A Stranger in Familiar Land

Chapter 14

Read the authors note at the bottom! Sorry for the slightly short chapter.
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The subsequent breakfast Ella experienced with the guys was unlike anything she'd ever seen. The most amazing thing was that they seemed to all care about her, how she was doing, how she was feeling. It was completely different from what she was used to.

She apologized profusely for worrying them the night before and for taking up a spot in the clubhouse, so much that even Clay, who was always stoic and never had a lot to say to her, asked her to stop because she didn't need to apologize.

Ella did wonder, privately, what the club got out of helping her. She would never ask them though, just in case their kindness ran out.

Halfway through breakfast, a phone rang and it took the club a couple of seconds to realize it was Ella's. It was passed to her and she looked at the caller ID before flipping the phone open and answering, "Hey babes,"

"Ella?" Brad's voice filled her ear, "What the fuck happened? I got a call this morning saying you never showed for work, and you got evicted. I'm your contact for these kinds of things, remember?"

"Oh, right, that," Ella's ears went red, "Look, Brad, you don't have to worry. I'm okay,"

"Oh, right, you're okay. Like that's supposed to make my feel better. I should have visited you last month, things should have never gotten this bad-"

"Brad, stop!" Ella cried, "Things are not bad. I'm with friends right now, they're helping me out. I'll get a motel room and explain to Maria tomorrow why I didn't show up. You don't have to come down just to make sure I'm okay,"

"Yes I do El's, you know I do." Brad breathed deeply, "I'll be down in a few days, just to check on you and vet these new friends of yours. Make sure they're up to the standard," Ella could hear the smile in his voice, "And I wanna check out this place you're working. From what I've read, they don't treat the waitresses well."

"Brad, my work is fine. It's a good job, I might not make as much as you but I get by. You don't have to nitpick my life."

"Yes I do El's. I'll see you in a few days."

"Ugh, you're annoying."

"You're only saying that because you know I'm right."

"I hate you."

"Sure you do. Sorry El's, I gotta go. Love you."

"Bye, love you too." And the call ended.

Ella realized she was across the main section of the clubhouse, having moved there during the call, and all the guys were staring at her.

"Boyfriend?" Tig asked, a fatherly tone in his voice.

"Nah," Ella shook her head, "Friend from high school. He checks in with me from time to time."

"He's coming down?" Clay asked, the concern for the club clear on his face.

Ella nodded, "In a few days. Kinda wants to meet you guys, make sure I'm not surrounded by felons or something," She motioned to the wall of their mugshots, "Which is gonna be hard." She laughed softly, "He's just worried about me."

"Why?" Jax asked.

"Out of everyone in our friend group from graduation, I'm the one that never really," Ella paused, looking for the right words, and reorganized her thoughts, "It's like this: They all went places, did things with their lives. They're all employed in fancy businesses or starting they're companies, and I'm not. I'm a traveler with one year of university under her belt who's currently a waitress. He feels like I'm his responsibility because of that. He feels like I need help because I'm less fortunate than the rest of them, less well off."

The guys nodded one by one as if they understood that kind of responsibility. Ella couldn't imagine why.

"Let's get back to breakfast," Bobby broke the tension between Ella and the guys, grabbing one of the muffins he made from the basket on the bar and biting into it. Ella hooked her phone onto the seam of her leggings and walked back to join the group, digging into her own half-eaten muffin.

"So, Ella," Tig started after a period of silent eating, "Whats your plan for today?"

"I was gonna get a motel room," Ella explained, putting her muffin down so she could talk with her hands, "Then go back to the apartments and hand in my keys so I could get the rest of my stuff. Then I'll head to the cafe, explain to Maria what happened last night and why I didn't come in. With any luck, I'll work the latter half of my shift today and then head back to the motel."

"No, you won't."

Ella was surprised it was Clay who protested.

"You're not going to a motel. You're staying here, in the clubhouse." Even the other guys looked surprised Clay was letting her stay, "Someone will go with you to drop your keys off so you have help hauling your stuff, Half-Sac will get you a room, and on the weekends you can pay for the room by helping Gemma in the office."

"Oh, I couldn't," Ella looked down, she couldn't ask them to do that for her. She didn't need to stay here.

"Like Jax said," Clay looked at Jax for a second, "You're a friend of the club, and we help out our friends."

"Yeah, I bet he says that to all the girls," Ella muttered before she could help herself. The guys burst out laughing, even Jax.

"Doesn't make it any less true darling," Jax winked at her and Ella laughed.

"Fine, I'll stay," Ella nodded and finished her muffin, "But I'm shit in an office. I'm a fair mechanic though, maybe I could help out on the cars?"

"You're a mechanic?" Tig asked like he didn't believe it.

"My dad was," Ella nodded, "He taught me some things. I'm not terrible with engines."

"And bikes?" Bobby asked, "We found you with a broken down bike." He elaborated.

"My dads," Ella explained, "It broke down just after I got to Charming. Haven't had the time or money to get the parts to fix it." She shrugged.

"So you ride?" Clay looked intrigued, it was a welcome change from his typical stoicism.

"Every day before the bike broke down," Ella nodded, "Loved it. My dad brought me up with engines and bikes. It wasn't a typical childhood but..." Ella trailed off, smiling, remembering the antics she got up to at 16 when she'd finally gotten a motorcycle license.

"We'll see how good you are with engines before you start working as a mechanic," Jax said, "But it's not off the table."

Ella nodded, going serious, "Sounds fair."

"You kids are going to be the death of me," Clay grunted, "I feel the need to bang a gavel down. Half-Sac, get Ella into a room. The rest of you, into church. We got some things to discuss. Jax, call Opie and tell him to come back from wherever he disappeared to last night. He needs to be here."

"Okay," Jax banged on the table as they all got up. Ella watched them file into the room at the back of the clubhouse, with big wooden doors.

She looked back at Half-Sac and raised an eyebrow. He sighed, "Don't ask. If you end up living here, you'll find out soon enough," He shook his head, "Just follow me."

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OKAY - my final exams start next week, so I figured I'd publish this chapter just beforehand so I would be able to focus on the tests instead of writing. I won't be able to write until may 18th probably, so there isn't going to be another chapter until after that. Hope you guys like this one!