Looking at the clock she swore when she saw it was only six in the morning. Sighing she stood and moved to the bathroom to shower. There was no way she'd be able to get back to sleep. She never could after one of the dreams. After her shower George left Mo sleeping and went to pick up some breakfast. By the time she got back Mo was in the shower. George set out breakfast and started to read the paper.
She felt extremely guilty. George knew that Mo's first choice would have been Cal-Tech, but George was just terrified it was too close to home. Too close to John. "Hmmm, what'd you bring us?" Mo asked as she exited the bathroom.
"Mickey D's finest." George smiled. "After we're done eating we need to pack up and switch hotels."
Mo sighed. "Okay."
"I'm sorry Mo. Sorry I've done this to us." Georgia whispered staring off at nothing.
Maureen moved quickly to her sister. "No, George, it isn't your fault. And you're right. We do need to move. We've been here three days. That's almost too long." She said in a reassuring voice. "It'll be better once we're up north. We won't have to move so much."
It didn't take long to switch hotels. They spent part of the day shopping, and both women were smiling by the time they pulled up to Dom's at two. Everyone was outside waiting for them. "Is everyone coming?" Georgia laughed.
"Hey, the beach has a certain calling to it." Brian teased. "Why don't you guys ride with us?"
Georgia shrugged. "Yeah, okay." Everyone piled into cars being driven by Dom, Leon, and Brian. Mia and Georgia rode with Brian, Vince and Letty rode with Leon, and Mo and Jesse rode with Dom. Once in the cars Georgia kept glancing back. "Are you sure she's safe with Dom?"
Mia laughed. "Dom's the best driver out of us, and that's saying a lot with this group. And if you're worried he'll hit on her, well, that's silly, she's just a kid."
"No, I wasn't worried about that." Georgia assured Mia. "I just worry."
"Well don't." Brian grinned. "We're a good crew. We got your back."
Georgia stared out the window with a sad smile playing on her lips. If only he knew what he was saying.
Meanwhile….
"This is the coolest car!" Mo was impressed. "Does it have NOS?"
Dom quirked his eyebrow at her, but Jesse spoke. "You into cars?"
She shrugged. "Well, I mean I like them. Don't know much about them really, but I know about NOS. I'm going into physics and engineering."
"Cal-Tech would be a good school for that." Jesse told her.
"Yeah, I know, but…"
"But what kid?" Dom asked. When it seemed like she wouldn't answer, he prodded a bit. "Look, your sister's doing the best she can, but how can it hurt to have extra eyes watching your backs?"
She seemed to think for several moments. "We just want to get as much distance between us and John as possible."
"He abusive?" Dom asked conversationally.
"Not at first, and never to me, although he threatened her with it." Mo traced a pattern on her window. "At first he was real good to her, to us really. Maybe too good. Then he started with the verbal crap. Always telling her she wasn't thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough, mature enough. It really pissed me off. Then the little stuff started happening. She'd show up with a bruise, or mark, and just tell us she fell, or ran into something. George was always real graceful, heck she was on the dance squad in high school, so it seemed weird, but god, that stuff didn't happen in our family. Not in our perfect family." Mo snorted lightly. "One day I came home from school and she was sitting with Mom sobbing. Her arm was in a sling. She left him that same night. I don't really know everything she went through." Mo found herself looking at Dom. "Right after Mom died we moved to Texas. George was on her way home from her new job. She was on the cell phone with me when someone ran her off the road. Purposely. They meant for her to die, or get real hurt. That was nine months ago." She cleared her throat, and was quiet for several minutes. "Why is it so easy to tell you this stuff?"
Dom smiled at the girl. "Sometimes it just helps to talk to someone who isn't involved."
"Yeah." She smiled at him with a relieved look on her face. "Yeah, you're right."
Dom sighed inwardly. Mo was a good kid. A lot like Mia had been at that age. Georgia was doing a good job with her, but sometimes you needed help.
The group got to the beach and found a nice open spot to spread out their blankets and lawn chairs. The guys had picked a beach where they could have beer and pulled two large coolers out of the cars. Jesse left his wheelchair at the car which shocked both women. "I can go without it sometimes. More as therapy progresses." he shrugged. "I'm just not supposed to overdo it."
Maureen peeled off her shirt and cut offs and ran into the waves giggling. The girl was in a two piece tank swimsuit in greens and purples, and it showed her body that was already womanly. If she grew another inch in height, and cut her hair she and Georgia would be hard to tell apart.
