So, I got inspired for this one after deciding to rewatch SOA and remembered how much I love the show. I'm not abandoning my other story, but I'm taking a short break from it while I wait for the new season just so I can finalize some ideas and figure out just where exactly I'm going to take the story. So I promise I'm not forgetting Little Doe. Plus, it's finals week and the new term starts April 1st so I'm gonna be a little busy for a couple weeks.
As far as this story goes, it's either going to be an AU or it's gonna be pre-season 1 and possibly move into the show canon. Idk yet, I'm still working out a few details. I just thought I'd post it right now just to see if anyone likes it or is interested. I know this plot line is kind of a dime a dozen but I'm hoping mine will take a different route. Or at least what I plan to do with it takes a different route.
This story is going to be rather explicit, seeing as how the show is rather explicit too. There's going to be a lot of violence, mentions of abuse, rape, death, general illegal activities, probably some sexual content too. Ya know, typical Sons of Anarchy stuff. Title credit goes to the song by Lana Del Rey which kind of fits the overall tone of this story almost perfectly.
Let me know what you think, good or bad.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
Charming, California. An ironic name if you know the truth about what runs the streets and lives next door. Most residents are ignorant to the danger, but there are some who know. Jessica has been living it her whole life. Her mother tried to keep her away, keep her out of that life but it always has a way of coming back and biting you in the ass. She's been away from Charming for six years, but it still found its way back to her.
Jessica's mom and her husband had sent her away from Charming as soon as they could. She had been seventeen, graduating high school a year early, and already admitted to UCLA when they had sent her as far away as she would go. And there she had stayed, four years for undergrad school and then two of graduate school. They were on Spring Break now, and she had talked her roommate Ellie into going back home with her for the week off. Or, at least that's the reason she gave her for getting us out of LA. If she's lucky, she won't ever have to know the truth.
But when are they ever lucky?
The car has been following them since Farmington. Jessica tried not to think too much about it. There wasn't much traffic on the back roads, which she had insisted on taking after they hit Fresno. It delayed them by almost four hours compared to if she had stuck to the interstate, but she wanted to keep out of sight as much as possible. Her excuse had been a scenic route, but there was nothing but brown hills and farm lands on the back roads. She had tried to lose them in traffic in Stockton, driving around a few loops and streets but they had stayed on their tail diligently. Jessica doesn't say anything about it, pressing the car faster as soon as they get outside Stockton. It's a hop, skip and a jump to Charming, as long as they don't stumble somewhere between that hop, skip and jump.
Ellie's asleep in the front seat. It's getting near dark and they had only stopped in short bursts for gas and a bathroom break for Ellie. They hadn't stopped since Farmington though, and already the gauge was getting low. She might as well call, knowing the plan to show up unannounced isn't going to work out now. She has her hand on her phone when everything goes to shit.
She sees the impact before it registers. The SUV had been sitting at a side road, and Jessica had been so preoccupied with trying to find her phone she hadn't even seen it. It slams into them as they pass, t-boning them clear across the road and over the guardrail. The car rolls down into the embankment before stopping upside down. Jessica's body is burning, the pain starting to register from broken glass and the impact. Her movements are sluggish but her brain is quickly working as she hears two vehicles stop on the road they had just been on. Jessica glances over at Ellie. She's not moving, blood dripping onto the roof of the car. Jessica undoes her seatbelt, dropping onto her side right into broken glass but she doesn't pay it any mind. She looks around quickly, seeing a large culvert pipe a couple of feet away. She scrambles out of the car, staying low as she crawls into the culvert, praying they didn't see her.
There's at least three of them, poking around the wreck. Jessica can hear them talking, the sound of something shattering. She keeps her eyes on the opening of the culvert, saying a prayer to every deity she can think of. She can hear them moving around now, no doubt looking for any sign of where she went. Her heart is pounding in her ears, her head starting to throb. Please God, don't let me pass out here, she prays. She knows she can't fight them. Even if it was only one, she's not sure she could take him. Not like this.
She inhales sharply as a pair of legs appear in front of the culvert. Her stomach is in knots as she covers her mouth, trying to slow her breathing. From the look of it they're facing away from the culvert. There's no place she could have run out here. It's all empty space: brown hills and dust.
"Jess?" Her stomach drops as she hears Ellie's weak voice. She had thought in that moment she was dead. The SUV had hit them on her side, there wasn't any chance she was alive, or so she had thought.
She keeps her mouth covered, tears welling in her eyes. She can hear the distant sound of a siren. Someone must have witnessed the accident, or driven past since. They had been only two miles from Charming city limits, and it would be close to rush hour now.
