Chapter 1 Welcome To Charming

Author note: Some of my work, such as this one, is really old. So, there will be a few grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. I have too many stories and not enough time or energy to fix every mistake. I am SELF-TAUGHT, so please respect that I didn’t receive proper education and that the system failed me. I have learned a lot over the years and still learning. So be kind. That’s all I ask.

I do not own The Sons of Anarchy or Twilight…

Pov and intro:

My name is Bella Swan, and I’ve been in this town for two years. I’m everywhere. I know everyone. Yet they don’t know me. I’m invisible. This is the way it has to be. I’ve picked up a few bad habits along the way. But when you have nothing, you need something.

I used to hate this place. However, when no one ever notices you – you pick up on certain things. Maybe because you’ve got nothing better to do than to observe and listen… That and, well, what else is there? They call this place Charming, which I suppose is somewhat fitting. Occasionally, I find myself thinking, what a charming little town. Only, it’s not so little. But it begins to feel that way after some time of getting to know everyone. I know this place and its occupants damn near inside out. And there are a few that catch my attention more than others. Then there’s the one, in particular, I feel an odd pull towards. I find him rather intriguing. From the looks of things, he’s building himself a new life – making a difference from the man he once was. The woman in his life at the moment is by far better than the last. This man is also the most interesting person in this town. Well, at least one of them.

I find myself resisting the urge to giggle as she walks passed me. As usual, she doesn’t see me, or at least that’s what I presume… Only this time, the woman stopped in her tracks just before heading into the store.

She lowered those shades of hers, actually making eye contact with me for the first time ever. The woman opened her purse and took a twenty-dollar bill out from her wallet.

“If I give you this are you going to shoot it up your arm?”

There was no disguising the surprised look on my face. I’ve been in this town for two nearly three years, and no one’s ever truly acknowledged my presence.

“No, ma’am…”

She nodded and kneeled down to my level.

“What’s your story, kid? You on dope or what?”

I swallowed back as she handed me the money.

“No, nothing like that….”

“Let’s hope not. You could get yourself cleaned up and find a job.”

And have my name in the system? No thanks. I need to remain off the grid, always. I gave a simple nod; however not sure what to say on that.

“Thank you…” The prideful side of me wanted to hand it back. The starving and nicotine-deprived part couldn’t.

“Alright then… Think about cleaning yourself up sometime. And join the working class. It’s not so bad. It beats sleeping in parks, cemeteries, and loitering outside certain places.”

“…Abel…”

She is Abel’s grandmother, Gemma. Abel – as in the miracle child of the man who visits his father’s grave damn near every day like clockwork. That man is known as Jackson Teller. Everyone calls him Jax. Jax – as in the one I can’t help but notice the most.

“What’d you say?”

I narrowed my eyes in surprise.

“Earlier …”

I tried thinking of a quick cover-up, realizing I must’ve said Abel’s name out loud.

“I was saying I gotta be able to sleep somewhere….” I said with a shrug.

She cut me a rather peculiar glance and put her shades back on. The woman said nothing else as she rose back up and walked away, heading into the store. With that money, I got myself a pack of smokes and enough food to last me at least two days.

And that’s how I expected it to end from there. Just a simple gesture, and I’d go back to being the ghost of Charming. What I didn’t expect was to find out that Jax’s best friend (Opie)’s wife was recently killed. And when no one knows you’re around, it’s amazing – the things you learn. The more I learned, the more I began to truly realize just how shitty Jackson Teller had it at times. It’s a wonder he doesn’t go insane and decide to unload on the entire fucking town. I’m not so sure I’d have that sort of restraint.

