Up In Flames

Chapter 2

That week had been painful for Rory, isolating really. She kept her head in her work and used it as an excuse to not spend much time with Happy. She did schedule an appointment at the clinic despite her uncertainty. Happy showed up to drop her off even after she repeatedly told him not to, she could see he felt guilty about something but she wasn't sure what.

"You sure you don't want me to go in?"

"Hap, I didn't even want you to drop me off."

She waited, silently begging him to ask her what she wanted, but he just nodded and kissed her cheek. Happy assumed she'd have said something, especially considering Rory never had an issue telling him what she really thought.

"I'll be here waiting." He said, relaxing back into the driver's seat of her car. There was no way she'd be riding on a Harley afterwards.

"Happy, I love you." She said with a dark tone.

"Okay." He said, his eyebrows knitted with confusion. "You too."

That was the last time Happy would see her. She never walked out of the clinic and he'd spend the last year searching for her. It wasn't until he found out her rent was still being paid that he suspected something other than foul play, although he didn't want to. After he'd beaten his way through the rats and dealers who always had their ears to the ground and the club never received a threat or ransom call, he trusted she did in fact leave him and hadn't been taken.

Happy knew why she left. He wouldn't admit it at first, even to himself, but he knew it had everything to do with that baby.

--

Rory glanced at the calendar, remembering the date, and felt her heart fall. It had been exactly one year since she'd left Charming and she couldn't help but wonder what Happy was doing and how he was. Even back then it struck her as a cruel thing but not as much as when she really thought about how much he'd opened up to her.

"Hey." She scooped up the phone right as it began to ring. "Yeah, 8734 is the baby mama. Just don't go busting in and try to grab him going in or out. If that kid is there it'll end bad and I'll kill you."

Johnny chuckled a little and nodded even though she couldn't see him. "Yep. We weren't going to, just calm down."

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" She asked randomly.

"Is this really the time?" He checked the clip in his gun. "I don't, by the way."

"Thanks, John."

Rory had taken plenty of precautions to be sure Happy didn't follow her to Oregon. She had nowhere else to go but she knew he'd look there first. He did, which is why she waited and began using a new name.

"Please do not think about going back." He begged her. "What happened was shitty and I know you're mad and hurt and he's probably pissed. I think you're better off here at home."

"What makes you think I'd go back?"

"I know you and I know for some fucking reason you love him. He ain't good for you, obviously. If he was you wouldn't have felt you needed to bolt." As Johnny spoke he was staking out a bounty but there was no action.

"I didn't leave because I think he's bad for me, John. I didn't want him to hate me or for me to end up hating or resenting him." Rory's eyes began to fill as she played back her arrival in Oregon. She was a mess, emotionally torn apart, and it took convincing for Johnny to even trust her after the way they left things after her stabbing. "I didn't know what I wanted to do and being there made it impossible to think clearly."

"Ror, I gotta go." He spoke in a whisper. "Just don't leave until I get home okay?"

"Okay. Be safe."

--

Rory had already packed a small bag. She was terrified of what she'd find in Charming and how Happy would react to seeing her. No decision had been made about the length of her stay or what she'd do once she arrived but that didn't matter.

"Aurora." Johnny groaned as he came back into the house the next morning. "Why?" He gestured to the bags by the front door.

"I have to, I have to apologize and explain shit. I'm not moving back and expecting this big romantic reunion. I'm sure he hates me but he deserves to know. You don't understand the man he was and how he changed, I don't think I appreciated it as much as I should have."

None of that meant anything to Johnny. All he really cared about was keeping Rory safe. "You trust him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want him hurting you."

"Oh shit, no, he'd never hurt me. I'm sure he'll say some mean shit but you know, it's probably less than I deserve."

"If you need me I'll be here. I'm not taking any jobs in case something happens."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

"If it works out, you're gonna stay?"

"I don't know. I really don't think it's going to end well, Johnny."

"If I was him I'd forgive you."