Hi guys! I know, it's been a while. AGAIN. But like always, I've been pretty busy with school and work. I was going to post this up last week but I had to make sure I was happy with it and I didn't have time to review it until just now. Please read and enjoy and tell me what you think!
"We Are Happy Landfill" by Gorillaz.
The ambulance drove away as everyone gazed after it, the flashing lights disappearing into the night. The red and blue lights of the Sheriff's vehicle still lit the lot. The radios and sirens would occasionally go off but somehow Emily managed to tune it all out.
Someone wanted to hurt the club and now Chibs was on his way to the hospital. Nobody said a word, but Emily knew this had to do with Zobelle. Just a few short hours ago, Chibs had told her how much trouble the cigar shop owner was causing. What could Zobelle possibly want from the club?
Happy had shown up right before the ambulance had arrived. And who showed up right behind him? Mary. Perfect timing. Piney had disappeared a while ago, muttering something about having to be alone for a while. With what had just happened to Otto and Chibs, Emily could only imagine that her father didn't want to deal with his ex-wife.
Emily decided to stick close to the guys, knowing Mary wouldn't get near her if she was next to any club members. Gemma seemed to have noticed this and wrapped her arm around Emily.
"You okay?" she rubbed Emily's shoulder. Through her peripheral vision, Emily could see Opie, Happy and Juice looking down at her, waiting for her to answer.
Emily shrugged, not knowing what exactly to say. "Just worried about Chibs."
"We all are, sweetheart. He's going to be alright." When Emily didn't respond, the older woman sighed. "Come on." She pulled her toward the benched outside the clubhouse, making her take a seat.
"Let Jax know we'll be waiting." Tig waited til Gemma nodded her head before walking inside, the rest of the guys following close behind.
Emily looked up to see Jax talking to David Hale. She found it odd how David was starting to get comfortable around the Vice President. Why the change of heart? As Jax walked away from David, he was stopped by Mary. This time, Emily had a pretty good guess on what her mother wanted to talk to him about. Emily focused her attention back to Gemma. "What's going to happen now?"
"They're going to handle this. The club will make sure it gets taken care of."
And by that, you mean kill whoever did this?
Before Emily could respond, Tara made her way towards them. "I'm going to head over to St. Thomas. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything."
"Okay, thanks." Tara was about to turn around and walk away when Jax strutted his way over to them. He looked troubled.
"Hey, baby. They're waiting for you inside."
"Yeah." Jax leaned to give his mother a kiss on the cheek, then did the same to Emily. When he walked over to give Tara a kiss, he noticed how uncomfortable she was. "What?"
"Someone blew up your friend with a car bomb." She said flatly.
"We don't know what happened." He responded.
"Jesus Christ. We watched it happen. I mean, who the hell would do that? Why would anyone do that?" Tara looked over to Gemma, almost as if she had realized something, then gave Emily a quick glance before Jax spoke up.
"Look, I'm not sure who did it and that's the truth. Probably the same guys who had Otto jumped."
"Are you in danger?" After a second, Tara looked puzzled. "Am I?" When Jax didn't give her a quick answer, Tara turned away from him. "Oh, god."
They weren't afraid to get close. Any one of them could have been hurt. It didn't matter who it was, as long as it sent a message to the club. What was that message? Emily didn't know. But it cost Otto his eye and now they didn't know if Chibs was going to make it. Gemma reached for Emily's hand, giving it a tight squeeze, almost as if it reassure her that nobody else was going to get hurt.
"Look, I'm sure nothing is going to happen. Just gotta be smart, a little more cautious, alright? It's going to be okay babe."
Tara shook her head. "No, it's not."
"I have to go deal with this." Jax pulled away from her and stepped inside the clubhouse.
Seemed like Tara didn't know what was going on and she didn't like it. Judging by the little information Emily received from Juice and Chibs before any of this happened, Emily put the pieces together and it started to make sense. Well, sorta. Whether she was right or wrong, was she going to say anything? No. Because it wasn't her place to do so.
