Shaded ✔️

EPILOGUE

Fall in the city was my favourite time of year. The smell of leaves in the air, the colours, the comfort of being wrapped in a big sweater. Having Stas and Angel here only made it that much better. We were cuddled up on the couch under a blanket watching Halloween movies even though it had only been October for 2 days. Angel was sprawled across me, Stas leaning on my shoulder with Olive curled up on her lap. Olive was a tiny black kitten Ace had shown up at my apartment with. The smile on his face as he held her was enough for me to keep her even though I had told him on numerous occasions that taking care of a one year old kid was more than enough for me. Stas and Angel had moved in with me when Stas got accepted into college. Leaving Val was hard for her, but she knew it was what she needed to do. Things were getting worse for the club and everyone knew that it was no place to raise a kid. Val was here almost every other day and all weekend. There was barely enough room in my tiny apartment for the 4 of us, but we made do. Stas was working on getting a place outside the city so the commute wouldn't be as bad for Val.

Ace had given me a job at his shop and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was more to the industry than just bikers. It had taken a while for things to get back to how they used to be with Ace, but now that they were I realized how much I missed him, how I much I needed him in my life. Ace's shop was famous in the city and we had people from all over the world coming in for pieces. That was my favourite part of my job, meeting people, learning their stories. It made me realize that we all had pain, and helping people deal with theirs somehow managed to help me deal with mine. I had given up on school, deciding that an art degree would be pretty useless considering I had already found what I loved to do. I had taken a couple classes to specialize my art and learn new techniques, but I knew that tattooing was the only thing I could ever see myself doing, not to mention I had my best friend working in the booth next to me.

I think this is what it felt like to live a normal life. I still missed them both every single goddamn day, but I found things that helped ease the pain. My job, my friends, Angel, my fucking cat. It made every day a little bit easier. I had a couple setbacks, especially on Nate's birthday and the anniversary of his death. I found myself back to staring at an empty bottle, but this time it only made me realize that I never wanted to get to that point ever again. I thought about that night, the night that marked an entire year since he died. Everyone was at the clubhouse, but I made some bullshit excuse about having to work late. Ace saw through it all and found me at the bar, barely able to walk. He was there for me, always. He didn't ask too many questions, but I knew he was wondering what had made me the way I was now. I knew I would never be the same as I was before I met him, before I loved him. Whatever little bit of trust I had in other people or faith I had in the universe was gone. My brother had taken most of me with him the night he died, but I knew that whatever was left of me was still with Jax.

I felt Angel move against me and realized he had fallen asleep. I looked at Stas and saw her looking at him with a loving smile on her face.

"I'll put him in bed." I whispered as I picked him up. He was getting big now, and heavy as hell. I brought him to his crib, tucking him in and kissing his forehead. I knew when I came to get him in the morning that Olive would be curled up beside him.

Some moments, like this one, were just too perfect. I knew better than to believe that this would last. As I walked back to the living room I saw Stas standing up, her phone pressed to her ear and a panicked expression on her face. She saw me enter and gave me an unnerving look and shook her head before hanging up the phone. My ears started to ring, the same way they did when the nurse came out of Nate's hospital room and shook her head at me with a sorry look in her eye. The same way they rang when the president of the Titans told me that Jax was the one who killed my brother.

"Scarlett, that was Val..."

"What happened?" my voice sounded far way, even to my own ears.

"The club...it was attacked." It was one of those moments where time slows down, where you can feel your heart beating out of your chest. My fingers clawed at the chain around my neck, the one where I wore Nate's ring with the club's logo on it. We had found it when we were cleaning out Nate's stuff and I wore it with the promise of giving it to Angel one day. It was a reminder of everything I had lost, of everything that life had taken from me, from Stas, from Angel, and it was a promise that I would never let it have another part of me again.

"Scar...we have to go back."