"Hey Dad! How's Monterey?" I banged on Abel's door for the third time. It was already 9am and I wanted to be at the garage by then. I finally heard a grumble and some shuffling around behind the locked door, so I headed off to the kitchen.
"It's good, doll. Hap said you got suspended for a week." I could hear the laugh in his voice and relaxed a little.
"Yeah, I was using my phone. Is there any chance you won't tell Mom? I'm doing a whole custom tank by myself." I knew that he would be glad to hear I wasn't just hanging around the house or the clubhouse.
"Victory, you're mom will shoot me if you don't graduate. I won't say anything but you're going to get caught." He was right, of course. Even if I left as if I was going to school in the mornings, there weren't many places I could go that Mom wouldn't know. Luckily, I was passing all of my classes so even when she did find out, most of her wrath could be tamed.
"You're going to be home for the party, right?" I already knew the answer, but I really wanted to be reassured. He laughed and I could almost see him rolling his eyes.
"I missed one birthday when you were a baby and you act like I've missed all but one. We'll be there, Victory." I smiled and nodded at Abel as he walked in the kitchen with his blonde hair going every which way. Dad was right, he'd missed my second birthday due to being locked up, but he'd never missed any birthday after that. This year their anniversary plans were messed up by club business and they had decided to go this week instead.
"We're heading out to TM, Dad. Love you both." I grabbed Abel's arm and drug him towards the door. Dad reminded me to be good and we ended the call.
Abel flew over to the garage and headed straight to his dorm without a word. He was anything but a morning person and I didn't even risk thanking him for the ride. I greeted Moby and Juice in the garage as I headed back to the paint table.
"Vic, you want a muffin?" Juice asked, offering me a large paper bag. I pulled my paint mask down and smiled.
"You still trying to get Bobby's recipe down?" I grabbed one and looked it over before taking a bite. We'd lost Bobby to cancer over two years ago and Juice kept his memory alive by baking. It was getting better, but they still didn't have quite the fluffy, fresh flavors like Bobby's.
"Yeah, but Chibs said they're too heavy. You think you're going to get that done today?" He pointed at the tank I had just finished priming. I looked over at my sketch and shrugged.
"Today? Probably not, but I'll work through the night so it's done in the morning." He shook his head at my determination before headed back over to the Mustang he was working on. I took another bite of the muffin and decided I agreed with Chibs before tossing it in the garbage and pulling my paint mask back up.
I was zoned in to my work and it was coming along well. The sounds of the tools and motorcycles didn't even register with me until my stomach started growling loudly. I sighed and put my airbrush down, frustrated that I couldn't work without eating.
"Hey, I'm going down to the taco truck, do you want anything?" I was looking down through the engine bay of the Mustang that Juice was still working under. He rolled out from under the car and brushed his hands off on his pants.
"Grab me a burrito." He said with a smile as he pulled some cash out of his back pocket. I shoved the money back at him and shook my head as I walked out of the garage. The taco truck was only a couple blocks away, so I wasn't going to bother borrowing a car.
"Teller, you staying out of trouble?" I pushed my sunglasses up and looked over at Althea Jarry who was standing in line a couple people in front of me. She was the Sheriff in Charming, but she was also a club friend and Chibs' on again off again girlfriend. At the time, they were on again.
"Always, Jarry." I wanted to ask her how Ivy, her and Chibs' five year-old daughter, was feeling with her chicken pox, but it wasn't something we could talk about in public. Jarry still tried to keep up a good cop appearance, so we didn't talk much in public. After I got the food, I gave her a friendly nod and headed back to Teller-Morrow.
When I glanced around the lot on the way back to the garage, I noticed a familiar black truck parked close to the gate. My teeth gritted reflexively and I just hoped the owner had already left. Unfortunately, I didn't get that lucky.
"Victory! Wait up!" Kyle Watkins got out of his truck and hurried to catch me before I got in the garage. I stopped and turned around slowly. I always made it a priority to avoid Kyle since I broke up with him after the junior prom. He was set on winning me back and I was set on my family not finding out we'd ever actually dated. When he picked me up for prom, I'd told everyone we were just friends.
"Something wrong with the truck?" My hands were full of food from the taco truck so I didn't have to worry about him hugging me. He ran his hand around the back of his neck and shook his head. I wasn't surprised.
"I noticed you weren't at school and I was worried about you, Vicky." My lip curled a little at the nickname I'd always hated. Only friends and family got to call me Vic; for everyone one else, it was Victory.
