The Heart of a Broken Soul
Of Bosses and House-Warmings
A/N:Here it is; the new chapter. Obviously. Thanks to Dahlia Rose-Marie and Venetiangrl92 for your reviews! You guys keep my motivation running!
The school was buzzing for about a week afterwards. Gabby found herself overwhelmed by rumours and questions, from people she'd never even seen before. 'He's from the Sons, isn't he?' 'How many people has he killed?' 'Are you two, like, dating?' 'What about Jax? Do you talk to him?'
Gabby, not used to so much attention, was at a loss of how to answer. Even Jeremy came up to her and asked a few curious questions. "They... they're not gunna kill me, right?" he asked nervously.
It was difficult for Gabby to not answer with a nod, but she eventually shook her head. "No. I doubt it."
"Okay, good." His fear seemed to melt away, and he threw her a filthy look. "Because I don't really want to hurt any of them. I have ties with the Mayans, you know. I disappear, and they'll want revenge, see?"
Lucy blinked. "You're white," she said.
"So what?"
"Mayans aren't. They don't care about you. You're lying. Your mom probably wouldn't even come looking for you," Lucy snapped.
Jeremy scowled. "I'm not the one playing house with the SOA." He turned to Gabby. "You can't hide behind your bikie boyfriend forever," he spat, stalking off.
Lucy shook her head. "Nothing to say to me, so he has a go at you. He's still a prick." She slung her bag over her shoulder and gave Gabby a gentle hit on the arm. "Let's go. Ask Jocy about that job."
"Yeah," Gabby agreed. They fought their way through the crowd, and out of the building. "I'm not sure I'd make a good waitress," Gabby admitted.
"Why not? You got the looks, the cooking. Teach you to make a coffee, and you'll be the best damn employee my sister's ever had."
"I'd probably drop the plates..."
Lucy laughed. Then she leaned over and pushed Gabby. Caught off guard, Gabby stumbled, but managed to keep her footing. "What was that for?"
"You've got good enough balance. You'll manage. Besides, it's not the plates you need to watch out for; it's the men." Lucy's face darkened as she tried to fight back an evil smirk.
"The... men?" Gabby didn't like where this was going.
"Oh, yeah. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the diner does dinner, so it's open 5-10. Dinner, alcohol. Jocelyn said they get some pretty touchy men in there." She reached over and pinched Gabby on the backside, who squealed, jumping. Lucy waggled her eyebrows. "Old men, who look like they got lost on the way to the pub, in the diner, feeling you up and trying to get you into bed."
Gabby's eyebrows furrowed. "She was lying though... right?" Maybe applying at the diner was a bad idea. Gabby couldn't figure out what was worse; being felt up by strange men, or not being felt up, because she was too ugly. What if Jocelyn didn't like her, or Gabby did drop plates all the time? It was a bad idea, it really was. Gabby was going to have to tell Jocelyn that she didn't want a job anymore. There were plenty of other opportunities, in less busy places.
"No, I think she actually meant it. But Charlie's a prick of a thing, so he won't let anyone touch you." Lucy's voice broke into Gabby's thoughts.
"Charlie?"
"Yeah, he's the boss."
"And he's a prick of a thing?" Gabby asked.
"Oh yeah; horrible man. Jocelyn comes home in tears after every shift because he's so nasty. Anyway, here we are. Let's get you a job!"
Lucy had to basically drag a terrified Gabby in. Jocelyn was serving coffee when they got inside, so they waited by the counter.
"Oh, great. What do you want?" Jocelyn asked when she spotted Lucy. "Hey Gab."
"Hi."
"It's nice to see you, too," Lucy scowled. "Anyway, I don't want anything." She gave Gabby a nudge. When Gabby didn't say anything, she went on. "Gabby needs a job, so tell Charlie to get his fat ass out here and hire her."
Gabby blinked. Jocelyn raised an eyebrow. From the depths of the diner, a voice rang out. "Fat ass? I'll give you fat ass!" A man almost twice the size of Bobby waddled into view. A tea towel hung from his shoulder, and he wielded a greasy hamburger flipper. He glared at all of them.
If there had been any chance of Gabby getting a job, it was now gone.
"Hmm... I thought I could hear your obnoxious voice," he said to Lucy. He turned to Gabby. "You are?"
"Gabby... sir," she added.
Charlie stared at her for a moment, before he burst into laughter. "Sir?" he managed after a few minutes. "Sir!?" Even Jocelyn had a giggle.
When he'd finally settled down, he said. "So, you're looking for a job, then?" Gabby nodded. "Well, you picked a good time; our other waitress is moving up in the world. Got a resume?"
"Uh... no." Gabby had meant to do one up, but she didn't know how to write one.
Charlie seemed unfazed. "Ah, I never did like reading. We'll give you a trial run on Saturday. 10-3, for lunch. If we like you, you can come back. How's that sound?"
