Week and a Half Later
"I want to make love to my wife," Justin growled at her, "You better not turn me down Peyton. You know what I'm capable of if I don't get my way." "
Justin, I don't have the energy," she pleaded trying to push him off of her, "I'm so tired, please don't make me do this!"
Peyton heard Justin's zipper unzip and the next thing she knew he had pushed himself inside her as hard as he could. She screamed in pain as he continued to thrust hard. He put his hand over her mouth.
"Shut the fuck up," he growled as he continued to rape her, "I'm capable of killing you sweetheart."
There was nothing she could do. She was absolutely powerless to stop him and she couldn't move her body at all.
"Baby,"...
"Baby," Juice whispered.
Peyton's eyes shot open and she sat up straight in bed. She gasped a couple times as the tears streamed down her face.
"Another nightmare?" Juice asked, "that's 4 nightmares this week."
The tears continued to flow from her eyes and she couldn't stop her body from shaking. The nightmares got more and more real each time she had them. She could feel his hands on her skin, his lips on her neck, on her lips, she could feel him inside her. The pain was excruciating. It was almost as if it was a memory or a flash back and not a dream at all. She turned and looked at Juice, her eyes wide and filled with fear.
"Baby girl," Juice said, reaching out to touch her face and wipe the tears from her cheeks, "Why won't you talk to me about these nightmares you have been having?"
She turned and looked at him sadly.
"Because I don't think they are nightmares," Peyton whispered, her body shaking badly.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"These dreams I'm having," Peyton started, scared of the realization that she was slowly coming to, "I don't think they are dreams at all. I think they are memories. I think I'm having flashbacks of something horrible that Justin did to me."
She could see that Juice was getting frustrated, but she just didn't know how to explain it to him. She didn't know how to put her realization into words.
"Peyton, you need to tell me what happened," Juice pleaded with her.
"The last time he put me in the hospital," Peyton began quietly, "The time right before I ran away and came back here. The doctors sent me home and I was on some pretty heavy pain killers. But after a few days of being at home with him, he had made life so much worse for me that I started taking the pills to make myself forget."
"Jesus," he whispered, looking over at her.
She looked at him and saw the pain in his eyes, which probably reflected the pain in hers, and her heart broke.
"Each time I have this dream or nightmare, there is something new added to it," Peyton said quietly, "Juice, I think that what I'm remembering is Justin raping me just days before I ran away to Charming. When he noticed that I was at my lowest and relying on pain medication to get me through, he started taking advantage of that."
Juice balled up his fists and stood up. She watched as the sadness disappeared and the anger quickly took it's place.
"That son of a bitch," Juice growled as his fist made contact with the wall. She jumped when she heard a loud crack. "Fuck," he mumbled, shaking his fist in pain.
Peyton could see a dent in the wall and quickly rushed over to him. She gently reached for his hand, which was now bleeding and walked him to the bathroom. He sat down on the side of the tub while she got a cloth and got it wet.
"I'm sorry I lost control like that," Juice said quietly, "I'll fix the wall in the morning."
Peyton began to wipe the blood from his knuckles all the while staring into his dark brown eyes. Once she was done she knelt down in front of him and brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it gently.
"I'm sorry Juice," she whispered, "This is just continuously haunting me, haunting us."
"You have nothing to apologize for baby girl," he whispered back, "This isn't your fault. I don't blame you for wanting to numb the physical pain as well as the emotional pain. I just wish I could take away that pain now. I actually wish that Justin was alive so that I could kill him myself."
Peyton looked at her fiancé and she could see the fire in his eyes and she knew that he wished he had been the one to put the bullet in Justin's head. Juice was one of the sweetest and most loveable men that she knew, but like with everyone in the club, there is a side of him that no one ever wanted to see. Just like the rest of them, Juice was not one to be messed with. If you crossed him, he would not hesitate to put you in your place. He tried his hardest to keep his dangerous streak hidden when he was with her or the kids and she appreciated it.
