❛ We aren't kids anymore. ❜

chapter twenty.

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SCARLETT LEANS forward on the bar next to Chibs, whilst he messes with a destroyed pack of cards and the rest of the club members crowd around to begin a small business trip. Surprisingly, she'd been allowed to stay for the small debrief, but Chibs had given her the glare, making sure she would keep her gob shut. Happy, a man she'd only recently come to know, stands in the middle of the group, his toned arms crossed over his chest. He's only starting wearing his SOA kutte a few weeks ago, so she knows he's newly an official member.

Clay rests against the other end of the bar, his eyes running over all of his friends to ensure they're all listening, "Our cargo's doubled. We got two heading out. Chief Unser here has been kind enough to supply us with a truck," He motions to the older man perched on a stool by the far wall.

Under jumps from his seat, striding forward with an envelope in his hand before he passes it to Happy, "Shipping manifests for two pallets of electronics. 180 pounds and 98 pounds."

Clay nods, "That oughta get you and the cargo across the Canadian border without a stop," He pushes away from the counter.

"Perfect," Happy's smoked out voice croaks in understanding.

Clay slides another envelope from his own kutte, holding it out towards the man, but it's denied, causing his brows to furrow.

"This is my gift to you. You know my mom's real sick. She's in a home in Bakersfield. I'm thinking about going nomad. I can spend some more time with her," Happy explains, his cracked voice causing him to speak quietly.

Clay's brows raise in surprise before he motions towards the meeting room, "You know there's always a seat at that table for you, my brother," He steps forward once more, engulfing Happy in a hug.

After being released by Clay, Happy turns and hugs Bobby, muttering a few words into his ear before curling his arms around Tig. He shakes hands with Opie and Luke, before pulling Chibs into his side. Before leaving completely, he sends a short nod towards Scarlett, who returns it with a smirk and a simple wave.

The first time she'd had a proper conversation with him was when he was very briefly in the clubhouse, waiting to speak to Clay. They had greeted each other before slipping into a chat about motorbikes, and she quickly learned he was a hard character but could be easily broken down if you did it correctly. If he had stayed longer, she could see them becoming good friends.

Once Happy leaves, Unser leans against the wall, arms folding over her chest before mumbling awkwardly, "He seems like a nice fella."

Suddenly, Clay spits out his whiskey onto the bar below him, whilst the rest of the Sons turn their heads towards the Chief in disbelief. Scarlett rolls her eyes before pushing away from the counter and grabbing her cloth to mop up Clay's new mess.

She waves Clay away from his spot behind the bar, causing him to roll his eyes and step away. But before she's able to sweep up the alcohol to prevent anything getting sticky, Happy steps back into the Clubhouse calling her name.

"Scarlett," He nods his head at her, motions for her to follow him, "Jax wants me to give you a ride up to the cabin."

Scarlett's brows furrow in concern, "He okay?"

Happy hums, "Fine. Just wanting to speak to you in person."

Luke laughs, shaking his head, "That's some serious separation anxiety."

Opie chuckles, "You're telling me."

As she slips out from behind the bar, she throws the wet cloth towards both of the men. With low grunts slipping past their lips, they jump out of the line of fire with smirks spreading across their cheeks, knowing their words are pissing her off.

"Shut your mouths," She snarls before jogging after Happy out of the door.

"Ay. You heard the lass," Chibs' loud voices is able to be heard from outside, "Shut your gobs."

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

AFTER A SHORT drive to the cabin, Happy and Scarlett hop out of the truck, whilst a few of the other members step away from their bikes. Saying a small thank you to Happy for delivering her in one piece, Scarlett jumps up the porch steps and lets herself into the small wooden cabin.

Directly in front of the door is Cameron laid on his stomach on a sofa, with the doctor, Alex Moore, inspecting the wound on his asscheek. At the sound of new footsteps behind him, he peers over his shoulder, smiling gently when he spots Scarlett.

"Hey!" He calls, his hands too busy for him to offer her a wave, "Jax is. . . around here somewhere." He clicks his tongue, glancing around the room in search for the blonde biker, who he believed was still sat by the table.

