Author's Note: SO SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO LONG! I am super behind on my chapters! I was supposed to upload a chapter each week on Monday. But, well, I had to do traveling so I could make it back in time for school. Then school started… so well, I had no time! But I assure you that I will work SUPER hard and get three new chapters ASAP! So chapter 4 is based off of 1x10 maybe 1x09? I might have messed the timeline up a little since well, I have seen the episodes because I fell behind but I think it should all end out ok! I would still really appreciate reviews! I really need to know what make sense and what doesn't make sense! Also, I would just like to know what you do and don't like about 'Troublemaker!' Thanks!
~Katherinekierajulia
PS. If you don't like some of the content that's in this chapter, this is probably going to be the only, well, sexual stuff and the talking about it. Well, like quite bluntly talking about it anyway. I feel that the scene with Julia and Skylar in the bathroom was necessary; it shows how serious Skylar is and what she has done to herself and what she has made Joe do. Also, how much Julia really loves Skylar. Plus how much force Linda can use. So, please enjoy!
Chapter 4
I know you're No Good
The smell of pine and wood stings my nose. I am in the cabin, with my father. He is sitting at the green poker table, alone. A man walks in it must be Barbie, he ruined my life, he ruined my mother's life. There is a struggle and shots of gun fire. NO! I scream. No! Father! I wake up drenched in sweat, tears rolling down my face. I am breathing heavily, Joe is wide awake, and he slowly reaches out and touches my arm. I pull my arm away quickly, reacting to touch.
"It's ok, it's just me." He whispers. He pulls me down close to him in a bear hug. He holds my head to his chest and rocks me back and forth. I try to slow my heart beat and calm my breathing. "It was just a bad dream."
The sun begins to slowly appear over the horizon; I look out the window and see the warm colours hit my face. Joe comes into the room and notices me awake. He smiles at me and crawls across the bed and kisses me. I laugh and we lye together and he kisses the top of my head. I never have experienced something like this, calmness, peace. I breath in slowly, I lay my head on Joe's chest, facing the ceiling. I wonder what my mother is up to today. I saw her with Linda Esquivel heading towards the bank. I avoided them obviously; they can't know I am at Joe's house. She will literally drag me back to either jail or that terrible house. It's been four days, under the Dome for me. Well, at least awake that is. I guess I have adapted to it, the whole 'someone could kill you at any moment' or 'we could all die at any second' thing is the norm for us residents of Chester's Mill. I have hated living here my whole life. Why did we have to get stuck in this hell hole? Joe really hasn't said anything about the mini dome in a while. I guess every time he thinks about it he thinks about Norrie and Alice. Angie has all ready gone to Sweetbriar Rose; it's just Joe and I to hold down the house. I look up at Joe and into his crystal blue eyes.
"I love you Joe McAlister." I say, rolling on my stomach to face him and I place my hands on his chest. He takes his hand and holds my face towards him. He rubs my bottom lip with his thumb, he leans for a kiss, but doesn't connect, and he just holds his lips close to mine, teasing me. I can feel him warm breath on my face.
"I love you too Skylar Shumway, I want you to always be mine." He kisses me, I close my eyes and he pulls me close for a deeper kiss. He moves his other hand over my waist and up my shirt. He kisses me on my neck and I pull him closer to me. I heavily let out a breath of air; he is on top of me on his hands and knees. He lightly kisses my stomach then makes his way back to my lips. We are both breathing heavily, like we just ran 2 miles. He stops and looks into my deep blue eyes.
"Are you ready for this?" He asks panting. I nod shyly. "It's just that at your house you weren't ready. Not just because Barbie and you're mom where downstairs. I mean mentally and emotionally. Are you sure?"
"Yes Joe. I love you, and I want to show you." He nods. He looks a little nervous. I must say this isn't my first rodeo but I know for Joe that it is. For boys it isn't such a big thing as girls. I honestly can't remember my first time. I guess I was too high, on whatever it was at the time? I remember some things, but not most. I'm just glad that I get to share this with Joe.
