A/N: Hello, all! I am excited and nervous because this is the first time I am ever submitting something I have written for public viewing. Also, I am inexperienced, so if there is any confusion…I'm sorry! I tried!
Anywho…I do not own SOA nor do I reserve any of the rights to the brilliant characters created by Kurt Sutter.
The only thing I own are any OC's created by me or contributing minds. If I use any outside sources I WILL WITHOUT A DOUBT CITE THEM. I am not about plagiarism and original ideas should be given credit. So, without further ado…ENJOY!
The dry desert winds swept across the sand, dusting it over the lonely, cracked macadam and blowing through a head of deep red locks that leaned against a rusted old truck. Her hair was long; wispy, as it tickled her cheeks and danced sideways across her face in the dusty breeze. She took a long drag of her cigarette until she felt a familiar burning deep in her chest, lungs begging for air. Smoke bleed from between her soft pink lips as she exhaled, the apathetic fog billowing around a small piece of cardstock she had been casually fiddling with in her hand. After one last hit, she reached through the open window of her '67 Dodge and grabbed her cell from the dusty dashboard then began to punch in the numbers printed on the worn business card.
"These guys are the best around."
That had been what the lanky cashier had told her. That dumbass. She could tell he was a complete shit-for-brains as soon as she set eyes on him. Greasy, messed up mop of brown hair, ink that made absolutely no sense, and an attitude that was too big for his imitation leather boots. A straight up forgery of a badass wannabe.
She had drifted into the dumpy depot in search of transmission fluid for her truck and some water for her and her companion, but he seemed to be more interested in the size C duo under her shirt than in her current dilemma. She wasn't insulted, though. It was something she was accustomed to and, Hell, she was damn proud of her assets. It didn't stop her from bringing his attention back to the problem at hand though. After he had walked her to the aisle where they kept the cold bottles of water, he explained that he only carried oil and gas. No transmission fluid.
"But I'd be more than obliged to take a peek under that hood of yours."
A small chuckle escaped her throat at his attempt to pick her up.
"Trust me, honey…" she said with a one-sided smirk, "…you wouldn't know how to handle the merchandise."
When she had turned to walk away he had decided to take advantage of her unintended challenge, and his previous 'free pass', and slapped her on the ass, grabbing it a little.
"I could handle it just fine, sweet cheeks."
Again, this wasn't a big deal to her, but what kind of woman would she be if such a dirty deed went unpunished? Besides, he needed to be put in his place. Sweet cheeks? Really?
She gingerly turned around to face him, fighting every urge not to bust his socially inept face open, and sauntered closer to him, closing the few feet of space between them to merely inches.
"Are you willing to prove me wrong…" she started. Her eyes had been fixated on the filthy, gray and white floor so as to maintain her oh-so-innocent appearance. She lifted them gradually, scanning over his uniform that included grease stained boots, wrinkled blue Dickies and matching, equally unkempt, button up. She also took notice of a name patch that had, what she assumed, his name sewn into it in green thread. "…Todd?"
Todd's face had grown flush with nervous excitement, clearly surprised that this gorgeous woman had accepted his rather adventurous declaration. In fact, she was convinced that he had never even gotten this far before. He was all but able to choke out the words 'Hell yeah' as the long-haired red-head glid a single finger along his jawline and swept at his unruly hair with the other hand. Her lips grazed the skin of his neck, the stubble of his five o'clock shadow scratching at her cheek at she kissed her way to the lobe of his ear and nibbled.
"Here we go." She whispered.
Todd's eyes closed in sweet expectation, but violently flew open when he felt a pressure on his chest and went careening into the metal shelves behind him. A loud crash echoed off the cinderblock and Todd's cries of pain filled the air. She watched him squirm in the mess of liquid that puddled around him from broken bottles of soda and other various jarred goods that hadn't escaped the onslaught of a woman scorned. There was also blood. Not a lot, but enough coming from a decent sized cut on his hand to prove the point she wanted to make, so she started walking away.
