AN: Again, wow guys. Thanks for the massive support! Big thanks to Brandy and Emmettluver2010 (reaction to your review at the end) for their reviews! Now, on with the story!


Chapter 3.

The next morning, I woke up with red eyes, cracked lips and feeling as if I had not gotten any rest at all that night. That was when I became aware of the arm that was casually draped around my stomach – an arm that was definitely not my own. Tracing the arm up to a shoulder, then up even further to the sleeping face of a certain Jax Teller, last night's events came rushing back to me and I quickly pushed the dismal thoughts away. Instead, I focused on the situation at hand.

I remembered getting back to the clubhouse with Jax, taking a shower and then sitting next to him on the bed. I had cried into his shoulder and he had held me silently. We must have simply fallen asleep at one point.

Reality seemed to support that theory, as Jax was still dressed in his day clothes and was somewhat awkwardly positioned next to me; clearly not a position that one would choose to fall asleep in.

Slowly, as to not awaken him, I snuggled a little closer, relishing the warmth and the general feeling of safety I felt around him. For some strange reason, he was the only one I felt comfortable around. Silently, I wished I would never have to leave that bed anymore.

Soon – sooner than I'd wanted – I felt him shift behind me and a soft moan broke the silence. 'Why does my back hurt so much?'

I allowed myself a small smile at his expense, knowing that he would not be able to see it anyway. 'That might have something to do with how we fell asleep last night… Or well, I guess this morning. Sorry about that.'

A beat passed before he answered. 'How are you feeling?'

'Better.'

'That's good.'

We lay in comfortable silence for a moment and I took this time to take in the room for the first time. It was decorated with simple furniture, no personal items at all and dressed in a sober grey and blue. I turned to him. 'Is this your room?'

'Sometimes... When I can't stand to be home.'

I did not ask him what he meant by that, figuring that if he'd wanted to make his meaning clear, he would have. Suddenly, a thought popped into my mind and I smiled.

'What is it?'

'I have Christmas break.'

Whatever would be waiting for me at school, it would have to wait until after the break.


For the next two weeks, I studied, cleaned and did grocery shopping during the day, making sure that there was a decent meal on the table whenever Piney would come home from whatever it was he did for the club. Later at night, when the shadows in my room would become too threatening and my negative thoughts would overwhelm me, I would sneak out, send Jax a text and crawl into his bed at the clubhouse. Sometimes he would arrive only minutes after me; sometimes – and more often as of late – he would already be there, saying that he just didn't want to be at home at that moment. He never elaborated.

Tonight was one of those nights again. Tomorrow was my first day of school and, quite honestly, I was scared shitless about going. Despite Jax' consistent urging, I had not told anyone about what happened at the dance, thinking that it would somehow only make things worse. That didn't mean I had forgotten, however, and just thinking about seeing Nate in the hallways was enough to make my heart race and my breath catch. I did not want to face him, did not want to be remembered of what had happened that night. I had told myself that I would stay at home tonight, prove to myself that I could do this, but already I was failing miserably. Ten minutes after getting into bed I had turned on my reading light, twenty minutes more and I was shaking, barely being able to suppress the tears.

Eventually, I got out of bed, threw on a jumper over my pajamas and crept down the stairs. As expected, Piney was still awake, but he paid me no attention as I slipped out the front door.

The outside air hit coldly against my flushed skin and I wrapped my arms around my torso against the chill. I would only take a short walk, empty my head and then I would turn in for the night.

That had been the plan.

Unconsciously, my feet soon found the way to the Sons' clubhouse and before I full and well realized it, I found myself at its front door. I hesitated a moment, knowing that I had told Jax that I'd sleep at home tonight, but told myself that it really wouldn't matter. If he was not there, I would just go home.

When I pushed open the door, I was surprised to find several people still inside, but I did not bother to talk to any of them. By now, I'm sure they knew who I was and that I would sometimes sleep here. I didn't really care about their opinion about it. Quietly – and keeping my head down, in case I saw anything that I really didn't want to see – I made my way towards the door to Jax' dorm, feeling eyes on me all the way. I was about to put my hand on the doorknob when someone addressed me.

'You've come here for Jax?'

'Yes..' I sighed and turned around, ready to face the stranger that apparently considered whatever I came for his business. Any snarky response that I could have prepared died on my lips, however, as I took in the man before me. He was tall and broad, with dark hair and a matching full beard, and there was something about him that just looked… familiar. I shook my head of my confusing thoughts, focusing back on the matter at hand. 'Is he not here?'

'He is. He's just.. busy.'

A second passed before the meaning of his words dawned on me and I looked away awkwardly. 'Oh..' I knew Jax was a flirt, fucking everything that had two breasts and a vagina, but somehow he'd always managed to keep me separated from that side of his life. That is, up until now. I cleared my throat and tried for a friendly smile. 'Thank you for saving me from that. I'm Eliza, by the way. Piney's niece,' I added, having learned that around the Sons it was often more useful to introduce myself by my uncle than my own name.

The big, friendly giant smiled down at me. 'I know.'

'How so?'

'I'm Opie. Piney's son.'

It suddenly clicked and I realized why he had seemed so familiar. Opie Winston took a lot after his father.

Without another word, he turned away and knocked – more like bounced – on the door of Jax' dorm. 'Jackie boy, you've got company.' He gave me a winning smile before he walked off.