Gabby assumed 'we' meant him and Jocelyn. "That would be great," she told him. "Thank you." She hesitated, before asking, "what do I wear?"
"Anything, just don't come naked. I'll see you Saturday," he said, before waddling back into the depths of the diner.
"Well, that was pretty easy," Lucy said. "Told you he was a prick." She winked.
Jocelyn rolled her eyes. "Well, I gotta get back to work. See ya Saturday!" She waved them off.
"Where are you off to now?" Lucy asked as they wandered through town.
"Filip moves out today, so I thought I'd check out his new house," Gabby informed her. Lucy waggled her eyebrows. "No, Lucy."
"Of course not. I won't tell anyone."
"You won't, because there's nothing to tell."
Lucy just laughed. "Of course not. There's never anything to tell."
Filip's house was a good walk from town, a fair walk from school, and a ridiculous walk from Gabby's place. It was nice, though, she mused as she admired the exterior. Filip's bike was parked out front, and the front door was open. She knocked timidly, then let herself in.
The house was fully furnished. How they'd managed to find a house load of furniture in under a week was beyond her; Filip had come from Ireland with nothing but himself. Bobby hadn't surrendered anything, and all of the furniture looked new.
Gabby wandered into the kitchen. It was bigger than Bobby's, with an island in the middle. She found herself thinking of how much she'd enjoy cooking in it. With all of the space, she could cook twice as much than at Bobby's. She knew Gemma would think the same thing. If there was anything she and Gemma had in common, it was their love for cooking.
There were footsteps, and Filip appeared seconds later. He spotted Gabby.
"I knocked," she promised. "But the door was open anyway." She leapt onto the island counter. "It's nice."
"Aye, and expensive," Filip informed her. "I'll be paying off the mortgage even after I die."
Gabby laughed. "At least you picked a good house for it."
Filip leaned against the bench opposite Gabby. He pulled out a smoke, lighting it up. "Bobby said ye were going do to the diner, see about a job," he said.
Gabby rolled her eyes. Of course Bobby did. Bobby'd probably called a meeting for the club, just to inform them all of that fact. "Yeah, I did."
"How did it go?"
"Great. Lucy dragged me in there and demanded they give me a job. She called the boss a fat ass and a nasty prick." Filip's eyebrows shot up. "I've got a trial this Saturday."
"Well, that's good news."
Gabby smiled. "It is. How many people have you killed?"
Filip choked on the smoke he'd just inhaled. "Where the hell did you get a question like that from?" he managed, still coughing.
"Nowhere," Gabby lied. "I was curious." In truth, she'd been dying to ask ever since Ashley had asked her a few days ago. She knew it wasn't a good conversation starter, but she was very curious.
Filip seemed lost for words. "Ye don't need to know that kind of shite," he said after a while.
"So a fair few, then," Gabby guessed.
"Jesus Christ." Filip rubbed his face. He sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "And you don't need to know."
Gabby wondered if she really did want to know. She was a curious person by nature, so she often found herself privy to knowledge she'd rather not be, even if it had been her curiosity that drove her to find out in the first place. She decided it didn't matter, either way. "I know."
The faint sounds of motorbikes in the distance grew to a roar. Gabby and Filip glanced out the window to see Jax and Tig pulling up. "House-warming?" Gabby asked.
Filip shook his head. He leaned over, giving Gabby a chaste kiss. "No idea," he told her.
Jax and Tig didn't knock. They walked in, as though they knew exactly where Filip would be. "This place is nice," Tig said. "I'll be movin' in next week."
"Tig, Jackie Boy."
Jax inclined his head. He frowned when he saw Gabby. "Hey," he said.
"Hey," Gabby greeted. She scratched her head awkwardly. No one besides Lucy knew about her and Filip's... relationship. She was loathe to think of the uproar it would cause. Or the one it wouldn't.
She and Filip were making slow progress, which suited Gabby fine. She'd never really been in a relationship before to know what she was supposed to do, and Filip was still beating himself up about the underage thing. They'd both had an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't have sex, which made Gabby feel a bit better; as much as she wanted to, the thought of having sex, being naked in front of someone else, terrified her.
"What are you doing here?" Tig asked her. He ran a finger down the wall, as if checking for dust.
"Admiring the kitchen," Gabby replied.
Jax chuckled. "My mom would put this place to good use," he said, surveying the room with appreciation.
"The both of you would," Tig told Gabby. He plopped down at the dining table.
Gabby grinned. "Yeah. We should have a house-warming."
"No. Absolutely not," Filip told her with a scowl.
"Aw, c'mon Chibs," Tig whined.
"Yeah, come on, Chibs," Gabby mocked.
Filip looked to Jax for help, but the boy just smiled. "I can already hear Gemma scouring pots and sharpening knives."
With no way out of it, Filip reluctantly gave in. "Fine. You plan it," he said to Gabby.
"Yes, sir."