❛ I can't be anymore goddamn cautious, Jackson. ❜

chapter forty six.

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

LATER ON IN THE DAY, Scarlett strolls across the yard, watching with narrow eyes as Lyla leaves Chibs' side and bounces over towards Opie with a certain smile and twinkle eye as she peers up at him while they have a conversation. Opie smiles down at her with a stiff, but sincere smile. And the distance between them is almost nonexistent as their chests touch.

"What's going on there?" Scarlett asks as she stops beside Chibs, following her arms over her chest but keeping her eyes on Opie and Lyla.

Scribbling nonsense onto a sheet of paper, Chibs shrugs, looking at the pair for a moment before saying, "The lass has been 'round here everyday this week. Car's super faulty, she says. Faulty my arse. Nowt wrong with it, if you ask me."

Scarlett chuckles, and peers down at the paper in his hand and her brows shoot up, "Well, she paid a hundred dollars for something."

"Yeah, Opie service," Chibs snorts, "The hundred quid is for a brand new shiny wheel plate. It'd had been scratched," He looks at Scarlett with raider quizzical brows.

She quickly grasps onto what he's suggesting, "By keys," She finishes.

He nods, "The poor lass has a real thing for him," He spins on his heel and looks into the garage before shouting into the dark room, "Marty!"

Sensing that he's busy, Scarlett pats his back before looking around the yard for someone else to go hang out with. Thankfully, she soon spots Jax sat on a wooden bench outside the clubhouse door next to Luke. Scarlett begins to make her way over, but so does Gemma Teller.

Both of the women come to a stop in front of the two men at the same time, and Gemma winces at the sight of the bruising in Scarlett's nose but she waves her off carelessly, not wanting to bring up the events of earlier. Then the two ladies look down at the men, quickly noticing their rough looking expressions.

"What's happened?" Gemma asks.

Jax shakes his head, signalling that there was a huge storm of tension swirling around the Club members at the moment, hence his tight brows and tired expression, "Tough vote."

Gemma's shoulders slump as her first thought goes straight to her husband, "Where is he?"

Removing his cigarette from his lips for a second, Luke nods his head over his shoulder to the clubhouse door, "Inside." Gemma excuses herself and Luke watches after her before blowing air into his cheeks, not wanting to imagine what the old couple are going to discuss. "Nice nose," Luke laughs when he turns back and his eyes land on Scarlett, "The colour bruise purple is starting to really suit you."

Scarlett's jaw drops but she can't stop her lips as they tip up at the ends. Frustratingly, it was a good joke, and she doesn't mind when those close to her make little jokes out of dark situations, as it's the exact same thing she does, "Oh, fuck you, Caddal," She chuckles, stepping forward and squeezing herself between the two men on the bench before sending a slap to Luke's arm.

Luke grimaces and shuffles away slightly, allowing her to sit comfortably between them as Jax's hand moves to rest on her thigh. The blonde's mind is too busy for him to completely focus on his friend's conversation, but he wants her to know that he is listening.

"How do you both feel about Opie and Lyla?" Scarlett questions, squinting her eyes against the harsh sunlight to try and find Opie, and when she does she watches from afar as he waves the blonde away in her car.

"The porn chick?" Jax's brows raise.

Scarlett hums, "Blonde, skinny, sweet," Then she shrugs, I'm not sure if he likes her though. She definitely has her eyes set on him."

Snorting, Luke says, "Who doesn't? He's a tall, tatted, hairy, handsome man. Even I'd have a go."

Shocked by his words, both Jax and Scarlett's heads slowly rotate to look at him credulously, their mouths open and faces screwed up in confusion. Now, Jax is focussed.

"Didn't know you were into that kinda thing, man," Jax teases with a smirk.

"What?" Luke's head snaps in their direction and he finally notices their eyes on him. He begins to shake his head and waves his hands around in denial, "No, no. I didn't mean it like that. Nah, bro. I ain't into the gay shit, that's more Camille's area. I was just supporting a good looking friend, okay?"

