Hi guys. Firstly, thanks for the reviews/PM's, they're a lovely thing to wake up to! This is a slightly longer flashback and hopefully it will compensate for the fact that I'm not posting two chapters today.

Let me know your thoughts. Enjoy x

….a boy who would get mad at someone if they were mean to you…

She thought that he hadn't noticed at first but if the truth be told Jax had cottoned on that something was wrong pretty much straight away. The first sign was when she had refused a lift from him to school that day, citing that she had a headache and the walk would clear her head. Tara never refused a chance to be Jax's back warmer on his bike, even on a blazing summer's day like today. But Jax shrugged it off, her insistence reminding him that she could be as stubborn as him at times.

He had waited at the school gates with a mixture of concern for Tara and an overwhelming need to see her harbouring his thoughts. When he saw her approach the gates he made a mental note of how she self-consciously tugged her unusually baggy t shirt down to the waist band of her jeans, as if to hide something. With a slight frown he discarded the simple gesture but there was something about the action that uneased him, Tara wasn't usually self-conscious about her body, she'd become a lot more confident in the eight months since they had begun dating. He noted that she looked a little tired, her large eyes looking somewhat smaller thanks to sleep deprivation, but when she gave him a shy smile all thoughts other than how beautiful she was left his mind.

In his need to touch her he eagerly slipped his hands around her waist and pressed her against him, causing her to yelp in pain. He quickly put her back on her feet, concerned that he may have hurt her, even though he was sure his touch was very light.

''Are you ok?''

Her brows knitted together and a grimaced smile graced her lips. She shook her head and planted her hands on his chest ''It's nothing, it's just that time of the month'' and she perched on her tip toes to plant a soft kiss on his lips ''I have to go, English starts in five and I don't want to be late. See you later''

Jax nodded, worry etched on his face as he watched her as she made her hasty retreat into the school. He knew that the 'time of the month' spiel was a lie. It had been less than three weeks ago since he had seen the bloodied tampon inside the waste basket in Tara's en suite. Jax didn't know much about biology but he did know that those timings didn't quite add up.

It was another three hours until he saw her and the need to be around her was driving him crazy. He walked down the crowded school corridors, ignoring the adoring gazes from the girls that he passed. It was then that he saw Tara, a tight lipped smile forming on his mouth as he watched her. She was taking books from her satchel and stuffing them into her locker making her completely unaware that her boyfriend was standing behind her until he leaned a little closer, taking a moment to inhale the Jasmine scent that she wore, and when his lips were just inches from her ear he whispered ''Boo''

She screamed, dropped her bag in fright and sprang away from Jax with a horrified look on her face.

''Whoa, whoa. It's me Tara, it's me'' He reached out to calm her now wrecked nerves and she stood rigid trying to control her rasped breathes. It uneased him that she looked so nervous, so timid at such an innocent gesture.

''You shouldn't do that. You frightened me'' she shot him a deadly glare as he reached down to pick up her bag.

''I'm sorry, I didn't mean to'' he watched her as she tried to gain her composure, noticing that the colour had drained from her face. ''Tara, what the hell is wrong with you? You haven't been right since I saw you this morning''

Tara shook her head and tried to hide her nervousness as she slowly smiled. It wasn't right that she was taking it out on him.

''I'm fine, I told you it's just that time of the month''

''Babe, this is more than just hormonal shit'' he studied her but she was desperately trying to avoid his glare, knowing that if she looked into his eyes then she would give herself away and more than likely break down.

A desperate panic started to take hold of Jax. He'd never seen Tara like this, which meant he didn't know what she was capable of when she was in this state. She didn't want to break up with him, did she? She leaned against her locker and stared down at the floor and his hands shook as he lifted her chin so that she could look at him.

''Are we good? Is everything ok between us?'' he knew his voice wavered slightly as he asked but he had never felt such a cold panic as this. He was terrified that she was about to call off the relationship and he had no idea why.