I was just contemplating if I should just announce myself or not when the door swung open and a young woman, not even finished with buttoning up her blouse, strolled by me. Her hair was a mess, her lipstick smeared and I did not even want to think about what had just happened in the dorm. I waited until she'd left through the front door, then quietly made my way into the bedroom and closed the door behind me.

Turning around, I let out a shriek at the sight of Jax Teller, dressed only in his white boxers, stepping out of the bathroom. 'Jax! Fuck, if I wanted to be scarred for life I could have just stayed in the main room.'

He only laughed in response and crossed the distance to his bed. As he passed me, I noticed the Sons of Anarchy logo tattooed on his back for the first time.

Quickly, I threw off the jumper I'd put on, kicked off my shoes and socks and crawled under the cover.

I was asleep in no time.


The next morning I was startled awake by the sound of my alarm and I reached for my phone, switching it off. With a groan, I let myself fall back into the covers. I knew exactly what day it was. 'Oh, fuck me.'

'Say what now?'

'Not like that. I just… want to be homeschooled.'

'Can't do that, doll. Get dressed, we'll pick up your bag on the way before I drive you to school.'


Although it didn't change the fact that I still needed to go, it was nice to have Jax by my side as we stopped in front of the large, brick building. He gave me an encouraging smile as I handed him the spare helmet and suppressed the urge to just climb back on the back of the motorcycle.

'You'll be fine, Eliza.' And with that, he was off.

Hoisting my bag over my shoulder, I tried to ignore the stares that followed me all the way to my locker. I tried to reason with myself, telling myself that it was just my own paranoia that was making me see things. But as I looked up, I noticed more than one head turn away and I knew it was not just in my head.

Later, in my History class, when I was attempting with all my might to pay attention to the lecture, a snippet of conversation drifted my way.

'..Fucked with Nate after the dance… so trashy…'

I did not need to hear more to know that it was about me. He had told everyone – and made it even worse than it already was. Raising my hand, I quickly excused myself to the bathroom and all but ran out of the room. Tears were already welling up again and I hated myself for reacting like this. Fuck him. I wiped resolutely at my face, refusing to cry one more tear because of that asshole.

And that was when I saw him. I halted my step, ducked my head and returned the way I came, hoping that he would not see me. But of course, luck was not on my side.
'Well hello, little Eliza. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?'

I did not respond, instead continued to walk.

'You know,' he grabbed my arm at this, forcing me to stop 'It's not very polite to ignore people.'

'Neither is spreading untrue rumors.'

'Oh that? Well, you can hardly blame me for sharing some details with my friends after such an amazing night.'

'Fuck you.'

'I don't get why you're so upset. I elevated your status by taking you out, then we had some fun.'

'You're fucking crazy.'

'Don't tell me you did not like it, little Eliza. Your eyes were practically begging me for it. Besides, I'm sure you put your new skills immediately to practice when you jumped into bed with that low-life biker scum of yours.'

I don't know if it was his blatant ignorance of my feelings, what he was implying about my relationship with Jax, or the insult that did it, but before I full and well realized it, my fist connected harshly with his nose and I heard a satisfying snap.

As blood started pouring down his face, I knew I'd be suspended.

But it had been hell worth it.


To my surprise, Piney was not at all angry with me. On the contrary, when I told him the full story – with some more urging from Jax – he told me he was proud of me. It was the world upside down, but I was glad to finally have made some positive impression on him.

I had been suspended, as I'd predicted. Surprisingly (or perhaps not as surprisingly, given that everyone seemed to know my family was part of the Sons of Anarchy), it was only for two weeks, which really was a ridiculously light punishment for someone who had broken a fellow student's nose. I did not complain, however.

In fact, when Piney asked me that night to come to the clubhouse for a party, I surprised both him and myself by agreeing. I changed out of my blood splattered clothes, put my hair in a lazy bun, and we were off.

The party at the clubhouse was a bit more modest than the first – and only other one – I had attended. I waved goodbye to Piney, then went over to the bar and got myself a Coke. With the cold drink in my hand, I turned around to take in the scene. Although it was certainly much less crowded than the last party I'd attended, it was still noisy, wild and crazy. But then again, when wasn't it?

I was halfway to joining my uncle's side when a hand on my arm stopped me 'Hey kid.'

I had to physically suppress a shriek, then forced myself to meet the eyes of the Gemma Morrow. Over the last few weeks, I'd become painfully aware of her calculating eyes following me around the room, especially when I was around or on my way to Jax and it had not taken me long to realize that she did not care much for me. I was just glad that she'd left me alone – up until now, that is.

'I heard what happened,' she spoke, her eyes holding mine in a death grip. 'If you ever need anything, just say the word. We are a family, after all.' Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if she was talking about the punch, or about what had preceded it. Gemma Morrow was the kind of woman that seemed to know everything about everyone. Instead of voicing those thoughts, I simply nodded dazedly, her words finally sinking in.

We are a family.


AN: So now in response to the review by Emmettluver2010: I think Gemma would first want to wait it out, see if she could be trusted before she would extend her hand towards her. That's what I've tried to do in this last bit. Gemma has measured her up and (finally) decided that she can be trusted. Or enough at least. I will be busy this weekend so don't expect any updates. The earliest that I can update will be Monday. Anyway, let me know what you guys think!