"Come on, we have to get out of here. She'll turn up eventually." One of the men says, the one that was standing in front of the culvert. "Kill the spare."
Jessica presses her hands harder over her mouth, muffling her sobs as she hears the gun go off. Tears are streaming down her cheeks now, mixing with the blood dripping from her forehead. She listens as the men make their way back up the embankment, tearing away from the scene. She waits until she can no longer hear the vehicles before crawling out. The siren is getting louder now, and so is the blood rushing in her ears. She tries to stand up but searing pain in her legs keeps her from doing that. She resorts to crawling over to the car, feeling bile rise in her throat as she sees Ellie laying there, blood pooling around her head. This was her fault. She had brought her into this. She had thought it would be safer for both of them to leave, but maybe she should have left her in LA. Maybe she would still be alive then.
She hears a car pull up along the road, the siren shutting off. She can't control her sobs anymore, her ribs aching but she doesn't care. Her whole body is aching now, the pain finally registering as the shock wears off. She hears boots crunching in the dirt, her heart leaping into my throat for a moment until she sees it's only an officer. His voice sounds warped as her vision starts to swim, the whole world tilting on its side but she quickly realizes she's fallen over into the dirt.
The officer kneels down beside her and she gets a better look at him. He's hardly changed in the six years since shes been gone. She can tell he doesn't recognize her yet. He's speaking to her, telling her to stay calm, that help is on the way.
"What's your name?" He asks her, more sirens getting closer.
"I'm surprised you don't recognize me, Hale." He frowns, obviously trying to think of where he's seen her before. "Jessica. Jessica Teller."
Surprise overtakes the confused look on his face. "Jessica Teller? God, it's been...it's been-"
"Six years. Not quite the welcome home I was expecting."
Hale looks back at her car. "Can you tell me what happened?" He takes off his jacket, draping it over her and she realizes shes shaking now. The sun is starting to set now and her body is freezing. She knows it's not because of the current temperature.
"T-boned me. Black SUV. Didn't even see them."
Two more vehicles stop on the road. She can see the flashing lights adding to Hale's car. "Ambulance is here. I'll make sure your family knows what happened."
She nods slightly. "They didn't know I was coming. I wanted to surprise them."
Hale nods, standing up, moving out of the way of the paramedics, letting them do their work.
Unser is standing in front of the car as Hale moves over to him. "Jesus. What an accident."
"I don't think it was." Hale says.
Unser looks at him, his brow furrowing. "What do you mean?"
"This is Jessi Teller's car."
Unser gives him a shocked look. "Jessi Teller? It's been what...six years since she's been in town?"
Hale nods. "She said a black SUV t-boned her."
Unser looks up at the road before turning back to the car. "You think they pushed her off the road?"
Hale nods, leading Unser over to the dead body of the passenger. "I think they were going to kill her."
"Jesus." Unser runs a hand over his face. "Follow them to St. Thomas. I'll go let Gemma and Clay know."
The sun's gone down by the time Unser pulls into Teller-Morrow. He gets looks as he gets out of the car, looks he's grown used to now. He spots Gemma and Clay near the office, making his way over to them.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Clay asks once Unser gets closer.
"I need to speak with both of you and Jax. Somewhere private."
Gemma leads him into the office, Clay following after calling for Jax. Jax joins them after a moment, closing the door. Unser gathers himself for a moment, trying to think of how to tell them everything.
"What's going on?" Jax asks, leaning against a filing cabinet.
"Jessi was in an accident."
"Jessi?" Gemma frowns in confusion.
"She was on her way here, we think. She was t-boned by a black SUV, ran off the road and rolled down an embankment."
"Jesus." Jax breathes out.
"Is she okay?" Gemma asks.
Unser nods. "She was conscious and talking when the ambulance arrived. The report's going to say it was an accident, but Hale's going to open an investigation."
"You don't think it was an accident." Clay says.
Unser shakes his head. "No. Just from the accident alone it's enough to raise suspicion. From where the car was hit and where the car landed there's no way she was just t-boned. I think whoever hit her, pushed her off the road too. And it's not just that." Unser looks between the three occupants of the room. "There was another person in the car with Jessi. An unidentified female and the only casualty. But she didn't die in the accident. She was shot, point blank right in the head." Gemma lets out a shaky breath. "I'm telling you this because I know you like to handle things that get personal. I don't know what's going on, or the motivation behind this and I doubt Jessi's going to tell anyone else but her family. But I do know someone wants your daughter dead."