❛ And leave me the fuck alone. ❜

chapter twenty eight.

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     SCARLETT SITS ON THE clubhouse rooftop with the night sky above her and the members bustling around in the yard beneath her with beers in hand and multiple women in their arms. She has a cigarette dangling between her lips, the only signal of her presence being the brightly lit end as it shines every time she takes a long drag.

It's been about a month or so since Donna's funeral. Opie's just recently returned from a solo trip, and the Sons are now dealing guns with Nevada. Everyday, Scarlett sits silently behind the bar, acting nothing like her usual self. Every member has noticed it, each of them asking Luke or Chibs about her as they know not to mention her to Jax.

The last time she spoke to Jax Teller was that day on the front porch, and ever since then they've only shared small glances across the clubhouse. Usually hateful from her side, but he always look at her like he has a million things to say. The first few days after the funeral, the blonde attempted to speak with her constantly but each time she shrugged him off like he was an irritating buzzing insect in her ear.

Being her usual stubborn self, she ended up not leaving Charming for Jamie's sake. It'd still be a while until he gets out, and if anything else traumatising happens before that, she can always move away then. But as of right now she has no actual reason to leave. She's not prepared to leave just because her and Jax are no longer... whatever they were.

Wendy is usually bustling around with Abel in a carrier or in her arms. It seems that she's trying to make it obvious that her and Jax are being the family she always wanted them to be. She's completely unaware of how Jax still only imagines Scarlett when they sleep together, and how he can't go a single day without wondering how she's doing. He sees her everyday in the clubhouse but he can never tell if she's okay by just glancing at her for a mere second. Camille refuses to speak to him too, and Luke is trying to tell him it's just because she's loyal. But the pair of best friends hate him equally.

On the uncomfortable stone of the rooftop, Scarlett shuffles slightly and pulls her knees up to her chest as she blows out another cloud of smoke. Her eyes run over the small crowd below. Bobby's returning home today after being locked up. She's supposed to be behind the bar and serving the dozens of people arriving but the last thing she feels like doing is socialising.

She spots Opie as he smiles faintly with Luke and Camille and that's when she realises that Jax Teller isn't present. As much as the thought of the blonde disgusts her, she can't help but look for him every time she's near the rest of the members. Then she notices that Wendy isn't wandering around either and the thought of them being together revolts her, and her stomach drops.

"Letty!" Chibs shouts up to her. He'd spotted her making her way up their before it even got dark, leaving Half-Sack to deal with the bar by himself but he was happy to do so, knowing that Scarlett was overworked, "Get down here!"

Juice stands beside him, his hands in the air as they wave at her to come down, "Come on!"

Scarlett moves her gaze to them, and she sighs heavily, causing a cloud of smoke to pass her lips before she smiles gently and stumps out her cigarette. She shuffles off the corner of the rooftop, carefully dropping down the ladder and into the warm busy clubhouse. She trudges down the hallway, wincing when she spots Half-Sack jumping back and forth behind the bar. She rushes over, sliding next to him, "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't realise it would be this packed."

He waves her off, "Hey, no, don't worry about it. Get yourself outside. I'll be out there in a minute anyway."

"You sure?" Her brows raise.

"Yeah," He mumbles, "I'm good."

She pats his shoulder, "Thank you, Half-Sack."

"Kip," He firms.

She smirks, "Right, sorry. Thanks, Kip."

Over the past few weeks, her and Half-Sack had been trapped behind the bar together for hours on ended most days, as the other members didn't want him following them around so they started to serve behind the bar together. She'd told him stupid stories about some of the Sons from when she was younger and he expressed how he missed his old life. Unexpectedly, they'd become quite close.

Scarlett shoves through the crowd until she finally reaches Chibs and Juice, both of them greeting her with a short hug before Juice shoves a beer into her chest.

Her hands curl around the bottle, "Thanks."

"You doing okay, lass?" Chibs asks.

She hums quietly, "I'm fine, old man."

He throws his arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer to his body before his hand raises to ruffle her hair, "You cheeky shit."

Scarlett laughs, shoving him away gently and sending a small punch to his gut with her free hand as she tries to not spill her beer. Chibs is typically the only one to make her laugh so easily.

"Stop fighting, children," Camille smiles as her and Luke wander over, their hands locked together.

Chibs nods his head towards the dark haired woman beside him, "She started it."

Scarlett scoffs, "Who's the cheeky shit now?"

"You alright, Scar?" Camille asks, her brows raising. The constant questions about if she was okay were an everyday thing since Donna's death. She understood why people asked her that, but god, could it get annoying after the second time in five minutes.

Scarlett nods, "Fine."

A loud shout of celebration erupts from just outside the clubhouse, causing the group to turn towards the noise and make their way over to the front of the crowd. A black car rolls up with Agent Stahl placed behind the wheel and Bobby shoved in the back. The shouts of joy never stop as the car comes to a stop and Bobby bounces out of the vehicle. Juice moves up, slipping him his kutte before grabbing him in embrace and the other Sons join, smacking their hands on his back and head in greeting.

