I've Got This Friend

Chapter 4

This chapter goes out to one of my newer readers, itsHaleyAnn. Thanks for all the comments and support!!

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Six days after the party Mae was getting ready to leave work for the day, her mind wondering to Opie and if he would ever call her, when the receptionist burst in the office. She was clearly frenzied.

"Mae, I need your help."

"What is it?"

"One of your soldiers is here, he's a mess and he's demanding to see you."

"Who?"

"Aaron Mickelson."

"Send him back."

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After twenty minutes of straight sobbing, Aaron started to come down and his breathing regulated. Mae held his hand while he cried but once he was calm, she took her spot behind the desk.

"Alright Aaron. You're in a safe place. I need you to tell me what happened."

"Kip's dead."

Mae swallowed back her own sobs and looked at him for an explanation. "Kip Epps?" She should have checked on him when he didn't text her the day before, guilt began to flood her as she tried to get her head straight. "I just spoke with him over the weekend. I don't understand."

"Monday he got shot, some fucking home invasion shit." Mae didn't believe it was that simple for a second. "He was in ICU for a while but he didn't make it." Aaron began to cry again and Mae handed him a tissue. "I fucking loved that guy. We went through it all together and he dies like that? What the fuck? It ain't right, Mae."

"It's not," she nodded. "It's not right."

For the first time in her career, Mae couldn't listen to her client, she couldn't wait for him to finally finish so she could figure out what really happened to Half-Sack. The hour and a half impromptu session felt much longer but she and Aaron left the building together and once he was out of the lot Mae made her way toward the SAMCRO clubhouse.

As she drove she grew angry. Any of them could have called her but Opie should have. She'd been thinking of him off and on during the week and she was sure after the party he would have called. Interested or not he knew their bond and she was furious he didn't contact her. Maybe it was irrational but she couldn't care enough really to dig deeper into herself to find out. Skidding into the lot she jumped out of her car and stomped toward the garage.

"Ah shit," Jax pointed across the lot. "Guess she found out."

The club was reeling from the loss, no one joked as they dealt with Half-Sack's death. He was a good prospect and would have made an irreplaceable part of the club but now he would only receive that honor posthumously.

"Let me talk to her. I can see her and Gemma scratching at each other already."

As she stepped into the office, Gemma looking at her with surprise, Opie ran and grabbed her shoulder. "Mae."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She shoved him back and Opie stumbled down the little step and out of the office.

"Whoa." Opie straightened his cut and stood tall as she stepped out of the office. "How was I supposed to call you? I didn't even know your last name."

"Kip had my number; you could have looked in his phone." Her anger drained from her body. "What really happened?"

Opie gently took her elbow and lead her back toward the ladder but this time he didn't steal looks at her as she climbed up. When he got up after her, barely two minutes later, she was already sitting with a lit cigarette. Mae offered him one, which he accepted, as he sat beside her.

"What did you hear?"

Mae pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "I know everything about you guys. Kip told me a lot; he knew he could trust me. One of my clients came in freaking out, he head it was a home invasion."

Hearing she knew about their illegal business was surprising but she didn't see particularly interested in it, just in Half-Sack. "Someone broke into another member's house and kidnapped his daughter; Sack was trying to protect her and Hap's old lady."

"Really?" She exhaled smoke slowly as she spoke. "That's it? It wasn't some gun running bullshit?"

The Putlova mess wasn't one he was going to get into with Mae. It wasn't really a lie, what Putlova did was more personal than anything. "Yeah, just wrong place, wrong time." He brushed some ash and dirt from his pants not wanting to look at her pained expression but it didn't work. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, that was obviously when he purposely drove by her house twice that week on his way out of Charming for club business. "I'm sorry, Mae. I knew you guys were close."

Her face twisted as she began to cry. "I'm sorry too. He really looked up to all of you guys."

"His wake is tomorrow night, funeral the next morning. You should come."

"I don't know. That kind of, makes it real. My Kip," she broke down with her head in her hands. "He was probably one of my only friends."

Opie watched her cry, his own sorrow over the loss coming closer to the surface. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her toward him. "I'm so sorry, Mae."

She looked up, nodding, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sorry. I'm a mess. I'm so embarrassed right now."

"Don't be." He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, nervous and even shy, and hugged her. "I'll give you the address for tomorrow, in case you want to go."

"Thank you, Opie." She sat up and pressed her lips to his cheek, for that fleeting moment his eyes closed enjoying the unexpected sweet action. "Really, this helps and it means a lot."

"People say I'm good to talk to, well talk at I guess, I don't usually say much."

"Not with your mouth," she corrected, "Your eyes say a lot, people just need to be able to see it."

Cupping her cheek, he nodded and leaned in, but didn't kiss her. He smiled nervously and gently brushed his lips to hers in a virginal, innocent type of kiss. Neither was ready for more and the situation was less than romantic but he wanted to and she didn't stop him.

"I should go," she said closing her eyes. "There's a fifth of whisky waiting for me at home."

"You sure? You don't have to be alone. I'm alone a lot, it's good to be with people."

Mae shook her head. "No, right now I do need to be alone. Next week will be full of guys from his platoon coming in to talk to me so I need to work through it fast but thank you." She smiled a little and shook her head. "Kip was telling me about you, said we'd get along."

Looking up at her with a crooked grin as she stood, Opie nodded. "Fucking prospect," he laughed. "Come on, I'll help you down."

Opie walked Mae to her car and they shared a long embrace before she got in and drove away. He almost felt guilty, bonding over Half-Sack's death, but they were so attuned to each other before he knew it was much more than shared loss that brought them together. He'd thought about her all week, he missed talking to someone outside the club and being understood, most patches didn't even fully get Opie. The fire in her when she'd first arrived was adorable as he looked back, her squinted eyes and the strength with which she pushed him was surprising and impressive but she was fragile, just like him. Opie blinked twice before realizing he was staring at nothing. Adjusting his beanie he turned but instead of going back to his seat with Jax he jumped on his bike and sped out of the lot.

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As AshleyJMiller noticed with Up in Flames and Firefly, these stories are connected. I won't bring them all together, they will still be separate, but they are in the same "universe", if you will. If you're not reading all three, any pertinent information will be written into each story so you won't miss anything that will make the story confusing.

Hope you're enjoying! I'd love to hear from you all! Thanks so much for the support! xox