Memory Lane

Chapter 16. Broken Pieces

Tara

I waited around at the clubhouse for Jax to return from his ride. I was so angry with what Desiree had said earlier that I couldn't even muster up the courage to drive away. She thought that she had gotten the best of me, but I was going to let her and any other skank in Charming know that I was Jax's ole lady, and she was going to respect me and that title. If I let her get away with what she said then I was basically telling her to walk all over me, and I couldn't have her of all people thinking that.

I did my best to ignore her, but I could feel her stealing glances at me. She was probably wondering why I was still here, but she would find out soon enough.

"Do you want a drink or something?" I looked up to see Bobby behind the bar. "No, just waiting for Jax to come back." Bobby nodded his head and caught me tensing up when Desiree got too close. She was moving boxes of files from Gemma's office, and she seemed like she was really focused on her work. "Y'know, she'll warm up to you. You just have to give her some time."

I snorted and looked at Bobby with a look. I didn't care about Desiree enough to want to be her friend, confidant, or whatever else Bobby was hinting at. As far as I knew, she was on the list of unimportant people that I didn't have to entertain or get along with, right next to Wendy.

"It'll work itself out on its own," I flashed Bobby a smile and refrained from telling him how much I disliked the former Charming princess.

"Right, I've heard that before," Bobby muttered under his breath while he downed a shot of brown liquor. He grunted as the effects of the liquid made its way down his throat, "Jax is here." I tore my eyes away from Bobby to see Jax and Opie acting like kids as they made their way to the clubhouse. They were laughing at something as they kept shoving each other playfully. When Jax noticed me his eyebrows shot up in surprise and Opie said something to him that made Jax burn bright red.

"Hey," he said breathlessly as he stood before me. I could see him begin to fidget as his eyes jumped back and forth between me and Desiree. Seeing him get so nervous in her presence made me think that what Desiree said was true, which made my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach. Jax didn't physically sleep with Desiree, but the fact that he thought about it made me really sad. Desiree had done nothing for him, yet she invaded his dreams.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" I wasn't really asking Jax as I led him to one of the rooms in the clubhouse. I could hear Opie blow out a thick whistle as I led Jax into the room, and I resisted the urge to snap on the gigantic man.

"What's up, babe?" Jax looked at me with a concerned expression on his face.

"Did you have a dream about your ex-wife?"

Jax looked taken aback by my question, and I could see him swallow the lump in his throat. "Who told you that?"

"Answer the damn question, Jackson."

He remained silent and a sudden redness appeared on his face. I could feel myself becoming angry and before I knew it I landed a hard slap on my husband's face. I hit him so hard that his face turned with the impact, and his hair shifted out of place.

"Pack your things and get out of the house. I don't want to be near you right now," my voice began to shake due to my anger and overall sadness.

"Are you serious right now?" Jax began to yell, "you're kicking me out because of a dream? Something that I can't even control! Do you know how crazy you sound right now?"

"I'm your ole lady! Or have you forgotten that since she came back," I spat.

"The only one having a hard time with that concept is you! You're the one making something out of nothing!"

I scoffed, "something out of nothing? So my old man dreaming about some other skank is nothing?"

Jax remained silent and I could see him trying his best to control himself. "Don't call her that." I looked at him in disbelief as the words left his mouth. My vision blurred with tears, "See, that right there! You're always defending her Jax!"

"I wouldn't have to defend her if you'd just lay off her!" Jax ran his hands through his hair in frustration and turned his back to me. "If you want me out, fine. But just remember that you caused this. I'll be back for my stuff tomorrow." Jax opened the door and walked out of it, leaving me to my own devices. All I could see was red as I watched him walk away from me. From the corner of my eye, I could see Desiree staring in disbelief with the others.

I absolutely couldn't stand her and she quickly became the object of my aggression. I didn't even feel myself running up to her, but I ended up punching her with my bad hand. I caught her off guard as held her cheek and looked at me like I was insane.

She charged for me and before I knew it, we were in a fistfight. I couldn't tell who was winning because I didn't know if the blood belonged to me or her. But she matched my aggression as she repeatedly hit me blow after blow. She had managed to get a hold of the bottle that Bobby had left on the counter and I could tell that she intended to hit me with it.

However, she was too late as Jax and Opie broke up our little scuffle. Opie held me away from her as Jax had his hands around Desiree. His hands were wrapped around her tightly as she tried to break free from his grasp. She didn't stop being combative until Jax loosened his grip on her. But by that time, she had snapped back to reality and taken a look at her surroundings. It also gave me some time to come back to my senses too.

Desiree had scratches on her chest and her bottom lip was bleeding, which only made me realize that I most likely looked worse. She had tears in her eyes as she straightened herself up and got away from Jax. She looked at me with a serious expression, "don't ever touch me again." Her voice left no room for argument as she practically dashed out of the clubhouse. I could only imagine that the fight was a trigger for her, and I couldn't ignore the sudden feeling of remorse that I felt.

Jax looked at me from across the room and I could see the disappointment on his face. Opie lifted me up from the ground and handed me back to Jax. "I'll take you home," was all he said to me before Gemma handed me a napkin and an ice pack. She was surprisingly quiet during this whole thing which made me curious.

However, I had no time to question her as Jax led me out of the clubhouse and into the car. The ride was silent, perhaps the quietest ride I've ever had. I could tell that he was upset with me and that just added to the terrible feelings I already had.

When he pulled into our driveway, he got out of the driver's seat and handed me my keys. Gemma's car pulled up to the curb, but she made no attempts at getting out. "I'm going to go stay with my mom for some time."

"When will you be back?" I asked trying to make one last attempt at reconciliation. Jax looked at me and his eyes became glossy with tears, "I don't know. I just need some time to get over whatever this is."

"Whatever this is? Jax, we're married." I could feel my throat begin to tighten as tears streamed down my face.

"Maybe that's my fault for rushing it. We clearly weren't ready for it, for God's sake Tara you still don't trust me!" He was hurt, and I could see that all over his face. I experienced instant regret as I watched him get into his mother's car and drive off. Leaving me alone to salvage the pieces of our relationship.