Charming, California. This was the new home of the redhead, who was lying on the back seat of her slightly older sister's car and was shivering under a thin blanket that Lyla had taken out of the trunk a few hours ago. Despite her poor condition, Avery noticed the worried looks Lyla was giving her through the mirror. The blonde kept telling her to keep her eyes open and that they would be there soon.

Along with the pain and nausea, Avery just felt tired. So tired that it was almost impossible for her to stay awake. She felt hot and cold at the same time. If she had known how exhausting and painful a withdrawal really was, she probably wouldn't have agreed to do one.

But Celine Dvorak, the mother of the two young women, had managed to persuade her daughter and convince her that withdrawal was the right thing to do. Still suffering from the death of her youngest child and with little to no strength, the older woman had asked Lyla for help, who luckily was immediately willing to help and had picked Avery up in her hometown of Boise, Idaho, a few hours earlier.

"When was the last time you took something?" Lyla asked with urgency in her tone, worry spreading across her face as her sister's condition continued to worsen.

"I don'tᅳ I don't know", the redhead winced in pain, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs that she pulled close to her chest, hoping to ease the pain a little with that position. "I think two or three days ago."

While she had already started rehab at home, with her mother's help, she had lost track of time and to be honest she didn't care right now. All she could think about was heroinᅳ the drug that got her into this situation in the first place.

"Fuck", Lyla cursed under her breath, ruffling through her blond wavy hair. Having been a drug addict herself in the past, she knew how bad her sister was doing and she was sorry for the pain Avery was going through. "We're right at the cabin, I'm sure Happy knows better how to help you."

She hoped so. Jax had promised her that Happy knew a lot about withdrawals, that he knew what he could give her and what not to ease the pain. The heavily tattooed biker also knew when things got too dangerous and when it was best to get a doctor involved. Lyla, on the other hand, had no idea about any of this, so she drove faster to finally reach the cabin where Avery would be staying for the next few weeks.

"It hurts so bad. Can you please just give me something? I know you have something with you just in case." Avery's wails filled the car, the soft sobs coming from the redhead broke Lyla's heart and the blonde wanted to make an exception and give in, but she knew that her sister would just have to start all over again.

"No, I'm sorry", she said sympathetically, sighing in relief as she finally drove up the path to the cabin and moments later parked her car in a quiet wooded area. "We're already there, you'll feel better soon."

The whimpering in the back seat stopped briefly as Lyla slipped out of the car and greeted Jax, who just came out of the cabin with Happy behind him to help Lyla.

"Is that her?", he asked, nodding into the back seat after Lyla opened the car door. Stupid question, of course it was her.

"She doesn't look good", Happy stated matter of factly before he even got a good look at the young woman, and the shallow, much too slow breathing also worried him.

"Do we need a doctor?", Jax asked, pulling out his phone to call Tara, but Happy shook his head.

"Not yet, but we might need Tara later", Happy grunted, then pushed past Lyla and helped the young woman out of the car. Since she could hardly stand and immediately leaned against him, he lifted her up in bridal style and brought her inside.

After setting her down on the bed in the back room, he quickly brushed away all the red strands that were clinging to her sweaty faceᅳ which was completely normal during a withdrawal.

Happy didn't know any details. He didn't know why she was addicted, only that she was addicted to heroin and quite extreme and had been on it for several months. There were many reasons why someone so young turned to drugs. Stress, curiosity, loss, depression, fear, funᅳ and yet, even though it wasn't any of his business, he secretly wondered why Avery started it.

She was hella pretty, young, could still achieve something in her life. And suddenly he actually felt something weird. He felt compassion, which he never really felt otherwise for anyone except his brothers or family. But something told him the redhead had her reason for turning to drugs. However, he didn't think about it any further and checked her pulse, which was slow but still kind of normal.

"Do you guys think this is the right decision?" Lyla asked uncertainly, sitting down next to her sister, caressing her cheek. "Maybe a clinic would be better after all."

But there was the problem. Neither she nor her mom could afford a long clinic stay. Lyla had three children to take care of and Celine had only been back to work for a month, but only part-time, which meant that she hardly earned any money either. And Avery's life savings flowed into her addiction.

"I know what I'm doing", Happy replied, grunting, first rolling Avery onto her side, then placing a large pillow against her back to keep her from rolling onto her back again. This was just for safety, he didn't want to be responsible if she choked on her own vomit.

"We know that", Jax nodded, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Is there a reason she started doing drugs? Does Happy have to be careful with anything? Allergies? Diseases?"

When the blonde bowed her head and just silently ran her fingers through Avery's hair as she lay dismissively on the bed, the two men only exchanged a quick glance. Apparently there was a more serious reason.

"You don't have to tell us about it", the blond added. It hadn't been his intention to make Lyla sad.

"No, it's okay. It's justᅳ sometimes it's still hard to talk about it. In fact, I've never talked about it before", Lyla finally admitted and sighed deeply. "Shortly after Ope's death, there was another death in my family. I threw myself into work and distracted myself with the kids, otherwise I probably would have ended up like Avery."

"I'm sorry about that, darlin'." With his brows furrowed, Jax stepped closer to Lyla and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why didn't you say anything? We would have helped more with the kids, especially Gemma. May I ask who died?"

"I know and I appreciate that. But I needed every distraction", Lyla said gratefully, a faint smile on her lips that quickly faded. "Our brother, he was the youngest of us. Did you hear about the school shooting in Boise? It was on the news here, too."

"Shit, was he there?" Jax let out a sigh and rubbed a hand over his face, which showed genuine sympathy. And Happy, who otherwise always kept a straight face, now showed sympathy, too.

"He was only seventeen", Avery choked out, apparently still half awake, followed by a sob.

The room went silent for a moment, as if they were all taking a minute of silence for the teenager. Only the sobbing and sniffling coming from the redhead could be heard, who at the moment was completely overwhelmed with her feelings, the pain and the withdrawal.

Jax rubbed the back of his neck. Had he known that Lyla's brother had been killed in a school shooting, he would have checked on her a lot more often. After all, he had promised Opie to take care of her and the kids. "I'm sorry, really."

"Me too", Happy added, his raspy voice sounding sincere. And now after finding out the reason, it didn't surprise him why the younger Dvorak had slipped and lost herself in drugs.

"Thanks guys." Lyla barely managed to smile, but at least she tried. Then she leaned over her sister and planted a kiss on her cheek, squeezing her arm. "I have to pick up the kids from Mary, but I'll be there first thing in the morning, okay?"

The redhead nodded silently and briefly reached for Lyla's hand, which she tried to squeeze, but she couldn't find the strength at the moment. Actually, she didn't want to stay alone with a man she didn't even know. But if Lyla trusted him, she knew she could too.

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authors note; this was a short start but I hope you enjoy it anyway. The next chapters will be longer again! 🖤