"Emily, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mary appeared from behind Tara, taking them all by surprise. Emily just stared at her, wanting to say no. "Please."
Emily felt Gemma squeeze her hand again, as if to comfort her. She looked up to the older woman, who simply gave her a small smile and an almost unnoticeable nod. It'll be alright. Emily simply stood up and walked passed Mary, mentioning to follow her.
Mary was staying at Opie's house ever since Donna's funeral so it was hard to avoid her. As of lately, Mary had been acting rather odd. She left Ellie and Kenny with Emily more often and didn't seem as interested in her grand children's day to day activities like she once had been.
"What do you want?" Emily finally said when they reached the opposite side of the lot. She crossed her arms over her chest in the hopes of masking how uncomfortable she felt. It didn't work.
"I need you to talk to your brother." Emily raised an eye brow. Mary pressed on. "About the kids. He isn't is the same ever since... " she trailed off.
Emily sighed, shifting her weight. Ever since he lost Donna. "Yeah. I know."
"You see how he is at home. If he's ever home. You need to talk to him. You need to tell him-"
"I can't!" She snapped, immediately regretting it. Mary had an uneasy look on her face, a little sad. She made an effort to come and sort things out and Emily wasn't helping. "I've tried. He just keeps shutting me out."
"Try again! You have to! For the sake of those kids! It isn't their fault that this happened! Your brother is in too deep with the club and he doesn't care about anyone! He's going down the same road as Piney! God knows he was never a good father-"
"That isn't fair! You didn't give him a chance to be!" Emily shouted back, her voice cracking.
"I know I've made some mistakes, but taking you away from this place wasn't one of them. But it doesn't matter anymore because..." She waved her hand toward the clubhouse, completely distraught. "...here you are now. Running toward the one thing that I tried saving you and your brother from."
"You should probably go." Emily choked.
Mary gently shook her head, frustrated with her daughter's response. "I'm taking the kids over to my house tonight." She walked away.
Don't you dare start crying! Emily mentally scolded herself. It wasn't enough. She felt a tear escape her eye but quickly wiped it away. This is why she didn't want to talk to Mary. It always ended badly. Maybe Emily should have hitched a ride with Piney.
"You okay?" Emily raised her hand to her face, making sure there wasn't any sign of her crying, before facing Juice. He looked tired. His eyes weren't as bright as they had been earlier that day.
About my mom? Or about the mini van exploding in the parking lot and almost killing one of our friends? Emily shrugged her shoulders.
Juice looked behind him, noticing all of his brothers jumping on their bikes and getting ready to leave. "Looks like Ope isn't going home. You gonna be okay on your own?"
"Yeah." Emily sighed, rubbing her temples. "I just need to head home and try to get some sleep." That's when Emily noticed it. Juice looked...troubled? Lonely? Emily couldn't quite put her finger on it. His brothers were all leaving the clubhouse and he wasn't ready to be left alone.
Emily let out a tired smile. "I wouldn't mind getting a ride... if that's okay with you?"
He nodded his head, giving her a small smile. "C'mon, let's get you home."
Mary's car wasn't parked on the block, so Emily assumed her mother must have stuck to her word and took the kids back to her house for the night. Juice parked his bike in front of Opie's house, turning the engine off.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He unstrapped the helmet of Emily's head, setting it down on his bike.
"I'm fine. How many times are you going to ask?" She ran her hand through hair as she started to walk towards the house. She fumbled around her purse, trying to her set of keys.
"Until you stop lying." Emily stopped in her tracks and looked back at him. "You're not that hard to figure out, Em."
She huffed. "Shut up, Hacker."
He took two long strides and easily caught up to her, giving her a half-hearted smile. "I'll pick you up tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sounds good." He didn't hesitate to lean down and kiss her. It wasn't lustful or urgent like their first few shared kisses were. It was comforting. Something Emily didn't know she needed until he had pressed his lips onto hers. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek, a light touch. So gentle. It surprised her how this biker outlaw was capable of doing such a thing.
