AUTHORS NOTE
I am sorry I haven't updated everyday like I said. I think I jinxed myself because the day after I said that, I became very sick. I'm back now though! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. Contains a bit of fluff for those wanting some action. Nothing major yet, I don't want this to be a story where the characters are instantly together. Please keep in mind Jax and Serena HAVE known each other since they were kids though.
DutchessTiki: I hope that my OC doesn't irritate you too much. I think it takes an emotionally strong person to put themselves back out there after being hurt before. I do want Serena to be a strong person so hopefully I fulfill that. Thank you for reading!
Jax had asked me to help him grab some baby stuff from Opie's. I was excited to see Ope, but I hoped that Donna was in a better mood. Jax and I got out of the truck when we pulled into Opie's driveway. Jax grabbed my hand as we started to walk around to the back. "Jax..." I looked at him and he was smiling. I didn't know if I was the one making him happy or us getting the stuff for Abel. Whatever it was, I didn't want to ruin his mood, but I had to know.
I stopped and pulled him back to me. "Jax, what are we?" I looked at him and saw his face drop. He was going to do it again. He was going to reject me. I started to let go of my hand, but he didn't let me. He grabbed my other hand and faced me.
"What do you wanna be darlin'?" he asked and looked into my eyes. This was it. I just needed to tell him and get it over with. I stared back into his eyes.
"Honestly Jax, either I'm your old lady or I'm just a friend." I stood my ground as he looked at me silently. "I don't want to be just a play thing to you." He nodded and I braced myself for him to tell me we would be just friends.
He pulled me into him and kissed me. After the shock wore off, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. We pulled away at the same time. "That answer your question?" he asked as he gave me that smug smile of his. I slapped his chest playfully and walked into Opie's backyard.
"Is that little Serena?" I heard Opie ask before he scooped me up in the biggest bear hug anyone ever gave me. I laughed and hugged him back. I saw Donna standing by shed looking like a sad puppy. I crossed the yard to her when Opie put me down and smiled at her. She smiled back sadly and I gave her a hug.
Donna and I weren't as close as I was to Tara, but she was still a friend. I didn't want to lose her as a friend so I wasn't going to snitch on her for the day at the store. Besides, we all have bad days and this was supposed to be a good one. Abel was doing better and Jax was falling into the role of Dad more. "So where's this stuff at?" I smiled and asked.
Donna opened the shed doors up as Opie and Jax finished talking on the other side of the lawn. I saw the pack and play and started to move objects. I got up on my tiptoes to get it down and started to pull, but lost my balance. I started to fall and closed my eyes for the impact, but instead of hard ground it was a soft chest. I looked up and Jax was behind me. "Playing the damsel in distress?" he asked as he smirked at me.''
"Haha, very funny Jackson..." I said as I stepped away from him and I noticed he was shirtless. "Do you always find an excuse to get shirtless, or just when women are around?" I asked smirking at him. Opie and Donna laughed at my joke. As Jax walked past me and started to pull the baby stuff from the shed with Opie's help, including the trouble-making pack and play.
After we got everything from the shed Jax started to dig in his pocket. "How much do I owe ya?" he asked looking at Opie. Opie just shook his head and said something about them being brothers and that it was free. I knew Jax wouldn't let it go. As soon as Opie walked away to start helping us put things in the truck Jax dug two hundred dollars from his pocket and handed it to Donna. She tried to deny it. "I'm the one who's getting a deal" Jax told her before walking to help Opie put the stuff in the truck.
I laughed and went over to Donna and gave her another hug. "Thanks for not saying anything about the other day" she whispered in my ear while we were hugging. I just shook my head and smiled at her. She smiled back and I ran to the front as Opie came back into the backyard.
I hopped into the truck with Jax and we left Opie's house. "So, I'm your old lady?" I asked him laughing. He just laughed and nodded at me. "About time. I only had to wait like ten years." I joked.
"So where you getting my crow then?" he asked. That shut me up. What was I doing? I know I'm exited, but there's so much I need to tell not only him, but everyone before we can move forward. "Earth to Serena?" he was looking at me and I noticed we were parked in front of his house.
"I need to go handle some club stuff, but Ma wants your help with the fundraiser." He got out of the truck and tugged his kutte on. I smiled and nodded. "You ok?" he asked.
"Yeah." I said "I'm fine. I'm gonna stop by the hospital to see Abel and to talk to Tara for a bit. Then I'll go help your mom with the fundraiser stuff." I smiled at him. I leaned in and kissed him quickly. "I'll see you later." I said as I walked to the driver's side of my truck and got in.
I got to the hospital and I wanted to tell Tara everything. I immediately asked for her at the nurse's station. They told me she was in the NICU and I ran there. "Tara..." I said and stopped as she looked behind me, looking horrified. I turned around and saw a man with a badge on. Great, what did the guys get into that could have involved Tara?
I nacked up closer to Tara putting myself between her and the guy. When she saw what I was doing she relaxed a little. "You need to stay away from me." Tara said glaring at him. Why is she talking to a cop like this. That's when I realized this isn't ANY cop. This is her ex. Her stalker.
"I'm just here on business Tar-a." he said. I hated the way he said her name. It's Tara not Tar-a. I stared him down. "I see you have another guard" he said smirking at me. He gave me the creeps. He looked me up and down as if deciding how much of a threat I was.
