A/N: Hey. New chapter. Thank you for all the feedback and everyone who added this story to their alerts, it makes my day each time. We're getting close to the good stuff so I am super excited. Let me know if the story is missing anything or just any comments you have. Keep reading and enjoy.
Tread Marks Chapter Twelve:
Make Peace With Whatever Demons You Got Left
Vince stops where he stands staring at Mary who remains sitting on the couch to avoid any sudden movements as if Vince would pounce if she moved. 'Not that it would be a particularly bad thing,' she thinks before chastising herself for having such thoughts at such an inappropriate time. "What the fuck happened?" Vince bellows dropping the pizza carelessly on the table but not making an effort to move towards her as she wants.
"Some guy fucking hit her," Leon says. Vince's body tenses at Leon's words and Mary quickly stands up.
"God Le, shut up," Mary says pushing Leon away from her and into the couch. The sudden movement, however, sends a sharp pain from her ribs causing her to gasp and clutch the area. Mary, who didn't even see him move, feels Vince's hand clamp down on her forearm and spin her to face him. With one hand still on her arm he pulls her shirt up. His grip becomes painful when he exposes a yellow and purple bruise forming on the right side of her body. "Vince," Mary says but her voice doesn't seem to reach him because he doesn't draw his eyes away from the discoloration. She doesn't try to get her arm out of his, even as the pressure continues to increase, as she says "Vince" once more. Although she is sure he is going to leave a bruise of his own Mary kind of like his hold on her. "Vince," she yells louder this time and his eyes finally snap up to hers. "I'm fine," she assures him resting a hand over his arm.
"You aint fine," Vince growls loosening his grip but not letting go of her. "Who did this?"
"I did…" she says. "I mean I started it."
"Yeah what happened," Mia asks.
"Melanie, this girl I never never talk to just started saying all these bitching things and I hit her. I don't even know… I've never even been in a fight before" she says unable to believe that she actually instigated a fight, and got suspended for that matter. Jesse returns with an ice pack and a cup of coffee handing both to Mary who holds the ice pack to her face and sighs in relief. "She kicked me, must have been wearing heels," Mary says lightly touching her bruised rib while Leon mutters something about that being why he fights guys. Mary laughs but stops when it hurts. "I hit her a couple more times and then this boy broke it up. I called her a bitch or something and then he hit me."
"Backhanded, you said backhanded," Leon corrects angrily. Vince's hands tighten on hers again.
"Keep saying shit like that and I'll back hand you," Mary says.
"You're aggressive after a fight," Jesse observes.
"I like it," Letty assures her and Vince admits, to himself, that he does too.
"I asked for a name," Vince growls.
"We'll you aint getting one," Mary says. "Dom handled it."
"You should have called me," Vince whispers in her ear so no one else can hear.
"Hold still," Mia says as she applies some Neosporin to Mary's scrapes. "I swear first Vince now you, this is why you all want me to be a doctor so I can patch you up." Vince drops her arm immediately and storms out of the garage without another word.
"What's his problem?" Jesse asks as Mary watches Vince walk away.
Mary spends the rest of her day on the couch in the garage or in the diner with Mia working on homework while trying to stay awake. Once she mentioned that she was feeling nauseous they'd all began worrying about a concussion and wouldn't allow her to take a nap in the office like she desperately wanted. Leon kept banging a hub cap on the metal table next to her whenever he thought she was about to drift off which, in Mary's opinion, was unnecessary and annoying. Especially because half the time he did it when she was walking around or otherwise nowhere near falling asleep. In response she would mutters obscenities at him or throws something at him, well tied to at least. Vince hadn't returned which only made Mary bored and worried that he'd gone to beat up every male at Lancaster Academy. Not that the others hadn't entertained her but they were working, something Dom hadn't allowed her to do, and thus had other things to focus on besides her. Sighing Mary closes the book in her lap having finished everything she could with the school books she had on her. Getting up carefully Mary heads back into the diner and sliding onto the stool next to Mia and complains that she is dying.