The sound of a rumbling bike caught them off guard and they were forced to pull away from each other. Emily was confused to see Opie riding up to the drive way. Wasn't he staying at the clubhouse tonight?
"I'll see you in the morning." Without another word, Juice hopped off the front porch, sending his brother a quick nod as he reached his bike. As soon as Juice turned on his engine, Emily opened the door and let herself in. She left the door open, knowing Opie would be walking in behind her.
"Hey." He kicked the door shut.
"Hey." She muttered back. She waited for him to ask why Juice had dropped her off or why he had escorted her to the front porch but he never asked. If he wasn't going to bring it up then she wasn't going to mention it either. "You staying here tonight?"
"Yeah." He grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped it open. "Jax wouldn't get off my back for staying at the clubhouse."
"Mary must have talked to him."
"Don't start." He growled. She didn't listen.
"She's worried about you. We all are, Ope." He finished his beer in one quick swig and dumped the bottle in the sink. He was ignoring her. It was pissing her off. "You won't talk to Mary or Jax or anyone else! Why can't you just..." Emily had to stop herself from shouting. She can feel her hands shaking. "I just want you to be okay."
"Don't worry about me." He stormed down the hall way and slammed his door shut.
"If only it were that easy."
Emily tapped on the coffee maker as it did it's magic. It had been a long morning, with Opie not speaking to her and Juice being busy with the club. She was on her laptop most of the morning, drinking copious cups of coffee as she filed some online paperwork for St. Thomas. It should've been done fairly quickly but Emily couldn't concentrate. Not when the club was out planning God knows what. Retaliation. Emily pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
She wanted to accompany Gemma to the hospital, but the older woman wanted Emily to stay behind and keep an eye on the crime scene for her. The Queen always needed to know what was going on and Emily was her pawn.
"Here ya go, Chief. Freshly brewed." Emily handed the cup over to Unser.
"Thanks. And uh...sorry, sweetheart. Looks like you're not gonna get any work done today." He nodded his head toward the half melted mini van that Juice was standing in front of. "He's gonna clean it up a bit before Lodi Forensics show up. Make sure nobody here gets in trouble."
"Somebody always gets in trouble." This earned a chuckle from the old man.
"Guess that's true." He walked over to the door frame. "Oh, shit." Unser handed her his cup and fumbled his way through the back door and into the garage.
Emily peered through the shutters of the window, watching as a black van strolled into the lot. Already? She rubbed her eyes as she sat down in front of her lap top, staring at the screen.
"Damn it!" Juice strutted into the office, yanking off the pair of gloves he had on. "Lodi is here."
Emily shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip from her cup of coffee. "Better think of something quick."
"Why don't you go change into that skirt you had on yesterday?" Emily tried not to spit out her coffee. Juice smirked. "To distract them!"
Emily rolled her eyes. "Even if that did work, I wouldn't make it back in time."
Juice grabbed a glass bottle of soda from the mini fridge next to the desk, popping the cap off. "How the hell am I suppose to clean up that mess now?"
"Let's go take a look." Juice followed Emily out the office and into the garage. "They sent two guys? That means they won't take too long gathering the residue." Juice drank his soda in silence, staring at the men as they started their work.
Unser walked up behind them, giving the crime scene a glance. "What are we gonna do here?" Juice asked, not taking his eyes off the men. Unser handed him a cup that was labeled 'Big Gulp.' It had a disgusting odor. "What's this?"
"Cancer drugs. Turns my waste radioactive."
Both Emily and Juice gave him a disgusted look. "I'm holding a cup of your piss?"
"Spill this on their lab kit. Turns their results into a bad chemistry experiment." He dumped the rest of Juice's soda into the cup. "Just need to figure a way it don't get me arrested for evidence tampering."
So we just need to get Juice close enough to the kit? "Maybe your idea could work, Juice."
"What idea?" Unser looked confused, looked at Emily and Juice back and forth.
"You serious?" Juice asked, looking unconvinced.
