The Heart of a Broken Soul

Of Drugs and Money

A/N: My reviewers; Dahlia Rose-Marie, Karli82, Venetiangrl92, shirleypositive72, blackestnight10, liiddee. Keep up the good reading!

This story has jumped around a month/ three weeks, and not much has happened, if you're wondering... :)

Also, I am not from America (I live in Australia) which is relevant in the fact that I have to do a tonne of research for some things, which may account to errors. For example: in Australia, when we go to diners and restaurants, we don't (rarely EVER) tip. And in America it seems to be the norm, sort of like 'if you don't tip then you're a shit person'. So I had to research all about that. Like, I have no idea how it works. Sex laws, and minors in California; yeah, major research.

So, if I've gotten anything wrong, feel free to give me a buzz :)

Work, Gabby soon found out, had its perks. Specifically when it came to her bank account. The base pay by itself was good enough, but the tips. The tips. Gabby was in worship of whoever had invented tipping. The diner was always busy during evenings, and Charlie always needed her during evenings. After a busy five hour shift, the money certainly added up.

Bobby constantly told Gabby to save her money, and she meant to, but every time she went into town, she found herself wanting things she'd previously never really looked at, due to a lack of money. Most of her money went to books. After a few weeks of that, she'd ended up having to save to buy a new bookcase, which she picked up from an antique store.

The antique store had bought with it more purchases. A tea set from the 1800's. Bits for her typewriter. A heavy marble globe of the world, that spun on its iron stand. She'd had to get Bobby to help cart it home, because she couldn't walk the distance with it.

After the initial excitement of having more money than she knew what to do with, Gabby gradually began to save. She was due to start her last year of schooling and even though she'd figured out what to do with her life (move in with Filip, get married, have his babies, live happily ever after, the end), she still needed a backup plan, both in case her current plans fell through, and so she had something to tell the boys every time they asked her.

No one knew about her and Filip. Gabby was sure Bobby had his suspicions, and she knew better than to think Gemma had given up on finding out the truth about her necklace (she'd been unnervingly quiet about the issue), but no one actually knew. It made Gabby nervous and excited at the same time.

As she waited, she fiddled with her latest purchase; a pocket knife. She desire to buy it hadn't come from an underlying need to stab someone. No, it had come from her underlying need to buy anything that looked pretty at first glance. The knife was old and it was worn, but it was made out of a deep red wood, and the dull stainless steel blade shined in the light. It was long and thin, and reminded her of a sword. She figured she'd end up with a house full of crap older than her grandparents, but the thought didn't bother her as much as it probably should have.

A hand came into view, snatching the knife out of her hands. "Where the hell did you get this?" Filip asked, studying it.

"Bought it from the antique store," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Gabby shrugged, kicking a loose stone. "Cause it looked pretty," she reasoned.

Filip's eyebrows furrowed, as he scratched his cheek. He glanced at her, went to say something, then shook his head. Gabby held out her hand for it back.

"No."

"Hey, I paid for it!"

Filip slipped the knife in his pocket. "Ye're not even eighteen."

"He didn't ask for my I.D., so I didn't show it," Gabby told him. It was a lie; the man had asked, but she told him she'd left it in her car, and offered to get it. He'd told her not to bother, because he was closing anyway, and sold it to her. Lucky, because Gabby didn't have a car or an I.D. proving her (not) adult status.

"I don't care," Filip told her, giving her a kiss. Gabby pouted. "Stop it. Ye're not gettin' it back." He shoved her in the door to the restaurant. "Come on, I'm hungry."

It was an accident, really. Gemma hadn't meant to see it. She had been shopping, and had just started off home when she realised she couldn't remember where her purse was. So she pulled over to find it. It wasn't missing, obviously, but she liked to know.

When it was safely beside her, she went to take off. That's when she looked up. That's when she saw it. It wasn't anything suspicious at first; just Gabby talking to Chibs. Nothing unusual. He put something in his pocket, said something to Gabby. She said something back.

He kissed her.

Gemma blinked, because she'd obviously been seeing things. By then, Chibs was pushing Gabby in the restaurant, and Gemma was positive she was going to have a heart attack.

