Chapter 15

As Tinsley and Jax got closer to her apartment, they fell into a contented silence. They pulling in the lot and they both walked up to her door. When she went to unlock it, she noticed it was already unlocked. Tinsley felt like something was off because she was almost 100% certain she had locked the door. She always locked it.

"That's funny, I could have swore I locked the door" said Tinsley.

"You did. I watched you do it. Stay here, I'm gonna check and make sure no one is inside." Said Jax.

Doing as she was told, Tinsley stayed outside the door while Jax checked the apartment. Every nerve in her body was on high alert. As he walked in the door, she heard the snick of him putting a round in the chamber of a gun. She didn't even know he was carrying. After about 5 minutes, Jax came back.

"It's all clear but the place is trashed" said Jax.

Tinsley walked in and Jax was right. It looked like a tornado had torn through her house. Books were scattered everywhere. Some of them had their pages torn out. Every dish in her kitchen was broken. Pictures were shattered. Venturing further in, she got to the bedroom and it looked like someone had played that fruit slice game but instead of using fruit, they used her bed. It was completely destroyed. All her clothes were strewn around her room. Whoever had did this, had even went as far and busting the drawers on the dresser. She ventured into the bathroom and her the porcelain sink was shuttered, the claw foot tub had a big hole in the side of it. The mirror was broken.

"Oh my god. I'm... Jax... what the hell... " said Tinsley in complete shock and beginning to cry. There was only one person who could have done this. It had to be Mason.

"Awe baby. Don't cry. It's just stuff. Who could have done this Tin?" Asked Jax.

"There is only one person who would hate me enough to do this. And he had to travel a very long way to do it. Mason had to be the one. He was so pissed when I left and he swore that he would find me and make me pay." Said Tinsley.

"That's the abusive dickhead you were telling me about?" Asked Jax.

"Yea, Mason Davis. Oh my god Jax. What am I going to do? I can't stay here like this. You see this place. I don't even have a bed to sleep in or a plate to eat off of. The furniture and all came with the apartment. I'll never get that security deposit back." Said Tinsley as she began to cry.

"Stay at my place." Said Jax

"Jax, I can't do that. Really I can't" said Tinsley.

"Why can't you. I'm here all the time. I have a 3 bedroom house with just me in it. Come stay with me until is get settled. If it makes you feel any better, we will sleep in different rooms if your worried about spending too much time together." said Jax.

Tinsley wanted to argue but Jax was right. Willow lives in a studio apartment. There wasn't even a separate room for the bathroom. She loved Willow, but she didn't want to see her get a shower every morning and vise versa.

"Grab all your clothes and personal items. We'll stop by the diner on the way to my place and explain to Mr. Miles what happened. If this man is as dangerous as you say he is, you don't need to be alone. Look at the tings he did to this apartment. He's clearly a danger to you and himself. Imagine what he could do to you had you been here" said Jax.

He was right and Tinsley knew it. Grabbing a big black trash bag, she gathered all  her clothes, threw in all her shoes, and grabbed all her things from the bathroom, careful to avoid any cuts from the pieces of broke mirror and sink.. Within 10 minutes, all her things were in the bag.

Jax took the trash bag from her and they headed out to the tow truck. They stopped by the diner and explained to Mr. Miles what happened. He told her to take all the time she needed and removed her from the schedule for the rest of the week and all of the following week.

When they arrived at Jax's place, Tinsley couldn't believe the beauty of the place. It was obviously an older two story house. It had little wrap around porch and a swing. For some reason, the house looked out of place in California. It was something she would have seen in North Carolina. It reminded her of showing you would see in the middle of an open field, horses running around. Matter a fact, she had always dreamed of having a place like this. The house was painted white with dark blue shutters. The landscaping was magnificent.

"Holy shit Jax! This is your place?" asked Tinsley.

"Yep. It's one of the oldest houses in Charming. I think all this used to vineyard back in the day before it was sold off and parceled out." Explained Jax.