"I don't know what to do now," Peyton said quietly, sitting on the side of the bathtub beside Juice.
Peyton put her head in her hands and cried silently. Juice put his arm around her shoulder.
"What do you mean?" He asked her, "You talk to someone and deal with the situation and we go on with our lives like we planned."
She looked up at him, the tears streaming down her face.
"I was so sure that the twins were yours," she whispered.
"They are mine baby girl," Juice replied, reaching for her chin, "It doesn't matter if they have his DNA or mine, I will raise them as my children. We won't ever tell them about their father because they don't need to know about the sick son of a bitch."
"You don't care?" Peyton asked him with a small smile on her face.
"No, I don't. Do you want to know why?" Juice asked.
Peyton nodded her head in response.
"Justin is dead," Juice replied matter of factly, "I don't have to fight with anyone about who the father is. It would be different if he was still alive."
Peyton understood his perspective.
"Do you want me to get a paternity test done?" She asked. Juice shook his head.
"I don't think it's necessary," Juice replied, "But I understand if you need to get one done."
Peyton felt completely at ease when he said those words and that's when she realized that it really didn't matter if the twins were his or not. He would love those children like his own regardless of that fact.
The next thing she knew Juice had her in his arms and his lips were pressed against hers in a fiery embrace. Her body was instantly on fire. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he moved them both to the floor. She looked up at him and his eyes burned into hers with desire and an intensity that she was sure her eyes resembled.
"Take me," she whispered, "Now."
A few hours later after Juice had left for the clubhouse, Peyton was in her bathroom getting ready and the boys were playing in the living room.
"Sweetheart!" she heard her mother call from the front door.
"In the bathroom mom," Peyton called back. She laughed quietly to herself when she heard the boys attack grandma with hugs at the front door.
"What did you feed those kids this morning?" Joyce asked with a smile, walking into the bathroom, "They are absolutely crazy with love for their grandma!"
Peyton realized then that hers and Juice's clothes were still all over the floor from their intense moment that morning and she looked at her mother who was eyeing the mess.
"Don't ask," Peyton said to her.
"Probably best I don't," Joyce replied.
"Thanks mom for looking after the boys today," Peyton said as she finished applying her mascara and dabbing on a little lip gloss, "This is the only day that Tara, Lyla and I had time to go shopping for dresses."
"It's not a problem sweetheart," her mother replied, "I love spending time with these little guys. I'm making up for lost time."
Peyton put the lip gloss down and smiled at her mom. "They love it too," Peyton replied.
"So are they coming out here or are you meeting them at the store?" Joyce asked.
"I'm meeting them at the clubhouse," Peyton replied, "Tara is dropping the boys off with Jax for the day and Lyla was just finishing up some paperwork for Red Woody."
Her mother rolled her eyes and Peyton laughed.
"It's not for everyone mom," Peyton stated, "But if you're good at it, why not make a living doing it."
"Good grief child," Joyce exclaimed, laughing with Peyton, "You do have a point I suppose."
Peyton gave her mom a quick hug.
"I have to get going mom," Peyton said after a moment, "But if you need anything call my cell first. If I don't answer then call Juice. I just don't want to bother him if he is busy."
Her mom nodded her head in agreement.
Peyton grabbed her purse off the dresser and went out into the living room to say goodbye to her boys.
"Momma's leaving," she called from the front door, "I love you guys."
The boys ran over to her and gave her kisses and hugs and waved to her and she walked out the door.
*****
About half an hour later Peyton pulled her truck into the parking lot of TM and the clubhouse. She walked into the clubhouse and saw Lyla talking with Chibs, which wasn't anything unusual. However, this time she was laughing at some private joke and Chibs was playing with a strand of her hair. Peyton stood there quietly and watched as they interacted with each other with an eyebrow raised. They were clearly too into each other to notice that she had entered the room. How long had "this" been going, she asked herself. It was such an unlikely pairing that it was almost adorable.
"Umm... I don't mean to interrupt," Peyton said quietly.