She'd been quiet about her suspicions after failing to get anything from either Gabby or Chibs. Every time she'd asked the Scotsman about any love in his life, he scowled and replied with a negative. Whenever she mentioned something about Gabby, he gave her a look that said 'what, the brat that spent a month annoying the shit out of me? Don't care'.

Similarly, if she mentioned love to Gabby, the girl questioned whether any human being had an I.Q. that was low enough to even consider her, and 'just a friend' had still purchased that necklace.

Any normal person would have accepted the fact that whatever was going on between Gabby and Chibs had nothing to do with them, and so would have let the situation slide. At the very least, they would have went home, waited until they saw either one first, and then asked them about it. Because she was Gemma, however, and because she had nothing better to do, she turned the ignition off, and just sat there, waiting, as the ice-cream in the boot slowly melted.

An hour passed, with no reappearance of either party.

Ten minutes shy of the second hour, they left the restaurant. Gabby was saying something, and Chibs reached into his pocket, pulling something that looked suspiciously like a pocket knife, out. He held it out to Gabby, who grabbed for it. Chibs pulled it away before she could get a grip.

He held it above his head, a wicked grin on his face, because they both knew Gabby couldn't reach it. She tried anyway, stretching on her toes, grasping at the air. Her face was set into a scowl, but Gemma could sense the grin she held back. She jumped for the knife, colliding with him as she grabbed his arm, pulling it down so she could seize the pocket knife.

When it was safely in her pocket, she leaned into him for a kiss. Gemma was sure she hadn't imagined it this time. The fact that Chibs had just given her a knife slipped Gemma's thoughts as she watched the two.

Chibs cradled Gabby's face in his hands as he spoke, then pressed their lips together again. Gemma waited until they had left, on Chibs' bike, before she did anything. She started the car and drove home, thinking.

Now that she had the knowledge she'd been attempting to get for a few weeks, she didn't know what to do with it. Did she prance around the shop like an eleven year old singing 'Gabby and Chibs, sitting in a tree'? Did she question Bobby, because he probably knew about, seeing as Gabby lived with him? Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he wasn't privy to that information.

Gabby was only seventeen, so if the two of them were – God forbid – having sex, and someone found out, the both of them could get into a lot of trouble. But surely they were smarter than that. The thoughts bounced around in Gemma's mind, and she found herself pulling in Bobby's driveway, walking up to the front door and knocking lightly.

It took a moment for someone to answer. Gabby opened the door, her eyes widening in surprise when she spotted Gemma. "Uh... hi," she said, opening the door wider to let the older woman in.

"Bobby home?" Gemma asked, walking in. She sat down at the dining table. Gabby jumped up on the counter.

"Nah; he's got a gig."

"That's fortunate."

"Do you want a drink?" Gabby asked, missing Gemma's previous comment.

Gemma shook her head. "No thanks. I need to ask you something." Her gaze dropped to Gabby's chest, where the cross necklace sat.

"About what?"

"About that necklace."

Gabby sighed, her shoulders dropping. "I've told you, Gemma it was-"

"I was in town today. Went past the Quantum Restaurant." Gabby's eyes widened ever so slightly. "I saw something interesting. You and Chibs."

"What does this have to do with my necklace?" Gabby asked, because she wanted to avoid the other conversation as long as possible.

"Did Chibs give it to you?"

Gabby just nodded.

"Who knows about the two of you?"

"Luce. And now you. No one else," Gabby told her. She fiddled with the cross, biting her lip. She had no idea how Gemma would react.

"Are you having sex?" Gemma pressed. If the woman wasn't incredibly subtle, she was ridiculously blunt.

"No." Gabby shook her head. "California says I'm too young to make rational decisions about what I want to do with my body. Filip doesn't think it's worth the risk."

Gemma nodded. This was good. She had a chuckle, because Gabby was the only one who still referred to him as 'Filip'. "Do you love him?"

"Yes. I mean, I think I do."

"Can you see yourselves married with kids?" Gemma asked.

Gabby blushed at the thought of mini her-and-Filip's running around in nappies, with his cheeks and eyes, and her hair and nose. Or maybe they'd have his hair and her eyes. She wanted three children. A girl and two boys. The girl would be the youngest, so she'd have her two older brothers to watch out for her...

