A Flicker of Redemption

Chapter 9

Shortly after Happy left her room, she walked into her bathroom to take a quick shower. It had been a long day and she was tire. Physically and emotionally. The hot water eased her muscles as she stood in the spray and let the water trickle down her tiny body. She finally scrubbed her body down and washed her hair then climbed out of the shower. After toweling herself off, she changed into some clean undies then crawled into bed for the night. She tossed and turned for a while as her mind replayed the conversation she'd had with Happy earlier. All those memories she wanted to forget fresh in her mind.

They were fighting again. Anything that could be picked up and used as a weapon were being thrown around at one another. Each one making accusations of cheating. She stood there in hallway just as you entered the kitchen. There was a perfect view of the living room from there. She stood with her hands to her mouth afraid to make a sound. As they were arguing, her dad threatened to kill her mother. Her mother spouted off something and then he rushed into the kitchen.

She watched as he grabbed a knife out of the block and ran back into the living room. He stabbed her once making her fall to the ground as she screamed out in pain. Then he sat on her legs and just kept stabbing her. Over and over and over. She watched as blood went everywhere. On the ceiling. On the walls. All over her father. All over the furniture. She was shaking as he got up afraid he was about to turn on her. She raced to her room hoping he hadn't seen her watching. She quickly packed a bag and snuck out her window.

As she was running down the road, she looked back to see her father running after her. The bloody knife he'd used to kill her mother still in his hands. She ran as fast as she could but he was slowly catching up to her. No matter how hard she ran, he was always catching up. He looked angry and began yelling at her about what she'd witnessed. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Her pulse raced as she ran for her life. He screamed that he would kill her too for knowing what he'd done.

Angelika sat up with a start, sweat pouring down her face, tears streaking down her cheeks, heart hammering in her chest. It was the same nightmare she'd been plagued with since that night. She'd never told anyone about them. Not even Happy. It was still dark so she knew it would be hours before anyone was awake. As hard as she tried, she couldn't go back to sleep. She sighed heavily as she stared at the ceiling. Happy wanted her to put a little trust in him. She decided she would for a while. If he kept her secrets then she knew she could trust him fully. Maybe she'd make a friend for the first time since middle school.

When she thought it was getting light outside, she got dressed and walked out into the main room. Looking around she found all manner of passed out bodies in various states of dress. She shook her head then walked into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. She desperately needed one after the previous night. As she was leaning against the counter sipping on her coffee, Happy entered the kitchen. He looked her over and noticed she didn't appear to have slept very well. He wondered what was going on. After pouring his coffee, he moved to stand next to her.

Very quietly he began to speak, "Why do you look like you didn't sleep last night?"

She looked away from him not wanting to answer.

"Answer me, little girl." He commanded.

"It's nothing." She replied.

"If there's something keeping you up, it is something. Now tell me." He stated.

"It's nothing but a nightmare." She huffed, "I've been having them for years."

"Tell me about them." He said.

"I see the murder. Then I race back to my room, pack my bag and sneak out the window. But then I look back and he's still got the knife in his hand and he's chasing me. No matter how hard I run, he always catches up to me. I usually wake up right before he stabs me too." She quietly explained.

"He's in prison and won't be getting out. You're safe here. We'll protect you." Happy told her.

"I can't get them to go away." She confessed as she tried to keep from crying.

"It's ok, little girl. You witnessed something horrific." He tried to soothe her.

Before they could talk any more, Juice walked in half asleep to grab some coffee. Happy left the kitchen to find himself a table that wasn't occupied. She remained in the kitchen staring at the floor as she slowly sipped on her coffee. Juice took his coffee and left the kitchen leaving her alone once more. She finally refilled her cup and headed back to her room. Happy sat there thinking of the brief conversation they'd just had. She'd been having nightmares of the night she watched her father killing her mother and was afraid he was going to come after her next. She had every right to be afraid after what she'd witnessed but her father was in prison with a life without parole sentence.

Chibs began to stir for the day and quickly threw the crow eater off himself before standing up and making his way into the kitchen. He was very thankful someone had made some coffee because he surely needed it. Angelika finally left her room again to head to the shop to start her workday. There were papers that still needed filing, cars that still needed worked on, and she wasn't sure if Gemma was going to show up or not. That question was soon answered with the Queen walked in and plopped down at her desk. She looked over her new employee and noticed it looked like the girl hadn't slept very well.

'I wonder what's up with that?' she thought as she turned towards her desk and what all she needed to do that day. There was one car that had been finished the previous evening she needed to call the owner about. Angelika worked silently as she filed paperwork, answered the phone for Gemma, and milled about the office. There wasn't a lot of paperwork to be filed to her dismay. A car had come into the shop needing work so once Gemma had the paperwork, she immediately got it filed. Jax came in asking his mother to order some parts for him. Angelika filed that paperwork once Gemma was finished with it. She was on top of things as she tried to keep herself busy.

Lunchtime came around and she found herself in her usual spot at the picnic table outside the office. Happy refused to keep letting her eat alone so he moved over to sit with her. Tig made a comment about what was going on with the Killah earning shrugs from everyone else. Happy sat down next to her making her look over at him sharply and ask what he was doing. "Having lunch." he responded making her roll her eyes. That was the kind of smart ass remark she'd make! She opened her mouth to speak again but he simply told her to eat. With a sigh, she did as he told her to and turned her attention to eating. The pair sat in silence eating their lunch making everyone wonder what was going on with them.

Happy never showed interest in women unless he was about to take them back to his dorm. Tig figured he was trying to work his way into her panties making Chibs frown. He remembered what the Killah had told him about her having a rough life. The Scotsman was sure there was more to it for Happy than just wanting to get into her panties. Much more. When he stood up to head back to work, Happy kissed Angelika's forehead leaving her to stare after him. She had never been shown any real affection before since her parents had abused her her whole life. It was an odd sensation.

A/N: What do you think Happy's doing?

Please review and vote below!