"It's worth a shot." She nodded at the cup. "Just do what you have to do. And quick." She turned around and looked at the two men. Emily was wearing a plain white tank top with black skinny jeans and her dirty boots. Would it be distracting enough? Fuck it. She walked up to the yellow tape, placing her hands on her hips.
"Hey guys. I was wondering if I can offer you a cup of coffee?"
"You can't hang around here, this is a crime scene." The bigger of the two men spoke in monotone, not bothering to look up from his work. The smaller looking man glanced at her, taking a double look. Although he wore shades, Emily could tell he was looking at her up and down. Can this actually work?
"I'm sorry it's just that..." She flashed them an innocent smile, hoping it looked convincing. "I think you guys need a break. Two hard working men like yourselves deserve to take it easy." Emily took one slow step after another, getting closer to the back of the van. The Forensic guy gazed after her, a sluggish smile on his face.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Juice slowly approaching the kit. Hurry up, Juice.
"W-we can't. We really need to get this done."
"Oh well maybe you can show me how everything works? I've always been into this sort of thing." The man was fully facing her, his partner following his gaze. "I promise I won't tell."
"Ma'am, I'm sorry but we can't-"
"How many times do I have to tell you?! Get away from here! Do you not see the yellow tape?!" The big man shouted, making Emily wince.
Juice held a hand up in defense, the cup of piss in his other hand. "Geez, calm down, man. I'm sorry."
"We really should be getting this done. We'll be outta here soon, ma'am. Excuse me." The man walked back to his partner, who scolded him for being distracted. Juice walked over to Emily and pulled her alongside with him toward Unser.
"Well, that went well." Unser groaned.
"Gotta think of something quick. He said they're almost finished."
"Damn it." Juice lifted the cup, almost taking a sip from it before he remembered what was in it. His face scrunched up.
"You got another idea, son?" Unser glanced behind him, making sure that the two men hadn't gotten suspicious.
"Hey, go chat 'em up and then take my lead." He handed Unser the cup. "You and your piss." Juice skipped off toward one of the near by cars. Unser looked at Emily, raising his eyebrow in question.
"I have no idea what he's thinking." She grabbed the empty soda bottle out of Unser's hand before walking back into the office. She stood in the middle of the room for a second, taking in her surroundings. As much as he hated hanging around and doing small errands, she was going to miss it. But I'm not going to miss all of this paperwork. She picked up a file from the desk, taking a quick glance at it before dropping it back onto the desk.
She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she quickly dug it out. It was a message from Tara. It read, "Subdural Hematoma. Waiting for it to subside."
Emily replied, "Thanks for letting me know. Keep me updated." She sent the message and shoved the phone back into her pocket. You're going to be okay, Scotty.
Tired squealing and brakes screeching forced Emily to jerk her head toward the lot. She ran out of the office and was surprised to find Unser and one of the forensics guys lying on the floor. His face was wet and he looked furious.
"Taste like piss, don't it?"
Oh, God. Emily tried not gag. She looked over at Juice, who was shaking his head in disappointment. This was their last chance and it didn't work.
Emily leaned down, holding out here hand. "Here, let me help yo-"
"I think you've all helped enough!" the man stood up and wiped his eyes with his sleeves. "We're out of here!" With wide eyes, the three of them watched as the the Forensics team gathered their belongings.
This can't be happening. With the results of that kit, ATF would be on their way to the small town to investigate the club. Again. She was starting to feel sick.
"I, uh, should go make a call to Clay." Unser excused himself and walked into the office.
Emily and Juice glanced at the two men as they walked away from the crime scene. Emily climbed onto the bench and brought her knees up, hugging them close to her body. "Now what?"
Juice rubbed his face. "I need a drink." He mumbled, walking past her and disappeared into the clubhouse.
This is bullshit. Since the day Emily came back to Charming, seems like everything was getting worse and worse for the club. She moved back home so she can help her brother and the rest of the club, but what had she done to help? This is bullshit.
