The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most - An SOA Fan Fiction

Chapter 14

"Meely?" Jax poked his head in, his forehead wrinkling at the sight of her blood stained shirt. "Mind if I come in?" With her eyes still closed, Amelia waved him in. As he sat, the chair scraped against the floor, she turned her head just slightly and peeked at him with a pained smile. "How you doing, darlin'?"

She groaned, her jaw jutting out a little. "I've been better."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Asking her outright was the only way Jax ever really did get the truth from Amelia. "All the times you called me the last year, the planning, why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"I know you'd react like this," she said softly. "All of you. I know my dad is probably flipping shit, you're all filled with angst, I can see it in your face. Your mom," Amelia actually laughed a little. "We all know she'll turn this around on me."

Lacing his fingers on top of his head Jax pursed his lips. "Yeah, well, my mom is the last person you need to worry about. Let me deal with Gemma, let Tig deal with Keith and you need to take care of this." He tapped her forehead, right in the center, with a disapproving look. "You're smarter than buying into his shit, Amelia."

"If it was just his shit, yeah, maybe."

"Tig isn't the one to build or gauge mental health on, he's more fucked up than the rest of us combined."

"I'm sorry, I didn't want this shit to happen. I didn't know where else to go."

"You're fine. We want to help. Tig wants to murder but that's his way of helping."

"What does he know?" She sat up a little and pouted. "What do you know?"

Jax wet his lips and shrugged, Juice would get, at the very least, a tongue-lashing for telling him anything but that didn't matter. Maybe it would teach him to listen and to do what he's told. "Tig only knows what happened today, Juice told me it's been going on a while though."

"Yeah," when she closed her eyes Jax took her hand in his. "It was bad Jax, but after the judge refused to commit him," she shudder at the memory. "I had to leave. I don't know what was worse, the physical pain or the horrible shit he said."

"I'm sorry, Meels." Jax's face twisted. He'd watched Amelia grow up, there were very few people he truly loved and she was one of them. "We'll take care of you."

"You have your own family, Jackson." Being part of the club family was wonderful, Amelia loved it and she loved them all, rough relationships or bitter pasts notwithstanding. Sometimes though, she hated being the poor little Trager girl who needed pity. She didn't see that it wasn't pity but that was exactly what it felt like. "I'm happy for you two."

"Thank you," Jax said with a small smile. "Look, Tara said you're really twisted up over what happened."

"I can't separate it." She admitted. "I can't compartmentalize the emotions and the thoughts. I know," she said aggravated, "That I am not trash but I can't stop feeling like it and that overshadows any knowledge or cognitive thoughts I have over what happened."

"You need to talk to someone, I'm not the one to help you work through this. All I can do is promise you, that I'm here. Tig, me, Chibs, we're the ones that know what happened, all of it, and we won't let anyone else hurt you."

Before she could speak again Chibs barged in the room with a serious look on his face. "Brother, we need you out here." He nodded solemnly at Amelia and shot her a wink.

"Wait, is JC still here?" Jax raised an eyebrow at the damn nickname and rolled his eyes. "Don't start Jax, I need him."

Jax was going to send Juice in but he quickly got caught up in what Chibs was going on about. The two of them moved out to the parking lot to see Juice holding Tig back from Unser. "Jesus Christ, Trager back off." Jax lent a hand and between the two of them, he was subdued. Unser huffed behind them and straightened his tie.

"So you don't know where he is?" Juice groaned, his hand running over his Mohawk. "He's not going to just leave, the shit he said about her being his, he wants her."

With an almighty roar Tig threw wild punches into the cement pillar. "Find him," he shouted to Unser. "How did you let him get away?" The anger was focused on Chibs now, even Juice was staring at him with disdain. Unser was making calls the moment he could hoping to minimalize the mess.

"We had no choice, brother. Oakland PD rolled up before Unser and that weasel told her I attacked him. I'd probably be in cuffs if he didn't show up." Chibs shook his head at the mess before them. "We don't leave her alone and we go find him. Can't be that hard, we have what he wants."

"I want Happy with her." Tig snapped, his eyes locked on Juice.

"No," Jax's objection was surprising. "She doesn't know Happ, put Juice with her." Juice was torn, he wanted to be out looking for Keith but he knew Amelia needed him, not only that, she wanted him too. "She's already asking for him, let him take her back and stay with her. He's kept her safe till now, Tig."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He sneered. "That I caused this?"

"All right," Chibs shouted and slithered between the three of them as they tensed and squared for the seemingly inevitable fight. "Tiggy, brother, let Juice stay with her. We can handle that shite after she's safe, aye?"

"Let's just go," already on his way to his bike Tig needed someone to destroy. "See if you can find him," he instructed Juice. "Credit cards and shit, I want him."

Jax gave Juice a look. "Just do it, we'll deal with everything else when everyone's settled down. "You and Meels too."