Anyhow, here I am… And there he is, and he doesn’t see me – like usual. But I see him, and I see the woman by the name of Tara kissing him goodbye and hearing her telling him she’s leaving and never coming back. The ‘better’ woman in his life. To make matters worse, it’s during Donna’s funeral, only digging that knife in a little deeper. And from my understanding, this isn’t the first time she’s pulled something like this. Such a shame she seemed like she’d make a better mother than that bitch druggy ex of his – Abel’s biological mother. Nevertheless, I truly don’t see her as his mother. In my eyes, Jax is the only parent to that boy. The look in his eyes when he’s holding his son… There are no words, and it melts my heart every time. There is some envy there as well. What I wouldn’t give to have what Jax does. And by that… I mean a family, and yes, that includes the club as well.

Once the funeral is over and everyone leaves, he remains. And for the first time ever, I witness this man break down. He came to his knees and put his forehead on Donna’s tombstone, repeating the words “I’m sorry” over and over. Once he got it out of his system, he came to a stand. He lit a smoke and took a long drag. He left not long after, only to return later that night. He had a bottle of whiskey with him, and he was reading something. The sky grew overcast, and the temp was beginning to drop. Once he passed out, I made my way over. I’m not even sure why I did what I did. But I took the blanket I was using and draped it over the man. I carefully took whatever he was reading and closed it so it wouldn’t get ruined. It looked important, whatever it was.

What I hadn’t expected was to be woken up the next morning. Those baby blues of his bore into my eyes. He gave a simple nod and handed the blanket over.

“Thanks…” Jax said as he was looking around the area.

I nodded in return. He took his hoodie off handing to me. I looked at him, puzzled.

“Keep it. It’s yours…” he said with a shrug as he lit a smoke.

His voice was deep but smooth, with an underline sense of power.

“Ummm, thanks?”

He cued that smirk of his and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Want one?” He offered one of his cigarettes.

“I bummed one off you last night,” I admitted feeling foolish all of a sudden.

Stupid, right? I mean, look at me. I’m the bum of Charming. It’s to be expected. Nonetheless, it was all an act. If only they knew… He shrugged and reached into his pocket, and tossed me an unopened pack. He sent me a wink and walked away.

“Later!” He called out as he got onto his bike.

For some reason, I found myself smiling as he started his bike and revved up the engine.

“Later…” I muttered under my breath in return.

Little was I aware that small encounter and that hoodie would forever change my life…

Chapter 1

I do not own Twilight or Sons of Anarchy. Friendly reminder – this is an AU, and I’m taking a little from the first and second seasons of SOA, but from there, we’ll just see where it goes. 

“Not so fast….”

Bella froze and turned towards the man running the shop.

“You got something you wanna put back?”

The young woman glanced towards the door and back to the man.

“Don’t even think about it….”

He nodded toward someone, but she didn’t look to see who it was. All Bella knew was she was starving and that she could easily outrun this guy. Or so she thought… She hadn’t expected that the man he was nodding towards was a buddy of his.

“This one causing you trouble?”

The store owner nodded, and his friend smiled. He reached back and locked the door. The owner reached into her hoodie and got out the bag of chips and sandwich she’d stolen. The man motioned towards the security tape, and his friend went and stopped it.

“So you’ve been the one stealing from me all this time.”

It only took you two years to figure it out? The young woman thought.

“Think maybe she needs a lesson in manners, boss?”

She gasped out as they grabbed her by the hair and forced her away from the windows. Once they had her out of view, the heavy-set Mexican man punched her across the face. Before she could even catch her breath, the other socked her in the gut. From there, they took turns in beating her. Once they were done, they shoved her out the back door – where they picked her up and tossed her into the dumpster.

“That’s where you belong. You ever steal from me again, and I got a bullet with your name on it. I doubt anyone would miss you.”

The owner kicked at the dumpster and the men high-fived one another as they headed back inside. The young woman crawled amongst the garbage inside and used the wall of the dumpster to brace herself back up. She tried crawling out but tumbled on out instead. She rolled about the ground in agony. The sound of the back door opening and a gun firing had Bella taking off as fast as she could, and not even bothering to look back.

“Whoa…” an all too familiar voice rang as she slammed into someone.