She heard the pop of a beer can opening as Juice exited the clubhouse. He jumped onto the bench next to Emily, guzzling down his drink. He finished his beverage and crushed the can before setting it down on the table. "Should've brought a whole damn 12 pack out here with me. One beer wasn't enough."
Emily traced an invisible circle on the table with her finger. "Tara sent me a text a while ago."
This caught his attention. "What did she say? How's Chibs?"
She saved herself the trouble of explaining medical terms to him. "Stable but critical. All we can do is wait and see what happens." She summed it up.
"Well, at least that's some good news." They sat in silence for a while, taking a glance at the Lodi men as they continued to pack their equipment. Emily continued to absentmindedly trace the circle until Juice reached for her hand.
"Stop it." He held onto her hand, keeping it still. "You're making me nervous." She eyed him, giving him a knowing look. "Okay, more than I already am." He let out a tired laugh as he looked down at their intertwined fingers.
When he grinned at her, she laughed. "What?"
He leaned forward and gave her a peck on cheek. She felt her face get warmer as she shied away from him. He let go of her hand and reach up to cup her cheek, stopping her from turning away. He brought her closer to him, brushing his lips down onto hers. She kissed him back, giggling as he was practically pushing her down on the table.
She gently pressed her palm up against his chest, breaking the kiss to catch her breath. "Unser might see..." She whispered against his lips.
"Let the old man look. I don't care." He leaned in again.
"You do realize that if he sees us he'll tell Gemma?" He pulled away the second she mentioned the Old Lady's name. He grumbled to himself, leaning his head onto her shoulder.
"We can always go into the clubhouse..." She felt him plant a kiss on her shoulder.
"Stop..." she laughed nervously. Is he being serious?
They heard an engine turn on as they looked up to see the Lodi van going into reverse and scurrying across the lot toward the exit.
"There they go." Juice sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Clay is gonna cut my nuts off."
"If Clay doesn't, Happy probably would."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Only one way to find out." Emily nodded her head toward the approaching motorcycle. Soon after Happy rode into the lot, Clay and Bobby Elvis were right behind him.
"Oh shit." Juice whined, staring at the Tacoma killer as he jumped off his bike and made their way toward them.
"Sorry, kid. We got work to do." Happy shoved a laptop into Juice's arms. "Zobelle's."
Emily looked over Happy's shoulder to take a glance at Clay. He looked pissed.
"You guys can use the office."
Happy nodded his head; his way of saying 'thank you.' He bumped Juice with his elbow. "Let's go."
"You better go!" she hissed to Juice, nodding her head toward the office. "Before Clay gets his hands on you."
"Oh. Shit. Right." He jumped off the picnic bench, laptop in hand. Juice lowered his head as he passed the SAMCRO President, his pace quickening.
Clay would usually smile at Emily, give her a quick hug or a nod, but this time it was different. He walked straight into the clubhouse, a stern look on his face. It sent shivers down her spine.
"He's furious." She mentioned to Bobby, who stopped to stand next to her.
"Things aren't looking to good for us, Em." He took a packet of cigarettes out from his pocket and popped one into his mouth before lighting it.
"Chibs is suffering from a large blood clot in his brain. The hospital is keeping an eye on him, waiting for it to subside."
"That's good to know." He sighed.
"He's going to pull through." She said it more to herself than to Bobby.
"He'll pull through." He repeated after her. "He's a tough bastard."
Tara's black Cutlass rolled into the lot, parking the car right in the middle of the lot. Starting to feel like the VP's Old Lady now, huh Tara?
"Ima go tell Clay about Chibs." Bobby excused himself. Emily nodded her head and stepped down from the bench and walked toward the Cutlass. It was a nice car, but Emily thought her Impala was still better.
"How are things here?" Tara asked as Emily approached her.
"Not good." Emily sighed, running a hand through her hair. "ATF should be on their way here by morning."
"Jesus Christ." Tara muttered. She stood silent for a second, thinking about all the horrible things they had gone through the last time the Feds were in town. "Is Jax back yet?"
"No, but he should be back soon."