"I'll take that as a yes."

Gabby came crashing back to reality. "We're not really trying to hide it," she said. "Just not saying anything, at least until I'm eighteen. I think Bobby knows something's up."

Gemma nodded. "Well, you do what you think's best. I'll keep a lid on it for my part."

The air had a chill to it that seeped into Gabby's bones as she waited for Tig. Jocelyn had gone home from work sick. As she was Gabby's ride, that left Gabby with no way home. Bobby hadn't picked up, and neither had Filip or Gemma or Lucy or any-bloody-one else on the damned planet except for Tig.

And Tig, obviously, was a half hour drive away, because God knows that when there are strip clubs a five second walk from your house, and strip clubs a half hour drive from your house, you're gunna want to pick the one that's furthest away.

So Gabby waited it out in the cold and the dark, and hoped that no one attacked her, because she only had her antique pocket knife, and it was too pretty to be covered in blood. Filip had suggested she keep it on her just in case, after lecturing her for an hour about how she shouldn't have one.

Headlights came into Gabby's vision. For a moment she thought it was Tig, but realised he didn't own a car, and that bikes only had one headlight. It pulled up on the curb. Panicking, Gabby backed toward the diner. It was locked up, so she couldn't get in, but hopefully they didn't know that. She reached in her bag for the knife, gripping it tightly as she pulled it out and flicked it open.

The driver's door opened, and someone stepped out. It was too dark to see who it was, but the moment they spoke, she knew. "I need to talk to you."

Jeremy closed the distance between them. He looked worse for wear, which wasn't surprising since Lucy's rumour of him turned out to be true; he owed a lot of money to a lot of people.

"What do you want?"

"I need your help."

Gabby almost dropped the knife. Whatever she'd been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. No way, no how. Jeremy, asking her for help? What had the world come to?

"Wh... what kind of help?" Gabby asked.

"I got... someone wants to kill me. Your boyfriend's part of the SOA, right? So they can help me?"

It took Gabby a moment to realise he was talking about Filip. "Sons of Anarchy is a motorcycle club," Gabby recited. "Go to the police."

"I can't go to the police!" Jeremy screamed, making Gabby jump. "I... I was selling shit. Coke and meth. Didn't pay the guys on time, and now they want me dead. You know, I know all about the Sons, they're into illegal shit, but if you talk to them, they can get these guys off my back."

Gabby blinked. After everything he'd done to her, he expected her to help him? Was he stupid? The boys wouldn't help him even if she asked, even if he hadn't done to her what he did. Drugs? They weren't into that. "I can't. They can't do anything."

"C'mon Gabby, you gotta help me, here," Jeremy begged. He was near tears, almost on his knees. "I'll die, I don't wanna die, Gabby, help me please."

Gabby shook her head. "I can't help you, Jeremy. I'm sorry," she added, even though she wasn't. She owed him nothing.

Jeremy's eyes darkened. "If you don't help me, you'll regret it," he snarled.

"What are you gunna do about it? You'll be dead," Gabby spat, without thinking.

The moment of satisfaction she got from that comment disappeared when he grabbed her collar and slammed her against the wall. "Don't you talk back to me, you orphan bitch! You get your bikies friends down here or I swear to God I'll rip your eyes out of your head!"

Panicking, Gabby slashed at him with the knife, catching his arm. He yelled in surprise and pain as he stumbled back. She held the knife in front of her. "Stay away from me," she warned.

Jeremy tripped over his feet as he hurried back to his car, terrified. He jumped in, started it and sped off, almost crashing into another car in his hurry.

Blood dripped of the blade and Gabby hurried to wipe it off with her sleeve. She pulled her jumper off and shoved the knife back in her bag as Tig pulled up. Shivering, Gabby rushed over to him.

"Jesus, aren't you cold?" he asked.

"No," Gabby lied. Goosebumps raised on her arms as she tried to curb her shivers.

Tig tossed her a helmet. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Gabby told him, shoving the helmet on. She bunched her jumper up, squeezing it between her and Tig. When she was properly seated, Tig took off.

The wind rushed through her hair, trailing behind her, as she silently wished she could throw her troubles in the air, and watch them blow away.