*3rd person*
Rae sits up, allowing her legs to dangle over the side of the bed. She hastily rubs at her eyes, wiping the sleep from them. "Jax." She whispers, feeling a wave of nausea come over her. It's been like this ever since that night, some days up, others down but she's been off the pills for nearly a week now, which is better than she could ever say about herself before. She really had tried weaning herself the old fashion way but with the temptation of his club and of Juice; she had definitely made a few slips, some even including Juice and his bed. She's a whore, she will admit but in the moment she would have done anything for a fix. Also, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she was falling for the familiarity in Juice and the way he accepted who she was versus Jax continuously trying to change her.
As she runs herself to the toilet she barely notices Jax's presence behind her. He rubs her back gently, pulling her hair back and away from her face. "Rae, I think you should go to the doctors." He says calmly, resting the back of his hand against her forehead as she leans back into him.
"So they can tell me I'm a drug addict too? No, thanks." She mumbles, lurching herself back over the toilet to empty the contents of her stomach.
"I think you're pregnant." He finally says, moving his ring clad finger down to the small of her back.
She flinches abruptly, "There is no way." Rae says, pulling away from him now. "Don't even joke."
"I'm not joking, I've wanted to say something for a while… I just couldn't, I don't know. I just didn't want to rock the boat." He runs a hand through his hair now, leaning back against the bathroom wall. "When was your last period?"
"I don't know, around when I started working at the club." She answers honestly, flushing the toilet in front of her. "But that isn't funny, Jax."
"Rae, that was three months ago. You're clean. There is no reason you should still be getting this sick." He says, standing up. He holds his hands out for her to grab, pulling her up in an instant. "It's uh, okay if you are." He offers a toothbrush to her, which she takes gratefully.
After brushing her teeth she washes off her face, him standing patiently behind her the entire time. She lets the thought sink in for a moment, unable to look at him she returns to his bedroom, where she has slept nearly every night since their first encounter. She strips herself of her clothes, looking into the mirror only briefly but notices she does look a little fatter and her nipples did look bigger. Could she really be? No. No way. She shrugs the thought away.
"I can go get you a test or something." He looks over at her for a moment, smiling at her exposed chest. "You know I would be there for you if you are, right?"
"That would actually be great, Jax." She whispers, pulling one of his t-shirts over her head. He watches it fall to just the top of her thighs, smiling once again over at her. "I'll clean up around here while you're gone."
Now, Jax and Rae certainly weren't official. They didn't ever hold hands or go on dates or anything like that but every night they fell into bed together and had become pretty close over the past few months. Jax however had no clue about her continuing to have, well, relations with Juice. She shuddered at the thought as she heard his bike rev in the driveway.
*1st Person*
Two blue lines. They change everything. Jax pulls the test away from my hands, looking at it for a moment and then down at me. "I guess you were right." I whisper, this can't possibly be happening. I cannot even take care of myself let alone a baby, and what if it's Juice's. I don't even begin to know where to start there, as far as Jax knows I nipped that in the butt months ago. He is going to kill me. Ugh. What have I done? I can feel tears streaming down my face, this can't possibly be happening.
"Rae, it's going to be fine." He assures me, "You know I'll take care of you and the baby."
I wipe my cheek quickly, "I have to get ready for work." I offer him a small smile, "We'll just talk about this later."
My nerves are shot once I see Juice walk into the club room, I can't help but notice the way my hand shakes as I reach over to hand him his usual. "Hey." I say quietly, avoiding eye contact with him.
"You okay? You're shaking like your feigning." Juice looks me over for a moment, I can tell his eyes find a comfortable place at my barely covered chest. "You want a bump?" He offers, sliding a small canister across the bar quickly.
"No." I say honestly, looking around before I scoot it back towards him. "We need to talk." I look around, thankful that Jax is nowhere to be found. "My shift is nearly over, can you take me somewhere?" I whisper, grabbing my purse. I don't wait for him to respond; instead I walk outside knowing that he will follow.
Her arms are snuggled around his middle, head leaning on his shoulder as he drives his motorcycle towards his house. She's been there one too many times as of lately, always noting how terribly clean it is.
*3rd Person*
When they arrive he offers her his hand, taking it into his larger ones before pulling her into the house. Once inside he wastes no time going to kiss her, at first she responds to his touch but after a moment breaks away. "Juice, I'm serious." She whispers, moving her hands to the side of his face. "I'm pregnant."
She waits for his response but he stands there frozen, lips hesitant to move but his hands move to grip hers. "Say something, please before I lose my mind."
"What are we going to do?" Is his first response, "Jax is going to kill me?" Her stomach drops, him now voicing her own concern.
"If I tell him he's going to kill you and throw me out on the street." Rae squeezes his hands gently before letting go, watching as they both fall to their sides. They shift to the couch, so they're sitting next to each other, his arm quickly going to drape over her waist.
"What if you don't tell him Rae and you have a little Hispanic baby come out nine months from now he's really going to flip, am I right?" She only nods, half shocked that he is speaking level-headed.
"But what if it's his?" Rae whispers now, closing her eyes. Her knees feel weak as she moves out of Juice's grasp. "Fuck." She groans, dropping her hands to her knees. She begins hyperventilation, her finger nails scratching against her bare knees.
"And what if it is Rae? I told you how I feel about you. I told you to leave him and come home to me. It doesn't fucking matter, Rae." He repeats. And he had told her, many times actually. Generally it was during a binge and she often was too fucked up to even remember him pouring his heart out to her. Juice had a heart, they all knew it. It took him finding her for him to discover it.
"What about the dope, Juice? Have you even thought of that? What if our baby comes out fucked up? What are you going to do, between feedings take a bump or two? That isn't okay, Juice." Rae runs her hands through her hair now.
"I'll get clean, I swear. I'll do anything." He smiles now, "This is our chance at happiness, Rae. You always say you want a family. You know I need that too." He leans forward now, cupping her chin, and without waiting her presses a light kiss to her lips. "I know this won't be easy, Rae." He kisses her again, "But we will get through this." He kisses her once more, "Now, I'm going to call Jax and have him come over here. Okay?" He doesn't wait for her response, "It's going to be okay." He says once more before standing up, walking away from her to grab his phone.
"We need to talk." She hears him say, her skin suddenly crawling at the sound of his voice. This should be fun.