authors note; well, this one now is the chapter where you're gonna find out the whole little secret Madison had! Feedback is always welcome. 🖤

Walking into the clubhouse, she greeted everyone who was there with a faint smile and a nod before walking straight towards Happy who sat next to her brother and Juice, whose eyes were fixed on the laptop screen. The Puerto Rican's fingertips flew over the keyboard while Jax and Happy turned around once she tapped their shoulders.

“You came here alone?”, Happy grunted, not pleased at all. Not as long as they didn't know what the hell was actually going on and who the witness was.

“Uh, yeah. Jesse had to leave and I didn't wanna bother him”, she said with an innocent smile. The last thing she wanted was to piss off anyone, yet she was a grown ass woman who could drive herself around. “Can I talk to you? It's important.”

“Why, what's going on, darlin'?” Jax inquired after he stood up and eyed her concerned.

“Is it okay if I'm gonna talk to Happy about it first?” The brunette felt bad for kinda pushing her brother away but she felt more comfortable if only Happy knew for now. She liked Jax, she really did and she was grateful for his help but the bond between Happy and her was different and stronger in some ways.

Sighing, the blonde biker shook his head and lifted a corner of his mouth. Of course he wanted to know but he also knew that they didn't know each other for a long time. Her wanting to tell Happy but not him was okay for him as long as someone knew if she was in trouble. And Happy would tell him if she was in danger.

“Yeah, that's fine. But I want you to know that you can always come to me if you need anything, okay?”, he told her with his hand resting on her shoulder making her smile at him again.

“Thank you, Jax, I appreciate it”, she told him sincerely and let out a soft sigh when she felt Happy's hand on her back.

“You're welcome, darlin'. By the way, Tara asked if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight, we kinda miss having you around”, he winked at her while putting a cigarette between his lips. “The boys miss you, too.”

“I'd love that. I can help her with dinner, just tell me when to come over”, she said eagerly. Tara and her got along well, pretty well actually and Madison didn't mind spending her evening with her sister in law, her brother and nephews. Maybe Happy would also come.

“I'll call her and let you know.” After Madison gave him a nod he turned back around and watched Juice typing away on his laptop, hoping they'd soon find out who the witness was.

Happy led her to the dorms and into his room. Closing the door behind them, the first thing he did was pull her close, his arm firmly draped around her small waist as she looked down at her. He saw it in her eyes that something was bothering her and he didn't like that.

“What's wrong, little girl?”, he asked, his raspy voice giving her some kind of comfort that she could need right now.

“I⸺”, she sighed frustrated as she felt the anxiety slowly creep in. Why was she always getting so fucking nervous when she wanted to talk to him? Fuck it, she thought to herself and took a deep breath. “I like you. Well, more than that. But I also know that if I want this between you and me, whatever it is, to work out then I need you to know the full story. And no secrets.”

A smirk crossed his face as she spoke, telling him that she liked him more than just a normal friend. That's exactly what he hoped to hear in the morning already before they got interrupted. But his features hardened when she said he needed to know the full story. Did she lie to them? To him? Or was there more to her little secret? No matter what it was, he needed to know.

“What are you talking about?”, he asked, gently pushing her down on the edge of the bed. After pulling a chair over he placed it in front of her and sat down, staring at her.

Madison nervously bit down on her lip before she got the letter out of her bag and gave it to him. “This was in my car earlier. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get all worried again. But I think you should know⸺ and probably also the rest of my story before you hear it from someone else.”

Happy clenched his jaw so hard that the toothpick snapped between his teeth, which he tossed onto the table beside him before crumpling the note in his hand from the tight grip.

“You should've told me about it right away”, he growled softly, his dark eyes looking at her. “Your whole story? Was the one you told us a lie?”

Madison shook her head quickly and scooted forward to place her hands on his legs, her gaze both intense and gentle at the same time.

“I didn't lie to you, to none of you. I just didn't tell the whole truth”, she clarified before continuing. “The night I killed Steven he wasn't suffering a psychosis, he was just angry. Angry because I⸺”

She gulped, her breath shaky as she thought back to that night and her past. This subject was one she wished she could forget. And until now not even Jesse knew about it, nobody but her and Steven. Well, and her parents. At least they knew a part of it.

“Because you what?”, he asked, his tone a little softer than before. He closed his hands around hers as they began to tremble slightly on his legs. “What really happened?”

“I knew Steven before the party, pretty well actually. He was in high school with Jesse and me, he was the typical quarterback and I was on the cheerleading team. Yes, I know, cheesy”, she wrinkled her nose at that and cleared her throat. “We ended up in bed together more than once, all without feelings. The whole thing continued after school until he became addicted to drugs. His psychoses got worse and worse and did his drug use, suddenly nobody heard from him anymore. After a few years we saw each other again and I have no idea why, but I ended up sleeping with him again. However, that was a one-time thing. But then something happened that shouldn't have happened. I got pregnant.”

