A Raven Among Crows

Chapter 88: Crossing Over

OK IM BACK AFTER A LIL HOLIDAY BREAK WITH A NEW CHAPTER TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, regardless of what or if you celebrate. I am thankful for you all every single day♥️

http://aravenamongcrows.tumblr.com (ask and submissions are open!!)

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

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Wendy felt herself being coaxed out of her sleep, but it wasn't by the crying baby or the arm squeezing her tightly around her waist, it was by a naggingly familiar pit in her stomach - a pit that she thought she'd finally managed to shake. But as she began to wake, she realized that the awful reminder of what the last forty-five days had felt like was going to take a lot more than one night to abolish.

She blinked a few times, taking in her surroundings as she tried to force the discomfort back down where it belonged, reminding herself that she was back where she belonged, but it was no use. She felt her breathing beginning to pick up as a panic started - the feeling not being helped by the weight of what had taken place the night before which was only getting heavier as she grew more conscious; Tara, Donna, Jax.

Jax? She flung herself out of bed, out of his grip - something that she thought she would have clung to, but it brought her no such comfort. She shook her head as she made her way into Abel's room - her son's room. There was no reason for anything to feel wrong about Jax, she was getting exactly what she had wanted - what she had been fighting for. She earned this, just as Gemma had taught her. So why didn't it feel like it?

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Gemma stood at the coffeemaker, tapping her fingernails against the countertop impatiently while the pot filled as she tried to find the best way to approach Clay where he sat with his head down at the table. He hadn't said anything when he'd finally made his way home the night before - but by the way that he had rested his heavy head in her lap until she lulled him to sleep, she knew exactly what had been on his mind.

She took a deep breath, wrapping her slender fingers around the handle of the white coffee mug where she placed it down in front of him and stiffly took a seat. "Can I help?" She asked shakily - knowing that the way she chose her words in the eerily familiar situation was crucial.

Clay didn't move from where he'd been positioned with his hand under his chin and his eyes hollowly fixed on the gold patterned table runner, sighing heavily before he snapped out of it - shaking his head curtly.

"Nah." He finally managed to utter as he lifted the mug to his lips, welcoming the burn across his tongue.

Gemma nodded, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to accept that answer as her body began twitching with the irritation of being kept out of the loop. She reached for her own mug - attempting to busy her shaky hands but she barely even lifted it from the table before the words began spilling from her bitter lips.

"You were upset last night..." She began, setting the mug back down onto the black placemat, avoiding eye contact as she twirled the silver spoon around with her finger. "Was that our mistake?"

Clay said nothing, sliding down in his seat as the reality of hearing it out loud for the first time finally hit him - a grimace making its way onto his face as he felt his throat locking up.

"Oh, jesus..." She sighed, feeling her own wave of panic once her suspicions were finally confirmed. "And Jax?"

"He knows what everybody else knows." Clay shook his head, the mention of her spoiled son temporarily tabling his emotion. "Donna's death was Niner retaliation."