The warm sun is still high in the sky when I awake again. Joe is sound asleep beside me completely naked. I smile to myself and place my hand on his back and whisper in his ear, "I'll be back soon," and kiss him on the neck. I get up and put on a short skirt and a white tanks top. It seems it's going to be a hot day out today. I go downstairs and write Joe a quick note and leave it on the kitchen counter. I hop down the steps outside and stop at the bottom. I look out to the Dome, clear and standing strong. I guess I totally forgot about it. I somehow made myself believe that it was gone, that something changed. I turn and run down to the main road in the heart of Chester's Mill. Surprisingly there are quite a few people on the strip, not a lot, but more than on the night I first wandered down the town when the Dome came, well for me it was the first day. I walk down the side walk and I bump someone walking.
"Hey watch it!" She screams at me.
"Sorry bitch." I reply harshly. No one who ever reacts like that when someone simply bumps into them who doesn't have a nice personality and or is looking for a fight. I stop and look at her, I haven't seen her around town lately but I never forget that face. Maxine Seagrave. I almost puke, I hate her so much, she rips me off from her product and to be honest she is a complete and total blackmailing bitch.
"Skylar Shumway. Wow, haven't seen you recently, well not since this Dome came down." She smiles and evil smile and I grimace.
"What the hell do you want?" I ask looking around to make sure no one is listening to us.
"Do want some? I have some product on me if you do?" I look at her and shake my head. I know how this goes; she sells to me, and I take it to a party, half an hour later the cops appear. Like I said, blackmailing bitch, she sells me 'Rapture' then rats me out to the cops.
"You better be careful, Linda Esquivel or Dale Barbara catches you with that you're so done." She laughs and shakes her head. "What's so funny?" I ask.
"Listen sweetheart, there is way more going on in this town than you know of. Barbie and I have long history and that Sheriff Esquivel; well she's so clueless to everything that's going on. I guess she just doesn't want to think that her sweet little town is corrupt." I laugh sarcastically at her.
"We're talking about the same Esquivel right?"
"All you get caught with is a little drug charge and under aged drinking. People in this town are hiding way more than you think, bigger charges actual serious ones. Ones that make your drug charge look like child's play."
"Whatever Max." I start to walk away from her but she calls after me.
"Hey, do you have batteries or anything like that?"
"What why?" She smiles an arrogant smile.
"Ask around, find the list. Bring the stuff on the list to the cement factory, trust me it'll be fun." I shake my head and walk away from her for hopefully the last time. I really don't want to see her, doubtful when we are all stuck under this giant fish bowl.
Julia closes the door to the police station, there is empty silence.
"Hello, anyone here?" She calls out. She looks around but sees no one. Noises in the Sheriff's office get her attention. She knocks on the door and opens it. She sees Sheriff Linda Esquivel sitting on the floor looking through papers. Her hair in a French braid down here back, God does she look like hell.
"Linda? Hey-"Linda goes back to shuffling through files. "Um, I'm just looking for Barbie is he around? Also, I think we should talk about Skylar." Linda stops shuffling and looks at Julia.
"I haven't seen him." Linda sets a file down and picks up another one. Wow, she really needs to find something?
"What's going on?" Julia asks. Linda stands up and faces her.
"A while back you spoke with Andrew Grinnell about some weird stuff going on with the propane warehouse right?"
"Yeah."
Linda crosses her arms, "Did you ever follow up on it?"
"Honestly, I thought she was kinda loopy. And then everything went to hell. I just forgot about it." Linda looks disappointed and looks around the room.
"Why?" Julia asks.
"Andrew wasn't so loopy after all. Look at this." Linda walks across the room and behind the desk. Julia follows her. Linda presses 'play' on the remote and a video from a security camera plays on the Mac desktop.
"I don't know who this woman is-"On the screen a woman walks back and forth, waiting for someone. "But here comes Duke." Linda points on the screen and a black and white police cruiser pulls up beside the women. Linda steps back and leans against the window sill. Julia inspects the screen.
"She's handing him money?" She observes.
"It has to all do with something about a drug being used with propane called 'Rapture?'" Linda wonders.
