Chapter 21: A Rock and a Hard Place
Jackie leaned against the porch railing, throwing her head back and blowing out smoke slowly. She glanced at the cigarette in her hand and shook her head softly, relishing the feeling. Her mind floated to flashbacks of the quickie Vince and her managed to slip in on their way back to the fort. She hid in the shadows of the porch, pondering her next move. She saw the worry in Vince's eyes as he told him her story.
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
He had to know, she told herself. She was trying to convince herself that telling V her story was not showing him her weakness. Years of abuse had taught her to never show fear, never give away your weakness. But Vince…. Jackie sighed. Vince put her fears to rest. It was something about the way he held her. The way his strong arms felt wrapped around her. The way his ocean blue eyes made her believe in every word he said.
Brian stepped out onto the back porch, and handed her a Corona. "Taking it easy, huh?" He asked, holding it out to her. With her free hand, she gladly accepted the Corona, needing something more to take the edge off of the night's events. It wasn't easy reliving her childhood with Vince.
"Thanks," she replied, taking a long swig. "So your Hector's cousin, right?" He asked, taking a seat in a chair on the porch. Jackie cocked an eyebrow and nodded. She really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, let alone strangers she just met 15 minutes ago. She wanted to be alone tonight, but Vince insisted she come home with him and spend the night at the fort. "You're Brian, right? The cop?" She knew she was testing the waters, but she hoped he got the message- she wasn't interested in anybody's pleasantries.
He scoffed. "Ex-cop. Got Dom and your boyfriend off, and here I am. What about you? You a cop? Know any cops?" He asked. Jackie froze, her eyebrows sliding together. "I have a feeling you hang out with a lot of cops." She flicked her cigarette at Brian's feet and stepped away, walking into the house. She was no longer interested in having a conversation with him. Brian followed her, grabbing her arm and forcing her to face him.
Instead, she swung her hand and the Corona bottle in it, into his face, sending glass shards everywhere. Jackie saw red, blocking out all the raised voices around her. As Brian kneeled and covered his face, she kicked him in the ribs. She was getting ready to do more damage when she felt strong arms come from behind her and pull her away.
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Fight or flight instinctively kicked in.
Jackie was dragged out of the kitchen and thrown onto the couch. As she stood up, she came face to face with Dom. "Down," he barked, pointing at the couch. "You'll have to kill me first," she said, stepping into his face. Dom reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders, getting ready to shove her onto the couch, when she head butted him.
He shoved her anyways and Jackie fell onto the couch. She began to kick and claw at him, screaming at the top of her lungs. In her mind, she was transformed back to her childhood home. She could clearly see him standing over her, getting ready to beat her senseless, and she did what she couldn't do when she was 12. She fought back.
At that very moment, Vince stepped into the room and pulled Dom off of her. "Don't touch her," he barked, standing between them. The air in the room froze as Jackie stood up from the couch and faced them all.
Blood from where she had head butted Dom and tears were flowing freely down her face. Her chest heaved as she sobbed quietly and began to arrange her clothes. Vince turned and took a step towards her, but she began to scream at the top of her lungs. He shushed her, holding his hands out in front of her. "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered, taking another step towards her.
She shook her head and took a step back, stepping behind a living room chair. "Get Hector," she cried, lowering herself behind the chair, trying to control her breathing. "Okay," Vince responded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He stepped into the kitchen to call Hector quietly.
The team followed V into the kitchen, where Mia was tending to Brian's wounds and Dom was holding an icepack to his forehead. "What the fuck was that? That chick is not all there," Letty said, cleaning up the glass from the floor. "It was like, she was fine one minute, and when I grabbed her, she just lost it," Brian said, wincing as Mia disinfected the cuts on his face.
"We all have a past, brother. Hers apparently is not much better than ours," Leon said, grabbing a soda from the fridge. Vince hung up the phone and walked over to them. He flopped down into a kitchen chair and ran a hand over his face. "What the fuck just happened?" He whispered to himself, hiding his face in his hands.
Ten minutes later, they heard the faint sound of tuner engines gunning up their street. Dom sighed, knowing that Hector walking in on that scene was going to cause only more drama, and if it didn't, it would definitely cause friction on the streets. He heard a car pull into his driveway and then footsteps walking up the path. Not before long, Hector's bald head popped into the kitchen's back door.
"What happened?" He demanded, his hands in fists. Everyone in the kitchen stared at each other, some not knowing what to answer and others not knowing where to begin. "Dom," he warned sternly, knowing that if he didn't get the answers he wanted soon, he was going to have to go to certain extremes. "She was talking to Brian and then she flipped out. Hit him in the face with a Corona bottle," he replied, motioning to the bloody man in the corner.
