Born for Anarchism (On Hold)

Chapter Eight:

7 months later...

Alice's POV:

I woke to the sound of my cell phone going off, rolled over and looked at my clock, 2:43am. I sighed, grabbed it and answered without looking at the ID. "Yeah?...Uncer?...Wait, what?...She wants me? Why?...Alright, tell her I'll be right there." I quickly jumped out of bed, pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans, a random black t-shirt, shoes and my colors. I grabbed my keys from the rack and ran out the door. I made it to Gemma's house in 3 minutes flat. When I got to the front door, it opened before I could knock. "Uncer, what's going on, what happened to Gemma?" I asked quickly. He gently took my arm and ushered me inside, closing the door behind me. "What happened, Wayne?" "I think you had better just come inside, Alice." he led me to the living room where Gemma and Tara were. Gemma's face was badly beaten, the sight of her was shocking. She looked up at me, her eyes said it all. "Tara, Wayne, I'd like to speak to Alice, alone."

I stood there uncomfortably until Uncer and Tara left. "Come sit." she said, patting the cushion beside her. I was a little nervous about why she needed me, we hadn't exactly been friendly with each other. I sat down next to her, saying nothing. "I'm guessing you're wondering why I had Wayne call you here." she stated, keeping her eyes forward. "Aye, I am." I acknowledged with a nod. "Jax told me about what they did to you, while you were in. I-I didn't really have any sympathy for you...until now." I turned my head to face her, my heart dropped, knowing what she was about to tell me. "What happened, Gemma?" she took a deep breath, and told me the whole story. When she finally finished, she had tears streaming down her face. I had taken her right hand into my left, comforting her as best I could. I wasn't exactly the most maternal woman in the world.

"What do you want me to do, Gemma? I'll do whatever you need me to." I told her matter-of-factually, thoroughly pissed off, but still calm. "Nothing, I don't want you to say anything to anyone! Clay and Jax cannot know, that's what Weston and Zobelle want." "Why did you tell me then, if you didn't want me to do anything, Gemma?" she turned her eyes to me for the first time since I sat down. "Because, I knew you'd understand. I need you to keep this a secret with Wayne, Tara and I. Can I trust you with this?" I scrutinized her face, she showed me someone I never expected to see, a damaged woman who had emotions and fears. A woman who desperately needed someone who understood, and I did. "Aye Gemma, you can count on me." I responded with a small smile, she returned it as best she could. "Thank you, Alice. You don't know how much it means to me." I stood up, slipping my jacket on. "No, Gemma, I do, and you don't need to thank me." she tried to stand, but I stopped her and bent down in front of her. "I think I misjudged you, Alice." I held both of her hands in my own, then replied, "I think we both did."

I patted her hand and moved to leave. "Alice?" "Yeah, Gemma?" she hesitated. "Gemma, you can say anything to me, I have no judgments." "They did that to you every day until you were able to stop them. I can't imagine what you went through, Alice. How do you deal with it, or even sleep at night?" I looked down at my untied boots, avoiding eye contact. "Do you want a comforting answer, or an honest one?" "I want an honest answer." I took my hand through my disheveled hair and sighed. "I don't. I've never told anyone, other than your son. My da doesn't even know what they did to me. But, I will tell you this, talking to someone who has no judgements or can completely understand, always helps." I answered, bringing my eyes back up to hers. "Thank you, Alice." "You don't have to, I needed this as much as you." she smiled. "You're a good kid." I smiled back. "Goodnight, Gemma."