CHAPTER TWELVE

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile.

Al, Cam and Donna help me sort through the boxes of Wendy's stuff that had been jammed in the top of the wardrobe, at one point Donna grunts in disgust and shove a wooden box the side of a shoebox to one side with a violent motion.

"What?" Cam says from the other side of the bed where she'd been giving Abel a bottle and watching Al work through a box full of cosmetics, most of it being thrown straight into the bin I'd gone back and retrieved.

"That is her drug box!" Donna spits out making me look closer, the dark wooden box looks eerily familiar and when I lift the lid I don't see anything in it till Donna reaches past me and smacks on the front of the box, the whole bottom hinges and the false floor lifts up.

"I remember this box." I say softly, Donna looking over at me. "Wasn't it JT's?"

Donna nods "Yeah, he kept his medals in the bottom and a whole bunch of random paper on the top. The medals are all at the cabin now. I'm surprised Jax gave it to her."

I shake my head "I don't think he would have D. Do you remember the weekend we took the medals up there, JT's, Clay's, Piney's and Tig's?" Donna nods but Cam and Al both look at me curiously "It was kinda strange really. Jax had JT's medals, I had Clay's, Ope had Piney's and Donna ended up with Tig's somehow. I think he kinda took a fatherly role with the whole nearly deafening him thing." Donna shudders but lifts her hand in a casual wave "The four of us took the medals up to the cabin in this box and spent like hours polishing them and making sure they looked perfect before we put them in this display cabinet inside the door of the cabin. You'll both see it one day I'm sure. But Jax vanished after we were done, I guess it was hard on him, he was gone for almost four hours."

Donna leans her head against my shoulder while I carefully pick everything out of the box and drop it in the 'incinerate' pile. "He was pretty low that weekend. It was also the last weekend the four of us were up there together." She says in a quiet voice when I close the box and brush the top of it off again, the anarchy symbol engraved in the wood dirty and caked in dust.

I nod and set the box to the side "That was the beginning of the end really. He was low for the weekend and when he wasn't being a mopey depressed idiot he was bitching and sniping at me, the next week he bedded Tara and I became a reflection in the rear view."

"Baby you were never a reflection; you were the poltergeist that haunted his every move." Gemma's voice behind me would have startled me had I not seen her reflection in the bedroom window. "Now what's all this shit?"

Al looks over the mattress "It's all the junkie whore's stuff. I have to say she did have a few good things though. Like, how the fuck did she end up with a fringed Gucci bag?"

Gemma looks over, her eyes narrowing "I have no idea. But if it gets re-homed I'd check it for hidden pockets and drug stashes."

I growl low in my throat "Oh no Gem, we already found the stash in JT's box."

"What?" Gemma sounds just as fucked off as Donna did "How did she get that? Jax used to keep his dad's wedding ring, medals and all that shit in it."

Picking it up I pass it to her, her face twisting when she sees the scratched condition it's in "The medals are at the cabin, we were just talking about that actually. But I'm going to clean it and re polish it for him Gem, don't worry. As for the rest of what was in it, I don't know. Hopefully it's somewhere amongst this stuff."

Gemma sighs and leans against the door frame "Okay, now the reason I came over, which you could have saved me a trip if you picked up your phone, what sort of flowers do you want for your reception?" As she finishes speaking she drops the box onto the bed and walks around the end of it, scooping Abel out of Cam's arms and nuzzling her nose into his neck "Oh, I guess coming here does have some advantages."

Smirking at her inhaling the baby powder scent from Abel's skin I shrug "First choices would be roses, orchids and tulips. If I have to pick second choices..."

Gemma holds up her hand "Nope, no second choices, you want roses, orchids and tulips that's what you'll have. Any particular colours?"

"Purple." Al, Cam and Donna all say at the same time making me shrug and laugh.

"Yeah, they've got it. Absolutely no pink though, anywhere."

Gemma laughs "Okay, find your phone and keep it on you so I don't have to haul my ass over here again."

I get up and follow her towards the door, grabbing hold of her arm just after she leans over and sets Abel in his bouncer she turns around and lifts an eyebrow "You okay baby?"

Nodding I hug her tightly "Yeah, they've moved the trial up a week."

"Oh shit, how does that work?" Gemma asks squeezing my shoulder.

"It's starting on the 24th so we'll have to go over the 23rd. Jax already talked to Clay about it but I feel really guilty taking him away again."

Gemma shrugs walks back towards the front door. Lifting the sides of the bouncer, baby and all I follow her, "It's okay, he hasn't taken any time off in a very long time, it won't kill him to have a few weeks off here and there now. How long are you going to be gone for?"

"There's Sturgis next month, we're away from the 1st till the 13th then the trial in August from the 23rd till whenever it finishes, we're going to stay in New York till my car's done cause it's being picked up from Detroit, it's due to be ready on the 7th of September, but I think the trial will be at least a week, so probably 24th till the 30th. We're going to take all three human kids with us though so you'll just have Doj to look after. We probably won't be back for at least 9 days so mid-September just in time to help organise the Taste of Charming with you. Then as far as I know that's it. I'm going to put a veto on leaving California for at least 6 months after that. I've already done enough travelling this year to last me 10."

"That would probably be a good idea baby. Remind everyone again that you're not going to always be taking off somewhere. Even if most of it is not exactly stuff you can get out of. And did you tell everyone how much they owe you for this Sturgis trip that Clay told me you've paid for?"

I shake my head "Not yet." Gemma narrows her eyes and I hold up my hand "I only haven't cause I'm waiting to make sure no one adds themselves at the last moment, cause if anyone else decides to come I have to add extra rooms and that'll change the amounts."

Gemma chuckles and shakes her head at me "Just tell Clay what the total amount was and how many Sons are involved, he'll work out how much everyone has to give you and don't give anyone anything till you get their money off them."

"Yes Aunt Gemma." I say with a sigh stepping back from the now open front door "I'll go find my phone now so you don't have to come over again, but maybe you should remember we do have a phone in the house too."

Leaning down Gemma kisses Abel on the forehead and then me on the cheek "I know, but I have to go get lunch while I'm out. And I got to see 2 of my favourite Tellers."

Laughing I wave over my shoulder as she pulls back out onto the road muttering to myself "There's only 3 Tellers in total."

The rest of Wendy's stuff doesn't unearth anything interesting, the pile that ends up being set aside to be disposed of makes me laugh, everything she bar the Gucci bag that Al claimed when she saw it and a pair of Prada sunglasses that Donna found still in their box at the back of the wardrobe is piled into a huge mess on the floor.

Cocking my head to the side I look at it all "You know instead of burning it like I'd like to maybe we should donate it."

Donna nods and gets up slowly, stretching backwards "That's actually a pretty good idea, when Ope and I move in here and sort through everything it might be an idea for a clean out. Someone keeps buying me clothes."

Al hops to her feet nodding "Yeah S, you and I should do that too when we unpack."

Poking my tongue out at her I start folding the clothes and stacking them back in the boxes, rechecking pockets as I go.