Chapter 29 - Live to Tell

That get-together for Gemma's birthday, or maybe all the things Nel said to Harry in the truck, seemed to have made a difference. Harry relaxed a bit, smiled more often, worked on his bike with renewed energy. It seems like the perpetual veil of sadness that covered them since John Teller's death had finally lifted off of them all. Nel was hoping to hear from Donna soon. She hasn't yet, but she kept reminding herself to be patient. She felt certain Donna would come through, and her friend did warn her that it might take some time before her parents were convinced. Even Jax and Tara stopped fighting, and the four of them started planning their weekends together again. Nel returned to aunt Linda's house, happy to be back.

It was a warm Saturday in early May, made rare by the fact that Nelly didn't have to work that day. She was packing up for an afternoon at the beach with Tara, when she heard Simon come home and then the raised voices in the kitchen. Simon must have been drunk out of his mind and pissed off, and taking it out on her aunt. He was accusing her of cheating on him with Chibs, which Linda denied it vehemently. Nel had never seen the charming young biker around her aunt, but Simon was rarely reasonable or coherent.

It was clear that he was hitting her aunt every time he heard an answer he didn't like. Nelly was afraid, but couldn't let it go on and stepped out of her room to intervene. She saw Linda collapsed in a heap against the kitchen cupboards and crying, her face was beaten and bloody. Simon's heavy foot swiftly connected with Linda's torso, and Nelly yelled horrified, "Stop it!"

Simon turned away from her and moved towards Nelly, backed her into a wall. The smell liquor on his breath, and his wild, blood-shot eyes were a clear indication that he was out of his mind with drink.

"And you, princess, have been teasing me for weeks, in your skin-tight jeans and see-through shirts that barely cover your tits." Simon was getting dangerously close to her, cornering her. "Why did I bother with this old hag, when I had fresh meat right under my nose all along." He said, as he reached for her breast and squeezed hard.

She pushed his hand away, "Don't touch me." The man slapped Nelly swiftly across the face. She tasted blood, lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Linda called out feebly for Simon to leave Nelly alone, but he ignored her and was on top of Nelly in a moment, tearing open her shirt, while his hips pushed her down. Then with one quick movement, he grabbed both of Nelly's wrists with one hand and pulled them high above her head. His other hand unzipped her jeans and pushed its way into her panties. She felt his fingers explore roughly, while she kicked and tried to get free. He retracted his hand from her pants and slapped the girl again, this time clouding her vision. The cold fear and the dark knowledge that there was nothing she could do seized Nelly. At that moment, she saw her aunt heave a frying pan over Simon's head and slam it down hard.

He stopped dazed, and before he had time to react Linda hit him again, and again, and again. This time his eyes fluttered, disoriented, and Nelly took the advantage of the moment, pushed him off. She reached out for Linda, but her aunt was too weak. "Go Nelly, get out of here."

"He'll kill you!" Nelly was so afraid.

"Just go! Run!" Linda pushed her out with the last of her strength. Nelly ran out the front door of the house. The hot, abrasive concrete under her bare feet made her move faster. She could feel her face swelling up where the numbness was turning into stinging pain. Nel pulled her ripped blouse together, crossing her arms protectively around herself. Not knowing where to turn, she moved in the direction of the corner convenience store and more people. Once she'd get there, she'd call someone. As she was nearing it, Tara's car swung around the corner and stopped with screeching of breaks by her side. She called through the open window, "Nelly, what the hell...?"

Nel felt overwhelmed with shock and relief, and all she could respond with was sobbing. She managed to get the words out, "It was Simon, he beat my aunt and then..."

Suddenly, they saw Simon barrelling down the street, yelling incoherently.

"Oh my God, Nel... Quick, get in the car." Tara pulled her into the front seat, and then took off at top speed, rushing past Simon, almost clipping him.

"Tara, we can't leave my aunt behind... I don't know what he'll do to her!"

"What do you think he'd do to us? No way, let me get you somewhere safe, and then we'll get help for your aunt."

Every fibre in Nel's being fought against that idea, but the primal part of her brain, the bit fighting for her self-preservation, agreed with Tara's reasoning. It was the only thing to do.

"Nel, what the hell happened? Did he... you know...?" Tara asked, her voice gentle, her eyes disturbed.

"He tried, got close." Nelly couldn't say more. She could still feel pressure of Simon's cruel hands lingering on her body.

