Chapter Seven

Tatum pulled her mustang up to the curb at Gemma and Clay's house, her eyes immediately noticed the various motorcycles lined up on the street causing the dark haired female to take in a deep breath. It had been years since she had been to a SAMCRO family dinner and that one didn't end too well. In fact, Tatum couldn't remember a time when a family dinner at Gemma and Clay's ended well. They may have started well with good intentions and laughs shared between family, but by the end of the night someone had one too many beers and the fighting ensued.

Tatum shut off her car and took a look at herself in the small mirror, wiping away any excess makeup away from her eyes before exiting her beloved car. She made the short walk up to Gemma's house, her heeled boots echoing off the pavement with each step she took.

Tatum raised a fist to knock but she quickly put it down once she heard footsteps behind her. Tatum turned away from the door and inwardly groaned as she saw Tara walking up the driveway, she could see a scowl immediately take over Tara's face once she noticed Tatum standing there. Tatum wanted nothing more than to just say 'fuck it' and drive back to Cal and Ima's house and sleep until Angel got to Charming, but it was too late for her to do that because the sound of the door opening brought Tatum's attention away from the scowling Tara and back to the door where Jax stood with a smile on his face and Abel in his arms.

"Hey, darlin'." Jax spoke, his blue eyes focused on Tatum. "Glad you came." He added while placing a kiss on her cheek.

Tatum nodded. "Hey, Jax." She quickly stepped aside to let him see that Tara was there as well, and by the look on Jax's face he wasn't too thrilled to see the brunette he had once deemed the love of his life. "Hi there cutie." Tatum smiled at Abel as she stepped into the house. It had been a while since she saw the little Teller, and she was overjoyed to see him looking so healthy. "I'm gonna go find Gemma." The dark haired female told Jax before walking off in search of Gemma. She could tell the couple needed to have a conversation and she did not want to be there for that.

It took Tatum a few minutes to find Gemma, between members of SAMCRO stopping her to talk and give her their condolences once again and then Callie wanting to show her some game she was playing. Tatum leaned against the counter, watching as Gemma ordered some croweaters around the kitchen. It made Tatum laugh a little as she watched Gemma doing what she did best, it reminded her that while a lot had changed over the years Gemma Teller-Morrow never did and there was some comfort in that.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Tatum asked as she watched women hurry out of the kitchen with plates of food in their hands and fear in their eyes.

"No baby." Gemma shook her head while handing a bowl of salad to a red haired croweater. "Dinner will be done in a little bit. Grab a drink and go relax." The older brunette said while placing a kiss on Tatum's cheek.

Tatum gave Gemma a smile before grabbing a beer from the fridge and making her way into the living room. She made a beeline towards the couch with that Ima was sitting on and quickly sat down next to her sister in law, giving the blonde a smile. Tatum and Ima's relationship had changed drastically in three years, the two had become close and honestly Tatum was thankful for that. Ima's friendship had become one of the most important ones in her life and she was happy the two could work through their differences.

"You okay?" Ima questioned as she stared at her sister in law. The blonde could tell that Tatum felt a little uncomfortable and she understood that better than most.

"Yeah." Tatum nodded, giving Ima a reassuring smile.

"Fuck off Jax!"

It suddenly grew very quiet in the living room as Tara's angry voice floated through the house. Tatum could feel secondhand embarrassment taking over her body as she sat on the couch listening to the couple argue. Everyone could hear them arguing and while they tried to ignore the angry shouting of Tara, it was obvious everyone was more interested in Jax and Tara's conversation than their own.

"She comes back to town again and you end things with us. You're so fucking pathetic Jax! She's married! You tried to get her back once before and it didn't work, she left you and go married. What the fuck makes you think she's going to leave her husband for you?"

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

A few more angry words were spoken before the door slammed shut and Jax walked into the living room, handing a smiling Abel over to a croweater before walking out the door to the backyard. Everyone quickly went back to their previous conversations while Tatum stayed glued to her spot on the couch, sipping on her beer and contemplating whether or not to follow Jax. Tatum pinched the bridge of her nose before drinking down the rest of her beer. She gave Ima a small smile before making her way towards the backyard.

"These family dinners did always come with entertainment." Tatum joked as she tried to lighten the dark mood that she could see Jax was currently in.

Jax's face remained hard as he sat there smoking a cigarette. He knew Tatum was trying to lighten the mood, but his head was too fucked to even try and muster up a fake laugh. Jax had so much bullshit sitting on top of his shoulders and it felt like it was all going to break at any second. It felt like everything was getting out of control and he had no fucking idea how to fix it.

"I'm sorry." Jax spoke as he inhaled the nicotine into his lungs. "Tara shouldn't have showed up and said all that shit."

Tatum shrugged at Jax's words. There was definitely no love lost between Tatum and Tara. "Some people can't let go of the past."

"Yeah." Jax nodded. "We should probably get back in there." He added while tossing his cigarette to the ground.

"Yeah." Tatum agreed with a sigh.

She had wanted to question Jax about the manuscript his father wrote that she found in her father's belongings, but she knew now wasn't the best time, and it probably wasn't the best idea to do it in a house full of SAMCRO.

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Tatum woke up with a smile on her face the next morning. The dark haired female had been surprised last night when she returned from Gemma's house to see Angel's bike parked in front of Cal and Ima's house. Tatum let out a yawn as Angel's tattooed arm pulled her body closer to his, she placed a kiss on his lips watching as a tired smile took over his handsome face.

"Morning mi amor." Angel said with his voice full of sleep and his eyes still closed. "I missed you." He said while pressing his lips against the tattoo on her shoulder.

"I missed you too." Her voice muffled as she nuzzled her face into Angel's chest, inhaling his sent of cigarettes, leather, and cologne.

"Everything all set for tomorrow?" He questioned as he opened his brown eyes.

Angel immediately noticed the smile disappear from Tatum's face at his question. He hated that he had ruined the moment of content between them with one question, but he needed to know if everything for Ty's wake had been finished , because Angel wanted the wake and funeral done with as quick as possible so he could get his wife out of Charming.

Tatum nodded as her face went blank. "Everything's been handled."

A silence settled over the room as Angel ran his hand through Tatum's hair. "Why don't you show me the shit you use to do for fun around here." Angel suggested, hoping to somewhat cheer up his wife.

A laugh left Tatum's throat at Angel's suggestion. There wasn't much to do in Charming, and what she use to do for fun involved a lot of alcohol and most of the time Jax as well.

"There's not much to do in this town but Funtown is today." She said with a faint smile as she remembered all of the fun times she had at Funtown when she was younger.

"Don't know what the fuck that is, but okay."

Tatum nodded as she pressed her lips against Angel's. She hoped a day at Funtown would help keep her mind off of the imminent sadness that tomorrow was no doubt going to bring her.

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A/N: Thank you for the votes, comments, and views! ❤️