Chapter Twelve: Out Of Control

A/N: Long time, no update! As previously stated, Javi is going to play a major role in Millie's storyline.

This isn't a hugely popular fandom, but thank you to those who have read and reviewed so far.

Millie hadn't really felt up to attending the opening of Deran's bar, but she knew she'd be a shit friend if she didn't make an appearance. The bar meant a lot to Deran, so she pushed aside her issues with Craig and Javi's unsettling familiarity and rocked up in a low-cut white dress that might have gotten her laid, had she not been in a complicated situation with her maybe-still-fiance. God, when had things gotten so messy?

Millie sipped at her Coke, grateful that one of her friends had been more than happy to watch Ryan for the evening. The bar actually looked great, and she was really proud of Derna for all the hard work he'd put into it. Unfortunately, her solitude was interrupted when Craig crossed over to slip onto the stool beside hers.

"Hey."

Millie didn't even look at him. "Don't wanna talk to you."

Craig blew out a sigh. "Come on, Mills. Can we at least talk?"

"About what?" She slurped her drink obnoxiously through her paper straw. Sure, she wasn't exactly being mature, but he hadn't been either. She wanted to enjoy her child-free night out, not waste it on an argument with Craig.

He raked a hand through his dark hair. "Us. I'm sorry for being an ass."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Craig." She swivelled to fix him with a steely glare. "You need to make a choice if you want to be a parent or not. I'm not putting up with you half-assing shit. I can be a single mum if I have to."

Craig was indignant. "Of course I want to be a parent."

"Well, you haven't acted like it." Millie folded her arms over her chest, arching an eyebrow pointedly. They'd both agreed they wanted to be parents, but Craig hadn't been much of a dad to Ryan.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

Deran walked over, a determined gleam in his eyes as he glowered at Craig. Since Millie had told them about what had happened, he'd been pretty pissed at how Craig was handling everything, and that showed in his irate expression.

"Come on, man, leave her alone. She doesn't wanna talk to you."

Craig scowled at him. "Really, Deran?"

"Deran, it's fine," Millie insisted. She appreciated her friend's insistence on sticking up for her, but she could handle Craig on her own. Unfortunately, her word wasn't enough, because Deran was still frowning.

"No it isn't. He's a jerk."

"She's my fiance," Craig argued, folding his arms.

"Deran." Alex crossed over to restrain his boyfriend, placing a hand on his chest and steering him away. "Not here."

Sick of the bullshit, Millie swept out of the bar out onto the street. She'd wanted to have a nice night, but of course it had ended up in a heated conversation with Craig interrupted by Deran and Alex. She understood the guys meant well, but it was the last thing she needed, not with everything else going on.

"Millie!" Craig called after her, jogging out of the bar after her. She heard his shoes thumping against the sidewalk as he pursued her. "Stop running away."

She frowned. "I'm not running anywhere."

"Yes, you are. We need to talk."

"Then go on." Millie spun to face him, spreading her arms wide, her impatience finally reaching a record high. "You tell me what you've done wrong."

"I know I haven't been helping as much as I should be." Craig shoved his hands in his pockets, and though she had expected him to look away, he looked directly at her. "I don't know what else you want me to say."

Millie planted her hands on her hips. "I want you to tell me why."

"Because I'm scared of being a shit parent!" The words exploded from Craig with the force of a maelstrom as he threw his arms up, raking his hands through his hair. It made sense. Smurf wasn't a role model parent, and Craig's dad certainly wasn't in the picture. She exhaled a deep breath and inhaled the cool night air.

"Then why do you act like you didn't want him?"

Craig looked hurt, shaking his head. "Of course I wanted him."

"But you don't look after him!" Millie didn't know a heap about being a parent. She was new to this too. But she knew that Craig should be putting in more effort, and she needed him to commit to being a dad if that was really what he wanted.

"I'm sorry, Millie. I am. I love you both."

"I know you do." Millie's shoulders slumped. "I just need help, Craig. I'm trying to balance wedding planning and housework and looking after the baby and I can't do it all myself."

"I'll try harder then," Craig vowed. It was true he hadn't touched drugs since Ryan had been born, but she needed more than just sobriety. If he could be a proper parent, maybe things would be okay. She arched an eyebrow.

"So you want us to come home?"

"Of course I do." Craig crossed over and looped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. She craned her neck back to look at him, and realised he was giving her puppy dog eyes. "Please."

Millie couldn't help but crack. "I'll give it a go."

It was like a physical ache to watch the footage of the crash that had claimed Dylan's life, but Millie had to do it. She felt like she'd been given the pieces of the puzzle. The date of the crash on one of Rico's files. Javi's unexplained connection to Dylan. Her brother had been a good kid, he hadn't hung around lowlife like Javi...had he? The more Millie unearthed, the more she questioned how well she'd really known Dylan when he'd died.

Once she had the number plate of the truck that had collided with the car, it was easier for Millie to do some digging. Two hours of research gave the firm conclusion that the truck driver had a connection to Javi, and had served jail time for battery in the past. Millie raked her fingers through her blonde hair and chewed at her lip as she stared at her laptop screen.