Tara nodded her head, staring down at her purse. "I was out with Gemma. She was teaching me a few things and..."
"AND?" Emily pressed on. Tara hesitated, laughing at herself before she dug into her purse. A shiny hand gun in her hands.
Emily laughed, clearly amused. "Taking bonding to a whole new level, arent you?"
"Yeah, well...she didn't exclude you." She produced another gun from her bag, handing it over to Emily.
"Woah." Emily stared down at the nice piece. It was a Glock. Her favorite. "Christmas came early."
"We have to be careful, right?" Tara handed her a case of bullets, which Emily stored away in her messenger bag before anyone could see. "Do you know how to use it?"
Emily looked over her should to take a look at the office. "Happy taught me a thing or two."
Tara laughed, shaking her head. The smile quickly disappeared from her face. "Do you think we will actually have to USE them?" She asked, putting her own gun away.
"I don't know." Emily readjusting the bag on her shoulder. "I hope not."
Seeing Tara's distraught face, Emily instantly felt bad. "No, we won't have to use them. Everything is going to be sorted out." Emily reassured her.
Tara scoffed. "Do you really believe that?"
"We have to."
Tara let the words sink in for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah." Jax's motorcycle rode into the lot, his smile being seen from the second he saw his Old Lady waiting for him. "Hey." He greeted them, riding his bike in reverse to securely park it.
"I'll just...go that way." Emily skipped away from Tara, wanting to give her and her man some privacy.
"Find anything yet?" Emily asked as she walked into the office, sitting on the edge of the desk.
"No, not really." Juice grumbled. "Pictures of his kids, some Nazi shit..." He paused for a second. "Wait. I think I got something."
"What is it?" Happy asked urgently. He was getting annoyed, Emily could tell. He had always been impatient.
"I opened up his calendar. He has an appointment for tonight." She heard the rumbling noises of two bikes approaching. She tilted her head to look out the door, seeing Tig and her brother parking their motorcycles.
"You sure about this?" Happy spoke up again.
"There isn't much on here." Juice continued to look through the laptop, completely focused. He shook his head when he didn't find any more information. "It's all I got."
"Alright, then. Let's go." The men stood up from the couch and headed for the door. Happy exited the room first. Juice saw this as an opportunity to surprise Emily with a kiss. She held back her laughter and kissed him back.
"Just go, you idiot!" She slapped his muscled arm, making him laugh as he left the room to follow Happy.
Emily leaned on the door frame to watch the two men disappear into the clubhouse. Jax was on his bike, moving it into the garage.
"I heard your mom was giving Tara shooting lessons?" She mentioned to him as she turned off the engine. He walked over toward her and shook his head, trying to hide his smirk.
"Yeah, at Cara Cara." He passed her into the office, pulling off his cut and hanging it up on one of the hangers by the door. He started unbuttoning his plaid shirt, revealing a white SONS shirt underneath, and threw the long sleeved shirt onto the couch where some other clothing of his were scattered. Hope he doesn't expect me to clean all his shit up. "I'm surprised you didn't tag along with them."
She followed him back into the garage. "Well, if I had known the hospital visit was going to turn into a Shooting 101 class, I probably would've gone."
"Maybe next time." He laughed, pulling on his TM shirt and lighting up a cigarette. "You know how much my mom likes showing off her guns."
She thought about the Glock that was sitting in the purse that very second. "Yeah, no kidding." She watched as he grabbed a red rag and a screwdriver from off the counters leaned down to his bike.
That's when the guys made their way out of the clubhouse and walked toward the club's black van. No cuts? They're up to something. "Where are they going?"
Jax looked up as he exhaled the smoke, frowning at his brothers. "What's going on?" he asked.
The guys all climbed into the van, not giving him a second glance. Everyone except Bobby. "They think they know where Zobelle is. Christian Center, Morada." he said before stepping into the van.
Emily's heart dropped. They're really doing this. They're going after him.