"Oh my God, what are we going to do? Maybe we should go to Chief Unser?"

Nel shook her head. "No. SAMCRO will take care of this, like they did with Cliffy."

Tara looked at her, surprised. "Are you sure? This is one of their own we're talking about, Nel."

It made Nelly hesitate. She didn't consider it, but all of her instincts insisted this was the right decision. "Trust me, Tara, it's better that way."

Her friend pressed the car harder as she said, "I'm taking you to Mrs. Teller. She'll know what to do."

+0+

Nelly sat at Mrs. Teller's dinning room table, bruised and ashamed, while Gemma applied cold compress to her battered face with one hand and smoothed her hair with the other. The girl gave into her motherly care gratefully and was soothed by the attention. Still, the fear she felt was raw and barely under the surface.

"Nelly, you've got to tell Clay about what happened. The Sons have to know. They are the only ones who can stop Simon from doing that to you again."

Nelly shook her head, determined. "No, Mrs. Teller. If I rat, he'll hurt my aunt again, probably me too."

"He'll do that and more if you won't tell, honey." Gemma's voice was serious, intent. "Clay has to know. The Sons will make sure justice is done, Nelly. They won't let you down, I promise."

Nelly looked into Gemma's earnest eyes and believed her.

"Fine. But not Harry, not Jax."
"We've got to tell them the truth, Nelly. They'd find out anyway." Tara said and got a nod of agreement from Gemma.

Nelly's eyes watered and her breath caught. "I don't want to create all this drama. I don't want Harry and Jax to do something stupid and get hurt."

"You know, there's nothing we can do to stop them from getting stupid ideas," Gemma smiled at her a little and Nelly echoed her smile through tears. "But whether you like it or not, Harry has every right to be pissed off and want to defend you. Tara's right. They'll find out one way or another. Better if they'll hear it from us. "

"OK." Nelly relented after a moment, knowing the two women were right.

"I'll go make the call." Said Gemma, and with last comforting pat on Nelly's bruised face, left the girls at the table.

Clay was away on a business run, so Bobby showed up in Gemma's kitchen to deal with the situation. "What's going on, Gemma? You said it was an emergency."

"Simon had beaten up Linda pretty bad, and he attacked Nelly. She said he would have raped her if Linda didn't smash his head with a pan. I called Unser and he got an ambulance and a patrol car to Linda's. She's already at St. Thomas. Stable, but with a concussion and some internal damage. No sign of Simon."

Bobby swore under his breath and made his way to the two girls at the table. He stopped a couple of paces away from Nelly, taking in her cut lip, her bruised cheekbone. He had to hear it for himself, and asked her kindly, "Who did this to you, sweetheart?"

Nelly hesitated, but she saw Gemma give her an encouraging nod, so she continued. "It was my aunt Linda's boyfriend, Simon."

"Simon? Simon Says Moriarty?" Bobby asked grimly. Nelly just nodded. Bobby turned to Tara, "What happen?"

"By the time I got there she was staggering barefoot down the street with Simon on her tail. Good thing I got there when I did. He looked like he was ready to kill her." Tara's eyes were scared as she held Nelly's hand.

"Has he tried anything like that before?"

"He hit my aunt before, but not me. This came out of the blue." Nelly shook her head. She didn't care to understand.

Bobby looked at the two girls, shaken and anxious, and said in a slow, reassuring way. "Ok, we'll take care of this," then lead Gemma back to the kitchen and out of the girls' earshot. "For fuck's sake, Simon Says? His drinking must be getting out of hand. Clay will have a fit."

"You think?" She was well aware how much Clay relied on Simon for the ugly side of the SAMCRO's business. "You can't let Simon get away with it. If you let him loose, he'll do it to Linda again and worse, kick the shit out of Nelly too. You know what a brutal prick he is."

Bobby nodded. "I'll talk to Clay as soon as he gets back. I have a feeling we'll need a vote on Simon."

"Make sure it goes the way it should. She is Opie's girl, Jax's friend. Piney treats her like his own. The boys will be pissed. If you won't do anything, they might." Gemma gave him a level look. "Where's Simon now?"

"Fuck knows. In the wind."

"Make sure you find him before he finds Nelly or Linda. In the meantime, I'll take the girl to the clubhouse."

"I'll leave a couple of guys at the club and at the hospital. They'll keep the women safe in case Simon shows up. One way or another, we'll deal with him."