Chapter 10: Taking Care of Business
Vince unbuttoned his shirt and walked into the living room, finding Letty trying to choke the living life out of Jesse, while kicking Leon in the shin. He stopped in front of the couch and glared at them before speaking. "Leon out on the porch, Jesse in the kitchen and Letty stay right there!"
The trio scattered to their perspective corners and Letty was left alone with a stressed out Vince. "Explain," he barked, flopping down on the couch next to her. "I went to the store to get some liq and when I come back the house is empty. I start searching for bodies in the house and when I go downstairs I find Leon passed out downstairs with this right next to him," she replied, pulling out a small bag full of white powder. Vince took the baggie from her fingers and shook his head.
"I flipped out. I didn't know what to do, so I slapped him. He got up and we got into it. Jesse appears out of nowhere and gets involved. Leon pushed him by mistake and he fell. Jess ran out of the room and me and Le kept going. When I realized that it was pointless I left, coming upstairs to see if Jess was alright, only to find him sitting at the kitchen table with a knife-cutting himself."
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Go upstairs. Shower or do whatever shit it is you do. Just stay out of sight and out of trouble," he said, standing up from the couch and walking outside to the porch. He found Leon sitting on the railing, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Vince reached inside his shirt pocket and pulled one out along with a lighter. Seconds later, he was pulling on the cigarette like it meant dear life to him.
"I didn't know you smoked," Leon said, ashing his cigarette. "There are a lot of things people don't know about me, like the fact that I actually give a damn around the people around me." Leon took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, training his eyes on the light fixture behind Vince. V leaned against the wall and focused his eyes on Le. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't bury you in the backyard right now and go about my business," V said, tosssing him the small bag he had gotten from Letty.
Leon stared at the bag in his hand and kept glancing up at V. "I was at a party a couple of months back, trying to take my mind off of things. That's when it all started. At first it was just a small amount, a little buzz and that was it. And then… I guess they call it tolerancy or some shit. I can't get out of bed without some and I can't go more than six hours without another hit. I've tried everything and anything I can get my hands on. And here I am now, feeling like a kid when he gets a bad report card and is waiting for his dad to lay down the lay. So what am I in for? Ass kicking? 3 weeks without the playstation?"
Vince chuckled and shook his head. He ran a hand through his hair and over his face. "These are the conditions. You either take them or leave. And when I say leave, I mean you leave the house, the garage and you are no longer part of the team. It's called tough love, sonny. I'm here for you for whatever, but this is one of those things that if you don't stop now, it will escalate, and will stop when I have to bury your ass. You're a drug addict, Leon. There's no way around it."
Le nodded and threw his cigarette out. He cleared his throat and stared intently at V. "Tomorrow I expect you to find a drug program. You need help and it's the type that I cannot give you. I'm taking down your bedroom door and as of now you have no access to a car. Someone must be with you at all times. You need something, Letty or whoever will drive you. I will randomly drug test you. Mia and everyone in this house is worried about you. They are willing to do anything for you. Even if it means tying you up and holding you hostage in the basement. Those are the conditions. If you don't like them, tomorrow morning when I wake up I expect to find you gone. If not, when I wake up I expect to see your car keys on the table along with all of your supply, including the pills, and I expect to see you in town with Letty getting professional help."
"I don't think I'll be able to do this," Leon whispered. "When Dom came back from Lompoc, he brought back a nasty little habit. I had his back and I'll have yours. Now go to your room and stay there until morning. I expect to not have to see you until then, no matter what," Vince said, before throwing out his cigarette and walking into the house.
He cracked his neck and stretched out his body, listening to the bones in his back crack. V walked into the kitchen and found Jesse sitting at the table with his head in his hand. "Take your shirt off," he barked, grabbing a Corona out of fridge. Jesse stood up and pulled off his shirt. Vince took in the damage on his small body and cringed. He chugged the rest of the bottle and shook his head. "I'm sorry," Jesse began to say, but his chest started convulsing with sobs.
Vince walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him, trying not to hurt his fresh wounds. He shushed him, rocking him from side to side. "It's okay. I'm going to fix everything," he whispered, Jesse hitting a soft spot in the big, burly man. "It's all my fault," Jesse said, parting from him and wiping the tears from his face. V stepped back and took in the mess in front of him.
Jesse was the little brother in the team, the one that everyone watched out for. Vince knew that it wasn't Jesse's fault that he had ADD along with depression, that's why he took to heart everything that happened to him. He was on his meds, but it sometimes wasn't enough. Vince knew that Dom was Jesse's idol. Whatever Dom did was angelic in his eyes and that's where it all went wrong. If Dom slacked, Jesse slacked. He went along with everything that Dom said and did, so it made sense that he was feeling the way he did- guilty.
Jesse went along with Dom's idea of pulling the heists, if anything he was the only one that supported him and pushed for the others to support him too. He brought the shooting upon himself, racing the Trans for slips and then skipping out on the payment. But nobody blamed him for anything that happened, Jesse just blamed himself. When Dom and Leon picked up their extracurricular activities, Jesse found himself alone and turned to pain. It let him know that he was still alive.
V sat down and motioned for Jesse to follow suit. He reached across the table and grabbed one of Jesse's hands, placing it inside his own. "I understand the concept of pain, more than you would think. I've been experiencing it ever since I was 10. And every time I get one year older, I regret the past but thank God for the future. Forget about everything else, just focus on being happy now and tomorrow Jesse. Fuck everything else. I'm your dawg and I guarantee you that things are going to change from now on," he said.
Jess nodded and gripped onto V's hand tightly. "I promise I'll never do it again, V. It was stupid," he said, his eyes tearing. "Forget it ever happened. Just go take a shower and get into bed. I don't want you out of bed until tomorrow, no matter what," he said, patting his hand and telling him to hit the stairs.
Vince sat back in the chair and let out a long breath, thinking about the long crazy night he had just dealt with. Just as he was getting up the strength to get up and get into bed, he heard the front door. "One more to go," he muttered.
He knew that Dom wouldn't fall easily and if he did, he would take him down with him. Vince ordered everyone not to come out of their rooms because he knew Dom would get loud and if necessary there would be a brawl in the works. Dom was the biggest problem- he was the glue that held them together and so far, the team was falling apart.