Chapter 11

🍑 Savannah's POV 🍑After Jax and the boys left, I switched off the power to the tv and the lights and went straight to bed. As much as I had hoped Jax was going to ask me to come over, I'm glad he didn't. I wouldn't have been great company because I would have ended up passing out on him. He probably wouldn't have minded but that wasn't the point. Walking into my bedroom, I stripped down and crawled into bed. I picked my phone up off the night stand and dialed Jax's number. He answers on the second ring.

"Hey you"

"Hey yourself. Just wanted to make sure you and the boys got home okay."

"Miss us already?"

"I like being round the kids. You will never hear me complain about them I promise."

"They are great kids aren't they?"

"Yes they are. Their mother would be proud. I'm sure of it."

There was along pause. Kicking myself, I assumed I had said something wrong and was getting ready to sooo when Jax spoke.

"I know she's proud of them. But I can't take credit for their manners and overall behavior. That's all her."

"I gotcha."

"She was a great mom too then. Better than my own train wreck of a mom that's for goddamn sure."

"Let's not y'all about your mom okay? Let's talk about that color dress I should buy for Saturday."

"Anything in blue."

"Even a burlap bag?"

"You would still make it look beautiful."

"Oh, flattery will get you everywhere Mr. Teller."

"That's what I'm hoping."

"Okay so anything in blue. I'll see what I can do."

"Sounds good. Look, I know your beat. Get some sleep and we can talk in thr morning. In fact, stop in after your run. I'm always up."

"I'm being all sweaty and smelly."

"Doesn't matter. It's just a cup of coffee and then you can go home and start your day."

"Okay, if I see the light on, I'll stop. But only if the light is on."

"I'll leave the porch light on for you."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow angel."

"Good night"

"Good night angel."

I placed my phone back down on the nightstand and snuggled into my blankets. It didn't take long before I was sound asleep and in dreaming about Jax.

Jax and I were walking hand in hand down the beach at the waters edge, me holding Abel's hand and Jax carrying Thomas. The summer breeze drifted though our hair and the smell of salt water tickled my nose. I turned to my left and looked up at Jax. He had that smile on his face that let me know he was completely carefree. That smile was so rare, it took my breath away every time I saw it. Above us, seagull hovered, hoping that we had some sort of treat for them. We watched as pelicans dove into the water looking for their next meal. As we continued to walk along, me can upon a fishing pier that looked like it had been through quite a few hurricanes. The boards of it were weathers, the pilands making the decking uneven. As we passed under the pier, Jax placed Thomas down on the sand and sat, pulling me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and the two of us watched as the kids played in the sand, attempting to make sand castles but the water kept washing them away.

"You know I am going to marry you one day right?" Said Jax."Is that so?" I replied."Yep.""Mighty sure of yourself.""No, I just know that she two people are meant to be together, nothing can keep them apart. You and I, were meant to be baby.""Oh you are so getting laid tonight.""Like that was not gonna happen. You can't get enough of me.""Your a fine one to be talking.""I didn't hear you complaining last night.""No, I guess you didn't."

I snuggled into Jax's side and nuzzled his neck. He smelled of salt air, leather, and tobacco. A combination I could live with smelling for the rest of my life. We sat there watching thr waves crash and the kids playing until the sun had set. After leaving the beach, the four of us drove home, singing nursery rhymes with the kids.

I was awoken buy the sound of my phone ringing. Not bothering to check the caller ID I answered the call still pretty much asleep.

"Hello?" I said sleepily.

"Savannah, is that you honey?"

"Poppa?"

"Yes sweety, it's Poppa. I'm sorry to wake you but I have some news." 

"Okay..."

"There's been an accident."

"What kind of accident Poppa?"

It was then I noticed his breathing was labored. Quickly doing the math to calculate the time difference, I realized it had to be something horrible for him to be calling me at 2:30 in thr morning his time.

"I had an accident." He labored out.

"What kind of accident Poppa. Are you ok?"

"No sweety, I'm not. In fact, the doctors don't know how much longer I'll be alive. I just wanted to call you and tell you how much you mean to me sweety. I love you my sweet granddaughter."

My whole heart shattered in that very moment. My Poppa was the only family I had left. If I lost him, I didn't know how I would live my life. He had always been there for me when things got rough. I should be there for him, not here in California.

"Hang on Poppa. I'm on my way. You hang in there until I get there. Do you hear me? Poppa! Poppa! Poppa! Answer me dammit! I wasn't prepared to hear the voice of a female nurse in the phone telling me that my Poppa was no longer among the living. In the time after hearing her tell me the words I have never wanted to hear, I didn't remember ending the call. I didn't remember getting dressed. I didn't remember walking out of my door. I didn't remember walking to Jax's. The next thing I knew, I was standing at his door, ringing the bell like a woman gone completely mad.

💀 Jax's POV 💀I last thing I had expected to see on the other side of my door at 11:30 was a distraught Savannah. She was extremely pale and crying harder than I had ever seen anyone cry. I didn't know what was wrong but I knew she needed to be comforted. When she was ready to tell me what had brought all this on, she would. I would t push her.

I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly and trying to calm her tears. I eventually picked her up and walked over to the couch and sat, holding her in my lap. I ran my hand up and down her back trying to sooth her. I ran them through her hair. I kissed the top of her head. But nothing was making the tears stop. So I just stopped, wrapped my arms around her and held her.

