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Prologue: Look Out World
Tatum James looked at her reflection in the mirror, her newly dyed blonde hair was tossed over her shoulder in waves. A sigh passed through her lips as she pulled on the tight, short royal blue dress that sat on her body. Tonight a party was being thrown in her honor. Tatum James has graduated from the hellish nightmare that was Charming High, though the school was named Charming, it was anything but.
If the blonde were to be honest, she couldn't wait to get out of her small minded town that she called home. Tatum's life had been decided for her before she was even born, but that's what happens when your father is a member of SAMCRO. When Tatum first broke the news to Ty James - her father and long time member of Sons Of Anarchy, that she would not be staying in Charming for college, to say he was mad would be the understatement of the century. "But, this is your mom and where your family is." Was all that came out of his mouth for weeks as he sulked around the house and clubhouse. The blonde didn't need to be reminded of that, she was reminded that Charming was her home, and SAMCRO was her family everyday of her life. Don't get Tatum wrong, she loved the patched members of SAMCRO, but it was a lot to deal with at times - the blood, the violence, and the worrying was too much for Tatum to process sometimes. It also didn't help that Gemma Teller-Morrow had been planning Tatum and Jax's wedding since the two were just kids. Gemma was positive Tatum was born to be by Jax's side when he eventually took over the club. Tatum didn't want that though, she didn't want the crown.
A soft knock on her bedroom door pulled the blonde from her thoughts. She turned away from the mirror, and raised a questioning eyebrow towards the door. "Come in." Tatum said as she slipped into her favorite pair of heels.
"Hey, darlin'." Jax leaned against the door frame, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes on his face. "That color looks good on you." He said, his ocean blue eyes traveling over her body.
Tatum smiled at the sad blonde, his smile never quite reached his eyes these days. His smile started to dim out once Tara Knowles left for Chicago. The smart, beautiful brunette was the love of Jax's life, and her leaving had left Jax with a broken heart and sad smiles. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." She teased, taking in his usual apparel of jeans, and a crisp white T-shirt, and of course his kutte. Jax had become a full patched member a few months ago, and Tatum could see how much pride and happiness the kutte had brought him. In Tatum's eyes, Jax would be a great president when his time came.
"I had to clean up for my favorite girl." He teased. "Though not too much, I can't have all the attention on me. It is your party after all." Jax said with his signature panty dropping grin on his face.
Tatum like most girls was vulnerable to Jax Teller's charm and looks. It didn't matter that she had known him her whole life, if anything that made it worse. If someone asked the blonde to describe her relationship with Jax, she wouldn't know how to put it into words. They had their moments, those moments where Jax looked at Tatum like she was the only girl in the world, and of course they had hooked up a few times, but she was always second place to Tara. In Tatum's mind Tara was everything she wasn't.
"Remind me to thank your mom for that." Tatum sassed. She would of been fine with a nice low key family dinner but, Gemma loved throwing together a party, and you simply couldn't say no to the queen. "I think I almost give her a heart attack when I suggested a party wasn't needed." The blonde said, taking one last quick look at herself in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance.
"There's always a need for a party." Jax said. "Especially if it's for you, darlin'." He said, twirling a piece of Tatum's blonde hair around his finger as they made their way out of the James' house.
"Come on Casanova, we don't want to keep Gemma waiting." She said as she jokingly rolled her eyes. "Let's drink the night away, Teller."
•••
The party was in full swing and, Tatum was already a few shots of vodka into the night. Everyone was enjoying themselves with ridiculous amounts of alcohol, members kept coming up to Tatum and telling her how proud of her they were. Clay and Chibs shoved a decent amount of money towards her, rolling their eyes at her when she refused it. "It's for college, love." The Scotsman told her while Clay echoed his statement. Tatum hugged the two older men tightly, it meant a lot to her. "Thank you!" She yelled over the loud music. "I love you." She told them, watching as large smiles broke out on their faces.
Tatum walked away from the two smiling men, and made her way towards the bar. She ordered another shot from the prospect and tossed it back quickly, her face grimacing a bit as the vodka burned on it's way day. The blonde slammed the shot glass down on the bar, giving a smile and a 'thank you' to the prospect before she made her way towards the exit. She needed some air. It was growing way too hot for her liking, though that was probably just the alcohol.
"Hey, darlin'." Jax laughed as he watched Tatum make her way carefully to the picnic table. She looked like a newborn deer as she held her hands out in front of her, wobbling a bit in her heels.
"Hey, darlin'." She mocked, breathing a sigh of relief once she made it safely to the picnic table. The shots hadn't fully hit her until she made her way outside, then they hit her like a train. "Not enjoying yourself?" She teased, bumping her shoulder against his.
"I am." Jax said in a less than convincing voice. "Your brother called me." He said, quickly changing the topic. Jax didn't want to talk about himself, he didn't want to bring Tatum down with his sad ass feelings. It had only been a few months since Tara left for Chicago, and took a large part of his heart with her, and now Tatum was leaving him and taking the other part.
Tatum let out a drunken laugh at Jax's words. "Of course he did." Callahan 'Cal' James was Tatum's younger half brother, the two siblings shared a father, but had different mothers. Cal idolized Jax and wanted nothing more than to become like him. He couldn't wait for the day when he could prospect for SAMCRO. "He okay?" She asked, resting her head on Jax's shoulder.
"Yeah." Jax nodded, placing his arm around Tatum's shoulders. "He was bitchin' about not being allowed to come tonight."
"He's thirteen. He'll get over it." Tatum said.
Jax's arm around her was a welcoming comfort. Tatum knew she wouldn't have that comfort for much longer, she was ready to leave Charming behind, but leaving Jax behind was a totally different feeling. One she hadn't fully given herself time to feel.
"I'm going to bed." Tatum said with sleep in her voice. "I've got a big day tomorrow." She said with a lazy smile as she slowly removed Jax's arm from her shoulder.
"Yeah." Jax said, a sadness creeping into her voice. "You're college bound, darlin'." He said with a small smile.
Tatum nodded, and placed a quick kiss on Jax's lips. It wasn't shocking for either one of them, they had kissed plenty of times before, but this kiss felt different. It felt as if this was going to be their last kiss. "Goodnight Jax." She whispered and walked away, leaving him to sit there in his sorrow.
She willed herself not to turn around, and look at him because if she did she would rethink her decision to leave. Tatum couldn't stay in Charming for Jax Teller, she needed to go out into the world and live her life. Tatum wouldn't be stuck in this small town for the rest of her life being someone's old lady, and nothing more. She wanted more from life, and she was going to get it.
Look out world, because here comes Tatum James.
•••
(A/N: I'm super excited for this book! I hope you all enjoy it! A couple of things though, it's obviously AU, and while Wendy will exist in it Abel will not. Don't forget to vote/comment 😊)