The older woman narrowed her eyes upon the young woman. She grabbed ahold of the hoodie and roughly shook her.

“Where did you get this?! This isn’t yours!”

But the woman tilted her head and thoroughly scanned the younger one over.

“Looks like someone did a real number on you already.”

She flinched as the woman cupped her chin.

“Hmmm… I bet it served you right. You should’ve taken my advice.”

Bella nodded and went to jerk out of the woman’s hold.

“Hoodie first. Then you can go….”

Tears started to form in the young girl’s eyes, but she said nothing as she handed it over. The woman smiled.

“That’ll teach you to steal. Now, won’t it? Get a damn job. Hell, you’re a pretty girl. I hear there’s a new stripper joint in town. You should see about that. If I were you, I’d clean myself up and let those cuts and bruises heal over first.”

Bella’s blood boiled at the woman’s words. She said nothing, though, and took off running. The older woman shook her head and wrinkled her nose as the homeless girl puked by one of the cars and took off running once again.

“Everything alright?” Jax questioned as he exited one of the other buildings.

His mother nodded and handed him the hoodie. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at it.

“Looks like that little homeless girl has some quick hands. Someone really did a number on that one. Serves the bitch right.”

He winced at this but reared back at the blood on the hoodie.

“She didn’t steal this… I gave it to her… What did you do, mom?”

“What? You think I did that?!” She said, pointing at the drops of blood.

He didn’t answer. Jax hopped on his bike and took off. Gemma sighed and put her hands on her hips. Jax drove damn near all over town but couldn’t find the young woman. He decided to stop by the cemetery. If nothing else, he figured he could at least leave the hoodie at her usual spot. The young man wasn’t sure why he was going out of his way to try and get this back to her. But when he got there, she was still nowhere to be found. He drew back a breath and placed it in the area she was in when he first gave it to her. He left another pack of smokes, a lighter, and a ten-dollar bill in one of the pockets hoping she’d find it. After visiting his loved ones’ graves, he looked about the area once again. He nodded upon himself as she was still a no-show and decided to call it a night.

Bella woke the next morning in an alleyway, ironically, beside another dumpster. She came to her feet and dusted herself off. She rubbed her hands along her arms for warmth, but it was no use. She felt like a human Popsicle. As she made her way back to her usual spot in the cemetery, she came to a halt and looked around. When she saw that no one was in the area, she made her way over and picked the hoodie up. For reasons she didn’t quite understand, she found herself hugging it close to her. It was then she discovered the pack of smokes, lighter, and money.

“Did you find her?”

He shook his head no but pecked his mother on the cheek.

“Would it kill you to be a little nicer?”

His mother smiled as she was starting supper.

“It just might.” She taunted in return.

“Yeah, well, you should’ve asked me first before just assuming.”

She shrugged on this.

“Why are you so hot-headed about all this? She’s just some homeless bitch that bums off the town. We could do without them, you know. Girl needs to get her shit sorted out and join the rest of the world.”

“So you already got her figured out?”

His mother nodded assuredly and sipped at her beer as she stirred the meat. He rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge. He popped open a beer and took a seat. They glanced towards the bedroom as his son started to cry.

“I got it….” Jax said and scooted back out of his chair.

He entered the room and picked his son up. He kissed the top of his head before changing him. For some reason, that homeless girl never left his mind. He just hoped she was okay, even if he didn’t really know her. He sighed as Tara entered his thoughts. Only now, when he thought of her – he felt betrayed and resentful. He truly hoped he never saw her again. Once was hard enough, but twice of being walked out on? He had had enough… Jax saw it coming. He just never wanted to admit it. But Donna’s death was the last straw in his and Tara’s relationship. She couldn’t handle it anymore. Then again, she never could. And that was anything that had to do with the club, his mother, or him in general. She always hoped to change things. But you can’t take the outlaw out of the man. She always assumed she could. That was twice; she went into this relationship knowing what to expect. The woman couldn’t help herself. She had hopes of changing everything around them. He knew she wanted him to up and leave this all behind one day. And assumed he’d leave Charming, the club, and his mother. But that wasn’t in his blood, and it wasn’t what he wanted. What Jax really wanted was someone that truly got him. That would accept him for who he was and would be a good mother to his boy one day. As he looked upon his son, he told himself if he ever found that woman; he’d love her unconditionally and treat her the way she deserved. He’d grown tired of the games. Jax was beginning to have doubts that such a woman even existed. And he knew it wasn’t just about him anymore. And though he wasn’t quite ready to be a father, here he was. His son, his father’s manuscripts, and this town were the very reasons Jax was ready to make some changes when it came to the club and how Clay (The president of the SAMRO) was running things.

