A Raven Among Crows

Chapter 83: Looming

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General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death.

♕

Gemma chuckled to herself as she watched Wendy climb onto the back of Jax's bike while Tara stood across the street, watching her future ride away. Once she was sure that Tara wouldn't spot her, she climbed out of her car - heading into the convenience store that was owned by the same family who owned the toy store down the street.

She felt her pace slowing as she passed a dirty, disheveled looking woman sitting on the pavement outside of the store - reading the cardboard sign that she was holding up which read 'Bailout my kids. We need food'. She felt a scoff form in the back of her throat as she snapped her eyes back up and shook her head, she just couldn't escape the deadbeat junkies. But as she tried to walk away, she felt something pulling her back. For some reason, something about this deadbeat junky felt different.

"You really doing this for your kids?" She sighed as she turned back around to the woman who avoided her shameful gaze.

"Yes ma'am." The ratty brunette responded. "Got two boys." She nodded. "Uncle Sam cut off my aid... Again."

Gemma felt another twinge of unexpected sympathy. Maybe it was the mention of two boys, maybe it was the name Sam, maybe it was the coincidental similarity to the situation that she was dealing with - or maybe it was just the need to re-establish herself as somebody's lifeline since her dependents had decided that they weren't so dependent anymore.

"You look pretty able-bodied to me." She raised a brow as she removed her dark sunglasses. "There's gotta be something better you could be doing than holding up clever signs and begging."

"It's hard for me to hold down a job, ma'am." The younger woman explained shakily. "On account of mental illness... I tend to fly into rages - no apparent reason."

Gemma chuckled. "Since when is that a mental illness?" She smirked as she opened her purse, deciding that the odd feeling of generosity had to have just been some kind of intuition. "Don't shoot this into your arm." She told the woman pointedly as she narrowed her eyes, handing her a twenty-dollar bill.

"That's kind, and generous. Thank you, ma'am." The woman accepted the money gratefully.

Gemma nodded curtly, finally turning back to the store where she intended to buy her cigarettes and make it to the hospital in time to see Tara's reaction to Abel leaving the way that he should've left the day before.

"Abel will help my little boys." She heard from the woman behind her.

"What?" She scowled as she whipped back around.

The poor woman looked around, confused by the outburst. "Able to help my little boys." She repeated herself as she held up the money. "Bless you."

Gemma blinked slowly a few times as she tried to reconcile the explanation, but something just didn't feel right about the whole thing. The way she'd felt uncharacteristically drawn to the struggling woman in the first place, the coincidences, and now the slip of the tongue that she knew she'd heard. This would be the last time that she gave to beggars.

♕

Sydney sat at the bar with Tig, Half-Sack, and Opie in what had to be the most awkward round of small talk that she'd ever experienced in the circle where each person had been keeping secrets from the next. She wished that she could sip her whiskey and look pretty next to Tig while the men did the talking - but if she did that then they would be sitting in silence.