everyone in Charming knew that and everyone knew about her parents. She had thought about moving for a while but Charming was home and that was never going to change.
"I don't. He just invited me to his wedding."
"Isn't he a bit young to marry?" Charlie pulled up an eyebrow.
"Aren't you a bit old to fuck me?" Lucy barked and stomped off into the kitchen.
She started doing the dishes and ignored Charlie who had followed her.
"What the hell was that?"
"Well, aren't you?" She pushed the plate she was just scrubbing back into the sink and turned, pushing away a string of hair with the back of her dripping hand.
"Probably. But you don't seem nineteen…. So… I don't know."
"Well I am and you're what? Thirty-five?"
"Thirty-three," he mumbled, crossing his arms in defense.
"What the fuck are we doing?" She asked.
"Having fun?"
Lucy nodded slowly: "Right."
Charlie pushed himself of the stove and pinned her in between himself and the sink.
"Unless you want this to be something more?" He leaned in, pressed his body against hers and tried to kiss her. She turned her head away.
"I can't give you anything more than I am giving you right now."
Charlie tried to kiss her again, this time she let him.
"Okay," he gave her a seductive smile: "does that mean I can still take you home tonight?"
"Sure," she smiled. She knew that she would never have something true with Charlie. He was a great guy but she didn't want anything more than somebody to hold her at night and that was something Charlie gladly gave her. He would never replace Jax. She had given her heart away a long time ago and never gotten it back.
Lucy finished the dished before she pulled the invitation out of her pocket and scanned it.
The wedding was little over three weeks away, exactly twenty-three days. She turned around and placed it on the counter next to the cutting board Charlie used to chop carrots.
"Do you wanna accompany me?"
Charlie looked up at her, then scanned the invitation.
"If you promise me that no one is going to kill me."
"What?" Lucy chuckled, although she had thought about the possibility of Jax flipping out if he saw her with another man, but she wasn't going to this thing by herself if Jax was going to take his new old lady. She would just have to talk to Opie and explain to him that she was going to bring someone.
"Of course not," she stated.
"Okay. I'd like that."

Lucy parked in front of Opie's house and prayed that he would be home alone. It was the Sunday morning after Opie's surprise visit at the diner. She jumped out of her car, walked towards the front door and rang the doorbell.
She held her breath until someone opened. Piney was looking down on her.
"Oh," he looked at her for a second than pulled her in for a hug.
Lucy hugged him back.
"How are you sweetheart?"
"Good," she smiled.
"I saw your paps last week. He seems okay."
Lucy nodded: "Yeah, he's tough."
"I assume you have an agenda. Coming here and all?"
"Yeah, I actually do. Is Ope home?"
"He doesn't live here anymore, sweetheart."
"What?"
"He and Donna bought a house on Hill Road."
"I didn't know that," Lucy said.
"He'll probably be home. It's early. 22 Hill Road, that's it."
"Thanks. See you."
Lucy kissed Piney on the cheek before turning around and walking back to her car. She jumped in and leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. Piney had been real nice to her and she realized more and more how much she actually missed everybody.
She started her engine and drove down Hill Road looking for house number 22. When she had finally found it she parked at the curb and searched for Opie's bike. She sighed in relief when she saw it parked next to a rundown truck.
"Lucy?" Someone called and she jumped.
"Oh. Hi Donna!"
"It's so great to see you," Donna grinned and speed walked towards her. She embraced Lucy than took her hand and pulled her through the garage into the garden.
"What are you doing here?" She hugged her again: "Really, it's so good to see you."
"It's great to see you, too," Lucy grinned."
"I hope you're here to tell me you're gonna come to the wedding."
"I actually am. But I did want to talk to Opie about something first."
"I'll get him. He's setting up a sideboard with Jax," Donna said innocently.
"What?" Lucy exclaimed: "I didn't even see his bike."
"Opie picked him up with the truck, because they got some stuff from Gemma's."
"I think I better go," Lucy slowly backed away.
"Don't be ridiculous," Donna pulled a face.
"You don't understand Donna. I kicked him out of my house five months ago and haven't spoken a word with him ever since. We never even officially broke up."
"I know. But Jax' with Wendy now."
"What?" Lucy's eye widened. What the hell did he want with that Junkie bitch?
She watched as Donna walked into the house and came back a second later. Opie was right behind her and when he saw Lucy he gave her a big grin.
"Hey Lucy," he hugged and kissed her. When he stepped back Lucy's eyes fell upon Jax and she couldn't breathe. This wasn't secretly watching him in the supermarket, she was standing right in front of him. He was wearing baggy jeans that revealed the hem of his boxers and a white T-Shirt. How could she have ever been so stupid and let this perfect man go?
Her eyes found his face and she smiled. Jax smiled back but didn't move from where he was standing.
"Hi Jax," Lucy said and he gave her a nod.
"She's here to tell us that she will come to the wedding," Donne explained and both she and Opie smiled.
"Actually I wanted to ask if it was okay if I brought someone."
She could see Jax' jaw tense and suddenly she wasn't so sure anymore if bringing Charlie was such a good idea.
Opie apparently had the same thought because he turned around and looked at Jax, who just shrugged.
"Sure," Opie said but his voice sounded uncertain.
Donna nudged Opie.
"Oh, don't listen to him. It's absolutely fine. Who are you bringing?"
"Charlie."
"Diner Charlie?" Jax had stepped forward eying her intently: "He's like forty."
"He's thirty-three."
"Isn't he bit old for you?" Jax pulled up his eyebrows.
"Isn't Wendy a bit high for you?" She replied.
Jax crossed his arms and looked like he was about to strangle her.
"I better go," Lucy mumbled, turned and hurried back to her car. This had been a horrible idea. As she was searching for her car keys, someone stepped behind her.
"Are you fucking him?"
She spun around. Jax was standing there, his hands shoved into his pockets.
"Are you fucking Wendy?" He didn't reply but only stepped closer towards her.
"Are you or are you not?" His voice threatening.
"What do you want me to say?"
"The truth!"
"Of course I'm sleeping with him."
Jax nodded, his face hard and unreadable.
"I'm sorry," Lucy whispered: "I know I'm a horrible person and you have no reason to ever forgive me. It's probably better I don't come to the wedding. Donna and Opie'll understand."
"Yeah. I think you're right." He crossed his arms and looked down on her. Tears started filling Lucy's eyes and slowly started rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm really sorry Jax."
With that she climbed into her car, turned on the engine and drove off at full speed.