"You shouldn't worry about me, Kyle. It's been over a year." I glanced over at Juice as he walked out of the garage and headed over to me. Despite being close to forty-five, he still kept his hair in a short black Mohawk to display his tribal tattoos on his scalp. Misty was convinced Juice wasn't even forty yet and still didn't believe me when I told her he was as old as our parents.
"Everything okay, Vic? Thanks, doll." I handed him his bag of food and nodded. He eyed me for a second before turning to Kyle. My secret ex-boyfriend swallowed hard as Juice stared him down. To me, Juice was just a big kid but he still wore the kutte, so he still scared off any outsiders.
"Just reminding Vicky about graduation dues. I'll let you get back to work." He turned away quickly and headed back to the safety of his truck. Juice raised his brow at me suspiciously. I shrugged and followed him over to the picnic table to eat.
"Vicky? I thought you hated that." Juice asked as he unwrapped his burrito. I nodded and took a bite of the steaming hot quesadilla.
"I do. He's an idiot. What's Dad getting me for my birthday?" I smiled and fluttered my eyes innocently. I'd been trying to pull out any information I could for the last four months to no avail. Juice pointed his burrito at me and shook his head.
"Not going to happen, Vicky." I scowled and threw a piece of lettuce at him. If he started that Vicky shit I'd wring his neck. We finished our food quickly. Juice headed into the clubhouse and I rushed to get back to work on the tank. It wasn't fifteen minutes into working and my phone was trilling, interrupting the classic rock I'd played on the music app.
"What's up, Misty?" I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I turned the tank around on the turntable, looking for any imperfections I needed to correct.
"Can you pick me up, Vic? Mom and I got in a huge fight and I can't be here." I sighed and stood up, pulling my paint mask off and tossing it on my stool. Misty and her mom were notorious for having huge screaming matches, so this wasn't really a surprise.
"Give me ten minutes, hon," She agreed and I slid the phone back in my pocket while opening the clubhouse door with my other hand.
"Shit." I muttered as I noticed that the chapel doors were closed. There was no way I was going to interrupt church to ask for the keys to the tow truck. I glanced around, thinking how I could get over to Misty's house. Brent, the prospect, was leaning against the bar and smoking a cigarette. I smirked and marched over to him.
"You got the keys to the tow truck?" I folded my arms across my chest and did my best old lady impersonation. If it were a Son, I would never get away with the attitude. With my uncles, I had to play it sweet and innocent to get what I wanted. With the prospect though, I didn't have time or patience for that.
"Yeah, why?" He spoke carefully and diverted his eyes away from me. I could only imagine what kind of horrors Happy filled his head with.
"We've got to go make a pick up. Now." I growled, as he stood motionless. He looked from me to the closed chapel doors and nodded slowly. I could almost hear the thoughts running through his head as he chose between refusing the president's daughter and possibly doing something he shouldn't.
"What the hell? I thought we were picking a car up?" Brent looked at me with exasperation etched into his brow as I opened the door for Misty. She climbed in as I scooted to the middle of the bench seat. I couldn't help notice how good Brent's cologne smelled.
"I said we had a pick up. I never mentioned a car." I turned from him and looked at Misty. My stomach flipped over at the swelling around her eye and the split in her lip. No wonder she was carrying a huge backpack.
"Damn, Misty. What the hell happened?" I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and she rested her head underneath my chin as Brent started back to Teller Morrow. I felt tears falling down onto my chest as she shuddered in my arms. This was the first time I'd seen her cry in years.
"Move." I shoved Brent out of the driver's side and followed him out of the truck. I hurried around to the other side and grabbed Misty's bag before reaching in and taking her hand. She hadn't said a word on the ride over and I knew it was because we weren't alone.
"Prospect, mind telling us where ya took the truck?" Chibs called out as he walked out of the clubhouse. I glanced back at Brent and then at Chibs.
"He helped me out." Chibs looked from me to Misty and I didn't have to say another word. He nodded and moved aside so we could go back to the dorms and have some privacy. Happy, Tig, Juice and Abel watched carefully as I half carried Misty across the clubhouse. Opie offered to help, but I shook my head with a small smile.
I kicked my Dad's dorm room door open and tossed her bag onto the floor before closing the door and joining her on the end of the bed. She was sitting cross-legged and fiddling with the end of her brown hair.
"Mom found my birth control prescription and freaked out." Misty sniffled and shook her head. I didn't really know how to relate to what she was going through. My Mom had taken me to get birth control over a year ago. For she and I, it was a mother daughter moment that we shared and Dad knew nothing about. For Misty though, it was secret she kept from her Mom by any means necessary.