"Yeah, I'll find him, thank you," She responds with the same amount of happiness, slightly stunned by his enthusiasm whilst he plasters a bandage onto a dude's naked arse cheek.

"Scar," Jax smiles as he appears from the kitchen. He makes his way over to her, his hands landing on her waist as he gently tugs her forward for a short kiss.

She smiles up at him, her hands raising to flatten some of his long hair, "How's he doing?" She nods her head towards Cameron.

"Better than he was doing before, that's for sure," He hums, "Thanks to Moore."

Alex chuckles before rising and moving away from Cameron, pulling his hospital gloves from his hands. He spins to face Jax, "His dressings need to be changed every day. As long as he doesn't move around too much, he should be fine."

"Thanks, doc," Jax nods. He waits until Alex has retreated into another room before turning his gaze back to Scarlett, "You sleep okay?

She stretches her arms and rests them up on his shoulders before bending her elbows and crossing her arms behind his head, "Yeah."

His brows raise, a lovesick smile dancing on his lips while his eyes burn into hers, "Yeah?"

Just as she leans forward to kiss him, the familiar voice of his mother, causes her to pause and slowly let go of him. She turns towards Gemma, and his hands fall from her waist.

"Irishman good to go?" Gemma questions, eyes flicking between her son and Scarlett with a hint of malice.

Scarlett grinds her jaw, folding her arms over her chest as she allows Jax to answer the question. Whenever Gemma Teller is in the same area of her, she gets the sudden urge to destroy everything. It's as if she's a trigger for her anger.

Jax hums, "Yeah."

Happy enters the cabin, his knuckles knocking on the wood to break the tensions between Gemma and Scarlett. "Ready for the road trip, kids?" He croaks.

"Yep," Jax confirms.

Half-Sack and Cherry step out from the hallway, walking hand in hand before leaving the cabin as well. Cameron shuffles towards Gemma, his shaky hands laying a cross on a beaded string into her palm. She thanks him with a pant on the back and small kiss on his cheek before he's helped outside.

As the truck pulls away from the cabin, leaving a cloud of dust in its path, Jax turns one last time and sends Scarlett a small wave and smile, which she returns before leaning against the doorframe, watching as the rest of them depart. Her back goes rigid as she feels Gemma linger behind her for a moment before sighing and stepping into the kitchen.

Alex comes back into the living room, throwing his large bag over his shoulder before grabbing his car keys from his pocket.

Scarlett faces him, "You wouldn't mind giving me a ride back to the club, would you? I don't fancy staying here any longer with her."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," He agrees happily, "I figured you both didn't like each other the last time I saw you. Somewhat understandable."

She follows him outside, "That better be a dig at her, not me."

He snorts, unlocking his car and throwing his kit onto the back seat carelessly, "Oh, don't worry. It is. I've been victim to a lot of Gemma's motherly glares too."

"The whole world has at this point," She slips down into the passenger seat. As he sits down beside her, she rotates to view him fully, her eyes narrowing at his face, "Where the fuck do I recognise you from?"

He sighs, pushing the keys into the ignition and starting the car before replying, "I was your mom's sponsor before you left."

Her eyebrows raise in remembrance and she spins back around in her seat, pulling the seatbelt across her chest while huffing, "Bless you. I couldn't think of a more torturous activity."

He chuckles lowly, "There's a reason I stopped sponsoring people."

"I'm guessing she was your last?" She presumes.

"I didn't even get her to sobriety," He mumbles, pulling out of the driveway onto the main tarmac road, "She stabbed me."

Scarlett's jaw drops and she slowly rotates her head to stare at him in shock before she laughs quietly, "That fucking crazy psychotic bitch. I'm sorry she did that. If it helps, my dad stabbed me," She lifts her leg slightly off the seat so that he's able to easily see the scar on her thigh.

"Fuck," His brows crease, "Does Jax know about that? I thought he would've killed your dad for doing something like that."

She snorts at the thought, "No. I played it off by saying I fell onto a fucking stick. So he doesn't have a clue about anything that went on in that house, so don't go saying anything."

