Blood vs. Loyalty

Falx Cerebri

Holly sat next to Gemma as Jax came over to them, kissing him softly.

"What do you need me to do?"
"Keep your phone on you and charged at all times and stay as safe as possible."
"Ok. Is that all?"
"Get a guard dog. I was gonna ask you to do it before the explosion, but I couldn't. It'll help us both feel safe."
"Ok. I'll do it in the morning. I'll bring Abel with me. Now that he's feeling better."
"Take the prospect with you. And mom."
"I can handle dog searching with Abel on my own."
"Holly? Not now. Don't argue with me on this. I don't care what's going on between you and mom right now. Take her and the prospect with you tomorrow."

She bit back a comment and nodded, her lips pressed together.

"Thank you. Go home and get some sleep."
"Ok."

Holly walked into the living room with Abel, biting back a sigh when she saw Gemma sitting and waiting for her.

"When are you gonna stop hating me?"
"I don't know. When are you gonna let me talk to Jax about what happened? Chibs took it well and kept my secret."
"You told Chibs?? I told you to keep your mouth shut about this!"

She put Abel down in his bouncer before glaring at Gemma.

"You talk like you're the only suffering with this shit, Gemma! You weren't the only one that was raped! I lost your grandchild because of the stress of what happened and I tried to kill myself because I couldn't talk to anyone!!! If it hadn't been for Tig, you'd be watching Jax mourn the loss of yet another girlfriend, and all you care about is yourself! I understand why you don't wanna let Zobelle and Weston win, I don't want them to win either. But I'm tired of dealing with the stress of keeping this secret and dealing with everything else I'm dealing with. I can't do it anymore, Gemma. And let's face it, you can't either. I've had just as many STD tests as you, just as many doctors visits as you. I've vented to Jax about how I feel about the miscarriage and the abortion, so there's quite a bit of relief there, but I still have this weight on my shoulders and I can't do it. But every time I go to tell Jax, I have your fucking voice in my head telling me to keep my mouth shut! So I'll stop hating you and avoiding you when I no longer have your fucking voice in my head and Jax knows and I'm completely free of this shit."

Both women looked over when the doorbell rang. Holly sighed softly before going over to open it, letting Eddie in.

"Hey, Eddie. I still have to take a shower and get dressed. There's fresh coffee and donuts in the kitchen. Help yourself. I'll be right down."
"Thanks, Holly. You ok? You look angry about something."
"I'm fine, Eddie. Been a long night."

She went upstairs and into the bathroom to take her shower, trying to clear her head. She brought a change of clothes and Abel's diaper bag before getting Abel dressed for the day, ignoring Gemma as she put Abel into his carseat in the car, putting her purse and the diaper bag in the back.

"Eddie, will you get in the front?"
"Yeah. I was gonna follow on the bike."
"I figured it'd be easier if we have to make a quick getaway if we're in the same vehicle."
"Uh....Ok. Sure."

Holly walked into the living room with David when he came over, letting him sit down, sitting down next to Abel, letting their new puppy, Emika, sniff at David.

"You got a dog?"
"Yeah. Jax wanted me to get a guard dog, and I figured that it'd be easier to get a puppy so I know for sure she'll get along with Abel."
"What's her name?"
"Emika. Half-Sack named her and I liked it so much we kept it."
"Has Jax met her yet?"
"No. He's been out all day. What're you doing here, David?"
"I wanted to talk to you and to see if you would be willing to help me out with something."
"What is it?"

She pulled Emika back, holding the puppy as she scratched her ear.

"Unser told me what happened to you and Gemma."
"Gemma's gonna kill you both, you know?"
"We need a reason to bring Zobelle down. But we can't do that without probable cause. And Jax can only do so much when he doesn't have many people on his side in the club. Please give me something, Holly?"
"If I do, it can't get back to the club."
"I won't tell anyone. I promise."

She sighed deeply before putting the puppy down, letting her run to get some water. She went upstairs to grab the package she'd found in the mail when she got home, going down to give it to David. She watched him pull out the masks.

"What's this?"
"There were three of them. That's what they were wearing. And one of them had a tattoo on the base of their neck. It looked like an upside down peace sign. I didn't see anything else."

She looked at him as he stood up and went to her.

"I'm not kidding, David. This can not reach Jax. Or anyone else."
"Thank you, Holly."

Holly sat in the living room with Abel, Emika sleeping next to her on the couch as Holly fed Abel while looking a new job. Though nothing paid as good as when she worked with Rosen. She was a bit startled when Gemma burst into the house, putting Abel in his bouncer.

"I told you to keep quiet about the rape!"
"What the fuck are you doing, Gemma? And keep your voice down."
"You told Hale what happened."
"I didn't tell David what happened. Unser did."
"Then what the hell did you tell Hale?"
"I showed him the masks that I got in the mail."
"Is that all?"
"What the fuck does it matter to you, Gemma? You don't care what happens to me, you've made that abundantly clear."
"Of course I care."
"No, you don't!!! I tell you that I miscarried and you shrug. I tell you that I tried to kill myself and you say fucking nothing!!! If you hadn't made me stay quiet about it, they wouldn't have tried harder to crush the club!"

Holly was silenced by Gemma smacking her in the face. Holly returned the favor by backhanding Gemma across the face.

"You ever put your hands on me again, I don't give a flying fuck who's mom you are, I'll throw you through a goddamn window. I'm a grown woman who has more than earned the right to say whatever the fuck I want to whoever the fuck I want without being yelled at for it."

She glared at Gemma before Gemma tackled her to the ground, narrowly missing Abel's bouncer, both women fighting and screaming obscenities at each other.