Whiskey Hangover

Chapter Eight

I left the dorm, tired of sitting in the self pity like I had been for at least an hour. I went straight to the bar, waiting for the prospect behind it to hand me a beer.

"Happy," Chibs came up beside me, Jax was with him.

"What?" My reply was short.

"Stephanie left here in tears. What happened?"

I sighed, looking at the bar. I couldn't keep this from him of all people. He was going to find out eventually. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the ring and dropping it on the bar top. I watched Chibs stare at it for a moment before turning to me, his eyes wide.

"What the hell have you done?"

I shook my head, indicating that I was NOT in the mood to talk about it. Not right now.

"Don't give me that bullshit Happy. This is MY daughter we're talking about," Chibs growled. Jax stood silently beside him, watching and waiting to see which direction this conversation would go.

I pushed away from the bar, taking a swig of the beer before answering him.

"Look Chibs, I don't feel like talking about this so I'm not going to. Go ahead and punch me. Fucking scream and throw a fit, I really don't care. Just go ahead and get it over with."

Chibs didn't say anything at first, just stared at me for a moment.

He shook his head, "You're fucking pathetic."

Chibs slammed his drink down on the bar, leaving the clubhouse in a rather loud and angry manner. Conversations stopped and people stared, watching him leave. I looked at Jax.

"Are you going to launch into me now?" I asked, finishing my beer.

"No," Jax said, 'You can deal with your mistakes on your own. I'm going to find Stephanie."

I furrowed my brows, watching as he headed to the door.

"Wait," I called after him, "She left?"

Stephanie's POV:

"So what brings you to Charming besides coming to the rescue of sad girl in ice cream shops?" I asked, leaning back in my seat.

Christian chuckled, "I just have some business to deal with."

"You're a business man? Well that explains why you're so overdressed for this little town," I teased with a grin.

"Yeah, I am a little over the top aren't I?" Christian said then shrugged, "You never know when it might come in handy though."

"How so?"

"Well it makes for a good impression if you happen to run into a beautiful girl," he said softly, flashing me another breath taking smile.

I chuckled, shaking my head, "I know you're not talking about me. I'm sitting in an ice cream shop crying over a triple scoop of chocolate. I'm the poster child for sad, homely cat woman."

"Well I'll have you know I happen to LOVE cats," Christian assured me, the smile never leaving his face.

I blushed, looking down at myself. I reached up, suddenly feeling self conscious as I tried to comb down my hair.

"Don't," Christian said, reaching over to stop my actions, "You look fine."

I stared, lost in his eyes again and unable to find words. I nodded my head quickly, letting my hand fall back into my lap. The bell about the door dinged, indicating someone had entered the shop. I took it as an excuse to look away from the handsome man in front of me and look at something else, anything else.

I locked eyes with the familiar biker who had walked in. He nodded at me, making his way over to us. I looked up at him, giving him a nervous smile.

"Hey Jax," I said.

He raised an eyebrow looking at Christian and then back at me, "Hey Stephanie. What's going on here?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, maybe a little bit too quickly, "Just talking to a new friend."

Christian stuck his hand out to Jax. Jax stared at it before looking back at me.

"Ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?"

"Home."

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine. I'll be back later."

Jax chuckled, "I wasn't really giving you a choice darlin."

"Hey!" I protested when he grabbed my arm, pulling me up, "Jax this is bullshit, let me go."

"Nice to meet ya," He said to Christian before dragging me out of the store.

I threw Christian an apologetic look as I was rudely taken away. Once we got outside, I snatched my arm away, spinning around to face Jax. I was pissed.

"What the hell! I was talking to him!"

Jax shook his head, "We're not doing this. Are you okay?"

"Why would I be okay?" I groaned.

"Happy told me about the break up," he said lighting a cigarette.

The statement burned out any fire I had in me. My face fell and I felt my heart swell again and I blinked quickly, fighting back the tears that were coming back.

"Here," Jax said, holding out his cigarette to me. I took it, watching him light another one for himself.

I inhaled the smoke, holding it in my lungs for a minute before letting out a shakey breath.

"I'm okay I guess. I'm still alive."

"What happened?" Jax asked, eyeing me.

I shrugged, "I don't know. He said I was in danger being with him and he wanted to end things. But that's bullshit and we both know it, Happy isn't that type of guy. He fights anything and anyone. He's not going to take some shit like that and just throw me away."

"Yeah, it doesn't sound like the Happy I knew," Jax agreed.

"So obviously there's someone else," I said matter-of-factly.

Jax raised an eyebrow, "Now we're just reaching for things."

"What are you talking about? You just agreed with me."

"I said it didn't sound like the Happy I KNEW. But the Happy I knew disappeared two years ago when you guys met. He's different now in many ways. Where he used to not care, he does. He has something to lose now," Jax ashed his cigarette before inhaling more smoke, "He used to live only for himself, not caring what happened to him and who got hurt. But now he has something, SOMEONE, to live for."

"So you're saying that you think that he actually ended our ENGAGEMENT for my safety?" Now it was my turn to sound surprised.

Jax nodded, "I think if he truly thought that it would keep you safe, even if it was completely destroying him and believe me it is, yes I think that's exactly what he would do."

We stood in silence as we finished smoking. I mulled over Jax words in my mind, wishing I could find an argument against them. But I couldn't. That didn't make this hurt any less though. I don't understand how he could think this was the only way. It couldn't be this serious. Some pictures and a dead crow were hardly a sign of certain death. I mean sure the guy in our house was a bit unnerving, but it still wasn't anything we couldn't handle.

Unless he knew something no one else knew, and he wasn't telling.