Rolling her eyes and laughing gently, Scarlett returns her gaze to the busy yard, eyes flowing over everybody before they land on Chibs. Whilst Jax and Luke fall into another conversation about the angering Club meeting, she watches casually as the old man slides down into the car seat of a grey car before fiddling with the key. He's too far away for her to hear anything as he mutters to himself but she can tell that he's pissed off by the annoyingly small key.

"Shit!"

Now, she heard that.

Chibs is suddenly out of the car seat and sprinting away from the vehicle. He only manages to make it a few steps before a large bang erupts through the club and the car bursts into flames. The windows shatter and fire engulfs the metal as it rocks back and forth on the concrete. But Scarlet's not bothered about any of that, as she watches Chibs be sent flying during to the range of the explosion.

A loud scream releases from her throat as she watches him crash to the floor, his head smacking back against the concrete. Her loud screech splits through everyone in the yard, causing people to feel her raw emotion as Scarlett is the first to run over. Everyone begins to yell in horror and Jax's hand attempts to grab her as she moves from the bench, but she's too far away to grip, so then he starts off in a sprint, desperate to get to them both.

She collapses onto her knees beside Chibs and a harsh sob rips through her throat as she looks down at him. Blood splatters cover his face and a large puddle of the thick red liquid begins to pool behind his head. Her hands shake as they hover over his body because she's so unsure of what to do or how to help. She dare touch him incase she makes his wounds worse. She calls his name, the letters cracking in her throat before she raises a shaky hand to cover her mouth.

"Chibs! Chibs! Chibs!" Jax lands beside her and he gently pushes her away from the body before he begins to shake the older man and attempt to speak down to him.

Scarlett falls back onto her ass and she can't pull her eyes from Chibs' face as he lays their motionless and with eyes seal. The puddle of blood grows massively with each second that passes and Scarlett can only hope that someone's called 911 because she's too out of it to even remember how to use her phone.

The thought of losing Chibs causes tears to barrel down Scarlett's cheeks and she slowly pushes herself from the floor to distance herself slightly. She watches as Tig jumps forward, using his very limited medical knowledge to keep his friend alive until an ambulance gets here to help.

"Shit, Scarlett," Someone pulls her into their side, and without having to look at him, she soon recognises the person to be Juice as his hands rub up and down her arms to calm her slightly. He doesn't bother to say anything more because he can tell from her sullen expression that she's stopped listening to everything.

The loud ring of sirens engulfs the Club and everyone relaxes slightly, knowing that help is right around the corner. Everyone but Tig takes a step back, giving them more room to deal with the injured man.

A few moments later, the ambulance arrives and the sun begins to fall behind the clubhouse, leaving everyone wanting in the cold and dark as Chibs is dealt with and pushed up into the ambulance. The yard is now booming with scared people, yellow tape, flashing police lights and a lot of furious club members. The entire time, Scarlett stays tight to Juice's side, watching from afar as Jax speaks with a few of the ambulance drivers before turning around as they leave the yard, the sirens blaring once more.

Blinking away tears, Jax spins on his heel and begins to search for Scarlett. He finally sees her tucked in Juice's side, dried tears staining her cheeks and his heart crumbles upon itself as this is the second time she's been in a state today.

"Scarlett," He breaths as he approaches. He sends Juice a thankful nod, causing him to leave the pair to it. Jax's hands raise carefully to cup Scarlett's face but before he can look in her eyes, she's dragged him closer and wrapped her arms around his chest. He squeezes his eyes closed and rubs the back of her head. He can only imagine the pure turmoil racing around in her mind right now. She's hardly had five minutes of peace.

Slowly, Scarlett unravels her arms from his torso and pushes gently at his waist to move back slightly so that she's able to look up at his face properly and study every little expression, "Who the fuck did this, Jax?" She questions, and despite the tears lingering on her cheeks, her voice is scarily steady as her eyes no longer look shattered.