“Get up…”

Bella batted her eyes as she came too. The woman that stood before her sighed as if annoyed.

“Come on. I haven’t got all day.”

The young woman rubbed her eyes and came to her feet.

“Look, I guess I owe you one. Apparently, I was wrong about you. So here’s the deal. I’m gonna take you back to my place. Get you cleaned up. Take your ass downtown and help you find a job.

Bella reached for her head as it was pounding from hunger.

“I can’t….”

“Sure you can, and you will. Now let’s go.”

“You don’t seem to understand.”

“What’s to understand? You seem smart. You yourself said you’re not on drugs, so you shouldn’t have to worry about failing any drug tests….”

“I don’t have any ID….”

Gemma shrugged.

“We’ll figure it out. So what’s your name?”

“Angela…” she lied, deciding to use the name of an old friend.

“Angela, huh?”

Bella nodded.

“Angela Webber.”

The woman arched a brow at this but took notice of something else as well.

“You should look even worse today than yesterday with the beating you took. How did your cuts heal over that fast? You should be covered in bruises!” Gemma ran a finger along the yellowing bruise on her cheek. Bella winced as it was still tender to the touch.

“You got some sort of beauty secret I don’t know about?”

Bella shrugged, not sure what to say about that.

“Well, Ms. Webber, it seems I’m having a good day. So, let’s not do anything stupid.”

Bella reluctantly followed Gemma to her car. When Bella got into the Caddy, she couldn’t help but smile at Abel as he was in his car seat. His grandmother took notice and glanced back as well.

“You like kids?”

Bella nodded with a certain beam to her.

“Good, because he’s tagging along with us.”

“He’s got his father’s eyes….”

“Well, I got my father’s attitude, so sit down and shut up.”

The young woman takes her seat and gets this mischievous smile on her face.

“So, what’d you get from your mother?”

Gemma reared back and glared at Bella for a moment.

“Don’t tell me you’re a crazy bitch.”

“Only when needed….” Bella said with a shrug.

The older woman found herself smiling at this.

“Aren’t we all?” She murmured as she started up the car.

“There’s the bathroom. I’ve already got everything set out for you. No snooping. No stealing. And I suggest you take your time in the shower. You smell, and your hair is a literal rat’s nest. All in all – you’re disgusting.”

Bella entered the bathroom and pulled the door to. She saw a pile of clothes waiting for her as well as a bag full of toiletries and feminine products. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a good shower and got to shave. The young woman frowned as she looked at herself in the mirror. Gemma was right. She looked horrible, and already knew she reeked. But there wasn’t much she could do about it.

She eyed the shower with longing as she undressed and prepared everything she needed. The moment she stepped in, and that nice soothing warm water hit, Bella felt the strong urge to cry. The young woman hadn’t allowed herself to think of such privileges – privileges such as a roof over her head, water, electricity, a bed, and three meals a day. She forced herself into the life of a homeless person. Knowing it was the only way she could fool him. He’d never dream she’d stoop this low, and that’s just how he would see it. And that was the entire point. Hide where no one would ever expect. And do a complete 180 on who you are. Her hands balled up into fists, and she pushed that all aside. She scrubbed her entire body down and did this several times as she watched the dirt run down the drain. She didn’t stop scrubbing until the water was clear. Once she finished with that, she conditioned her hair and shaved. Bella couldn’t believe that something as simple as a shower could feel so heavenly. She could’ve stayed in there for hours on end. But as tempting as that was, she didn’t care to have Gemma busting down the doors.

