"Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me." Aubrey Wilson yelled as her car started making sputtering noises and her check engine light came on.
"This is the last thing I need." She looked to her right side and slowly pulled over on the side of the road just as her car made a horrible noise and the engine cut out. She sat back with her hands clenching the steering wheel, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry.
Making sure that no cars were coming, Aubrey got out of her Impala and started walking towards the hood when she stopped herself and thought what the hell do I know about cars?
She didn't know what to do. She knew that she had just past a sign welcoming her to Charming California but, having never been there before, she didn't know if there were any garages around that could help her out. She got back into her car, put on her four ways and looked for her cell phone. Her only option was to try 411 for a local garage. As she was about to hit send, Aubrey looked up and saw a tow truck in her rearview mirror.
"Yes!" Fumbling to open the door, Aubrey dropped her cell but managed to open the door just as the tow truck was passing by. She waved her arms and started to run after the truck, spitting out the dirt and sand that was getting sprayed into her face as it pulled off to the side do the road a few car lengths in front of her. Apparently they had noticed her four ways and were pulling over already.
Aubrey was waving the dust out of her face when she noticed two large, very intimidating looking men step out of the truck and put on gloves. She couldn't help but feel nervous when she saw these men make their ways towards her. One had a long scruffy beard and was wearing a black wool hat. Aubrey instantly felt nervous and uneasy around him. He looked mean. The shorter of the two was clean shaven and had most of his head shaved as well except a short Mohawk down the centre of his head. She noticed the tattoos on his scalp and thought what kind do business do these guys work for? Frozen in place and her heard pounding, it took a few seconds for Aubrey to realize that the larger man was speaking.
"Sorry, what was that?" Aubrey managed to stutter.
"I said I'm guessing you need a tow." He repeated, taking off his sunglasses and making his way towards her car.
"Yeah ... Uh... I do. Um ..." Aubrey stuttered and took a step back as the man approached. He looked a little less menacing with his glasses off but she was still wary. "... I don't really know what's wrong with my car and I'm not sure where I should go."
"We work for Teller-Morrow Automotive. We can get your car fixed up in no time." The shorter man enthusiastically shared. Aubrey scrunched her eyes together and slightly turned her head towards him. She was taken aback at how chipper he sounded, considering how intimidating he seemed when she first saw him. He reminded her of some of the teenagers she volunteered with at her hometown high school. Most of them were all tough and scary at first but turned into sweethearts when she got to know them. Aubrey was skeptical about whether this was the case for this guy.
"Thanks. Do you need any of my information?" she asked, having never needed a tow before.
"We'll just get it back at the garage" the larger man answered.
"Thank you so much" she said with a smile and let them get to work hooking up her car. She went back to her car and gathered her purse, cell phone and sunglasses. Taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly, she decided she should text her cousin to let her know she was going to be delayed. "Having car trouble. Don't know how long it'll take but I'm fine and I'll keep you posted."
"We're all set." the bearded man said and both men walked back to the truck.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Aubrey closed her car door and told herself not to be so worried about these guys and to just get in the truck. When she reached the passenger side door she looked in to see the clean shaven man give her a big goofy grin and she could see his brown eyes light up. It made her feel a little more at ease and she directed her smirk towards the ground and she slid onto the seat next to him.
"I'm Juice ..." he extended his hand. "...and this is Opie." jerking his head to his left.
"Aubrey..." she shook his hand and nodded to Opie. "...nice to meet you, and thank you for helping me out."
"Not a problem." Opie answered in a low voice.
The ride to the garage was pretty quiet. Juice asked Aubrey if she was from around Charming and she explained that she was just passing through on her way back to Eugene, Oregon from going to school in Fresno. He didn't ask her why and she was grateful for that. She took notice of the town and appreciated how many independently owned businesses there were. It was nice to see them instead of franchises everywhere.
Opie didn't say a word during the drive back and Juice tried not to be too nosy. He thought that Aubrey seemed nice and genuine but he felt that something was bothering her, besides her car trouble, which he could tell from the way she fidgeted and rubbed her forehead every so often.
Chibs looked up when he heard a vehicle at the gates. Opie and Juice pulled into the lot with a black Impala attached to the truck. There was a third person in the cab with them but he couldn't really see them properly. He just knew that it was a woman. He looked back down at the bike he had just finished working on and gathered his tools, still crouched behind the bike. He then looked up and saw the woman getting out of the truck. His breath caught in his chest.
"Just go through to the office and ask for Gemma." Juice instructed the woman and she made her way across the lot.
Chibs watched intently as this woman walked towards the office. She ran both hands through her hair and balled her fists at her scalp, obviously frustrated. He couldn't help but watch her. She was tall, almost his height he'd guess and had shoulder length auburn coloured hair. She was very pretty. Chibs thought it was funny how he was reacting this way to someone he thought of as pretty and not beautiful or sexy. That's what she was though, pretty. She definitely didn't look like the girls that normally hung around here.
The woman entered the office and out of sight from Chibs. He took a deep breath, shook his head slightly and went about putting his tools away.