Jax keeps his head down, his phone pressed against his ear with a lit cigarette between his lips as he paces around the deserted parking lot. He looks up, his heart stopping when he sees that lifted Chevy Blazer parked in it's usual spot at the shop. He glances around, hoping that he's just imagining everything. "I gotta call you back." He says into the phone, hanging up on whoever he was talking to as he makes his way to the office of the shop once he realizes that Chevy isn't going anywhere.
He cracks the door open, his stomach dropping at the sound of soft crying following by even softer shushing.
"Jax!" Bobby shouts over his idling bike. "C'mon, let's go!" He silently shuts the door and heads to his bike, following Bobby and Happy out of the lot.
Sophia wipes her flushed cheeks as Gemma rubs her back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry you went through all that, baby."
"I can't catch a break, can I?" She chuckles weakly, shaking her head.
"What're you going to do now?"
"Move into my dad's house, clean it out, finally have my own place." She shrugs. "Still don't know where Gabe went."
"He, uh, came here looking for you and got arrested again."
"For what?"
"Grand theft, possession, resisting arrest."
"Stupid asshole." She shakes her head again. "Stockton?"
"I think so. You can talk to Wayne, I'm sure he'll tell you everything he can."
Sophia stands and nods, leaning over to give her mother figure a tight hug. "I'm gonna clean myself up before I head down to the station."
"Jax just left so his dorm is empty." Gemma tells her, tucking a loose strand of wavy brown hair behind her ear.
She nods and picks up her bag, nonchalantly heading to the clubhouse.
+++
Sophia's zoned out as she takes her first relaxing shower since she left Charming. She moans out as the hot water soothes her bruised skin and tired muscles. She pushes her soaked brown hair out of her face while she just stands under the steady, hot stream.
Jax pushes the door open, paying no mind to the running shower or the bag on the floor next to the bed.
He sighs heavily as he kicks his shoes and pulls his t-shirt, hoodie, and cut off, stepping out of his jeans on his way to the bathroom. He opens the door and stops, his eyes landing on the bruised woman occupying his shower.
"Soph?"
She jumps a few feet in the air, stumbling back against the shower wall. She blindly reaches to turn the water off then she shakily grabs a towel, wrapping it around her black and blue skin. "Your mom said you were out."
He silently looks over the exposed parts of her body, his blue eyes raking down her arms and legs and the marks on her face, neck and chest. "What happened to you?"
"I- It's nothing." She whispers, sliding past him to get some clothes. Jax gently takes her hand and stops her, his fingers running over the splashes of color on her flushed skin. "Don't."
"Who did this to you? I know it wasn't Tweety."
"Jax," She looks away, hiding the tears in her eyes. She's sick of crying. "I deserved it."
"Like fuck you did. No one deserves to be beaten within an inch of their life and judging by those marks, this wasn't the first time. So sit your ass down on the bed and fucking tell me everything."
"No."
"No? I'm trying to help, Soph!"
"No, you're yelling at me. Yelling isn't helping."
Jax takes a deep breath then sits on the bed, calmly patting the spot next to him. "Please."
"That's better." She can't help the teasing smirk on her busted lips as she sits, the towel still secured around herself. "I met a guy at the grocery store and we hit it off. We were together for a while but I didn't want to have sex with him- I- I really couldn't bring myself to fuck him and he got tired of it and... you know..." she trails off, watching herself fiddle with her fingers nervously. Jax puts one of his on top of hers, gently brushing his thumb against her knuckles. "I told him I didn't want to. I tried to get away from him but..."
Jax catches on and clenches his jaw. "He assaulted you."
"It is what it is." She shrugs, wiping a stray tear. "I'm moving into my dad's house."
"Good for you." He smiles softly, his eyes falling to the huge bruise covering her back. "Stand up."
"What?"
"Just stand up, please." He takes her hand and pushes her to her feet. "Trust me."
"Okay."
Jax tugs her towel down her back slightly, letting it pool at her hips as he gets a look at her back. The big ass bruise almost covers her entire back from shoulder to shoulder. "What happened?"
"Donnie must've shoved me against the wall-wait no," She glances back at her skin. "This is from when he threw me to the kitchen floor for not having dinner ready when he got home from 'busting his ass all damn day at work'." She shakes her head. "That was a couple weeks ago."
"Soph." Jax sighs. "You can't go back."
"Oh, no, I know." She says, fixing the towel before she starts to pick up clothes. "I'm moving into my dad's house." She repeats. "After I get dressed, I'm heading over there." She flutters her sight to him. "You can come with if you want."
He nods and stands. "I'll be outside, then." He leans over and gently presses a kiss to her bruised cheek before slipping out the door.
Sophia sighs to herself as she slowly pulls on a pair of shorts, wincing slightly when the fastened button presses against a dark bruise on her lower stomach. She shakes her head, pulling on a tank top next- it's too hot to be bundled up, no matter how much she wants to hide the marks on her skin, then she steps into her sneakers.
She throws her wet hair into a shitty bun then joins Jax outside, leading him to her jacked-up Chevy.
+++
"How has things been around here?" Sophia asks as she packs up some of Scott's clothes.
"Fine." He shrugs back, neatly stacking the filled boxes outside the back end of her SUV. "You reconnected with a brother?"
"My oldest, yeah, David." She sets a few shirts to the side for herself. "I'm gonna see if he wants some of these jeans and I'll probably save some for Gabe when he gets out of prison- y'know job interviews and shit. Doubt they'll want to hire a fuckin convicted felon."
"He's back in?"