"Well really. Fighting? You're as bad as Letty," Mia laughs.
"No from boredom. And I'll take that as a compliment," Mary replies.
"You better," Letty says walking into the diner. "Vince is back and we're gonna head home." Mia hurries to the back to grab her stuff and Mary gets up, albeit a little slower. "Admit it you kind of enjoyed it," Letty says referring to the fight.
"Maybe a little," Mary finally says following Letty outside. "You're such a bad influence." The girls split up as Mary heads to Vince's car, although he is nowhere to be seen. Using the rearview mirror to look at her injuries Mary decides that it is already looking better thanks to Mia.
"Get out if you're gonna be staring at yourself the whole time," Vince says getting in and starting the car.
"I was just looking," Mary says sitting back in her seat. "I wanted to call you," she says quietly but Vince's intense stare doesn't move from the steering wheel as they start driving. "I just… I knew you would have fucked him up. As much as I wanted you there it wasn't worth the principal calling the cops and you would have been…" Mary says reaching out to touch his shoulder.
"She call you a slut?" Vince asks shrugging her hand off.
"What?"
"The girl you hit, she call you a slut? Cause that's usually what did Letty in."
"And what I must be just like Letty," Mary snaps not so much angered by the comparison as to the fact that he hasn't looked at her since he got in the car.
"Just answer the fucking question," Vince growls.
"No. She was talking shit about my friends," Mary answers.
"Since when do you have friends," Vince says.
"I have fucking friends," Mary defends.
"Really cause I aint ever seen you talk to anyone?"
"She was talking about you, you asshole," Mary says. "I mean the team and people who live in east L.A. Then she said something about someone specific, and I'm not fucking telling you so don't even ask," she says pointing an angry finger at him. "Then I hit her," Mary shrugs.
"Fucking stupid," Vince mutters wondering who got her so riled up.
"Then I guess you're fucking stupid cause it isn't like you've never done it, like I don't know three days ago."
"I do," he says slamming on the brakes and sending Mary into the dashboard. "And you shouldn't."
"She deserved it."
"You shouldn't be fighting and getting fucking suspended, just look," he says grabbing her chin roughly to examine her injuries.
"At least I don't have a piece of glass sticking out of me," Mary says pushing his hand off her.
"Get out!"
"Is this cause I'm a girl or just because you think I can't handle myself?"
"Now."
"Fuck you Vince," Mary hisses before getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her. The team is staring at her as she storms past them and into the fort.
"Why is it that girls are always saying that," Jesse asks.
"Cause Vince is a dumbass," Letty says following Mary inside. "Who doesn't know when to shut up." They find Mary sitting in the living room muttering "asshole" under her breath and taking her shoes off. When they walk in she stops and smiles sheepishly at them as Mia announces that she is going to start dinner. "Hey can I use your shower I feel disgusting?"
"Vince will do that to you," Leon says kicking off his shoes.
"Fuck," Jesse complains when one of the shoes hits him in the knee. Picking it back up Jesse launches it back at Leon and hitting him in to stomach.
"Of course," Mia says ignoring the squabbling men.
"Thanks," Mary says before retreating to the upstairs bathroom.
"Dom?" Mary asks peeking into the garage after dinner. A skeleton of a 70' black charger sits up on cinder blocks with its chipped paint and a broken window. Dom is leaning under the hood tinkering on something. "Can I come in?"
"Yea," Dom says abandoning his task and wiping his hands on a rag. "What's up?"
"Nice car," Mary says as she admires the bodywork on the unfinished car.
"Was my dad's."
"I just wanted to thank you," Mary says turning to look at him even if she has to lift her head to do so. "For coming to get me, I mean."
"I wasn't anything."
"No, it was. I didn't have..." Mary says clearing her throat before she starts again. "I don't have anyone else so it meant a lot that you'd just drop everything."
