Jax and Cori grew up together. They, along with Opie, were best friends growing up, but Cori always saw Jax differently. She watched him go through several relationships, all of them ending badly, as she sat back and waited for him to notice her. So...
Opie shook his head as Jax threw another wrench across the garage with a curse. "What the fuck is up your ass, man? Maybe you need to go see Cori. She could always calm your temperamental ass down better than anyone."
Jax shook his head as he leaned against the Audi he was working on. "Yeah, that would be great if she wasn't the fucking problem." When Opie frowned, Jax shrugged. "She's ghosting me, man. I haven't seen her since the morning of Abel's party. Mom said she was at the party but I never saw her. I can't even find out what's going on because she refuses to answer her phone and whenever I go to the house, Sara just tells me that she isn't available."
Opie sighed and shook his head. "She always was stubborn when she wanted to be. Obviously, you did something to piss her off, but what?" He looked at Jax with a disbelieving look on his face. "Shit! Did Cori see that scene Tara made with kissing you?"
Jax closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. "Fuck! I hope to God she didn't."
Opie pointed to the car Jax was leaning on. "Get back to work. It'll all get sorted out, man. Don't worry."
Cori sighed as she looked at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. The line at the pharmacy was taking forever today and she really needed to get home and make dinner. The doctors had called her father in a stronger prescription for pain meds and she was presently waiting in line to get them. She heard a throat clear behind her and turned to see Wendy Case standing behind her in line. The other woman grinned and did a little finger wave.
"Hey, Cori. You remember me?"
Cori smiled and nodded. "Of course, Wendy. How have you been?"
Wendy shook her head and chuckled. "A hot mess, but I'm getting my shit together." When Cori nodded, she continued with a slight smile. "I need to tell you something. I heard you and Tara the other night at Abel's party." She held up a hand when Cori started to speak. "I swear I wasn't eavesdropping. I came out for a smoke but when I heard you two I didn't want to make it awkward so I just kind of waited." She reached out and touched Cori's arm. "You know what Tara said was total bullshit, right?"
Cori shook her head. "That's just it, Wendy. It wasn't bullshit. She and Jax do have a special relationship. I can't compete with that."
Wendy snorted and shook her head. "It might not surprise you that I had it bad for Jax when we were all in school." She chuckled. "Shit, every girl in that school had it bad for Charming's bad boy... well, except Donna. She only ever saw Opie." She sobered as her grip on Cori's arm tightened slightly. "I never made a move on Jax and it wasn't because of Tara."
Cori frowned. "What do you mean?"
Wendy sighed and grinned. "You were all Jax saw. I used to stand back and watch Tara fall all over herself until for whatever reason he noticed her, but... I used to watch the two of you too. Sometimes, you'd be walking down the hall or across the parking lot with Donna and Opie, your heads together laughing about whatever, and I always thought, that's the one for Jax. If only he'd see it." She leaned in closer and smiled at Cori. "He sees it now, Cori. He does. You two are the halves of a whole, and you can't let Tara get in between you. Not this time." She wiped at her eyes as she sniffed. "I'm going into treatment and I'm going to get my shit together, but I carry too much guilt over Abel. I worry that I'll never be a mother to him, but I'd feel much better about his future if you were in it with his dad."
The pharmacist called Cori's name and before she walked away, she reached out and pulled Wendy into a tight hug, whispering in her ear. "I wish you all the luck in the world with recovery. You deserve it, Wendy."
Wendy smiled through her tears and nodded as Cori walked up to the counter. She sighed as she paid for her father's medicine, wondering what to do now.
Cori was almost home when Sara called to tell her to get home quickly. She knew she sped the rest of the way but she didn't care as she pulled into the driveway and ran into the house, yelling for Sara. When she reached her father's room, she stopped in the doorway as Sara shook her head at her and reached for the phone on the bedside table.
Cori slowly walked over to the bed and crawled onto it beside her father, sobs wracking her body. She laid there for what seemed like forever, talking to her dad as if he could still hear her, telling him that she loved him and that she was sorry that she wasn't there when it was time. Sara tried a few times to get her to move but she refused until she felt a big hand on her shoulder.
"Come on, sweetheart. You have to let him go. They need to take him to the funeral home now."
Cori shook her head before looking up into the caring eyes of Piney Winston. "He's gone. Daddy's gone, Piney. I wasn't here when he... "
Piney nodded as he gently pulled her away from her father's body. "I know, baby. You couldn't help that and he knew it. Now, come on, let's get out of the way."
When they made it out to the living room, Cori saw Gemma and Donna waiting for her. She looked at Gemma, tears still coursing down her cheeks. "Where's Jax? I need Jax."
Gemma shook her head through her own tears as she took Cori into her arms. "I know baby. He's in Indian Hills. I called him and he and Opie are on their way back now." She looked at Piney. "Why don't you see if there's anything stronger than coffee around here while we take a walk outside?" She held on tightly to Cori as she and Donna walked outside with her. "Let's wait out here for you dad, ok?"