"Why don't you just get out of Charming while you can" I said stepping closer to him so he couldn't see past me to Tara. I wasn't going to let him hurt anyone. He just laughed at me. I wouldn't let him see how much he affected me. He had to be shown that nobody was afraid of him. "It's dangerous for outsiders here..."
"Don't worry. As soon as I get what I came for, I'll go" he said giving me a satisfied grin. I didn't know if he meant Tara or the club, but he wouldn't be getting either. As soon as he left I turned around and Tara hugged me. So much for my news.
"I have to go help Gemma with the fundraiser." I said looking at her. "You're coming right? I mean you can't miss THE taste of Charming." She laughed then and wiped at her eyes. She pulled away from me and nodded. "I'll see you later." I walked out and checked the hallways to make sure that creep left.
"Where have you been?" Gemma asked me as I ran over to the SAM CROW booth to help her. I hugged her and smiled. "Ok, why do you look like the cat that ate my parrot?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.
"Were you hoping for me to be a more official daughter?" I asked and I watched as her face went from confused to excited. "He said I was his old lady, but I was hoping to talk to you tonight." I was nervous but I needed to tell someone what happened when I left and I knew Gemma would help me tell everyone else.
"Of course sweetie." she smiled and hugged me. "Let's get through this first. Today is going to be tough. Kyle Hobart is going to be here." She let go of me and started to fix the table. Kyle Hobart… the reason Opie did hard time.
"Why?" I asked. She explained that Kyle's ex wife had begged her for their son. Gemma could never refuse a family request and she had asked Clay. He said he would put it to a vote. I can't believe it had gone through.
I looked over and couldn't believe my eyes. Tara's creepy ass ex was standing at the Charming Police Department's booth. I glared at him. I guess this fundraiser would be full of assholes tonight. "Who's that you're glaring at?" Gemma asked.
"New ATF agent in town." I said still looking at him. He looked up and saw me. Shit, this is a bad time for me to be in the SAM CROW booth. He threw me a sickening smile and wave with the grill tongs. "In from Chicago…." I looked at Gemma and she just nodded.
I saw Kyle walk in with some young skank on his arm. Looks like he hasn't changed much. Still screwing anything with two sets of lips. Opie and Jax walked in after him. Opie looked a little upset. I ran over and hugged Opie.
"Cheer up big guy. He doesn't have us." I said and let go of him as he gave me a small smile and I hopped in Jax's arms. "I may have told your mom about us." I told him smirking. Gemma had been rooting for us to be a couple since we were kids. Despite the 4 year age difference.
"Great." he laughed "Less bad news for me to break." I rolled my eyes and he still held me in his arms but lifted my feet off the ground and walked over to a picnic table.
"Would it kill you to not always make a joke?" I asked and sat on the picnic tabletop. Jax sat in front of me on the bench. He was watching Opie who happened to be watching Kyle play with his kids. "You on guard duty?" I asked. He just nodded. I sat in silence with him for a little with my hands in my lap watching the families play.
I felt Jax grab my hand and I looked at him. He was still watching, but I wasn't sure if it was still Opie or the happy families. I know he was still worried about Abel. I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles and went back to watching when I saw Kyle pull his shirt down, but not before I saw the tattoo. "I'll be back." Jax said as he got up and walked over to Opie.
I knew they couldn't leave this alone. When someone left the club they had to get the tattoos removed. Kyle didn't. I watched as Jax and Opie led Kyle over to the indoor gym. I went back to help Gemma. After awhile Jax came over and told us they were all going to the clubhouse. He kissed me and Gemma goodbye and left.
"You ready to talk?" she asked me. I nodded and asked if we could go somewhere more private. I didn't need anyone else hearing this. We sat down at a picnic table under a big tree away from everyone. "What's the matter baby?" she asked.
"I dated this guy." I started "He wasn't the nicest and after 3 years he started to hit me. I knew I couldn't stay with him, so I left, but he always followed me. Eventually it got worse and worse." I looked at her and she was crying. I knew she always felt like she needed to protect me.
She reached over and grabbed my hand. I continued "So I took some self defense classes and trained hard. I wanted the torture to end. He was also the one who raped me. The night he did it I told him I would stay with him. That I wouldn't run anymore." I started crying but quickly stopped. "I killed him when he fell asleep Gemma..."
She looked at me shocked but squeezed my hand. "I called the cops and it was ruled as self defense." I said and I was shaking. She scooted closer to me and hugged me.
"It's ok baby." she rocked me. "You did what you had to, to stay alive. It will all be alright now." I felt that she was telling the truth for the first time in years I had felt safe again. It was good to be back with the people I knew who loved me and would never hurt me. "Have you told Jax yet?" she asked and I shook my head pulling away. She looked me in the eyes "Don't worry sweetie he won't see you any different."
"Can you help me tell Jax, and the guys?" I asked and she nodded. "I want them all in my life so I want to be honest." She smiled.
"Make sure you get that same honesty back if you want this relationship to work out." She smiled and wiped the tears from my face with her thumb. "Let's go have some ice cream and watch one of those funny old movies you like so much." She said pulling me up with her. It's definitely good to be back.