Obsessing over Dylan's death wasn't healthy, and she knew that. She hadn't even told Craig what she was up to, although Alex was aware. Alex was troubled by it, but hadn't the heart to dissuade her entirely. She needed to make her peace with what had happened. More than that, if it was murder, she needed her vengeance for it.

Dylan hadn't been the only one who had died in the car crash. His best friend, Nate Fong, had also been in the car that day, and he'd died too. It was easy enough to find the number of Nate's dad, and Millie dialled it in after momentary hesitation.

"Mr Fong, hi. Umm, it's Millie Reynolds."

"Oh." Mr Fong's voice was heavy. "Dylan's sister, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." She tried to force enthusiasm, like they weren't discussing two teenage boys who'd died far before their time. "Listen, I know this is really weird, but I need to know. Before the crash happened, was anything...off with Nate?"

"Nate was a troubled boy," Mr Fong confirmed, heaving a sigh, "Before his death, his mum and I found out he had issues with drugs. There was an argument about it, and unfortunately we never managed to patch things up before the accident."

Accident. Except it hadn't been an accident, but Millie didn't have the heart to tell Mr Fong that. She'd already derailed her own peace with what had happened. She didn't need to do that to someone else.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Millie?" Mr Fong sounded incredibly weary. "Please don't call again."

He hung up, leaving Millie with a heaviness in the pit of her stomach. She wished that could be the end of it, but she needed more. If Nate's parents weren't going to talk about him...Millie remembered that Nate had a sister Tina, maybe a few years older than her. It took her approximately half an hour to add her on Facebook and set up a coffee date.

It amused Millie, but didn't surprise her at all, that Ryan fell asleep to ocean sounds from her iPod. Both of the kid's parents surfed, so she should have expected as much. She couldn't wait until he was big enough to paddle in the water, because she had the feeling that he was going to love it. A sharp rap at the door made her exit her son's bedroom and open the door, only to tense when she saw who was there.

"Millie." Javi offered her a tight smile. "May I come in?"

Her hand rested tightly on the doorknob. "What if I said no?"

"That wouldn't be very polite." Javi's dark eyes glimmered with the promise of pain if she refused, so Millie clenched her jaw and swung the door open. She was in complete panic mode despite her outward semblance of irritation. What the fuck was this man doing here, in her house? What did he want from her?

"Why are you here?" Millie demanded, clicking the front door closed and folding her arms over her chest as Javi's critical gaze roamed the white-and-blue painted house.

"To speak with you. You've been doing research on me."

How the fuck did he know that? He must have someone tech-savvy on his end if he knew she'd been all over the truck driver's records and his connection to Javi. Shit, she'd been so busy digging that she hadn't even bothered to cover her tracks. What a rookie mistake.

"So?"

"You need to stop."

"Or what?" Millie tilted her chin up. "You'll beat me up like you did with Robbie?"

It was no secret that Javi and his gang had been responsible for what happened to Robbie, and Millie's stomach churned at the idea something similar could happen to her. She was also keeping her calm for Ryan's sake, not wanting her son to wake up and start crying.

"I'll do worse than that."

She scoffed. "Kill me?"

"Is it just you and Ryan here?" Javi asked, and though his tone was conversational, his posture was anything but. Millie stiffened at realising that he knew her son's name. She wasn't the only one who had been digging.

Marching into the kitchen, Millie rummaged around in the kitchen drawers for the gun that she kept hidden there for risky situations. She felt Javi step up behind her, his breath hot on the back of her neck. She fought back a shiver of revulsion as her fingers closed over the gun.

"I'm asking you nicely once, and once only. Stop trying to find out more about me."

"I know you were associating with my brother." Millie kept her back to him. "I want to know why."

"You won't know," Javi promised, "So don't bother trying to find out, it'll end badly for you."

Millie spun to face him with the gun, clicking the safety off. "I know some pretty scary people. Comes with being a Cody. You don't frighten me."

He did though. He terrified her. She just couldn't let him know that, because it would give him power over her. Javi smacked the gun from her hand so it clattered to the floor, pinning her against the bench. His body was heavy against hers, and she felt like she was suffocating.

"That name meant to mean something to me?"

"Dunno. Are your threats meant to mean something to me?"

He arched an eyebrow. "They will when your child ends up dead."

Incensed, Millie slapped him across the face. She knew it was a bad move even as she did it, but the threat to her son was something she couldn't excuse. Javi's eyes flared with rage and he gripped her by the neck, making her wince. He tightened his grasp, making her whimper. His lips curved upwards in triumph.

"I don't want to have to kill you, but I will if you push me."

"You're a real messed up piece of shit, aren't you?" Millie asked derisively. He gave her a slow, lazy once over, eyes travelling over the curves of her body. She wanted to hit him again for it, but knew that would be a stupid move.

He smiled darkly. "Something like that."

"I don't need Craig here to protect me." She choked out. He stepped back, allowing Millie to scramble for the gun. She picked it up off the kitchen tiles, feeling in control as she pointed it at his head. "Get out of my house."

He held up his hands as if in surrender, heading toward the door. "I was planning on it."

"If you come around here again, I'll shoot you," Millie snarled for good measure. Her words were hollow, and they both knew it as Javi exited her house and closed the door behind him. Her whole body trembled violently as she dropped the gun onto the kitchen bench, pressing her hands over her face and wondering what the fuck she'd gotten herself into.