Bumper Cars [EDITING]

° six °

Henley woke up the next day in bed, barely remembering dragging herself in after a good half an hour of crying the night before.

After a nice, long shower, Henley stared at herself in the mirror, "You got it all out yesterday, Henley Annalise, no more. Get your shit together", she told herself.

After getting dressed in a pair of ripped, black cutoffs, a gray t-shirt tied at her waist, and a pair of black chucks, Henley walked out to join Donna, Opie, and the kids for breakfast.

"Morning, everyone", she said to the group, sitting at the table, eating cereal.

They all replied with their own greetings, and Henley was just happy that no one noticed her crying in the car last night, or if they had, they weren't gonna bring it up.

"You have fun last night ?", Donna asked.

"Um... Yeah", Henley lied.

"That's good", Donna replied, able to tell she didn't really mean it.

"You off to take the kids to school ?", Henley asked Donna, who was picking up her keys.

"Yeah, then I'm gonna run some errands", Donna said, "Come one, Kenny and Ellie, before we're late."

They both ran up and hugged their aunt.

"Bye, Aunt Henley", the said at the same time.

"Bye, Kenny Tomatoes and Ellie Bananas", she said, planting a kiss on both of their heads.

"You work today, Opie ?", she asked her brother, as they left.

"Yeah, and I picked up some extra hours, probably won't be home until late", he said, still eating his cereal.

"You really done with the club, Harry ?", she asked her brother, now that she heard Donna's car pull away.

"I don't know", he said, with a tired look in his eyes.

"If it's really what you want, you gotta explain that to Donna, she'll understand. You can't bottle that shit up, Ope. It'll kill your relationship, and how long do you think you can keep going, half in the club, before it get you hurt ?", Henley asked her brother, seriously.

"I mean, she didn't have a husband for 5 years... You can't really blame her, Hen", he stated.

"I don't, but I know my brother... All you've ever wanted, since we were still in pull-ups, was to be a Son. You asked for a Harley for your birthday AND Christmas for years on end, before you actually got one. The day you and Jax patched in, was one of the happiest days of your life, you really ready to give all that shit up, Harry ?", Henley said to her brother.

"No", Opie said, honestly, before getting up to put his bowl in the sink, "But what else can I do, but try to keep my wife happy ? I'm walking on a thin line with her right now."

"You can talk to your wife. She's way tougher and a lot more understanding than you think, Ope", Henley said, filling the sink up to wash the dishes that the family left in the sink.

"Yeah, maybe", Opie said, before grabbing his leather jacket and the keys to his truck, and heading out the door.

'And then there was one', Henley thought to herself.

°°°

After getting too bored for her own good, Henley decided to go to the clubhouse to talk to her Dad, or anyone who wasn't a fictional TV character.

Pulling up into the lot, she was glad to see more than half of the motorcycles were gone, was hoping that Jax's would be one of the one's that was missing.

When she walked in, her dad was sitting at the bar, drinking. She sat next to him, and Half Sack gave her a beer. She opened it and sipped, before her dad spoke up.

"So, you left in a rush last night, you become a pussy over there in Arizona ? Forgot how to party ?", he asked her jokingly.

"No ! I did not become a pussy !", Henley said, pretending to be offended by her dad's joke.

"I missed ya, kid. Especially while Ope was locked up", he said to her.

"I missed you too, daddy", she said, really meaning it, "You know, after everything that happened.... I didn't want to face the shit I buried."

"I didn't raise you to run from shit", Piney said, honestly.

He was right. "I know, daddy. It's just a lot more easy to run, than to face the fucked up shit that I was feeling, you know ?", Henley almost whispered, knowing that her dad was right.

"Yeah, sweetheart. I get it more than anyone. I just wish you would've visited", Piney said to his daughter.

Henley knew her dad was completely right. She should've visited, but the idea of having to feel the shit she was bottling, kept her from her home.

"I know", was all Henley could muster up before she heard the motorcycles pull into the lot.

She wanted to run, but she knew someone would see her.

"Good to see ya here, baby girl", Clay said, walking into the clubhouse.

"Hey, lassie. The way ye ran outta here last night, I thought we scared ye off", Chibs joked.

"Why does everyone think I became a pussy in Arizona ?", Henley said, really wondering.

"Because you did", Jax spoke up, with that familiar smirk on his face.

"I could kick any of your asses before I left, and I still could, Teller", she said, fiercely.

"Okay, Winston", Jax said, sarcastically, before heading to his apartment in the back.

"Well, you're still a dick", she jokingly yelled at him, after she heard his door close.