The Life and Death of Girl Unknown (UNDER REVISION AND EDITING)

Chapter 41: Same Song Different Chorus.

When we got home, Amanda was waiting to help bring the boys inside. They were hungry and wanted to run around and play, seeing as they couldn't do that at the hospital. Juice took Beau inside while I went to the back of the van to grab the suitcase. I swear I felt my entire world shatter when I pulled the small suitcase out and the black leather kutte came tumbling out with it. My heart sank brokenly as I stared at the SAMCRO leather on the ground by my feet like a ghost haunting me from the past. I don't hate SAMCRO or anyone from Charming but Jax is trying to hurt my family, and unluckily for him I've taken mothering advice from Gemma. But it doesn't make sense, why does Juice have his old kutte in the back of our van? What's going on with him?

I sighed heavily to myself and knelt down, wincing at the slight pain. I unzipped the suitcase and shoved the kutte in.

"Are you okay, Maria?" Amanda's voice broke through my train of empty thought, closing the case again before anyone could come back out to see that I found it, especially Amanda. She'll have questions about what it is and who it belongs to. The red-haired girl came around the side of the van with a curious expression and her hands on her teenage hips. I forced a smile at her and nodded.

"Yeah. I didn't zip it up right and some stuff fell out when I tried taking it out of the trunk." I lied to her bold facedly but she bought it with a casual nod and smiled as I brought myself back up to my standing position.

"Okay. I'm gonna head home. Call me if you need anything." She informed me kindly then proceeded to saunter down the driveway and around the hedge towards her house. I didn't really like her but she's good with the boys. Sadly, the only reason she's so on demand is because she is the babysitter who tries to bed the husband. Only, her scheme isn't going to work.

I watched her leave before heading inside where Juice was in the kitchen with the kids, Daylon in his highchair and Beau was asleep in her car seat on the kitchen table while Percy helped Juice make some lunch. Subconsciously a smile fell across my face as I watched my family but the nagging thought of the kutte stayed. I need answers before it's too late.

The rest of our first day home was calm. Percy convinced Juice to take them to the park while I stayed home with Beau. When they came back Percy hung out with his dad in the small garage while Daylon cuddled up to me on the couch to watch a movie while Beau was asleep in her swing. Daylon sat at the coffee table with a colouring book and crayons after getting bored of cuddling with me. He toddled off to the garage not too long later, hot on Juice's heels when he came in for two bottles of water.

At one point, I did get up to see what the boys were doing in the garage, Juice was sitting on a crate working on his bike with Percy peering over his shoulder, taking in everything his dad was teaching him. Daylon was sitting between Juice's feet on the concrete floor observing what his dad was doing. The sight made my stomach curdle a bit. It reminded me of Juice's kutte hiding in my suitcase. I had to ask myself: What's he doing with it? He should've burned it the moment we left Charming. Hell, even before that. Why was he hiding it in the trunk of our van?

After dinner Juice rounded up the boys and bathed, and got them ready for bed all by himself. I was impressed by that. The boys love giving their dad the runaround when it comes to bed time but tonight they cooperated with him. Juice was able to get them both in the bath at the same time, get them clean, dry them off and get them dressed before giving them half a banana each for snack before putting them to bed. He read to them and tucked them in, giving them a hug and kiss goodnight.

When the boys were in bed I was able to go for a shower while Juice watched Beau. It was nice to get some alone time but it was haunting. Everything that's happened; all the betrayal and hurt still felt like a fresh stinging wound. I couldn't get past everything. But as a mother, I had to hold my cards close to my chest. I had to hold onto the pain so my boys didn't have to feel it, to understand it. I understand that they need to experience pain and such but it's all they've been experiencing for almost a year. It's not fair to make them go through something so traumatic again. I needed to protect them from anything that can hurt them.