"I mean it you're family; we've all got your back."
"Thanks," Mary says unable to think of anything else to display her gratitude. "And I'm not just talking about scaring the shit out of that boy," Mary jokes causing Dom's resonating laugh to fill the garage.
"Vince would have had me cut him up in to little pieces like I wanted," Dom says causing Mary to laugh. "Where is your mom?" Dom asks after they sit in silence for a couple moments.
"She is…" Mary starts but the words won't form even though she figured he would have asked her this. "I put…"
"It's cool we've all got shit to deal with," Dom says letting her off the hook. "Here I am working alone on my dad's car."
"It isn't like I didn't do the same thing. I understand," Mary says. "Plus you're not alone." Dom wraps his arm around her shoulders steering them both out of the garage. "Plus I hear you and Letty spend a lot of time together out there, that doesn't sound like being alone to me." Laughing Dom opens the door for her as they rejoin the group.
Suspension, Mary never really understood why people considered it a punishment, especially when it allowed her to wake up late and head to the fort instead of homeroom. "What are you doing here?" Jesse inquires when she appears in the kitchen while they're all eating breakfast the next morning. Leon and Mia are fighting over the jug of milk while Letty eats her breakfast perched on Dom's lap. Vince doesn't even look up when she walks in.
"Waiting for a ride to work," Mary says sitting next to Mia, who had scooted over on her chair so they could share. "I got suspended."
"Mary," Mia admonishes. "How long?"
"Only five days."
"Are you going to be able to graduate?"
"Yes," Mary says. "And why does everyone else think of that but me?"
"Cause you don't think," Leon rubbing her head and talking with a mouth full of food.
"You're just lucky they are letting you walk," Mia says as Mary sticks her tongue out at Leon.
"Couldn't let the valedictorian miss the thing," Dom says.
"Please I was never valedictorian," Mary dismisses.
"Only cause your grades dropped and that's why I shouldn't even let you come in today."
"What? Dom please you can't leave me here!" I'm practically done with all my school stuff anyway!"
"Really?" Leon asks.
"No," Mary huffs. "I've barley started but look at all the time I have now." She turns to look at Dom with what she hopes are puppy dog eyes but it might have looked ridiculous because Letty just laughs at her.
"You can come but I don't want you near a car all day."
"Thank you thank you," Mary says. "Speaking of graduation I come bearing tickets to three hours of supreme boredom, if you want them." Rifling through her bag she pulls out six blue squares of construction paper holding them up proudly.
"And why would we want those?" Leon asks taking a bite of his cereal.
"Because they're tickets to my graduation ceremony you twit," Mary says hitting him over the head causing him to momentarily choke. "I mean only if you want to come?"
"Yes," Mia yells grabbing the tickets out of her hand. "It's next Friday," Mia tells Dom happily as she puts them on the fridge not noticing the conspiratorial look Dom and Letty share.
True to his word Dom doesn't let her work on anything but homework, all day. This means that Mary is hyped up from doing nothing but working on Jesse's computer. When Vince announces that he is going to pick up the parts from Harry Mary bolts out of her chair and follows him out to his Maxima. "Hey can I come?"
"No."
"Come on, I can't write another word about William Shakespeare's horrible writing."
"Still don't mean I'm gonna let you come."
"Please, I want to see the last part for my baby."
"You'll see it when I get back," Vince says getting in his car.
"Please," Mary says leaning down to stare at him unaware of the view it is giving him.
"It's not like I'm going to a fucking store or something, little girl."
"I know," she replies. "That's why I want to go."
"Stay," he commands before driving away.
"I'm not a dog," she yells hoping he heard her over the sound of traffic.