Julia turns around she realizes the name of the drug, "You think Duke was involved with drugs?"
"Reverend Coggans too. I think Coggans burned down Duke's house to hide evidence. Now they are both dead and I have driven myself crazy trying to find answers." Linda begins to pace around the room again. Julia flips her hair behind her.
"You knew Duke better than anyone. Where else would he stash something?" Linda contemplates this question for a moment.
"All he really cared about was fly fishing, burban and that hat." She points over to the coat stand with a cowboy hat sitting on top. "The tackle box was burned in the house, he never left a bottle unfinished and he never took that hat off his head." She takes the hat off the stand and examines it, Julia watches, creating her own theories and ideas. Linda turns it over and looks inside. Julia comes out from behind the desk and stands beside her. Linda reaches into the lining and pulls out a small key.
"Well hello there. What do you unlock?" She says trying to figure out what it could be used for. Julia reaches into her bag and pulls out her key ring.
"Safe deposit box." She shows Linda her key, which is exactly the same. "Bank of Chester's Mill." Linda looks at her. "I'll drive." She places the hat back on the rack.
In the car Julia brings up Skylar again.
"Linda, we really need to talk about Skylar. She's in serious trouble. She could get hurt."
"How so Julia?" She turns onto the main street and drives past Sweetbriar Rose. She passes Junior who is going to opposite direction towards the church.
"You know that drug, Rapture? She is using it, along with others. She is sleeping with that McAlister boy and she is angry at me and she doesn't come home at night, hell not even day time anymore. But I'm not here to tell you about my terrible parenting skills. I think she was connected to that drug thing."
"So, if she was using she would know the other connections and who that women was? We need to talk to her because if that woman is under the Dome we need to lock her up." Julia nods agreeing. Her daughter needs to be stopped. She is only mad at her because of Barbie; Skylar needs to see him for who he really is. This whole story she made up about Peter and Barbie needs to sorted out, it didn't happen. Just a fib Skylar created to get her way, a reason to be mad at her parents. Linda parks the car outside the bank and they unlock the door and walk in.
The bank is dark and everything is thrown around in a mess. Linda grabs a chair and climbs over the wicket to get to the vault that has the safety deposit boxes. She turns her flash light on so she can see through the darkness.
"Looks like everyone left the bank in a hurry after the Dome came down." Linda climbs over and looks at all the money scattered around.
"We could take all the cash in here it wouldn't mean a thing." She climbs down into the isle and Julia climbs over behind her, holding another flashlight.
"Come to think that I was money that ruined my marriage." Julia decided that giving her the whole story would not be good. Now that Peter is outside the Dome it wouldn't matter all the pain she has gone through, not just money wise. "And to force my husband to run off."
"Is that why Peter left town?" Linda asks wondering around trying to find the vault.
"After draining our bank accounts, putting out home in foreclosure to pay off his gambling debts. I think deep down I knew something was wrong. I just didn't want to see it." Julia loved her husband. She really did. She loved him enough that even after he abused her and her daughter she still loved him and forced her to not see the horrible things that were really happening. Linda walks past Julia looking at her sadly. She turns around a corner and finds the vault. She tries the door but it's locked. They both sigh.
"Damn it." Julia exclaims. Linda looks around trying to find something to open the door with. Julia looks back at the desk area.
"There must be a key to the safe deposit room around here somewhere." She starts to walk towards the desks. Linda spots a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. Julia slides open the door and rummages through it trying to find a key. She picks up a key ring and calls to Linda, "Hey maybe one of these will-"A loud 'pong' noise startles her. Linda smashes the fire extinguisher and breaks off the handle and kicks the door in.
"Got it!" She calls. She reaches for her flashlight. She reads the number on the key and finds it on the wall. She unlocks the slot and pulls out the long rectangle box. "There it is. Duke's safe deposit box." Julia holds the flashlights. Linda takes the box and sets it down on a table. She opens it and there is a toy Sherriff's badge from a costume and a letter in a sealed envelope. She smiles, "Oh my god." Julia smiles seeing her happy.