Cami and Scarlett share a similar glance as they watch the group rough around the man in a form of friendly greeting. Clay and Stahl exchange a small conversation before he's whirling back around and pulling Bobby into a warm hug and the crowd around cheer in reaction.

As everything calms down slightly and the party moves inside due to the chill outside, Scarlett bounds over to Bobby as he holds his arms out in front of him to catch her. As a chuckle passes her lips, she jumps and lets him catch her in a hug. When she was really young, her and Bobby used to do the exact same thing whenever she was brought around to the clubhouse. She'd seek him out just so she could jump into his arms and have a hug from him. It was a moment many daughters would experience with her fathers. But while hers was getting drunk, she was experiencing those moments with the old members of the club.

She laughs into her shoulder before he drops her back to the floor, "Welcome back, B,"

He smiles, "Nice to be back," His face falls slightly, and his voice dips, "I'm sorry about—"

Her head shakes and she silences him, "I'm glad your back."

He nods his head in understanding, and his head turns as he searches the clubhouse, "Where's Jax?"

She scoffs, "Don't know and don't care," She pats his shoulder, pushing a happy expression into her face, "Have fun tonight, Bobby," Then she spins on her heel and wanders to behind the bar.

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JAX TELLER strolls into the raving clubhouse a few hours later, his eyes immediately locking onto Bobby as he strides over to the old man he's missed so much. The same old dude who's face deep in pussy.

Scarlett pushes a full tankard towards yet another man, shoving his payment into the till carelessly, no longer bothering for the system she'd spent ages sorting out a month previous. The familiar smell of a blonde biker flows into her nose and her head lifts to watch as Jax shakes hands with Juice, who's sat on the other side of the bar.

Their eyes meet for a few seconds, but for the both of them it feels like a century. His gaze runs eagerly over her face, taking the short moment to indulge in the face he's missed admiring when he wakes up every morning. Her brows furrow when she recognises the anxiety staining his expression but instead of speaking to him or asking about his lateness to the party, she looks back down to the money till to distract herself from him completely. Once again understanding her rejection, he bites his lip before stepping away from the bar and moving over to the rest of his friends, trying to ignore the way his heart aches for her.

Scarlett's eyes burn into the dollar bills beneath her as she waits for the blonde biker to be far enough away that she can raise her head without risk catching his gaze once more. A hand taps on her shoulder and she snaps in that direction, desperately needing something to distract her.

"Your old man's here," Chibs nods his head back towards the door, "I've kept him outside. But he's asking for you."

As she listens to him, her stomach plummets lower and bile threatens to roll up her throat at the mention of her father. Her brows furrow, "Did he say why?"

His head shakes and she takes a deep breath.

"Okay, thanks, Chibs," She steps around him and works her way through the party until she reaches the open clubhouse door.

Immediately, she spots her father. He's leant against one of the wooden picnic tables with his arms folded over his chest and an eager smirk growing on his face as he looks directly at her too. He pushes away from the table and advances towards her. Quickly, she sticks her palm out and motions for him to stay outside as she steps out of the clubhouse and closes the door quietly behind her. Her arms fold defensively over her chest and she feels her heart beating against her rib cage.

"What do you want?" She mutters, glancing around the yard to search for any people. Thankfully, it's empty and the party rages on inside.

"I'm just checking up on my daughter," He chuckles as if that was such an obvious answer, "I heard about Opie's old lady. Shame, she was lovely. Well, from what I remember. She can only came around to the house when you were too pumped with drugs to move."

At the memory of her attempted overdose when she turned fifteen, Scarlett's eyelids fall closed and she releases a shaky breath.

"Usually you're so talkative," He snickers.

She looks over at him, "I'm not in the mood for this tonight, alright? It's late. I've been working all day, you're clearly drunk," She motions to the liquid stains on his t-shirt and she can smell the alcohol reeking off him from a few feet away, "So, you can leave and I'll go back inside."

"You have no goddamn reason to hate me so fucking much," He snarls, his anger beginning to grow as she attempts to get him to leave her alone, "I did everything for you."

Suddenly, Scarlett's anger plummets so high she nearly murders him right then and there. Her mouth shoots open to shout a disgusted reply but as she watches the smirk appear on his lips, she rolls her shoulders back and calms herself down, licking her lips to prevent herself from feeding into what he wants. He's expecting and wanting her to blow up.

He laughs, "Maybe Opie's old lady's death was a good thing. It seems to have tamed you."

Scarlett's nostrils flare, "Her name was Donna, you know that. And do not speak about her or her death. Otherwise, I'll—"

His head tilts and his brows raise, "You'll what?"

She lets out a scoff before her fist smashes directly across his jaw. He stumbles to the side as a low yell escapes his lips in surprise. His hand jolts up to cradle his burning jaw and she notices a slight crook in his nose. Her hand begins to shake as she lowers it to her side again and her knuckles throb.

Slowly, his gaze lifts from the floor to meet her eyes once more. His eyes glare towards her with murderous intent as if she's just committed the worst crime possible. She'd seen that glint in his eyes hundreds of times as child, each time it was followed with a punch or a drawn out punishment.

