On the Devil's Path {a SOA sequel}

Chapter twenty four

To say that I was surprised that Jax didn't come back the next day was an understatement. I was sure that he would be back bright and early the next morning and I would have to kick him out again. I even thought about telling the nurses not to let him in. But he didn't show up. I tried to tell myself it was what I wanted. I told him to leave after all. Still, the fact that he actually listened stung.

My doctor came in shortly after I was served an awful institutional breakfast to tell me Debbie cleared me to leave. Obviously, I wasn't going to call Jax to pick me up. Gemma probably wasn't a good choice either seeing as I pretty much took Jax's heart out and stomped on it. But of course, my life was full of surprises. Before I could pick up the phone Gemma waltzed in.

"Morning." She said.

Her tone wasn't angry or even happy. I swallowed hard and tried to smile at her.

"Morning Gem." I said softly.

She chewed on the inside of her lip and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Jax been by?" She asked.

She already knew the answer. I could see it in her eyes. I couldn't exactly tell though if she was angry or not. I shook my head as an answer and she plopped down in the chair beside the bed.

"So when can I bust you out of this joint?"

I blinked at her and tilted my head. Why wasn't she trying to kill me? If I knew anything about Gemma Teller it was do not under any circumstances hurt her son. There was no way that Jax didn't go running to mommy right after he left here last night so she has to know what happened. Unless she thinks what I did was right; unless she was feeling guilty about something.

"Actually I can leave right now." I said.

I managed to keep the suspicion out of my voice and she seemed to buy it. Gemma nodded and stood up from the chair.

"Then what are we waiting for? There's a little boy that's missed the hell out of you waiting for you." She said with a smile.

Gemma reached down and grabbed the suitcase that Jax had brought and tossed it onto the bed. She muttered something about getting a coffee and left me to get dressed. When she came back, I was pulling my hair up in a bun.

"All set?" She asked from the doorway.

I nodded and picked up the suitcase. She took it from me and shrugged. As we passed the nurse's station, Debbie came around the corner and called my name. Gemma raised her eyebrow as I stopped walking.

"Take care, sweetheart. If you need anything you know where to find me." Debbie said with a soft smile.

I returned it and she pulled me in for a hug. Gemma mumbled something about psycho-babble bullshit and I rolled my eyes. Once we were outside, we both lit up a cigarette. I sighed deeply as the sweet poison entered my lungs. Three days without a smoke was enough to drive you mad.

Gemma didn't say anything for a while. To be honest, I preferred it. Sometimes Gemma had a tendency to twist things and make you feel worse than you already do and that's exactly not what I needed right now. But of course, she couldn't keep quiet for long.

"Abel misses his mommy." She said finally.

I snapped my head to look at her. My eyes narrowed and clenched my fists.

"I'm not his mother, Gemma." I spat.

She swallowed hard and gripped the wheel.

"Yes, you are." She said firmly.