George sat on one of the blankets and watched her sister with a smile on her face. Neither George nor Maureen had been cursed with the pale freckly skin that most natural redheads ended up with; that their mother had. Instead they'd gotten the skin tones of their father who'd been French. Their skin naturally bronzed in the sun, and was normally a deep golden color. George removed her tank top and cut off shorts to reveal a lithe body in a green bikini which matched her eyes. Even with the weight loss, which was evident in the way her hip bones protruded, she had a lovely body…except for the surgical scars marking her left upper thigh. There were some scars on her shoulder but they were thin, and had been hidden by her tops. It didn't look like they would be very noticeable once they were fully healed, but it was obvious they weren't that old.
Dom saw Brian notice them and Brian paled considerably. Dom pulled Bri off with the excuse of wanting to play some toss with a football they'd brought. He filled his friend in on what the girl had told them in the car. Mia was sitting with George, and Letty and Leon were playing in the water. Jesse, Mo, and Vince were all building a sand castle.
"That's still so odd to me." Mia said with a strange look on her face.
George looked to where the other girl looked at the couple splashing each other in the water. "Leon and Letty?"
"Yeah, for a long time she was with my brother. Then we had this huge upheaval in our lives, almost a year ago. Brian quit the force and came to stay with us permanently, and Letty and Dom ended it. Those two got together about two months ago. I don't even really know how it happened. Funny thing is…I'm not sure that they know how it happened. They told us yesterday they're moving out together. It's nice to see them both happy and all, but still…"
"Weird." Georgia smiled.
"Yeah; weird." Mia laughed.
"At least Dom and Letty still seem to get along." George sighed and soaked up the sun.
"Oh, there's no question of that. She's been part of our family for too long to think otherwise. I mean, I'm sure it was hard for both of them at first, but it's all good now. We all love each other too much for it not to be."
"You're real lucky Mia." George said softly. "Not everyone has that."
Mia looked at the woman who was only slightly older than she was. Already put into the role of wife for almost six years now, and now in the role of mother to a teenager. "You have it now too Georgia. Brian loves you, and that means I love you too. Anyone out here today would do whatever they could to help you or your sister. We take care of our own."
"We're not part of your group." George said sadly.
Mia smiled widely and threw her arm around the other woman. "Well, of course you are. You're Brian's and that makes you ours!"
George just shook her head with a sigh. Maureen seemed to be having such a good time. Both Vince and Jesse were being good to her. Dom and Brian were throwing the ball back and forth with Mia cheering them on, and she had to wonder if Letty and Leon would be coming up for air anytime soon. It had been a long time since she'd sat in the sun doing nothing. It was nice. Mia walked over to join in the building of the sand castle and George lay back on the blanket. Her phone rang almost immediately. This would be his third call so far this day.
"What do you need now John?" she asked with a bite to her tone.
"You might want to watch your tone with me young lady." The distinguished voice said on the other end. "I want to know where you are Georgia. I will send you an airline ticket and you can stop this nonsense once and for all."
"I'm not giving you my address. I'm not coming back, and this isn't nonsense. I've filed for divorce John." George sat up and leaned her head forward onto her knees. The others had started making their way back to the blanket when they heard the phone ring, but she just didn't care enough to get up and move away. With as often as he called it wasn't like she could always just leave. "It's time to take this seriously. We're over. Our marriage is over, and has been for a long time."
"You're being ridiculous!" He snapped losing his temper.
"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm extremely serious about this. Save us both time and money. Sign the papers my lawyer sent to you. I know you have them."
"Georgia, openly defying me when I've given you an order isn't showing a great amount of intelligence." He said in a soft voice. "I've been extremely lenient up until this point. Do not make me come after you."
It was the voice she always heard right before he ended up hurting her. "Don't threaten me John. I'm sick of it." She didn't know where the words came from but they welled up from deep inside. "You've done enough. You've screwed my life up enough. I'm not changing my mind on this. I made a mistake in marrying you, and now I'm rectifying the situation." George hung up the phone and then stared at it in horror.
"Wow." Maureen said in awe. "I've never seen you talk to him like that. It's sort of like the old Georgia Anne. Like the time you punched Tim McKirdle out."
Vince pried the phone out of Georgia's white hand. "You okay?" he asked her. Brian crouched down near her. She found herself looking into first Brian's blue eyes, and then Vince's.
"I think I just fucked up." She said in a hoarse voice. "He's going to be very angry now."