Jax's hands move down to curl around the nape of her neck as he sighs, his eyes flickering closed. He has one man's name in mind; Zobelle. Jax has managed to
keep his name as far away from Scarlett as possible, but he knows that he'll no longer be able to shield her from him. As he reopens his eyes and looks into hers, spotting her furious gaze, he licks his lips.

Looking up at him, Scarlett can see straight through him. He knows, "Jax," She states, "Tell me."

Clenching his jaw, now even more furious at Zobelle that Scarlett was now being dragged into Club affairs, "Zobelle," He answers and he notices how her brows crease slightly, "The same guy who screwed over Otto."

Scarlett had heard about Otto's brawl in jail and how he'd unfortunately lost an eye as he was outnumbered, but she'd never been particularly interested to know who did such a thing. She's heard of Zobelle before because he's been strolling around Charming for the past few weeks, but she had no idea he'd been behind Otto's beating.

"Why?" She questions next, "Why would he do this to Chibs of all fucking people? Why?"

"To break us," Jax explains, his brows now creased in anger as he thinks more and more about Zobelle's effect on the Club. Scarlett nods curtly, motioning for him to continue onto exactly why Zobelle has such a big thing against SAMCRO. Gently massaging a soft spot on her neck with his thumb to calm his own thoughts, Jax then continues, his eyes never once wandering from hers as he wants to her to know that she has full disclosure, "His wife was shot and killed in a drive-by," He swallows thickly, the story feeling all too similar to Donna's, "He's got a thing against us. All this," He nods his head over his shoulder to the black burning car as a few fire men attempt to work with the boiling scraps, "Is to get back at us. We've been tryna get him but there's nothing on his record, so nothing Unser can do," His eyes flick momentarily to the Clubhouse door where Clay and Unser had retreated through a few moments previous.

Scarlett sighs, and pulls her lip between her teeth. She drops her head forward to his chest as she released a shaky breath, "I should get to the hospital."

Jax hums, his hands moving down to rub at her back, "Wait for a bit, yeah? Let me take you."

Hearing footsteps approaching them, Scarlett sighs and Jax pats her back, signalling for her to straighten. She does before looking over his shoulder and spotting Hale as he wanders over, his eyes staring at the blood pool lingering on the concrete behind the police tape.

Hale exhales as he comes to a stop in front of the pair. He runs his eyes over Scarlett, noticing the bruised nose and lingering cuts on her face, as well as the bandage poking out from underneath her t-shirt sleeve. He sends her a nod, showing some sort of appreciation that she isn't dead from whatever caused her injuries. Then his eyes move to Jax, who's now placing a cigarette between his lips, "This was Zobelle," Hale confirms.

Not meeting his gaze, Jax stares ahead of him at the large reaper sign on the side of the clubhouse and he lowers the cig from his lips. Scarlett looks at him, shocked to find that his expression has completely fallen compared to how he was just looking at her previously, "Otto, now Chibs," Jax spits, "This guy's tryna break us," His eyes flick to Hale, "All of us."

Sensing the growing tension due to the topic, Scarlett rubs Jax's arm, grabbing his attention quickly, "I'm just gonna go talk to some of the other guys, make sure everyone's okay," She attempts a soft smile, "Tell me when you're ready to head to the hospital."

He nods in understanding and lowers his head to press a quick kiss before he gently pushes her away, allowing him to turn his full attention to his conversation with Hale.

Scarlett turns away and wanders towards the larger crowd, her eyes scanning over the club members and their old ladies as she searches for Luke, mostly so that she can ask about Camille and if she's heard about the situation yet.

But before she has chance to find her close friend, someone else is calling her name. She spins on her heel to be met with Mary Winston. She's stood still a few yards from Scarlett, beckoning her over. Scarlett brows furrow as she trudges over, and she looks around the surrounding for Opie, just to find him nowhere.

"Hi, Mary," Scarlett greets the older woman but she soon recognised the concerned curve of her brows and the worry in her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"I need some help, with Opie," Mary sighs, "This thing with Chibs is gonna push Ope farther away."

