Tara told him slowly, the words carefully chosen. Jax knew her well enough, she thought, to know that she was censoring what she said. Everything was sanitized, sort of.
But still, she told him things she hadn't before. "I had an interview in Oregon - you and me and the boys, we made it like... a little vacation," she said quietly. She didn't stop touching him as she told him, her hand smoothing against his neck, her fingers toying with his hair. "We stopped in a park for lunch, when all of that happened."
All of that - because she didn't want to say it again. She didn't need to. "You thought, at first, that it was because of the cartels, but I was in the hospital - You and Aleda and your mom took care of the boys. I couldn't do anything, Jax. I had... I had a lot of surgeries, to help fix the damage. That's why it's not just one scar." She paused. "You were there for me. You were there, even when I completely lost myself." She looked away, her brow furrowing.
"I totally checked out. Totally, and completely. I didn't care about you, or my job, or the kids, I just could think about my fucking hand, and how everything was over. And you-"
She looked back at him, her eyes finding his. "You pulled me back. You were the father that our boys needed, you made sure that they were loved and taken care of, and you put me back together, Jax." That was the important part, to her. But still... the rest did matter. "Your mom found Clay putting money back in their safe after they- uh. Botched the job." The last three words were said with her voice tight. "He- uhm." She actually stopped, then. "I had something he wanted, and I knew something-" She stopped again.
"That's it. Right now, that's it, okay?" She couldn't say more, couldn't talk about the rest without it becoming a flood of words, of deaths that just grew and grew. "You were there when I needed you."
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But still, she told him things she hadn't before. "I had an interview in Oregon - you and me and the boys, we made it like... a little vacation," she said quietly. She didn't stop touching him as she told him, her hand smoothing against his neck, her fingers toying with his hair. "We stopped in a park for lunch, when all of that happened."
All of that - because she didn't want to say it again. She didn't need to. "You thought, at first, that it was because of the cartels, but I was in the hospital - You and Aleda and your mom took care of the boys. I couldn't do anything, Jax. I had... I had a lot of surgeries, to help fix the damage. That's why it's not just one scar." She paused. "You were there for me. You were there, even when I completely lost myself." She looked away, her brow furrowing.
"I totally checked out. Totally, and completely. I didn't care about you, or my job, or the kids, I just could think about my fucking hand, and how everything was over. And you-"
She looked back at him, her eyes finding his. "You pulled me back. You were the father that our boys needed, you made sure that they were loved and taken care of, and you put me back together, Jax." That was the important part, to her. But still... the rest did matter. "Your mom found Clay putting money back in their safe after they- uh. Botched the job." The last three words were said with her voice tight. "He- uhm." She actually stopped, then. "I had something he wanted, and I knew something-" She stopped again.
"That's it. Right now, that's it, okay?" She couldn't say more, couldn't talk about the rest without it becoming a flood of words, of deaths that just grew and grew. "You were there when I needed you."