She didn't know what terrified her more; the club going out to seek revenge for a wounded brother or the fact that she felt supportive about their man hunt. She looked passed Bobby and saw Happy. She recognized that look on his face. It was the look he always wore before getting another happy face tattooed on his body.
The second Happy slammed the door close, the van made its way out of the lot followed by Opie and Tig on their bikes.
"Shit." Jax ran to the back of the garage, throwing off his Teller-Morrow work shirt.
Emily ran over to the office and back, a grey zip up hoodie in hand. "Here. Need to cover that up." She pointed at the SONS shirt that he was wearing.
He grabbed the hoodie and yanked it on. "They're not thinking this through. I gotta go." He jumped on his bike and turned it on. He revved the engine and was ready to speed off.
"Jax!" He looked up at her, anxious to go after the club. "Be careful."
"Yeah." He sighed, revving the engine one last time before he rode off.
Emily was left alone again, not knowing what to do. Juice and Opie were with the club and Piney was still up in the cabin. What was she to do?
"Damn it." She cursed under her breath, walking back into the office.
She simply sat at the desk, waiting for phone calls from customers or from the club. It hadn't rung. She was getting agitated with the silence.
She pulled out the Glock from her purse and cradled it in her hands. This was the same type of gun Happy had taught her how to shoot with back in Washington. She held it up, aiming at one of the posters of a half-naked woman on the wall. She pulled the trigger, a click coming from the gun.
She looked down at the gun, tracing her fingers over the engraved 21, before shoving it back into her purse and pulling out her cell phone. She scrolled down the list of contacts but who was she going to call? Tara? Gemma? She didn't want them to worry. What if it was nothing? What if she was just overreacting? Emily couldn't shrug it off. She had a bad feeling about this. She pressed the call button.
It run a few times before the all but too familiar voice filled the opposite line. "Hello?"
"Hey Gemma, it's me. Emily."
"Yeah, I can read the caller ID. I'm not that old."
"I don't want to worry you but..."
"What is is, sweetheart?" She sounded tired. Emily hadn't seen her all day so she must have been really busy. Yeah, shooting targets at Cara Cara.
Emily shook her head, trying to concentrate. "Well... the club went out and..." She rubbed her temples as she sighed. " I haven't heard from them and..."
"How long have they been gone?"
"I-I'm not sure. A few hours?"
It was silent on the opposite side of the line. Emily could almost hear how hard Gemma was thinking.
"Go home, Emily. If you're worried about Opie, then don't be. He's with the club. They'll take care of him. You just have to wait until they get back."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I just have a bad feelin-"
"Thank you for letting me know. Go home and get some rest, darling."
"O-okay, yeah. I will." They hung up. Go home and rest? That didn't help her anxiety at all.
Emily stood up and decided to close down the office while Clayton decided to stay behind and finish working on a car they had holed up in the garage. Where had Bobby mentioned they were heading? Some Christian Center in Morada? Stop thinking about it. You're overreacting. She scolded herself as she drove down street toward her brother's home.
It felt like a long drive, but she had finally made it to Opie's house. The lights were off, indicating that nobody was inside. Looks like Mary is keeping the kids at her house again. Emily opened the front door and flicked on the lights. Everything had been left untouched since Ellie and Kenny were last here. She was starting to miss them.
What was she to do now? Go to sleep? That wasn't going to happen.
She set her bag down onto the small table and began to make some tea. Maybe this will help my nerves calm down. Two cups later, it didn't help. She sat at the table, fingers tracing the rim of the cup back and forth in a rhythmic motion.
She didn't notice how much time had gone by but when she heard the lock from the front door open, her immediately stood up and practically ran toward Opie.
"You're home!" She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. Emily was relieved to see her brother, but when she pulled away and saw the look on his face, her happiness deteriorated. "What happened?" Her voice below a whisper.
Opie walked passed her and slumped down onto the couch. He let out a low sigh, rubbing his face tiredly.
Emily couldn't find the courage to ask what was wrong. She felt her heart pounding against her chest. Several seconds passed before he spoke again. "The club got locked up."