"Well it's beautiful. I can't wait to see the inside" said Tinsley.

They walked in and she was shocked at the interior. There was the grand stare case right in the middle of the house. Hardwood floors gleamed in the sun light that filtered through the windows. Jax gave her a tour of the house. She couldn't believe an outlaw like Jax lived in something like this. She didn't know what she was expecting but this wasn't it.

"I'm in love with this place Jax. I can only imagine what it would look like decked out for Christmas!" Said Tinsley.

"Well, I'm not much for decorating. Mom did all of of this. She pays a landscaper, a cleaning service, and pool guy. I just sleep here sometimes. The only thing that's ever been cooked in the kitchen is probably a can of spaghetti and meatballs." Said Jax.

"Wait, there's a pool too?" Asked Tinsley. She wasn't a big fan of swimming in the ocean because of sharks. She had watched the movie Jaws as a child and was terrified of the ocean because of it.

"Yep, in ground. Goes to 12 feet in the deep end." Said Jax. He took her by the hand she was couldn't believe the sight before he eyes. There was a little tiki hut that was an obvious bar, complete with tiki torches and coconut glasses on the shelves. There were lounge chairs and palm trees. It was almost like an island oasis.

"More of my moms handy work" said Jax laughing.

"Well it's absolutely beautiful. Your mom has good taste." Said Tinsley.

Jax just smiled and pulled her to him.

"I'm glad you like it. I never use the pool and like I said, I just crash here from time to time. It's never really felt like home so I just never stayed here much" explained Jax.

"Well I love it. Thanks for letting me stay here. I don't know what I would have done had you not offered me this" said Tinsley.

"It's no dig deal. I wanted to show you this. Other than my mother and Opie's wife Donna, no other woman has been in this house. Well except for the housekeeper, but you get what I'm saying. I know my reputation scares you and I know your just waiting for me to hurt you even though you won't admit it. Tinsley, I'm not going to hurt you. This is your place for as long as you need it." Said Jax, kissing her on the lips.

"Thank you for this. And you're right, I am scared but it's not you personally. It's just my past. Nothing good has ever really happened to me. I was just thinking earlier today that I couldn't believe how things were going. Now look at it." Said Tinsley, tears in here eyes.

"Babe, everything is going to be ok." Said Jax.

"I hope you're right" said Tinsley.

"I hate to leave you but I should get back to the shop. We've got some club business to take care of so it's probably going to be a late night" said Jax.

"How late?" Asked Tinsley.

"I'm really not sure. Are you going to be ok here? Said Jax.

"I guess." Said Tinsley.

"I'll give mom a call and let her know what's going on. She will probably stop by to check in on you when she leaves the shop." Said Jax.

"Sounds good. I'll see you when you get home" said Tinsley.

"See you in a little while" said Jax. He kissed her and headed out the door.

Tinsley was left to find something to do. She saw he had a big screen tv so she decided that becoming a vegetable on the couch sounded pretty good. She went into the kitchen and fixed her a glass of water and reclined back on the couch. She flipped though channels until she came came across an old Nicolas Sparks inspired movie. This was was about a girl having cancer and falling in love with the bad boy of the town. Tinsley could see the similarities with her and Jax -minus the whole cancer thing- and just sat back and water the movie. It had always been one of her favorites. Just as the movie was going off, he cell phone rang. Looking at the display, she saw it was Gemma.

"Hey Gemma" said Tinsley.

"Hey sweetheart. Jax told me what happened earlier and that you were at his place and kinda shaken up. Mind if I stop by before going to see Abel?" Asked Gemma.

"Yea that's perfectly fine. I'm bored out of my mind here." Said Tinsley.

"Be there in 10" said Gemma.

"See you then" said Tinsley.

Tinsley carries her glass to the kitchen and rinsed it out. She then walked out into the pool area to smoke. She didn't know if Jax smoked in the house and she didn't want to disrespect him by doing so if he didn't. She was lying back in one of the patio chairs when Gemma came up.