"What is that?"
"When Duke woke up from his heart surgery-" Linda holds the small badge in her hands. "I gave him this." She stumbles on her words, trying not to cry. But just so happy that she mattered so much to him. "I told him that the doctors said they found it where his hear should have been." She looks at Julia and smiles. "I can't believe he kept it."Julia takes the note and opens it. She sees that it's imortant and closes it and hands it to her.
"There's a letter here." Linda looks at her.
"I can't, you read it." She says. Julia opens the letter and begins to read:
To whom it may concern,
My name is Duke Perkins, Sherriff of Chester's Mill. The only place I have ever been able to call home. That's the reason I did what I did.
Julia looks at Linda confused.
"His confession." She says. Julia continues to read on:
Nineteen years ago I lost my son to drugs.
Julia walks away while reading. Think about Skylar and how she could lose her to, to drugs.
I watched helplessly as he was swept away by his addiction.
"Did you know this?" Julia asks Linda.
"He never talked about it." Linda tries so desperately to hold back tears.
The only thing that kept me from turning the gun on myself was a promise I made, to do everything I could to keep drugs out of Chester's Mill. So I made a deal with a devil by the name of Maxine Seagrave.
Linda responds to the name she turns to Julia.
"That gotta be the women in the video." She says.
The deal was simple; the town bought the liquid propane she needed under the guise of emergency reserves. So the DEA wouldn't look into it and she'd pay us enough to sure up the town's coffers and keep her drugs, all drugs out of Chester's Mill.
Linda smiles at the heroic act Duke did, she would have never been more proud. She must keep this going and keep and get rid of all the drugs.
"He did it to save us." Linda exclaims.
I sold my soul for the people of this town. People like my son, people like Linda Esquivel. There were two other people in this deal, Lester Coggans who laundered our proceeds and the man who was the front saying he was buying the propane for our town, Big Jim Rennie.
Both Linda and Julia stand in shock, Big Jim was helping traffic drugs? Julia closes the letter and puts it back into the box.
"Of course he was involved." She says harshly. Linda feels a little left out,, after all weren't they all cops, and they all promised to protect the people of Chester's Mill?
"Why didn't Duke tell me?"
"Because he loved you. Maybe the same reason Peter didn't tell me?" Julia rips out her safe deposit box key. "Do you think you could hold a flashlight for me?" She asks Linda. She nods and slams the box closed. They go into the room and Julia lowers Peter's box down while Linda holds the flashlight. She sets it down on the table and opens it. Inside are their marriage certificate and a small leather briefcase type box and a yellow envelope on the bottom. She opens the yellow envelope which has 'Dr. Peter Shumway labeled on the front. Linda holds the flashlight while Julia takes out the stack of paper clipped together inside. She reads it; it is a Life Insurance Policy. Stating that if he dies in the next five years, Julia will receive one million US dollars. Julia stands there, baffled unsure of what she is feeling.
"I need to talk to Barbie." She says. Linda nods.
"Ok, I will drive you. But I need to talk to Skylar. She will know about the drugs." Julia nods. They leave the bank and climb out to the car outside.
I stand in Joe's bathroom staring in the mirror at my spirally curly red hair. My dark eye makeup has smudged, I guess because I didn't fix it after this morning. I take off my clothes and stand there looking at my skinny body. Has this really been what drugs have done to me? At least now I am perfect, I am as skinny as a super model. I lean over and turn on the shower and put my hands under the warm running water. Luckily the McAlister's generator hasn't given out yet. Thank God that means hot shower still. I don't hear Joe come in and he wraps his arms around my naked waist. He kisses me on the neck.
"What are you up to beautiful?" He asks me. We both laugh, he takes off his shirt I touch his abs.
"You you must have worked hard for those Joe." I say sarcastically, he pulls me in for a kiss. We hear a knock at the front door. We ignore it and I undue Joe's belt. There is another knock on the front door. Joe stops me. I run my hands through his brown hair and kiss him. He stops me again and listens, I can hear him breathing it's so quiet. Another knock at the door, God they are so persistent.