Her heart dropped as she saw the desperation in his eyes and she automatically brought her hands up and clasped his gorgeous face. Guilt engulfed her, she knew she was being unfair to him. She reached out to him, grasping his navy hoodie tightly to bring him closer. She locked eyes with his, confidently declaring ''We're great''

She reached up to meet his lips, her hands looping behind his neck.

He took her statement as confirmation that the problem wasn't between them and happily continued with the kiss, his tongue delving in to find hers and she reciprocated, hungry for his touch. He pushed her back against the lockers, relief and passion sweeping through him and both ignored the bell that informed them that class was starting. She moaned into his mouth, not caring that they were in the main corridor of the school, and his hands brought her hips closer to his own before making their way to her waist. It was as his hands delved under the thin material that she broke off the kiss and took his hands, forcing them away from her.

He looked down at her, surprise and concern clouding his features. She wasn't normally self-conscious about their public displays of affection, and should probably be less so now considering the corridors were now clear of onlookers. But it was then that he realised that it wasn't the kiss or the surroundings that made her uneasy.

He looked down at her baggy t shirt. Tara didn't profess to be a style icon but she normally wore more flattering clothes than this. He placed his hands on her hips and noticed her grimace slightly. His fingers ran across the hem of her t-shirt as he noticed her become more and more uncomfortable and his quick mind started to piece together what was wrong with her. He knew that she was hiding something from him and it appeared to be under her shirt. He started to lift the material and she quickly grabbed his wrists to stop him, a desperate plea for him not to continue.

Her stared into her panicked eyes and soothingly reassured her ''Let me see''

She swallowed in a bid to ease her now dry throat and realised that Jax had put two and two together. She nodded and allowed him to pull up her t-shirt slightly, exposing her secret to him.

Jax stared down at her naked abdomen and gritted his teeth as his eyes and mind started to comprehend what he saw before him. On Tara's stomach was a bluish black bruise that was about the size of a fist. Jax, still staring at her injury, started to slowly nod as he fitted the last piece of the puzzle. It was clear that Tara had been hit in the stomach and Jax had a hunch who had done it.

He took a step back and his steady eyes looked into hers ''He hit you?''

Tara's eyes filled with tears and she pressed her lips together. Unable to speak she just nodded.

Jax exploded. A rage that started in his gut quickly spread through his body like wildfire. His fists clenched and he stepped away from Tara to repeatedly hit the locker that stood to her right.

''The piece of shit!'' he screamed and his sun kissed face filled with a deep crimson as he imagined Tara's dad punching her in the stomach.

''Jax, stop! Please!''

But he couldn't. His fist continued to pummel the grey locker in front of him, causing the metal to buckle under the force of Jax's fist. All he could picture was Eddie Knowles' face as his fist repeatedly slammed into the solid metal. Tara reached out and pushed him away from the locker, fearing that he would seriously hurt himself. He moved away but the frenzy he felt still flowed in his veins. His blonde hair fell over his face as he paced back and force in a bid to release some of his anger. It was the first time in his life that Jax Teller had wanted to kill someone.

''He didn't mean to. He'd been on a three day binge and just lashed out''

Jax stopped in his tracks and looked across at the girl he loved. Was she defending her dad?

''And that makes it ok Tara?!'' his expression was incredulous, his eyes wide with rage.

She bit her top lip and placed her hands behind her back, leaning against the lockers. She shrugged, ''He's never done it before Jax. Afterwards he had this look in his eyes and I knew, as drunk as he was, that he hated himself. He even apologised''

Jax came closer to her and levelled his eye line with hers ''Jesus Christ Tara. He hit you!''

Tara saw how angry Jax was, angry was perhaps an understatement. She'd never seen him so livid. But she knew that her father had been truly sorry for what he had done, even though drunkenness didn't justify his actions. She knew that Jax wouldn't be able to see past the violence, he hadn't seen the pain in her father's eyes as she had looked up at him from the floor. She shrugged her shoulders ''He's my dad, Jax''

Jax quickly stepped away from her, unsure of who he was talking to. Why was she sticking up for him? ''You can't expect me to let this pass, Tara''

Pure panic flooded through Tara and she lunged towards Jax, grabbing his arms and forcing him to look her in the eyes. She was suddenly frightened that Jax could do some serious harm to her father. ''Please Jax, you have to let this go. He's not going to do this again - ''

Jax scoffed ''Yeah, damn right he's not''

She clung to his forearms tighter, knowing that Jax could be capable to incredible violence if pushed and she knew that this abuse would trigger that. She knew that she shouldn't feel loyalty to her dad but she worried about his welfare nonetheless, especially if it was Jax that was dishing out the justice.