Hector stepped into the room, a couple of his boys stepping in after him. Dom stood up, facing them. Hector held up a hand and shook his head. "What did you say to her and did you lay a finger on her?" Hector asked menacingly, his questioned directed towards Brian. Brian sighed and shook his head slowly. "I was just trying to get to know her. She took it the wrong way and ran out. When I tried to stop her, she clubbed me in the face with a bottle, bro," he replied.
Hector shook his head slowly, running a hand over the top of it. "She ever tell you her story?" He asked, motioning to Vince. He nodded in response, at a loss for words at what was currently going on. "I'm guessing she left out about half of it. The half that probably just sent her into hysterics," he said.
Leon peeked into the living room and glanced back at them. "She's not looking too good, guys. You need to sort her out first," he said, holding open the kitchen door.
Hector stepped into the living room, hearing her quiet sobs. He found Jackie crouched behind a living room chair, her body shaking. "Hey, hermana," he whispered, reaching out to touch her. The entire team entered the living room after him, in case he needed any support- both physically and emotionally. "Hector, he's a cop," she cried, her voice shaking.
"I know, but he's not going to hurt you. No cop is ever going to hurt you again, babygirl. I got your back," he whispered, reaching out and helping her stand up slowly. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, as she turned and faced everyone. "I'm sorry," she whispered, imagining all the damage she must have done to them all.
"It's okay," Hector said, running a hand over her head and placing a small kiss on her forehead. "Everything is forgiven, hermana. They didn't know," he whispered. Hector motioned for his boys and he draped a sweater across Jackie's shoulder before they escorted out of the house.
Hector sighed and faced the team, a scowl plastered on his face. "Where you questioning her?" He asked. "Did you think she was some undercover agent? Maybe she was wearing a wire? Maybe she's a crack head looking for some money, so she's a police informant?" The team looked at each other, some hoping that the ground would open up and swallow them whole. "You!" He yelled, turning towards Vince. "Where were you when Brian was interrogating her?" He yelled.
"He had nothing to do with this," Dom said, stepping up to Hector. He knew that this was all happening because of him. He needed to accept responsibility for whatever it was that had just happened. Hector scoffed and chuckled to himself. "Let me guess, you thought she was a cop and you had Brian start to ask her questions about being a cop or about knowing any cops. I'm surprised she didn't lose it when she found out Brian used to be a cop," he replied.
"What's wrong with her?" Letty asked, a worried look on her face. "There is nothing wrong with her!" Hector roared back. He turned towards Vince and stared at him intently. "Do you know why it took her so long to escape from that hell hole? Why she suffered for 17 years? Because he was a cop. Because no one would believe the word of a 12 year old over that of a decorated police officer. Because he was untouchable and every scar on her body proves it," he said.
Hector turned and headed towards the door. "Give her time, she'll come around when she gets over the embarrassment. She'll tell you her story when she's ready," he said, before exiting the house and heading towards his car. The team stared after him, wondering what was next.
They were all between a rock and a hard place now.
Vince spent the entire night tossing and turning, worried about Jackie. And as he spent the next entire day in the garage, putting in wrench time, he felt the guilt get heavier and heavier, until he couldn't take in a deep breath without feeling like he was going to cry. And as the day went by, he grunted more and spoke actual words less. "It's not your fault," Dom said to him, handing him a Corona, as they set up the backyard table for their ritual barbecue.
Vince shook his head softly. "If I hadn't brought her around, she wouldn't have had to relive it all," he replied. "You're right. But it was my choice to send Brian after her. My choice to believe Mia after she saw her going into the Fed building." V turned and faced Dom. "She was in that Fed building because the bastard is going up in front of the parole board. After torturing her family for years and killing her mother, the bastard was finally getting out. She went to see if there was anything that she could do to get him to stay locked up," he said.
"I was wrong, Vince. I rarely am, but when I am, I admit it," Dom said, taking a swig from his own beer."I'm gonna have to tell her the truth," Vince whispered. Dom nodded, lifting his beer and clinking it with V's. "That is your choice, but if you love her, and you tell her, you'll lose her," he replied. "And now is your chance," Dom said, slapping a hand on Vince's shoulder and motioning behind him. He soon disappeared into the house, to hide out from the fallout that was about to ensue.
Vince turned around and found Jackie standing behind him, a weak smile on her face. In her hands she held a 6-pack of Coronas. "A peace offering," she said, holding out the beers to him. In three giant steps, Vince walked over to her, and enveloped her in his arms. He held her tight, breathing in her scent. "I'm so sorry," he said, continuing to crush her. "I didn't know and if I did I would've kept Brian away from you."