"Just ignore them Joe, they'll go away." I want him to concentrate on me. It's probably no one important any way. There is another knock; I guess Angie isn't home for some reason. Joe does his belt up and hands me a robe. I put it on and he goes down stairs to answer it. Joe walks to the door while I watch from a distance on the stairs. He turns the porch lights on and answers it. Linda, in her police uniform and my mom stand there.
"Hello, Joe, Skylar. Do you guys have a minute?" I sigh and growl and trudge up the stairs away from them, I am so not in the mood arguing with the cops or my mother, never less both of them at the same time. My mom comes in and runs up the stairs after me, not even being invited in. Joe looks a little baffled and Linda stays standing on the porch. I slam the bedroom door closed and lock myself in the bathroom. This cannot be happening right now. I don't need this; I don't need anybody- except Joe.
"Skylar, please open the door." My mom pleads behind the bathroom door. I guess she followed me into Joe's room. I can hear he walking around his room, rifling through things. I have been through this before, but my room at my mom's house had a lock, only in extreme situations would she break the lock or call Linda or Duke. Even times I remember she would call my father at the clinic. I rummage through the drawers, there has to be some in here somewhere? I reach up onto the top of the drawer and pull out folded tin foil. I open it and three drug crystals and hidden, wrapped inside. I rummage through another drawer and find my pipe. I take out a lighter and start smoking. I sit on the bathroom floor locked in while my mother rummages through not only my life but also my sex life. What does she expect to find in mine and Joe's room?
"Joe would you mind putting a shirt on for me?" Linda asks sitting on the couch. Joe being the gentleman he is invited Linda inside. After all, just barging in and searching would be illegal. Julia on the other hand just stormed in chasing after her daughter. Linda decided to let it slide this one time.
"Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just about to get into the shower. I will go get one." Joe says going up the stairs. He walks into the room seeing Julia rummaging through his nightstand drawer. Which is where he keeps, his, well protection, shall we say. He grabs a shirt off the floor.
"Mrs. Shumway, what are you doing in here?" She points to the closed bathroom door.
"Skylar had locked herself in there. Quite childish if you ask me, but I got it handled." Joe nods agreeing and walks out the door. She calls after him, "Thank you for using protection with my daughter Joe." His face turns bright red with embarrassment as he runs down the stairs.
I breathe in the smoke and the sweet smell. I feel so, so bad doing this with the Sherriff in the house. What a rush! I haven't felt like this since my first actual argument with Linda. Ha! That was the time I punched her for the first time! That was awesome! Sherriff Perkins never saw it coming, when I punched Deputy Esquivel. He was so outraged when I did! If you ask me, there was something weird going on with them? People say that she was like his daughter. He cuffed me so tightly and shoved me in the cop car so fast. I remember Linda standing up and blood dripping down her face and droplets dropping on her light blue shirt. She looked so confused and dazed. I was so high on, well coke, and I wasn't thinking straight. I still got the amazing rush of it all though. That's kinda how I feel right now, but way less of the effect. Linda had caught me possessing cocaine and was going to haul my ass into jail for it. I was arguing with her about it and I clocked her in the face.
I cough on the smoke and my mom comes and bangs her fist on the door again. She probably smelled the smoke coming from under the door.
"Skylar, what are you doing in there? Open the door!"
"Nothing, just leave, God!" I choke through the smoke. She rattles the door, trying to get in. I can hear loud footsteps coming up the stairs. Damn it! Linda's coming up stairs. I smash the pipe in the sink and wash down all the little pieces as Linda kicks in the door. She breaths in some of the smoke.
"Skylar what the hell where you smoking in here?" Linda asks me. I am way too dazed. Everything is a blur and I fall on the floor. She picks me up off the floor by my arms, yells something to Joe, next thing I know I am in the back of the cruiser going to the police station through the dark town. It's all ready dark outside, wasn't it just lunch time? I sit up and lean my face on the cage and say to Linda, "You're a bitch, you know that? You're a real bitch, Sherriff of the bitches. I don't even know how that Rusty could love you? Hell, yet along even think about marrying you."