She's quickly stepping back, regretting ever even speaking to him tonight. Terror rockets through her body and her back straightens. Her hands raise in front of her in an attempt to get him to stay away, "Dad—"

His throat cracks as he laughs wickedly, "So now I'm your daddy, right after you right hooked me? Who the fuck do you think you are, little girl? Are you forgetting where you come from?"

Her back hits the clubhouse door and she's reminded that she's not stuck in her bedroom like she was when she was a child. She swallows thickly, nodding her head towards the party continuing behind her, "You about to beat me outside of a party full of people who hate you?"

"You're forgetting that I was once the V.P of this club," He snarls, and fortunately, his advances towards her have stopped but she doesn't fail to notice how he's cracking his knuckles finger by finger at his side.

"You're not anymore," She snaps, "You threw everything good about your life away when you decided alcohol and drugs were more important than your children," Her hand curls around the door handle and slowly she turns it, not wanting him to make any sudden movements when he sees her trying to leave, "Go away. Go back to mom. And leave me the fuck alone."

Quickly she throws open the door and jumps back inside, slamming the door shut behind her. The music inside the clubhouse that the door bang is only heard as a small thud. She stares at the wooden door for a few moments, her eyes catching on the door handle as she waits for him to turn it. But, there is not a single sign of her father trying to enter and finally she releases a large breath.

Now that she's no longer standing face to face with her hideous father, the agony in her knuckles is brought back to the surface and she turns on her heel and rushes through the crowd to the kitchen in search for some ice to reduce the swelling.

Her head stays down as she pushes past everyone, trying to keep any attention away from herself. She slinks inside the kitchen, gritting her teeth when she spots a woman sat up on the counter with Tig and his hands between her legs, both of them sucking on each others faces.

"Tig," Scarlett grinds, "People make their food on there. I make my food on there."

With a grunt, he pulls away and glances back to her. Just as he opens his mouth to reply, he notices how she's cradling her fist and his brows shoot up in concern. He pushes completely away from the chick on the table, leaving her in shock.

"The hell happened to you?" Tig questions.

She runs a gentle finger over her knuckles, "Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Who you fighting now?" His head tilts.

"It doesn't matter," She turns to the freezer, trying to remove herself from his concerned glare. She kneels down and pulls out a draw, sighing in relief when she spots a set of ice packs.

"Anything need taking care of?" He continues to ask.

She winces slightly as she lowers the freezing pack onto her knuckles and she stands back up, "Nope," She grabs a towel from behind the sink, wrapping it around the ice pack to take some of the severe cold away and make it more comfortable as she returns it back to her hand. She turns to leave, only to be meant with Tig watching her carefully, "Jesus fucking christ, Tig. Get back to what you were doing but try not to leave anything on the counter 'cause that's something I definitely ain't gonna clean up," She nods her head towards the slightly annoyed chick before exiting the kitchen.

Almost immediately, Camille rushes in front of her, words barrelling out of her lips, "I feel like i haven't seen you all night. Chibs said Robert was here and I couldn't find you anywhere outside so—"

Groaning at the fact she hasn't had a single minute of peace since her father's appearance, Scarlett steps around her best friend and retreats back to the bar, hoping to find a moment to relax behind the wooden counter.

Cami follows after her, "Scarlett," Her eyes widen when she sees the ice pack and the knuckles underneath, "Shit," She steps closer as Scarlett settles down on her bar stool, "What the fuck happened?"

Scarlett sucks in a deep breath, "My father."

Camille's face pulls up in confusion, "What the hell are you talking about? He do something to you?"

Quickly, Scarlett looks around the room, making sure no one's watching or trying to listen in. She spots Jax sat on a small armchair a few meters away with his eyes narrowed and a cigarette between his fingers. There's a blonde woman yapping on his ear, but not a single part of his body language shows that he's listening to her. He's just staring at Scarlett intently. She swallows thickly, looking back to Camille and acting like she can't feel his eyes burning into her.

"Be quieter, please," Scarlett mutters, "And, no, he didn't. I punched him."

"He must've done something to deserve it," Camille's brows furrow.

"Him being alive is enough for him to deserve a punch to the face," She snarls through gritted teeth, before rolling her shoulders back to calm herself down, knowing that the blonde biker is still staring, "Look, it doesn't matter anymore now. I dealt with him."

"Are you okay?" Camille dips her head down to look at her best friend's face properly, "You look like you need some fresh air."

"I do," Scarlett mumbles, "But I've been away from the bar long enough tonight."

"Go get some air," Cami nods towards the door, "I'll take care of the bar while you're gone."

Scarlett's brow raise teasingly, "What happened to you not being caught being a bar maid 'cause you're already a porn star?"

"My concerns for my best friend happened," Cami grunts, pulling Scarlett from her stool and pushing her out from behind the bar, "Now go."

Mouthing a grateful thank you to her, Scarlett dodges a few dancing people as she makes her way towards the clubhouse door. She opens it slowly, her eyes scanning the hard outside quickly in any search for her father, but thankfully his truck is no long in the parking lot. As she shuts the door behind her, she pulls her cigarette box from her back pocket before settling down a wooden picnic bench.

. . .

i've been so slow with updates recently so apologies.
started year 11 this week so i have less time to write

word count,
3318