Jackie struggled to get her breath and pushed Vince away, pushing her hair out of her face. "I just… reacted. He started asking me about cops and then the fear started to build up. Like he knows him or something. And next thing I know, he grabs me and I lose it. I am so sorry, Vince. I didn't mean to flip out and attack him like that. Dom must be pissed at me," she rambled on, placing the beers on the table.
Vince stood still, listening to her ramble and wring her hands together. A somber look crossed over his face as he tried to come up with the right words. "I didn't expect to fall in love with you," he whispered. He nervously placed his hands in his pockets, trying to draw up courage. "What?" Jackie asked, turning around and facing him.
"I didn't expect to fall in love with you. It was supposed to be a simple job. I was just supposed to check you out. Make sure you wasn't a cop," he replied. Her eyebrows scrunched up together, confused as to what he was saying. "You're not making any sense, V, "she replied.
"I was just supposed to hang out with you until I made sure you weren't a cop. You were a new face on the scene. Too good to be true, so we were suspicious," he said.
"We? Let me guess, Dom and Mia," she stated. Jackie stared at him, wide eyed.
Vince nodded quietly. "That's why Brian was questioning you. Dom didn't believe me when I said you were clean. He thought I was blinded by what was in between your legs to see the truth. Mia saw you going into that Fed building and they were convinced that you were a cop."
Jackie drew a hand up to her mouth, her bottom lip quivering slightly. "So this was all a lie," she whispered. "No!" He half yelled. "Everything between us is real. I love you," he said, taking a step towards her. She shook her head, taking a step back and bumping into the backyard's table.
"Stay away from me," she whispered quietly, brushing past him. Vince turned to grab her arm, but she shoved him away. "Lies, Vince, all lies. You promised to never hurt me," she said, before running down the driveway.
She needed a rock to hide behind now.
Letty pushed open Vince's bedroom door and found him stretched out on the bed, his face covered by a pillow. She sat on the edge of his bed after closing the door behind her and shook him slightly. She placed a hand on his knee, sharing his sadness.
"I'm sorry, V," she whispered, realizing that he must feel devastated and abandoned by everyone. They all played a part in this. She even felt her share of the guilt, knowing that she was the one that set them up.
He pulled the pillow off his face and exhaled slowly. "I brought this on myself, Let. I knew telling her was going to lead to us breaking up, but I just couldn't lie to her anymore. She trusted me with her secrets, I couldn't lie to her anymore," he replied.
"V, now do you see why I'm leaving? Do you understand that I need to make my own decisions and make my own way in life? Just how you need to. You can't live the rest of your life in Dom's shadow," she stated. He shook his head, stubborn as a mule. "I can't turn my back on Dom like that. He is my family, the only family that I have," he replied. "I'm not asking you to leave him, V. I'm asking you to chase after her and stand on your own two feet. Don't let Dom drag you down."
Vince sat up in bed, his eyes glittering at the idea of being back together with Jackie. "We're already half gone. You're in love and I…" Letty left off as the words almost left her lips, but she couldn't continue to keep a secret like this from Vince. "I'm leaving, Vince. Because I had to have an abortion. I couldn't fathom the idea of having a baby with Dom. To bring a baby into a world like this. Where we steal to pay the bills," she cried out.
Letty fell into Vince's arms, sobbing for the first time openly about her decision. He wrapped his arms around her, realizing that all along, Letty was fighting an inner battle with herself. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've done anything to help you," he said. She shook her head, pulling herself up off of him. Letty wiped the tears from her face and sighed. "You are too loyal, Vince. I would've just made you choose between me and Dom, and then you would've spent the rest of your life feeling guilty," she responded.
V teared up at her statement, and caressed one of her cheeks. He shook his head softly, trying to figure out how they both ended up like this. "You have to go after her, V. Make her understand that it started off so innocent and then you ended up in love. Do you know how many times Dom fucked up and I forgave him? That's true love and if she loves you, she'll forgive you this once." Vince nodded, reaching over to his night stand and grabbing his keys.
He jogged out of his room, leaving Letty alone with her thoughts. She brought her knees to her chest and cried quietly, hearing the floorboard's creak on top of her. She shut her eyes tightly and gripped onto her knees hard. I'm not leaving until all is right, she promised to herself, realizing that she couldn't leave Vince in the middle of it all, alone and on his own. She played her part then and she would have to now. Her heart dropped at the thought of Vince being alone. She thought back to almost a year ago, when one hurtful comment from Mia almost drove him to the edge.
Letty closed her fists tightly and punched herself on her thighs, gasping for air.
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Her happiness and their friendship.