"Skylar!" My mom scolds. "Linda, I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine Julia. She's impaired and has no idea what she's saying." Truth is I really do. I just would have never said it sober. I just pass out instantly and lay on the cold hard leather of the back seat; driving through the dark cold night, under the Dome in Chester's Mill, just another day at the office.
The cold darkness surrounds Linda as she spins the toy Sherriff badge in her fingers while she waits impatiently for Big Jim to come home. She has rehearsed what she is going to say over and over again. She has been sitting there for about an hour now, just thinking. She knows that when he comes she has to act cam and naive just like Jim himself. Calm on the outside, scared to death on the inside, that how she rolled. She sees him and stops turning the badge, he stops on the steps when he sees her.
"I didn't expect to see you here?" He says confused.
"I didn't expect being here." She says standing up. Balancing out the dominance of the rank, after all she is Sherriff and Big Jim just thinks he has power and it gets to his head. "You and I need to talk." It came out more nervous than Linda expected. Big Jim nods, acting nonchalant about this situation.
"Sure, come on in." He motions to the door; the wind whips the branches behind him. Can there even be wind inside the Dome? "Hell, I will even cook us up some dinner." He must remind himself that Linda is engaged and Junior would be home soon. Linda stares at him, was he really asking what she thought? "How does some medium rare sound?"
"Actually let's do this at the station." She needs this situation to be on her turf, her domain where she is in control not him. If he attacked her would she be able to fend him off? Even if he is twice her size, would he actually try to hurt her? They stare at each other for a minute. Big Jim is starting to get the idea that she knows more than she lets on.
"It's been a hell of a day Linda. Whatever it is you think we need to talk about, it can wait until the morning." He slowly walks towards her, showing that he needs to be in control. Rather than some weak women who has no idea what is really going on in this town. "I think I've earned that much respect in this town, right?" She closes the gap between them some more, she means business and that she can intimidate just as much as he can. She is still Sherriff and that won't ever change.
"Come by first thing. Or I come back and these cuffs don't stay on my belt." She walks away, he is right for once. She will trust him, just this once. He better show up or so help her God, there will be hell to pay. She opens the door to her cruiser and slams the door.
"LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" I scream. I grasp the bars with both my hands fiercely and rattle the bars; I scream at the top of my lungs. "LINDA YOU BITCH! LET ME OUT!" I hear someone walking down the stairs keys dangling. The drugs have worn off and now I am just fiercely angry at everyone. Linda appears in front of my cell and boy does she look angry!
"Cut it the hell out Skylar. I don't want to book you on vandalism and being a pest." She says harshly.
"Bull shit! I can't get arrested for being a pest! Plus the court house is in Castle Rock! Outside the Dome to be clear, you don't have any power!"
"Skylar, tell me which side of the bars you are behind?"
"The wrong side! That's what side you bitch! I hope you get shot by Barbie or something! Die!" Linda straightens up and takes a deep breath.
"You just earned another day for death threats towards the Sheriff." She walks away, way too casual if you ask me. I plant my butt on the cold hard bench and cross my arms. This sucks shit.
Joe sits in a chair across from the fallen police officers desks. He can tell that Linda hasn't touched anything; he looks through the door of the Sherriff's office. Everything looked the same as it was. Well, at least the same as it was the two times he was in the police station. Linda comes through the door leading to the cells. She sees Joe and drops her shoulders. She shakes her head and walks past Joe. He stands as she passes him.
"Is she all right? When will she get released?" Linda stops and sighs, she turns to face him.
"Joe, please. Just go home get some sleep and come back tomorrow night. She will be released by then. I am so done with her right now. Okay?" Joe stands there hurt for a moment, then stands tall.
"No, I'm not leaving here without Skylar." Linda sighs again and hangs her head.
"Fine. Have it your way, Joe." She walks off to the Sherriff's office and closes the door. Joe sits down and makes himself comfortable in the chair. Eventually he falls asleep, as does Skylar down stairs in the cells.