About an hour later, she finally calmed down enough to where she was able to talk.

"I-I'm so s-sorry J-Jax"

"Don't you apologize for anything."

"I-I don't k-know where t-to begin"

"Take your time baby. I'm right here. I got you. Your going to be okay. What ever is the matter, I'm right here."

"My Poppa d-died."

The tears came back I full force. I knew now why she was so upset. She had told me that her Poppa was the only family she had. Losing him meant she was alone. And I knew that feeling all too well. Even though I had the boys, i knew what it felt like to no longer have any parents or grandparents. It made you feel like an orphan.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry. It's going to be ok. I'm here. I got you."

After a couple hours, I slid us down the couch until we were lying down. I pulled her to me and held her right, the tears still wreaking havoc on her body. I didn't know if I would ever get the sight or sounds of her crying out of my mind. It ripped my heart open to know she was hurting and there was nothing I could do to make it better besides holding her like I was.

She finally stopped crying and went to sleep. Well, more like passed out at nearly 3:45 that morning. I knew she usually got up early for her morning run, but there was no way in hell I was voice to wake her. She could miss that run or go later or whatever. Right now, she needed sleep. She had been up nearly forty-eight hours and both nights had been highly emotional. I pulled her tighter against me and laid there as she slept.

I hadn't intended on going to sleep but when I woke, it was after 9:00. Fuck, Abel's is late for school.I got up off the couch as gently as I could, trying not disturb Savannah. Luckily, she stayed asleep.

I rushed down the hall and woke Abel, telling him to get dressed because we were running late. I ran to Thomas's room, for him dressed and his bag packed, then went and changed out of my sweats and into regular clothes. By the time I was dressed, Abel was ready. He had already brushed his teeth and his hair. I grabbed a piece of junk mail off the counter and wrote a quick note for Savannah letting her know I would be back after dropping the boys off.

I fell asleep next to you and overslept. Carrying the boys to school and daycare.I'm going to stop by Charming Heights and tell them what's happened so don't worry about going to work. I'll be back soon.Please don't go anywhere before I get back.I want to make sure you're ok.-Jax

I left the note on the coffee table so she would see it if she woke and loaded the kids in the car. After dropping them off that school and day car, I stopped by Charming Heights. Abby was at the front desk when I walked in.

"Long time no see Jax."

"What's up Abs. Is Jacob in today? I've got some something to tell him."

"He's here. But be warned, he's in a BAD mood."

"I can handle him. Just tell him I need to see him."

"Sure thing Jax.

Abby got on the phone spoke for a moment with Jacob Hale.

"He'll be right out if you want to have a seat."

"I'll stand."

"Hey, is everything ok between you and Savannah. She said she as going to call me last night but she never did. Then she didn't show up this morning."

Before I got chance to tell Abby what was going on, Jacob came out of his office, wearing his signature gray three piece suit.

"What can I do you you Jax" he said as he stuck out his hand in greeting.

"It's kind of a private matter. Can we go into your office?"

"Sure. Abby, hold my calls."

When we walked into his office, he closed the door and took his seat. He gestured for me to have a seat but I wasn't planning on being here long. His office was all neutral tones and dark wood, signifying that he was a descendant of one of the founding fathers of Charming. The Hale's has been in Charming since the beginning. Jacob and I hadn't always saw eye to eye but we had a mural understanding now. His brother, David, and I had went to school together. We weren't friends but we weren't enemies either. He later became a cop who was killed in the line of duty while I became an outlaw who in a round about way was responsible for his death. No, I hadn't killed him, but he had been working a wake for a fallen member of SAMCRO when a rival club tried to gun us all down. David Hale tried to stop them but was ran over and killed instantly.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure Jax?" Said Jacob.

"It's about Savannah."

"What about her? She didn't show up for a required meeting or work today."

"That's because her grandfather died last night."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"She's a wreck man."

"So much of a wreck that she can't pick up the phone?"

"Look Jake, I don't know what you know about her family life, but her grandfather was the only family she had left and he's in Georgia. It's expected for her to be a damn wreck."

"Still doesn't excuse her not calling in."

"Jake, she was up until nearly 4:00 this morning crying her eyes out man."

"Not my problem. I hate to do this but she knew the rules when she started here. One "no call-no show" and she was fired. Add in the required meeting she skipped out on and well, I have no choice."

"Are you fucking serious right now Jake? I just told you her grandfather died. It's expected that she wouldn't be at work."

"I'm sorry Jax, those are the rules."

"So on top of her losing the only family she had left, she's lost her job too?"

"It's unfortunate that things happened this way. She was amazing at her job. I'll be sure to give her a good reference when it comes time to find a new job. Now it'd that's all, I have a meeting in five minutes that requires my immediate attention."

I was ducking pissed! I wanted to smack the smug look off his fucking face for what he was doing to Savannah but I knew taking my rage out on him would hurt more than just fists. Lyla and the kids were living in one of the homes rent free as part of my contract with Charming Heights. TM needed to keep the keep the maintenance account to stay afloat. So instead of beating the shit out of him live he deserved, I stormed out of his office and out the front doors of the building.