''You have to promise me that you won't hurt him. Please Jax''

Jax looked down at her as if she had completely lost her mind. On the night that Tara had given her virginity to Jax she had come to his house in tears. It turned out that Eddie had returned home after a lengthy binge and as Tara had tried to help him to bed he had reached out and pushed her away from him, more maliciously than he had intended. Tara had fell awkwardly, hitting her cheek on the coffee table, bruising her porcelain white skin. Jax had wanted his blood but Tara had been adamant that it had been an accident, that he hadn't hit her, the bruising was partly because of her clumsiness. She had had to barricade Jax's front door with her own body to stop him from going over to her house to kill Eddie. All she had wanted was Jax. But this abuse was obvious. How could she ask him not to retaliate to such a vicious attack on her? He shook his head and tried to softly push her away, not wanting to hear her pleas.

''If you love me you will promise me that you won't retaliate. I don't want you or the club to get involved here Jax''

Maybe it was the heartbroken look in her eyes, or the panic that he could feel flowing through her body but at some point Jax realised that in order to calm her he would have to surrender to her implorations. He stared into her desperate green eyes and solemnly replied ''I do love you Tara''

She nodded, never breaking his gaze, her soul pleaded with his to think past his hatred. ''Then promise me that you won't do anything to hurt him''

Her loyalty was lost on Jax. He desperately wanted to ask why she was defending Eddie but he knew the answer. Tara loved more deeply than anyone he had ever known and even though they both knew that what her dad had done was horrific, she had it in her heart to forgive him and see the good in him, just like she did with Jax.

Jax took a second and then lifted his hands so that they could sweep the hair from her face, his thumbs settled under her eyes to wipe away the tears that had started to trickle down her cheeks. He brought her forehead forward and rested it on his own and closing his eyes he lied to her ''I promise''

A little over three weeks later Eddie Knowles was taken to St Thomas after suffering a serious beating outside a bar that he regularly frequented on his binges.

At his hospital bedside Tara had tried to ask her bloodied and broken father who had attacked him. Eddie Knowles shrugged, being very much aware of the terrifying stare of his daughter's boyfriend across the room. Eddie, rather convincingly, insisted that he was set upon by a group of black guys, maybe in their early twenties, who had beat him to a pulp whilst helping themselves to his wallet and car keys. They weren't wearing any kuttes, just lads trying to make a name for themselves by beating up the town drunk.

Jax had to hand it to him, for a guy that could bearly remember his daughters name he couldn't half act. So much so that he had seemed to convince Tara that he was telling them the truth, even if Jax quietly knew that she suspected the club and Jax of being in on it.

But as Jax stood at the end of the bed, watching his beautiful girlfriend kiss her beloved fathers hand, his steely blue eyes met with Eddie's and the two men shared silent memories from that night.

Both men knew the truth. There was no gang or robbery. There was just Jax, who had hunted Eddie down at his local haunt and dragged him outside with many of the bewildered locals looking on as they heard the Son beat the crap out of Tara's dad.

Afterwards, as Eddie lay barely conscious, Jax knelt down and grabbed Eddie's head, burying it further into the dusty ground.

''You don't ever touch her again. If you do I will finish this job''

A silent contract was made between the men that this would never be mentioned again and before Jax left he nonchalantly walked back into the bar to inform the barman that an ambulance needed to be called for an unfortunate incident that had occurred outside. The last thing Jax needed was for Eddie to die on Tara, even though to Jax Eddie Knowles would be no big loss.

It turned out that it was a promise to Tara that Jax couldn't keep.