Blood vs. Loyalty

Hell Followed

Holly woke up and rushed to the toilet to empty her stomach, not hearing Jax in the shower. She'd fallen into an uneasy sleep last night, having nightmares all night about Kohn getting shot. She flushed the toilet and stood up to brush her teeth and rinse her mouth out, sitting down as Jax came out, holding her head in her hands before looking at him when he said her name.

"Call off work and hang out at the clubhouse with me today. I don't want you alone today."
"Ok...."
"Take a shower and come get dressed."

She nodded and got up to take a shower. Half of her was numb and the other half was shaky and jumpy as hell. She felt like she was going around life on autopilot today. Almost in a daze. And Jax could see that. He knew she'd need some help getting through this. It was almost as painful as watching her when she was in her coma a couple of years ago. He made a mental note of asking his mom to keep Holly company today if he had to leave. He picked out some clothes for her and laid them out on the bed before going to help her out of the shower and dried her off. He got her dressed before taking her out to his bike, sighing as he watched his mom pull into the driveway followed by Tig.

"Where the hell have you been? And what's wrong with Holly?"
"I've been here. And Holly had a long night and is having a bad morning."
"You've been here all night? Clay gets shot at and you decide it's a good time to get laid?"
"It's my fault, Gemma."

Holly spoke so quietly, which was so not like her, that they almost didn't hear her. But when Gemma saw her face now that she was closer, she could see just how rough Holly looked. She looked like she had no emotion yet she'd been crying.

"Baby? What happened to you?"
"I was having a rough night and I called Jax. I forgot that there was something Jax needed to do."
"Are you alright? Why did you need Jax?"
"Grill her later, mom. I have to get to the clubhouse. You mind taking her with you?"
"Yeah. Come on, baby. Let's go."

Jax helped Holly into his mom's car, buckling her up before kissing her head. He went back over to his mom.

"Keep an eye on her. I'll tell you what happened later but she's on auto today. I had to help her shower and get dressed."
"I can see that. I'll keep her close."
"Thanks. If you need help with her, call one of her friends."
"Don't worry about her, baby. She'll be fine."
"Thanks, ma."

He kissed her cheek before getting on his bike, riding off after a small staring contest with Tig. Holly rode with Gemma in silence, her mind going blank out of preservation.

"What happened, baby? You're so quiet."
"Kohn's dead. Tara shot him in the stomach after he tried to rape her and Jax shot him in the head. I've never seen someone get shot before....."
"Shit.... Is that why Jax was at your place all night?"

Holly just nodded, staring out the window, not really looking at anything.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, baby. But you'll be ok."

Holly woke up to Jax gently kissing her cheek, turning to look at him. She stretched and yawned, slowly sitting up.

"How're you doing, babe? Ma said she was able to get you to eat earlier before you fell asleep."
"I'm not so numb anymore. I think the shock's starting to wear off."
"Good. You had me pretty worried for a while."

She kissed him softly.

"How's the Irishman?"
"He's good. Tara really saved his ass. No pun intended."

She smiled, laughing a little. She sighed softly.

"I still can't believe he's really gone. What'd you do with the body?"
"It's done. That's all that matters."
"Please tell me? I know I've been off lately, but I need to show you that I can handle things. Club business and personal shit. I need you to know that I'm ok with all of this."
"You don't have anything to prove to me, Holly. I know what you've been through and I'm not expecting anything from you but just to be there."
"But I'm like your mom. I need to take care of my family. And you're my family. You mean the world to me. And if I'm gonna be Abel's mom, I need to prove to him to what it looks like to have a real woman in his life. To have a good old lady in his life. And to be an old lady means taking care of my man."

She looked at him, watching him run a hand over his face, listening to him as he told her how he felt and how scared he was about things.

"You can tell me anything at any time. I don't care where I am or what I'm doing. You're my best friend and my boyfriend and I love you. I want you to be ok. Ok?"
"I can't lose you, Holly. Not like I've lost everyone else. I wouldn't be able to handle it."
"I'm not going anywhere, Jax. I'll always be right by your side."

A soft and passionate kiss was her response, wrapping her arms around his neck as he laid her down, hovering over her.