"Back here" Tinsley called out when she heard Gemma come in the front door.

Gemma walked out into the pool area and sat in the chair beside her.

"I gotta say Gemma, you did an amazing job back here. It's absolutely stunning" said Tinsley.

"Thanks. Couldn't have Jax living in squalor. And let's face it, he would never take the time to make it look like this. If he had his way, the yard would be brown, the pool would be empty, and there would be naked women posted on every wall of the house" said Gemma.

"Yea, I could see that. When he showed me the house he was quick to point out that it was all your handy work." Said Tinsley.

They both fell into silence.

"Do you own a gun?" Asked Gemma.

"Not anymore. When I moved here from North Carolina, I couldn't carry it on the plane. I just never brought a new one when I got here" said Tinsley.

Gemma dug in her purse and handed Tinsley and Smith & Wesson MP .380 Shield. Tinsley knew that gun very well because it was just like the one she had before moving except this one was black where hers had been teal. Taking the gun from Gemma, she palmed it and sighted it. The feel of it was familiar.

"This is nice. Just like the one I used to carry" said Tinsley.

"Keep it. Carry it at all times or at least until things are figured out." Said Gemma.

"I'm gonna need redo my permit because California doesn't honor my NC permit." Said Tinsley.

"Umm look into it for you" said Gemma.

"Thanks." Said Tinsley.

"Hey, I was about to go see Abel. You want to come with me?" Asked Gemma.

"Yeah, I need something to occupy my mind. Sitting here is driving me nuts" said Tinsley.

Tinsley and Gemma both gathered up there purses and locked up. Luckily Gemma had a key. Jax hadn't let anything for Tinsley.

They drove over to Saint Thomas and went to see Abel in three NICU. As they were walking into the unit, they heard alarms going off and saw a bunch of people running towards Abel's room. Gemma walked over to the nurses station.

"What the fuck is going on?" Asked Gemma.

"Are you immediate family" asked the nurse.

"I'm his god damn grandmother not tell me what the fuck is going on" said Gemma, getting angrier by the minute.

"He's heart condition has gotten worse, they are wheeling him into emergency surgery right not to try and fix it." Said the nurse.

Tinsley felt weak in the news at the news. Gemma was still trying to figure out what was going on and Tinsley needed to call Jax. But she couldn't get her brain to tel her fingers to dial his number. She told there, numb, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. After everything Abel has already been though, this was the last thing he needed. She just hoped he was going to be ok.

"Tinsley." Said Gemma.

"Tinsley" Gemma called her again.

After 3 times of calling Tinsley's name, she touched her on the shoulder and almost cause her to jump out of her skin.

"Shit, sorry. I guess I zoned out. Is Abel ok? Is he going to be ok?" asked Tinsley, he voice cracking.

"We don't know yet. He's in good hands but right now, we just have to leave it up to them" said Gemma.

"We need to call Jax" said Tinsley.

"Not yet baby. He's busy at the moment and calling him could go bad" said Gemma.

Tinsley knew that Jax was dealing with club business. He had told her as much before leaving her at his house. She didn't know much about the things he did but if Gemma said calling him could cause things to go bad, she didn't want to be the reason something happened to him. She didn't think she could live with herself if she did.

Gemma and Tinsley sat down in the waiting room waiting to hear any news on Abel. They had only been sitting there for 2 hours but if felt like years. Not knowing what was going on was torture.

About an hour later, a doctor came walking towards Gemma and Tinsley. The both stood, anxious to know how Abel was.

"Are you here for Abel Teller?" Asked the doctor.

"Yes. How is he? Is he ok?" Asked Gemma.

"I'm Dr. Greene. Ladies, please have a seat. His heart has began to leak and needed surgery. While we were preforming they surgery, the gastrochisis became inflamed and needed surgery as well. He's ok, but we will need to monitor him to make sure there aren't any complications. His size and being born prematurely increases his risks." Said the doctor.

"When can we seen him" asked Tinsley.