He raises one hand from the steering wheel in a surrender, "I won't. I haven't even told anyone else that it was your mom who stabbed me. I told the cops that it was some random guy on the street."

"Why would you do that?" She asks quietly.

"Cause you and Jamie were still living with them. I didn't know what would happen if shit went sideways and you were left just with your father," He shrugs, "I was only three years older than you, so I cared."

She swallows thickly, not entirely sure if she should be thanking him or not, "Thanks, I guess."

He chuckles, "No problem. Always here to help."

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

DECIDING NOT to go straight back to the club, Scarlett requested for Alex to take a quick detour to Tara Knowle's home. He happily accepted, listening carefully to her as she listed off the directions before they eventually arrived and he pulled up into the driveway. Slipping out of the car, she quickly asked him to wait before stepping towards the house.

The last time she'd been stood at the door of the house was while Joshua Kohn was somewhere on the other side. This time felt much more relaxed as she hears Tara's low music rumbling the walls.

She taps her knuckles on the door a couple of times before waiting patiently. Her eyes follow a shadow as it slips past the living room window towards the door. She pushes a smile onto her face, knowing Tara's most likely trying to see who's bugging her.

"Scarlett Miller," Tara's already spoken her name before the door is pulled the whole way open.

Scarlett hums, "The one and only," Her eyes flick up and down the women a few feet away, "I must say, you look much better than last time I saw you."

Tara rolls her eyes with a low chuckle sounding in her throat, "Yeah, well weeks of recovery does that. You want to come in?"

Clicking her tongue, Scarlett nods towards the running car on the drive, "I'd like to, but I really shouldn't because I'll lose my ride back to the Club, but thank you for offering. I was just dropping by to see how you were doing. So, you okay?"

Tara folds her arms over her chest as she inhales a deep breath, "Doing much better. I'm less worried all the time now that he's gone. Thanks for that, by the way. How are you coping?"

Scarlett swallows thickly, a sudden flashback of her playing a bullet between Joshua Kohn's eyes landing in her mind. She shrugs, "Okay."

Tara's brows raise, clearly not believing her, "Jax told me you were struggling with it, when he visited briefly whilst I was in hospital. He's worried about you."

"I know," Scarlett mutters, "He shouldn't be. I'm fine."

"You having nightmares?"

"Mhm."

"Migraines?"

"Yeah."

"Hallucinations?"

Scarlett scoffs, "I ain't schizophrenic."

"Trauma can cause you to hallucinate. It's not just a symptom of schizophrenia," Tara explains softly.

"I had plenty of trauma before Kohn arrived in Charming, Tara," Scarlett snorts, "Believe me when I tell you, I'll be fine. I came here to ask you if you were fine before you leave. Jax said you were moving."

Tara nods, "Yeah. Not totally sure where yet, maybe back to the city. Basically anywhere I can get a job on the ward."

"That's good. You got family to look after you?" She asks.

"Yeah. A sister." Tara smiles faintly, "I'll be fine."

Scarlett smirks, "So will I," She steps closer, opening her arms and allowing Tara to move into the hug, "I'm sorry we never got along much."

Tara laughs into her shoulder, "It's my fault for thinking I could get between you and Jax."

As she pulls away, Scarlett shrugs, "Maybe."

Rolling her eyes, Tara says, "I'll see you at some point. Stay safe."

"See ya," Dropping down the steps, Scarlett offers her wave, "Keep away from ugly ass dudes!"

Tara laughs, "Fuck you!"

Scarlett whirls around and walks backward towards the car as she smirks at Tara, "Goodbye, Tara Knowles." She throws open the passenger side door, lowering herself into the seat. Tara waves one last time before Alex pulls the vehicle away from the house.

Alex's eyes flick over momentarily to Scarlett's face, his brows furrowing, "I didn't think you two liked each other much. I remember you both getting into fights a lot."

Scarlett hums lowly, her gaze wandering out of the window as she remembers the times her and Tara used to frequently argue, "We're not kids anymore."

. . .

hate this chap

to that one person who's translating my book without my permission, i'd appreciate it if you fucking stopped

word count,
2437

not proof read.