Lyla jumped and Chibs looked over at her and then quickly stood up, his hands falling to his sides.
"Hey," Lyla said sheepishly, "This isn't what it looks like."
"That's usually what people say when it's exactly what it looks like," Peyton replied with a smirk, "So how long has "this" been going on?"
"Not long," Chibs replied, "It's all very new to us as well. Kind of came as a shock really."
"It started the night of the party at your place," Lyla replied, "We haven't really established anything. But we just discovered that we have some sort of connection and we are figuring it out as we go."
"Well good for you guys," Peyton said happily, "I'm sorry I walked in on you guys. But honestly, if this is what you both want, then go for it. It's kind of cute."
All conversation stopped when Abel and Thomas ran into the clubhouse screaming and Tara wasn't far behind. She looked calm and collected like she always did and she smiled at them when she saw them.
"Hey," she said, walking up to the bar where the three of us were sitting. Tara gave Chibs and quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to us. "Ready to shop?" she asked excitedly, "because I'm ready to leave the kids here. Chibs is Jax around?"
"Nah sweetheart," Chibs replied, "Him and Juice had to make a house call." He rolled his eyes after he finished the sentence. They all knew what that meant. It meant nothing good.
"You guys head out," Chibs said, standing up, "I will look after the little lads."
He kissed Lyla on the cheek and Peyton could see her face get red and then he hugged her tightly.
"Enjoy yourself baby girl," he whispered. Peyton nodded her head and smiled at him.
The girls walked outside and decided to take Lyla's car as there was more room and no car seats. On their way, Peyton was sitting in the front seat and she could barely contain herself.
"I know I shouldn't say anything," Peyton said, looking over at Lyla.
Lyla turned and glared playfully at Peyton.
"I actually wanted to talk to both of you about this," Lyla said, looking at Tara through the review mirror. Tara looked up at both of them.
"Talk about what?" Tara asked.
"Well, I'm not really sure how it happened," Lyla replied, "But Chibs and I have kind of been seeing each other. It's only been since the house warming party a couple weeks ago and not much has happened. We've been spending a lot of time together in the evenings. He has been coming over to my house because I have the kids, but the kids like having their dad's friend around."
Tara's jaw hit the ground as she looked back and forth between Peyton and Lyla.
"No shit!" Tara exclaimed, "How long did you know about this?"
Tara stared at Peyton and waited for an answer.
"I found out about 20 minutes before you did," Peyton stated, "I walked into the clubhouse and they were flirting like crazy."
"Does anyone else know?" Tara asked. Lyla shook her head.
"I think the only one that might know is Jax," Lyla replied, "But other than that, no one knows."
"I'm happy for you Ly," Tara replied, "I hope things work for you two."
Lyla smiled at Tara through the rear view mirror.
*****
A little while later they had pretty much tried on every bride's maid dress in the one dress store in Charming before Tara and Lyla decided on a knee length, strapless light pink dress with a white sash around the middle.
"It's perfect!" Peyton exclaimed, "It's looks beautiful on both of you and the color is perfect for that time of year."
All three girls squealed in excitement.
"Ok, your turn," Tara said, pointing towards the change room and a pile of wedding dresses.
Peyton got up and ran into the change room. She had no idea where to start.
Tara looked up from her magazine when Peyton stepped out of the change room a little while later and what she saw took her breath away.
"Peyton, it's gorgeous," Lyla said quietly, "It's the perfect dress!"
It was a very pale pink ball gown type dress. The straps of the dress rested just off the shoulders, it had a corset back and lots and lots of tulle.
"I think I found my dress," Peyton said happily.
She looked in the mirror and her two best friends stood on either side of her in their dresses. Tears instantly sprung to all of their eyes.
"I think so too," Tara replied.
Peyton pulled her two friends in for a hug. She didn't think that it was possible to be as happy as she was, but there was always something that happened to prove her wrong. She couldn't help but be afraid that her happiness would be stolen away from her somehow.