A Family Affair

Chapter 6

Jax tossed Nora on his bed after he slammed the door shut and locked it. His chest was heaving as he glared down at the redhead, who was grinning up at him. He shook his head and ran his aching hand down his face.

This was a game to her.

He knew it from the moment his eyes had connected with hers when he walked into the Clubhouse. The way she grinned at him, all the while pushing herself against that college fucker.

She had known exactly what she was instigating, and Jax knew for certain that he hadn't disappointed her. She got the show that she wanted to see.

Jax knew Nora was seeing just how far she could push him that night. A part of him also knew that he probably should just leave her in the room and wait for her to sober up. But the other part of him knew this conversation had been needing to be had regardless of whether she was sober.

"What the fuck was that?" He demanded as threw his arms out to the sides.

Nora hummed as she kicked the red Converse shoes off her feet. Leaning back so that she was lounging casually on her elbows, she shrugged her shoulders with feigned innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about, Jackson."

That smug grin never left her face as she taunted him, and it infuriated him.

His fingers flexed. He wanted to hit something, but he settled for roughly tugging at his own hair. "God damn it, Nora."

"Are we going to fuck or not?" Nora demanded; eyebrows raised as she ignored his anger.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he let out a humorless laugh. Running a hand down his mouth and chin, he pinned her with a harsh glare. "No. We're going to talk this shit out."

Nora tossed her head from side to side as she appraised him. She smiled at him, but the fire in her eyes threatened to set him ablaze. Nodding her head slightly, she sneered at him. "That's right. I forgot that you only fuck whores on the road."

"I didn't fuck her!" He shouted at her, causing her to get off the bed to stand toe-to-toe with him.

"Right!" She yelled back as she attempted to shove him. "I'm sure it was your charming personality that had her showing up here!"

Nora was 5'2" and looked ready to square up regardless of the fact that he towered over her at 6'1". Despite himself, he couldn't stop the huff of a laugh that escaped his lips.

"It worked on you." He retorted, only to instantly regret saying it when Nora reared back and sent her fist flying into his gut.

Doubled over with the wind knocked out of him, Jax wasn't sure if he was pissed she hit him... or proud he and Opie had taught her how to throw a punch like a fuckin' man.

"No, it was the dick for me." She snapped as she stormed towards the door. She unlocked it and yanked it open, only for Jax to quickly slam it shut again.

"We're not leaving this room without talking." Jax crossed his arms and leaned against the door.

"I don't want to talk to you." Nora snarled at him as she attempted to pull the door open despite his body mass making it impossible for her. "God damn it, Jax!" She huffed as she gave up on the door and instead attempted to stomp on his Nike clad foot.

Jax rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before reaching over and pushing her back by the forehead. He held his hand there in amusement as she attempted to swing at him again.

She was unsuccessful.

"We need to talk." Jax spoke calmly. "If not for us, do it for the kids."

Nora deflated. Her shoulders sagged as her chin touched her chest. "Don't use them against me like that."

"I'm not using them against you, darlin'." Jax shook his head with his eyebrows raised. "This affects them, too."

"I know that!" Her head snapped up as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe that's something that you should have thought about when you were balls deep inside that bitch!"

Jax squeezed his eyes shut as he took in a deep breath to calm himself. "For the last time, I did not fuck her. It was nothing more than a blowjob!"

Nora shook her head and scoffed. "Wow. That really makes it better, Jackson."

"Oh my God." Jax rubbed his hands down his face before pointing a finger at her. "You were the one when this whole thing started that said if I were going to indulge in the 'what happens on the road, stays on the road' motto that it better not be more than a blowjob. That's all it's ever been. I've kept my word."

Nora threw her hands up angrily. "I thought that was what I was supposed to say! I didn't really want you to do it!"

"You could've fuckin' told me that!" Jax threw his own arms up.

Nora rolled her eyes. "Right. Because you would have really agreed to not doing something while on the road."

"Yea, I would've." Jax asserted. "If I would've fuckin' known that was what you wanted, I would've agreed in a heartbeat. And I would have kept my word to you. I always have."

"How often did you get your dick sucked when you've been on the road, then?" Nora demanded.

"A few." He admitted as he ran a head down the back of his neck. "It wasn't often, and it wasn't every time."

"Why did you that time? With her?"

"You had been giving me the cold shoulder for three months at that point. I was fuckin' lonely. All you kept doing was pushing me away, and I had no clue why. You wouldn't even talk to me when I tried."

The fight left Nora's eyes, and in its place, guilt took over as she avoided looking him in the eye. "I had a miscarriage, Jax." Her voice cracked. Wrapping her arms around herself, she walked over to the bed and dropped to sit on the edge of it with Jax following behind her.

"What?" Jax felt as if someone had just been kicked in the gut. A knot formed in his chest as he dropped to his knees in front of her and grabbed her hands with both of his." You were pregnant? Why didn't you tell me?"

They had been trying for another baby for two years at that point. Because of how easy it was to get pregnant with the twins, they assumed it would be easy to add another baby to the family. After a year of trying, with no luck, they went to the doctor and found out they were experiencing secondary infertility, which had been a hard pill to swallow.

Nora's eyes welled with tears. A single tear fell as she took a shuddering breath. "I was going to surprise you. I had this whole pregnancy reveal planned out for you and the kids. I was waiting for the dating scan to have an ultrasound picture to use for the reveal. At the appointment, I found out there wasn't a heartbeat. I passed the baby a couple of days later. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to be hurt, too."

"Nora, you should've told me. That's not something you should've had to go through alone."

"I felt like a failure, Jax." Nora's shoulders shook as she sobbed. Tears poured down her face as she gasped for air.

"Oh, baby." Jax's voice cracked as his own eyes welled with tears. He pulled her down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to his chest while she clung to his shirt. "You're not a failure." He pushed her hair away from her face. "It's not your fault." He kissed her forehead as tears made their way down his own face. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Jax mourned for the baby that had been lost before he even knew of its existence. What would it have been like? Was it a boy or a girl? Would it have had his eyes and Nora's nose? Visions of what birthdays and holidays could've been like had their baby not passed haunted him.

After a while, Jax lifted Nora up and laid her on the bed. He put his kutte on the back of a chair and kicked his shoes off. After turning off the light, he silently climbed into bed next to her. He pulled her tightly against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

Together, they comforted each other. And together, they mourned the loss of their baby that was gone too soon.

Hours later, Nora had finally fallen asleep. Jax kissed her head and whispered in her ear. "I love you."