"You're surprised?" She asks, looking over at him. She bites her lip when she sees he's ditched his cut and tee, leaving him in that white tank top and baggy jeans.
He catches her eye, his panty dropping smirk making its way onto his face.
"Larceny, possession and resisting arrest." She says, tucking the flaps of the box under each other before scribbling Jeans on the front and sides. "Back at Stockton, I guess."
"We can go visit him."
"We?"
There's a knock on the door. "Who's that?" He asks her, pushing her behind him as he answers the door. "Can I help you?" He asks an incredibly tattooed man.
"Sophia here?" He asks, looking down at the blonde across from him.
"What're you doing here?" Sophia asks, giving the man a hug. Jax feels a pang of jealousy in his chest. "Oh, Jackson, this is David. Dave, Jax." The two shake hands. "Come in."
"David, brother David?" Jax asks, sitting at the table with him while Sophia goes to the fridge to throw together some lunch.
"Yessir." David smiles. "Who're you to her?"
Jax glances back at her before looking at Dave. "A friend."
Sophia's heart drops into her belly at those words but it's true. They aren't together anymore but shit, they miss each other so fucking much that it hurts.
"You friends with that guy with that came by? The one with the big ass beard?"
"Opie?" Sophia asks and David shrugs a nod.
"He's my best friend." Jax admits, pulling at his rings.
Sophia sighs as she stirs the stew she threw together. "What're you doing here, Dave?"
"Don came by the house looking for you. I told him you might be in Oregon with our sister."
"You have a sister?"
"No, it's like a backup, I guess. If we were in trouble or wanted to disappear for a while, we'd tell people we were with our sister." Dave explains. "What was the name we made up?"
"Something like Ruth or Miriam- something to tie with the biblical theme that is our names, well, not my name."
"I mean, I think Sophia's in the Bible. It's like Italian or something." Dave says.
"Angela didn't want to Americanize my name since she's second gen but Scotty said that the 'F' was dumb." She shakes her head.
"They always put you in the middle of their shit." David sighs. "Why did you go with Angela?"
"I didn't want to leave Charming but she guilt tripped me into it." Sophia grabs a couple bowls and fills them with the stew. "She's so selfish. She didn't even show up to Scotty's memorial."
"I know." David shakes his head. "You got a job yet?"
"Why? You gonna bum a twenty off me every day like Gabe?" She says in a half hearted joking tone. "Not currently but I'm sure I can talk Gemma into letting me back at the shop."
"Lip's back behind the bar and we've got a new prospect so-"
"I'm not worried about the bar." She cuts him off. "I don't think I'm going to miss wiping up the guys' cum and vomit every fucking night, not to mention the live porn shows-"
"I got it." Jax grimaces slightly.
"So where would you go?"
"Full time at the shop? I'm sure Lowell'll love having you around all the time." She gives Jax a look. "Okay, fine, we all will."
She chuckles and pats his hand. "Thanks."
"So, we not gonna address the goddamn elephant in the room?" David asks.
"What?"
"Why the fuck do you look like shit?"
"Wow, thanks." She rolls her eyes. "It's a long story, man."
"It really isn't." Jax mumbles earning a dirty look from the brunette next to him.
"Sophia." David says in a fatherly tone.
"I'm not talking about it." She states, standing. "I gotta keep boxing shit up." She takes her dirty dishes to the sink then disappears to the back of the house.
"Dude."
"It's not my business." Jax says, fishing his cigarettes from his chest pocket, lighting up.
David's mouth waters as he excuses himself to the front porch, fighting every urge he has to take one from that pack of Marlboro Reds.
Jax follows her to the master bedroom and sighs at the sound her trying to cry quietly. He pushes the door open and sits behind her, slowly wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Sophia jumps at first but then relaxes against him, needing this intimacy again.
Not fucking.
Not sex.
Just a fucking hug.
Sophia climbs into his lap, her arms tight around his shoulders with her face buried in the crook of his neck. She takes a deep breath, inhaling that scent of cigarette smoke, cologne and leather, her body relaxing more.
"I'm sorry." She whispers against his neck. "I'm so sorry." He says nothing as he rubs her back, letting her let everything that she's been holding in for the past few months out. "Let's get drunk."
"Huh?"
"Stay the night so we can get drunk."
Before he has the chance to answer, she's down the hallway to the kitchen. "Hey, David." She calls, poking her head out to the front porch. "Take those boxes." She nods to the stack by her car. "I'll see you later." She then closes the door and heads to the kitchen.
David picks up the boxes, tosses them into the bed of his truck and is on his way back to Lodi.
Sophia picks up a bottle of whiskey and some beer before returning to the master bedroom where Jax still is. She makes eye contact with him while she lights a cigarette, the way she's standing puts more focus on her braless chest in that thin tight tank top of hers and he can't help but stare. She takes a few gulps of liquid courage then takes a deep drag from the smoke between her fingers before she drops herself on his lap.
Jax holds onto her hip while he snags her cigarette to take a drag. They exhale together before they suddenly kiss each other hard, hands groping body parts.
"Wait." Jax says, pulling away. "Do you want to do this?"
"I mean I have my hand down your pants."
"I- I know. But do you want to do this? It's just- You've been through so much shit lately and-"
Sophia cuts him off with a soft kiss, grasping the sides of his face. "You're a great guy." She whispers. "And I know you'd never hurt me on purpose but right now, Jax, right now, I really need to be fucked, fucked hard and fucked hard by you." She breathes, sliding her hands down to the pair on her hips. "Can you do that for me, please?"
"I'm all about the service, darlin'."