Her week under suspension passes quickly once Mary convinces Dom that she has finished all her homework. Although Mary spends most of her days working jobs for the garage she spent the rest of it on her Chevelle. It would have taken forever if it hadn't been for her suspension. This meant that, on the last day of her sentence, as the team was closing up Mary was reaching the tail end of a three year project. When Leon had asked her if she was ready to head home she just waved him off not even hearing him. Some hours later Mary was standing at the front of her car simply staring at it. She'd checked then double checked but she couldn't think of a single thing that she needed to fix; she didn't quite know what to do next. "It's done," she whispers testing the words out before saying it louder. Looking around the garage she finally notices that everyone has left for the night. Everyone except Vince who she can see is working under his Maxima. "Vince," she cries her voice panicked drawing him out from under his car. "It's done," she says using both hands to point at the Chevelle as if her giddy tone wouldn't have clued him in. Walking over to her Vince watches as she bounces on the balls of her feet unable to stand still. "It's done," she says as he looks over her work. "What do I do now?"
"Drive it," Vince's gruff says as if he were speaking to a child.
"Drive it, duh," Mary says feeling stupid. "Drive the Chevelle," she says not believing it. "Come with me" she says grinning over to him not acknowledging the fact that he's hardly spent two minutes with her since the fight. "Please it wouldn't be nearly as fun without you," she says when she can see him hesitate.
"Fine." Her grin doubles when he agrees.
"Keys, keys," she says looking around her unable to think properly and remember where she put them after Dom had helped her move the Chevelle to the garage. Enjoying Mary's frazzled look Vince tosses her the keys, which had been sitting on the tool box. "Well get in," she says catching them.
"You first," Vince says. Once they're both inside Mary reverently starts the engine moaning in delight when it starts without a problem. However, in her excitement and with her nerves going haywire, she pushes too hard on the gas causing the car to jerk forward.
"Sorry," she says grinning over at him before expertly driving the car out of the garage only pausing so Vince can lock up the garage. Soon they're doing 90 down the interstate surrounded by the night's darkness and a surprisingly empty highway. Testing out the Chevelle's capabilities Mary speeds up and slows down as well as intermediately passing between lanes. Enjoying the feel of the car and Vince's quite albeit distracting presence she takes in the blackness surrounding her only lit by the stars and the occasional headlight. Vince watches as her expression turns more pensive as they drive the car reaching over 100. She is going too fast when she spins the car out onto an overlook but the car skids to a stop before they get too close to the edge. The silence that follows is broken only by the sounds of the waves hitting the cliff as the car fills with the salty air. "Me finishing it this close to graduation, it kind of feels like a present," she says breaking the silence as she stares out into the ocean. "And I kind of miss him."
"Mary?" Vince questions.
"I'm good," she says starting the car up again. Vince doesn't believe her especially when she turns to him and says "wanna see how fast it can go?" She sends the car rocketing through the night before he has a chance to comment.
"You're driving like a maniac," Vince says as the car reaches 130mph.
"I know," Mary yells over the sound of the air rushing past the Chevelle. "Don't pretend you don't like it."
"Take the next exit," Vince says and she does so without asking why. She understands once she rounds a corner and sees the road winding dangerously on the edge of the cliff. Grinning she take the first turn sending the car drifting around the corner. Once they park outside the fort its well past dinner and the neighborhood is quiet.
"Thanks for coming," Mary says as they get out of the car.
"Ya," Vince says. "Hey," he says grabbing the belt loop on her jeans and pulling her to him. His hand settles on her hip and Mary breaths him in enjoying the musky smell mixed in with motor oil and their proximity. "You did good work, he would have liked it."
"Thanks," she says quietly as she leans her head into the crook of his neck. When she pulls back to look at him she hits him in the chest. "Look who can be nice," she jokes. Using both of his hands he pulls her flush against him as he leans back on the Chevelle.
"I'll fucking deny it," he growls in her ear. Heat radiates between her legs as she pushes herself against him harder. He grips her upper arms and pushes her away.
"Come on lets go share the good news," she says in defeat.