"So she hit you because you are smart enough to not get knocked up?" I was flabbergasted at the very idea of a mother hitting her daughter, much less over something responsible like birth control.
"It's more than that. She was sitting in my room when I got home and had the prescription in her hand. She started grilling me on it and who I was having sex with. She tried to say that's why I wanted to go to the party or hang out here. She said I wasn't going to be anything more than a biker whore." She sighed and shook her head as tears started falling again.
"Does she know about you and Kenny?" She laughed and shook her head as if I'd asked if her mom wanted to come to the party. Misty and Opie's son Kenny had been together for almost a year now. Outside of the club, no one knew about it since Misty was still seventeen and Kenny was twenty-four.
"Jarry's not here arresting him is she? I wouldn't tell her who I've been with and then I brought up the shit between her and Quinn. Apparently it's still a sore subject." She smirked and gestured up at her eye. I sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I'll have to let Quinn know his sex skills are that traumatizing." My joke succeeded in making Misty laugh. In all actuality, Misty's mom and Quinn had fooled around for a couple months and she never got over him refusing to give her a crow. She gave him an ultimatum to choose the club or her. Misty's eye went to show what his choice was.
"She kicked me out, Vic. I don't know what I'm going to do." She was trying to hung her head when I caught her chin and forced her to look at me. I smiled and shook my head.
"Misty, you're like the sister I always wanted. You know Mom would love to have you stay with us. Then we can get the apartment we were already planning on after graduation. It's going to be okay." I kissed her cheek and stood up as she seemed to regain some color in her cheeks.
"I gotta finish a tank and I'm sure your man is already on his way here." She hugged me again and headed out to the clubhouse with me. Just as I predicted, Kenny was standing next to his dad and pulled Misty in to his side. I nodded and continued on towards the garage.
"Hey, thanks for backing me up with Chibs." Brent said as he walked up to the table. I finished the shadow I was working on before pulling my mask down. It was well into the night and I was getting close to adding the clear coat, so my mood had lifted considerably.
"You're going to dig your hole enough without my help. You might have actually gained some credit for helping me." I smiled up at him as I turned the tank around and pulled my mask back up. I leaned in and made the final touches. I didn't miss Brent pulling a stool up and watching me work.
"What do you think?" I spun the turntable around slowly so he could check the paint out from all sides. He looked at it closely and nodded.
"That's fucking sick. Where'd you learn how to do that?" His eyes moved from the tank to me with a smile. I turned the dryer on and stood up. Brent followed me out to the front of the garage. I offered him a cigarette, which he accepted and lit mine up before answering him.
"Happy taught me how to airbrush and tattoo. I guess I've been doing both since I was thirteen. I've drawn since I could hold a crayon though." I shrugged and blew out a cloud of smoke. Brent looked surprised as he inhaled.
"You tattoo? Damn. No offense, but I can't see Happy teaching a little girl how to tie her shoes, let alone paint and tat." He smiled when I laughed in agreement.
"I'm his goddaughter so I guess I'm just special. You'll probably hear Jax calling Happy my babysitter at some point. It pisses Hap off but that's the point." I smirked and remembered the first and last time Juice tried to use the same joke. I could still see the slight crookedness to his nose from where Happy broke it.
"What was it like, growing up the president's kid?" The longer we stood talked, the more I could see Brent relaxing. I stole a few lingering glances as we smoked. He was almost as tall as Opie, but his hair was cut into an undercut and he kept the longer part pulled up into a man bun. The worst part was how incredibly nice his beard was. It was full and I could tell he took care of it; you can't have a shaped beard without taking care of it.
"You'd have to ask Abel. I grew up the president's daughter. It's a lot different from my point of view. Instead of taking dance class, Dad taught me how to shoot and fight. I'm still very much a girl, but I'm tougher than a lot of guys my age. It drives Mom crazy but Dad and I are more alike than she and I." I laughed and remembered how annoyed Mom got when we went prom dress shopping. I wanted something to match my leather jacket and she had to watch me try on over a hundred dresses.
"Prospect, stop harassing Victory and get on your damn bike. You and Abel are going out with Juice and Kenny to meet up with the Tacoma charter. Keep your eyes open." Tig barked as he narrowed his blue eyes at Brent. He turned to me and nodded before heading out to his bike. I noticed he had a Harley Davidson Dyna Switchback and I couldn't help stare.
"The bike or the prospect?" I blinked and looked up at a smirking Tig. I rolled my eyes and slapped the back of my hand on his leather covered chest.
"The bike. Tiggy." He didn't seem to believe me, so I just headed back into the garage to add the clear coat on the tank. It was two in the morning and I was starting to get tired.