"He's still in recovery but he will be moved back to the NICU as soon as he's stable. Then you will be able to see him" said Dr. Greene.

"Thanks doc" said Gemma and Tinsley at the same time.

Just then, Tinsley phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID and it was Jax.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?!" Asked Jax.

"I'm at the hospital with your mom. Why are being such an ass"? Said Tinsley.

"I came home and you weren't here. I didn't know where you were. After seeing your place lit it was earlier, I was thinking the worst. Wait... you said thr hospital. What's wrong? What are you there" said Jax.

"That jax" asked Gemma.

"Yea" she mouthed back to her.

Gemma took three phone from Tinsley.

"We will be home in a little while. Abel has a scare but he's ok" said Gemma.

Tinsley was glad Gemma had took the phone because he didn't want to have to tell Jax about Abel.

"He's in good hands Jackson. We will be leaving here in just a few minutes. No, there's no need for you to come down" said Gemma.

Just then, a nurse headed towards them. When she reached them, she told them Abel was back in his NICU room and they could see him.

"I gotta go baby. I'll talk to you when I drop Tinsley off at the house" said Gemma

"Ok, see you in a few minutes " said Gemma.

Gemma hung up the phone and they both headed off towards Abel's room. When they reached his room, the both stood over his incubator and just stared at him. He would have a scar on his chest and one on his belly as well. He was going to look like a warrior. These were his battle scars. Tinsley began to cry. She had never even held this baby and had one laid eyes on him once but she didn't know how she would have reacted had something happened to him.

Tinsley and Gemma only stayed for a few minutes, both wiping tears from their eyes as they walked out of the NICU unit. As soon as they were out the door, the both lit a cigarette, hoping it would help them pull themselves together.

It was a quiet ride back to Jax's. They were neither in the mood to talk. As Gemma pulled into the driveway what Jax's, Tinsley noticed Jax was pacing the front porch. Before the car came to a stop, Jax was running towards the car, and damn near dug Tinsley out and into his arms. He heals her like that for awhile and Tinsley noticed his body was shaking.

"Jax, are you ok? You're crying" said Tinsley.

"I was so worried about you. I thought whoever did that to your apartment had gotten to you here. Then mom tells me about Abel and I have been a fucking nervous wreck. You're sure he's ok" said Jax.

"The doctors are monitoring him. His heart began to leak and he needed emergency surgery. Then there was an issue with his stomach and they had to do surgery to repair it. The doctor said that because he's premature, his risk factors are higher than average." explained Tinsley.

"Are they sure he's going to make it?" Asked Jax.

"They feel confident that he's going to be ok. That's all we know right now" said Tinsley.

Gemma cleared her throat.

"I'm gonna head back to my house. Call me if you need anything" said Gemma.

"I will mom" said Jax.

Gemma backed out of the drive and headed towards her house. Jax and Tinsley walked towards his, and sat in the swing on the porch. Tinsley snuggled into him.

"I was so scared Jax. I didn't know what was happening. I wanted to call you but your mom told me not too. Said me calling could endanger you. Please don't be mad at me" said Tinsley.

"Babe, I'm not mad. My mom was right. Calling me and telling me would have made me become distracted." Said Jax.

The night air was cool on Tinsley's skin. Jax was warm at her side.

"We should get inside. It's getting late and I'm sure your ready for a shower" said Jax.

He was right. She wanted nothing more than to wash the day's activities off of her. They walked into the house. Tinsley sat down on the couch and Jax walked to the kitchen. He returned with 2 beers, offering Tinsley one.

She took it gladly and took a long pull off of it. The suds felt good sliding down her throat. They both sat back on the coach, processing the day. Tinsley didn't know what Jax had dealt with today other than Abel, but she knew he had to have been stressed.

After a few minutes of silence, Jax looked at Tinsley. Her head was laid back, eyes closed, but the expression on his face pained him. He saw stress. He didn't want to see her like this.

"How about that shower now" said Jax.

"Sounds like heaven" said Tinsley.