Madison slowly lowered her gaze as Happy's gaze intensified and he squeezed her hands a little harder, almost painfully.

“You have a kid?”, he asked, his tone almost harsh.

“No”, she shook her head. “I had an abortion, I told Steve about it beforehand. I wasn't ready for a child and he certainly wasn't either, he would never have been able to raise a child. And I didn't have enough money or an apartment big enough to raise a child in. Even though I felt really shabby, I knew it was the right decision. My parents were happy to cover the costs of the abortion, otherwise I couldn't have afforded it. I will never forget the shock and disgust on their faces.”

After what he was hearing, his features softened again, something compassionate in his gaze. “I'm sorry, little girl. And as for your parents, they have no idea what an amazing daughter they actually have. Fuck them, Mads.”

“It's okay”, she smiled bravely and looked at him again. “Well Steven was furious, bombarded me with calls and texts for weeks blaming me and insulting me. He wasn't interested in me, but he was interested in the baby. When he spotted me at the party a few weeks later, he lost control and attacked me. He was angry because I took something that was his, that's the main reason why I feel so bad for killing him. He had every right to be angry, didn't he?”

“Yeah, perhaps. But he had no right to want to kill you for it”, he growled lowly, scooting his chair closer to her, resting his elbows on his legs as he brought her hands to his mouth and planted a kiss on her fingers. “You could've told me the truth from the start. But I understand why you didn't.”

The faint smile slowly faded and the corners of her mouth drooped slightly. With her forehead leaning against his, she briefly closed her eyes.

“I still can't talk about it sometimes. It's one thing I don't like to talk about. You're the first to know about it. Well, and my parents, but that's only because I had no other choice”, she murmured before opening her eyes again and looking into Happy's. “But if that between us becomes more, I want you to know everything about me.”

“Come here.” He gently pulled her onto his lap and put a hand in her neck. “Thanks for telling me, little girl.”

“Thanks for not being angry”, she mumbled, wrapping her arms around his neck, her body snuggled against his.

“Do you regret it?”, he asked cautiously for his standards, the backs of his fingers gliding over her cheek. “The abortion I mean.”

“No, I wouldn't call it regret. Nevertheless, I sometimes wonder what it would have been, if I would have managed to raise him or her alone”, she said with a wistful smile. “But it's okay, I've come to terms with my decision.”

Happy grunted in response and gently squeezed her hip with his other hand. He thought Madison was quite a strong woman who could definitely be an inspiration, even a role model for some other women. And he couldn't  imagine how difficult the time after the abortion was for her.

“But what I actually wanted to tell you”, she nodded to the crumpled note on the floor. “After looking at the note earlier, I noticed that the handwriting under the newspaper letters is very similar to Steven's.”

“Are you sure?” Alarmed, he sat up straight and eyed her intensely. “You think he's not dead and behind all this? Are you sure he was really dead?”

“Yes, his pulse was gone for hours. He was definitely dead”, she said, nodding, but just now she felt a little queasy herself. “Maybe the pulse was just so weak that I didn't feel it. But his case was in the news, he was found dead. Maybe whoever is trying to scare me was just practicing his handwriting so it would make me even more paranoid.”

“That person, whether it is himself or someone else, is dead once we find him.” With a growl, he stood up after he gently shoved her off his lap and paced around, rubbing his hand over his head. “You only leave your apartment or the club with an escort, preferably only with a patched member until we know what's going on here.”

“You think this is necessary? Somebody's just trying to scare me, Happy. There's probably no real threat behind it”, she tried to calm him down a bit and also got up so that she could rest her hands on his chest. “But if you're feeling better, I won't go out alone anymore.”

“You almost ended up in jail. Whoever is behind this wants to see you suffer”, he huffed. For that alone he would make that person suffer extensively. He actually calmed down a bit at her touch and took her face in his hands. “And what I said wasn't even up for discussion, little girl. We'll find that bastard, I promise.”

“Can you do me one more favor?”, she asked softly.

“Hmm?”, he grunted softly.

“Can you keep that to yourself? What I told you? Please”, she looked at him pleadingly, her lips pressed slightly together.

“Nobody will find out if you don't want that”, he promised and earned a grateful smile from her. “I like you too, by the way.”

At his words, she batted her eyelashes and blinked. She hadn't expected to hear those words out of his mouth just yet. Her mood improved immediately and he could see how happy that made her.

“That's good”, she whispered close to his lips before he kissed her and held her close. Maybe they did have a chance together, despite all the chaos in their lives.