A/N: Hi :D So, for the last month and a half I've been hooked on Sons of Anarchy. I've read some Jax/Tara fanfiction and decided to try and write one myself. This will be a multi chapter fanfiction and the events will probably deviate from those that are in canon. Hope you like it. Beware, this is only my second attempt at writing fanfiction, so style and storytelling might be a little off in the beginning.

Originally published: 7th September, 2014

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sons of Anarchy nor anything related to it. My characters are my own.

Happy reading :3

Head Is Not My Home

As Tara Knowles walked into the ER with a broken arm, a broken nose, and an officer by her side, she made a silent promise to herself she would never again let any man lay a hand on her.

She sat on one of the chairs in the waiting room, as Officer Rickards gave report to a nurse about what happened. The nurse gave Tara a sympathetic smile and told her to wait while the doctor arrived.

The smile made Tara sick. She hated when people made her feel the victim even though she was one. Tara hated everyone; the nurse, Josh, but most of all she hated herself for even letting something like this happen. A tear threatened to come down her cheek and she felt a scream die in her throat as she looked at the waiting room lights.

How did it come to this? Why did I let this happen?

Those were the questions she often asked herself when she was alone in her apartment, praying Josh decided not to come.

As she kept the pressure on her nose, she recollected her life in Chicago... Just a year ago, everything was fine. She managed to graduate in History and was thinking of moving to a smaller town since the living expenses in Chicago were enormous. Some elementary and high schools have offered her a position and she was glad to have that many opportunities to choose from.

And then one night, while coming back from a girls' night out with her friends, she was almost mugged.

A tall dark figure approached her just as she was nearing her street and pulled out a knife, demanding her purse and everything valuable she had. Tara panicked, but decided to comply since she didn't have a death wish nor did she want to play the hero. Just as she was giving the guy her bracelet, she was startled by a man's voice who came out of the shadows, carrying a gun.

"Stop! Police!" - the man yelled.

Apparently, that was all it took for the thug to dump Tara's things and run as fast as he could. Tara was still in shock when the man in his late thirties with slightly greying hair approached her and started helping her get her things of the street and in to her bag.

"Thank you so much," - Tara said, her hands shaking, her voice almost cracking.

"That's ok. Are you alright? He didn't do anything to you, did he?" - the man asked with a concerned look on his face.

"No, he didn't do anything, save for scaring me to death."

They finished collecting her things and he helped her get up. Tara put the purse on her shoulder just as the man offered his hand to introduce himself.

"Joshua. Joshua Kohn."

He smiled at her and Tara couldn't help but smile back, -"Tara Knowles."

They shook hands and Joshua offered to walk her to her apartment building, claiming that one could never be too careful, especially this late at night. Tara accepted even if it was just a five-minute walk.

They walked in silence, and when they got to her building, she thanked him again and said good night before climbing up the stairs. Before she entered, he grabbed her wrist gently making her turn in surprise.

"Listen, what do you say we go out for a drink? Sometime later this week?"

Tara contemplated the offer for a few moments, the curious way of meeting him making her act cautiously before saying:"Yes, I'd like that."

She gave him her number and he promised to call her.

That night, lying in her bed in her favourite T-shirt and pyjama pants, Tara Knowles felt happy. In spite of the terrible event from just a few hours ago, Tara felt good things coming her way soon. She smiled and went to caress the bracelet that was on her hand. Only, the bracelet wasn't there.

She frowned, asking herself if she might have lost it in all that panic or if the thief had taken it with him. She wanted to go back and try to see if she had dropped it but decided against it since she was still scared that the guy might come back. Still, tomorrow morning she promised to go back to find it.

#############################################################

Unbeknownst to her, Joshua Kohn sat in a bar, drinking double scotch and playing with the silver bracelet in his hands.

"Tara Knowles..." - he muttered, looking entranced at the bracelet and imagining the beautiful brunette it belonged to.

#############################################################

She touched the bracelet on her hand, asking the universe for at least one more shot at life, a shot at a normal life. The way it was before all hell broke loose, destroying her in the process. Tears started pooling in her eyes, but she blinked a few times, not wanting to seem weak.

A moment later, the same nurse the officer spoke to earlier called her name, and she took a deep breath before standing up and walking into the doctor's office.

#############################################################

That night was the last one Tara Knowles spent in Chicago.

After the doctor adjusted her nose and arm, and saying she had to wear a cast for at least a month, he gave her some painkillers and she was yet again escorted by officer Rickards to her apartment, where she packed all her clothes and few valuable possessions she had, and checked in a motel next to a bus station.

The next morning, she bought a ticket to Charming, a place she'd never heard of (hoping Kohn hadn't heard of it either) and vowed to never come back again. As the driver started the engine, Tara looked at the city which was her home for the last seven years for the last time, before taking a seat.

Leaving her past, Tara closed her eyes, looking forward to, what she hoped, a much safer future.

(I know that going away after an event hinted in this chapter seems unbelievable at best, but let's pretend it's possible for the sake of the story :D )