Bella wiped the steam from the mirror after toweling off. She stepped into the skimpy red panties and tight bootcut blue jeans Gemma had set out for her. There was also a pair of black laced Harley Davidson boots. She put on the matching bra, black tank top, and white checkered over-shirt.

To Bella’s surprise everything fit. The young woman brushed her hair and finished getting ready.

When Bella stepped out, Gemma stopped rocking her grandson and raised her brows.

“Talk about day and night! Shit!”

The young woman blushed, and Gemma made her way over and circled Bella like a vulture would a carcass. “Hmmm, not bad; I gotta say you clean up pretty damn good.” Gemma turned towards the door as the doorbell rang. Gemma walked over and opened the door seeing as how it was Opie and his kids. Gemma smiled and waved him on him.

“Tell me, Opie… What do you think of my friend here?”

Opie tilted his head, giving Bella the once–twice over.

“That’s about what I thought…” Gemma murmured.

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I need a favor.”

“I’m not running a brothel…” she taunted.

“Not that…” Opie smarted back, and Bella giggled.

“Oh?”

“Mom took off, and I don’t know where the hell she is. So, I don’t have anyone to watch the kids. And I can’t miss another day… Clay needs me.”

“Gotcha…” Gemma waved the kids over.

“I got this; you just go on now.”

Opie sighed in relief and made his way over. He pecked Gemma on the cheek.

“Thanks!”

She nodded. He gave Bella a slight nod as well.

“Nice meeting you….”

“Her name is Angela.”

“Angela, this is….”

“Opie…” Bella finished with a smile, then offered her hand.

He nodded but was cutting Gemma a puzzled look. Without another word, he rushed out the door. Kenny and Ellie.., Bella thought to herself. She waved at the children and smiled.

“Alright, change of plans. We gotta fix these kiddos something to eat. Then we can go.”

Bella nodded in understanding as Gemma placed Abel in the playpen.

“You two watch over him while we fix you something to eat; sound good?”

The children sat on the floor beside the playpen. They remained quiet and had these heartbroken expressions.

“You come with me.”

The young woman followed her to the kitchen.

“You know how to cook?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You can knock that off. That whole mam bullshit. It’s Gemma.”

“Gemma, it is….”

She said nothing as Gemma got some vegetables out from the fridge. She placed them on a cutting board.

“Get to chopping.”

Gemma grabbed a couple of beers as well and handed Bella one as she was chopping the vegetables.

“Thank you.”

She didn’t comment as she opened her beer and took a good plunge. Gemma curiously watched as Bella the veggies up. It was clear she’d done this before. She lit a cigarette and pointed to the meat once Bella was done.

“Go ahead and cook that while you’re at it.”

“How do you want it?”

Gemma shrugged.

“Humor me… What do you think those kids will eat?”

Bella looked around the kitchen in thought. She found a box of noodles for spaghetti and some sauce. The older woman merely observed as she had Bella fix the children’s lunch. She nodded amongst herself as Bella didn’t even bat an eye. She cooked the entire meal with no issues whatsoever. Gemma could hear the girl’s stomach growling from where she was. But Bella never once mentioned it. The young woman looked around the kitchen until she found some plates to set the table with. Something caught her eye, however, and she turned towards the room the children were currently in. There was this odd flickering light, and Bella picked up an odd smell coming from the room. One of the plates hit the floor and shattered as the realization set in, and Bella took off like a bat out of hell.

“You stupid bitch! That was a set!” Gemma bitched.

“NO!” She heard Bella shout as she dived into the room the children were in.