Scarlett tilts her head as she fills with curiosity, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't come home much anymore," She states, "If he does, he barely speaks to his kids. They have no idea what's happening."

Hearing about the way he's treating his kids, Scarlett's heart crumples onto itself. Those two kids deserve the world and more, especially after their mom's death. If anything? Opie should be home now more than ever, looking after them and spending time with them like the amazing father he used to be.

"I didn't sign up for this," Mary continues, "Kid needs a mother, a father. I tried talking to Ope: I didn't raise him. We got no history."

Knowing what she means, Scarlett nods slowly, "Have you spoken to Piney about any of this?"

She shakes her head, "He's on his way to the cabin. This'll be a four day bender at least." Blowing air into her cheeks, Scarlett closes her eyes for a moment but Mary's speaking again before Scarlett can speak a single word, "I heard you kids took care of each other through high school. Piney said your group was another helpline from Ope as seen as I wasn't around. Come on, Scarlett, help me out now."

"Mary," Scarlett speaks slowly as her mind works quickly to come up with something to say, "I'm not sure I can help."

"Talk to him," She suggests, "Get Jax to talk to him. Please."

"Okay," Scarlett nods, "Mary. I will. I'll try," She sends the woman a small weak smile before turning around once more and deciding to go have a few minutes of peace as she waits for Jax.

She reaches a picnic table outside of the Clubhouse door and watches as a few Sons march inside, which can only mean one thing. A club meeting. She groans in frustration, knowing that means it will take even longer for Jax to finish up. She rests her arms on the table and drops her head into her hands and allows her eyes to flicker closed as she drowns out the loud bustling atmosphere of the cold yard.

"Babe," Jax moves up behind her, his hand running up her back before grabbing the back of her head and gently turning it to look at him, "They're waiting for me," His eyes flick to the door.

"I know," She hums, "Take your time. I'll wait," His hand falls from her head and he goes to enter inside but she calls his name, bringing him to a stop a few feet away. Her fingers fiddle with her rings as she asks, "Are you in danger?"

He doesn't reply, and she watches as his jaw clenches slightly, telling her everything she needs to know.

She scoffs, "Am I?"

Once more, he doesn't say anything but the answer is buried deep in his silence.

"Fuck," She mutters, shaking her head, "When am I not anymore?"

"Look," He moves to stand beside her and her head turns to look up at him once again. His fingers brush comfortingly against her cheek, "I'm sure nothing's gonna happen. Just gotta be smart. A little more cautious, alright? It's gonna be okay, babe."

She licks her lips, "I can't be anymore goddamn cautious, Jackson," She says, lifting her right shoulder slightly so that his gaze moves to it and she watches as he swallows thickly, the reminder of her ordeal effecting him too.

"I need to go deal with this," He drops his hand from her face, suddenly turning cold as he moves a few steps away.

Feeling conflicted by his sudden change of heart, she reaches forward and catches his hand before he turns completely, "Talk to Ope. His mom's worried about his kids. He's barely home anymore. She wanted me to talk with him, but if I do, I think I might just blow up at him," She releases his hand before lifting her leg over the seat and standing from the wooden slats, "I'll make my own way to the hospital. I'll probably be home before you anyway so I'll deal with Abel too. Take as long as you need," She glares at him defiantly before turning her back on him and walking away from the clubhouse.

"Scarlett! You ain't—"

She looks over her shoulder, "You need to go deal with that," She mimics his words and jabs a finger to the clubhouse door, where Juice is now waiting to call him in for the meeting as he's taking too long to appear by himself.

Jax falls silent, watching as she disappears into the crowd and doesn't look back once more. He curses angrily at himself under his breath before making his way into the clubhouse, his hand rubbing at his chin as he thinks of what to do about everything; Scarlett, Zobelle, Chibs, Opie and the list goes on.

. . .

sorry for falling off the face of the earth for a month

my gcses start in two weeks
currently shitting it x

word count,
3292