"You fucking cunt! What the hell is wrong with you?! Your jank pussy ain't worth it anyway!"
This idiot just can't learn. She turned back around and in a flash was back on him, fisting her hands into his hair and pulling him over to the cold beverage cooler. With a dead thud, she slammed his face into the glass door causing the tempered material to crack. Over and over she thrust him into the sliding partition leaving behind smears of blood in the fissures. When she finally decided to end her pursuit on Todd she released her grip from his knotted coiffe and his weakened body plopped to the floor. She stared at him for a while as he groaned and coughed, cursing her under his breath. She was halfway disgusted with herself. With what she had done. How it made her…feel better. Whole.
She crouched down to the beaten cashier's level, who flinched away. She made a quick reach for his head again and grabbed a fist full of hair to pull him closer. He was shaking like a sacred kitten in a pool of great white sharks.
"A little respect goes a long way, asshole. Remember that next time you feel like being one of the bad boys."
"I-I-I'm sorry. I will. P-promise." He whispered. "Just l-leave me alone. Get outta here."
"Now see? That's all I want to do." She explained. "I just need someone to take me and my truck to a garage so I can be on my way."
"There's a card. Back pock-et. Call them."
Her attention was redirected by a woman's heavy and onerous voice coming through her phone's earpiece.
"Teller-Morrow." The voice said in a habitual tone.
"Yeah, I need a tow." She answered equally as impassive while pulling her pack of cigarettes from the back pocket of her jean shorts.
"Sure thing, sweetheart. Where're you at?"
"Don't know. Somewhere off 99?" She pulled out a small cylindrical paper tube, placed it in her mouth and lit it. The end seared a molten red as she inhaled deeply. "I'm not really sure. Everything Is covered in sand out here."
She could hear the woman on the other end let out a frustrated sigh followed by a few seconds of silence that seemed to drag on for an eternity. She rolled her eyes and pushed herself off her truck, some paint peeling of as her boot scraped against the flaky finish, as she turned around to look at the dingy, broken-down building.
"There's a real shit-hole of a gas station. White sign with a green diamond."
"Guy behind the counter…he a skinny douchebag? Real hard-on for asses?" The woman asked reassuredly.
A knowing smirk crossed her face. "Yep."
The woman chuckled. "That's Tom's Pump Up. Baby, you're about fifteen miles outside Lodi. Closer than you are to Charming. Why don't you try calling…"
"Listen…" she cut off the woman, "…I was told you were the best. I don't trust my ride to just anyone. Means too much. And Mr. Skinny Douchebag-Ass Grabber wasn't in any position to lie to me when he told me I could trust my business with you, so that's what I plan on doing. So…"
"Gemma."
"Miss Gemma…I can either get my shit together, walk the thirty-five miles to your shop in this blazing heat, and make you bring me back to my car, or you could be so kind as to send someone to pick my sweet little ass up and save both of us the trouble. What d'ya say? Do I have a tow?"
Another few moments of silence passed as she waited for Gemma to answer her so she took another drag of the cigarette dangling between her ring and middle fingers.
"I'll give you one thing, sweetheart, you sure as hell are persistent. What's your name, baby?"
"Alannah." She responded flatly, dropping the butt from her hand and twisting it under her foot. "Alannah Halloran."
"Tell you what…I'll send someone out to get you, but it'll be a few hours before one of our trucks are free plus another forty-five to an hour before one of my guys get to you. But considering you were just about to walk here, I'm guessing waiting wouldn't be a problem."
"Nope. Time is all I got."
So there it is! The first chapter of my first fanfic. I can't describe how great it feels to finally get something up here! So please, please, PLEASE review. I am open to any and all criticism, just keep them clean and constructive. Also, if there are any brainstormers out there who can help me take this fic in the right direction, I would love to hear your ideas and collaborate.