The older woman rushed over, seeing as how there was a fire along the entire perimeter of the room. She could barely make Bella and the children out. The fire was spreading that quickly. The children were crying, and she could hear Bella trying to calm them as she grabbed Abel from his playpen. Bella dropped down with Abel up against her chest and brought the other two in as well. Gemma tried entering the room but couldn’t. They had no way out, and she had no way in. She grabbed the fire extinguisher from the kitchen and dialed the local fire department, and told them the address.

Her jaw hit the floor, and the phone fell out of her hand when she saw Kenny and Ellie. They were walking towards the doorway. Ellie had Abel in her hold, but that wasn’t what had Gemma floored. They were walking through the fire. She could barely make Bella out from where she stood. All she could see was the young woman holding out a hand, there was fear in her eyes and tears streaming down her face. Once the children were out of the room, the young woman’s eyes rolled back, and she passed out.

“Outside!” Gemma ordered as she gave Opie’s kids a gentle shove out the front door.

She used the fire extinguisher to clear a path, and she took the young woman by the arm and dragged her out of the room. Once she had the young woman outside, she rushed over and checked on the children. Their eyes were bloodshot and they were coughing due to the smoke inhalation. Jax pulled up to the house, taking in the scene before him, and immediately hopped off his bike.

“HEY! What’s going on?!” He called out just as a fire truck and ambulance pulled up not long after.

He took his son from his mother’s hold and patted the infant’s back as he was still coughing. Gemma kissed the top of Kenny and Ellie’s heads before making her way over to Bella. She checked her pulse and turned to Jax.

“Out cold…”

“Who is that?!” he questioned damn near accusingly. Questioning why the hell his mother had a strange woman around his son. His mother sighed. “Relax…”

“She saved us….” Ellie choked back tears.

Jax regarded the child in marvel.

“I’m sorry!” Kenny cried out.

They snapped him a look.

“I don’t know what happened! I went to charge my video game, and these sparks went everywhere. I tried to put it out with one of Abel’s blankets…” the boy sucked back a quivery breath. “But it made it worse! I didn’t know what to do when the curtains caught on fire. We couldn’t get out!”

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s not your fault.” Gemma gritted her teeth and eyed her son.

“I’ve told Clay a million times we needed to get someone out here to rewire that room. It’s that old braided copper wire with no grounding. I noticed that when I painted the room last year. It’s the only room in the house with that old setup. Maybe now he’ll fucking listen!”

“Jesus…” Jax whispered.

Gemma hugged the boy and ran a soothing hand along his back. The firemen put the rest of the fire out while the paramedics checked over the children’s vitals and loaded Bella into the ambulance.

“I strongly advise you get these children to the ER for a breathing treatment and for a more thorough examination.”

“I’ll follow you out there,” Jax said as he handed his son over.

“NOOO!”

Bella shouted with a gasp as she came to. She looked around the room, seeing as how it was empty. She ripped the heart monitors off her body and detached the IV from her arm. The young woman trolled on out of the hospital bed. And she rushed out of the room in a panic.

“The children! Where are they?!” she questioned in damn near hysterics as she made her way to the nurses’ station.

Each of the nurses gazed upon her as if she were nuts. She reached over and grabbed one of them by the collar of their scrub shirt.

“Abel Teller, Kenny, and Ellie Winston… Where are they?!” she demanded.

The young woman hadn’t a clue she was being watched from afar. A cop rushed over and pried her off the nurse.

“Do we have a problem?”

“There were three children… and a fire…”

Bella staggered back, reaching to her temples.

“Please, just tell me they’re okay….”

She heard the clearing of a throat and turned to see not only Gemma but Jax and Abel, Opie, his kids, Clay, and company. Her entire face flushed over, but a breath of relief fled from her lips. She gave them a slight nod and closed her eyes briefly before heading back to her room. Once she pulled the door to, she leaned against it and lost all composure. She was quick to dry those tears, however, as there was a knock at the door. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see it was Jax.

“Mind if I come in?”

She shook her head no and stepped aside, allowing him in.

“Not sure what you did or how you did it. But thank you….” he said with utmost sincerity.

Bella nodded in return but hadn’t any idea what to say or how to react even. This wasn’t the first time she’d pulled something like this. In fact, this town just hadn’t any idea… However, this was the first to this degree as to why it wiped her out.

“He’s fine, and so are the other two,” Jax assured as he regarded her with concern.

“Is there anyone I can call or…”

“I’m fine…” she said as she hunted for a cigarette in the bag with her belongings.

As if reading her mind, Jax tapped her on the shoulder, handing one over. He took his zippo out and lit it for her.

“Thanks…” her nerves were still shot as she took a drag, and Jax regarded the way her hands trembled.

Bella paced the room and smoked her cigarette.

“Do I know you?” he asked, tilting his head and getting a better look at her.

“Maybe… more like I know you and everyone else.” She said with a hint of a smile.

He narrowed his eyes at this.

“Seriously… you’re so familiar. But you’re not from around here, that’s for certain.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Trust me… I’d remember someone like you….”

Bella stopped and raised her brows upon his rather flirtatious tenor. She stood right before him and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Are you sure about that?”

He cued that smirk he was known for, only to have it fade in realization. Her eyes… how did he not take notice of that before? It was a dead giveaway. That was one of the first things he noticed about her. Those deep beautiful brown eyes…

“No way…” he murmured and staggered back as he gave her the once over.

“You can’t be….”

“Can’t be what now…?”

“The grave keeper.” He whispered as if saying a dirty word.

She wrinkled her nose at this.”Grave keeper? Really?”

He chuckled.

“Sorry…” He said, “it’s the name I came with when I first saw you at the cemetery. It’s like you’re guarding the place or something. You’re always there…” he murmured with a shrug.

“So are you…” she threw out there.

He nodded on this.

“More than I wish to be…” he admitted.

“So why the cemetery?” Jax quizzed curiously.

“Of all the places in Charming…” he added.

“It’s peaceful… Maybe I get along better with the dead?”

There was a single knock at the door before it opened.

“Hey…” Gemma called out as she entered the room.

“Hey…” Bella replied, and Jax reared back, observing his mother and Bella in wonder.

“Why were you at the house?” He prompted as he eyed Bella down.

Bella nodded toward his mother.

“Maybe you should ask her….”

Jax regarded his mother in question.

“I figured if we could take at least one deadbeat off the street, that’s something, right?”

“Mom…” he murmured, looking slightly embarrassed.

Bella broke into a giggle fit, however, but quickly covered her mouth, seeing as how they were both looking in her direction now. She cleared her throat.

“Well, this deadbeat needs to pee, so….”

Jax grinned as she darted off and made her way to the bathroom. Once the door shut, that smile faded.

“Deadbeat? Really?” he hissed.

“Oh, come on, the bitch is more than capable of work. Look at her.”

“Oh, I believe me, I have been…” he uttered with a grin.

His mother rolled her eyes.

“And that ‘bitch’ is the reason your grandson’s alive as well as Opie’s kids. So, could you tame it down just a bit? Try and show some sort of appreciation. After all, she could’ve died saving those kids. We both know that.”

“But she didn’t…” his mother muttered, looking to be in thought as she lit a cigarette.

Jax started to say something else but refrained as Bella stepped back out. She washed her hands at the sink and dried them off. Afterward, she leaned against the counter.

“Look, you two should go on. Thanks, Gem, but I think I got it from here.”

“Do you now?” Gemma challenged.

“Well, you did say there was a new stripper joint in town…” Bella mocked in return.

The older woman arched a brow at this.

“You two go home. Take care of your family.”

Bella pivoted back around and jammed the window open. She gave a simple nod, then leaped on out.

“Later…” she called out.

Jax reared back when he saw the grin on his mother’s face.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing, baby…” She murmured as she kissed his cheek, then patted it after.

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