Chapter 17
~ July 2000 ~
They had been driving for twelve hours and decided to get a room for the night and get some sleep in Chicago. Razor pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and walked into the office. A few minutes later he came back with two keys. "Got us two rooms next to each other. Everybody out, the rooms are right over there." He pointed to the first floor near the pool. They piled out and grabbed their bags from the trunk.
Takara followed Sky into their room and the boys took the other. Sky silently made her way to the bathroom and stripped off her bloody clothes. She looked in the mirror and tried to wipe away the streaks of Simon's blood on her face. She stepped into the shower and turned the water on letting the water wash away the memories of what she had done. Takara was fast asleep when Sky got out of the shower. She took out a notepad and quickly wrote a goodbye letter to her and the guys. She called the front desk and asked for a taxi to pick her up.
After one last look around, Sky walked out of the room and out to the waiting taxi. "Chicago O'Hare please and there's extra if you get me there fast."
"Yes mamn."
The taxi practically flew to the airport for which Sky was very happy. She paid the man an extra $30 and ran quickly into the terminal. The woman at the counter looked her up and down, "May I help you?"
"Yeah you can. I need to be on the next flight to LAX and no I don't care how much it costs. I can cover it believe me."
"One moment." Her fingers moved quickly over the keys. "We have a flight leaving in an hour non-stop arriving in Los Angeles International at 10:21 pm. Would you like to book that flight?"
"Yes." She pulled out a wad of cash. "How much?"
"This seat is in first class. The cost will be $2563."
"Are you kidding me? Whatever. Here." She handed over the cash.
"I will need an identification card and do you have any baggage to check?"
Sky reached into her backpack and pulled out the fake ID that Takara had made for her a couple of years back, so they could go clubbing. The name read 'Skylar Davison'. If things had been different maybe that's what it would have been, but that didn't matter. She handed it and her duffel bag over to the woman.
"Ms. Davison, here is your boarding pass. Enjoy your flight."
"Thanks." She took the boarding pass and her ID and headed for the security checkpoint.
The flight was uneventful. Sky tried to sleep, but couldn't get the image of Simon out of her head. Her return would not have the happy ending she had envisioned. She had come home to say goodbye one last time.
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The yellow Skyline sped down the block. He took in the scenery of the old neighborhood. Not much had changed in his opinion. The same people lived in the same houses. He had taken this trip down memory lane every few months since she left.
The brick house sat empty and boarded up. He needed to be close to her things, close to her. He pulled into the driveway. Slowly his steps took him to the backdoor of the house.
The padlock on the door had been busted. He rushed in to find what had been taken. To his amazement everything was still in place and undisturbed. Thoughts ran through his mind. Thoughts of her laugh and the way she would twirl a strand of her hair around her finger when she was thinking. A large portrait of the family hung over the mantle. Staring at the photo it was like she was looking back at him. Carefully, he walked up the stairs to the second floor. He turned the corner to find a woman huddled on the floor with a gun in her hand. Her waist length blond hair was disheveled. She looked up at him; her once vibrant eyes were dull and rimmed in red. He recognized her at once. His heart dropped to the floor. "Sky is it really you?" His voice was soft, fearing he would wake himself from the dream and it would be over.
"Please go away. Please just leave now. I don't want you to see this."
"Sky what are you doing? Baby, take my hand. Let's get out of here." He watched her put the gun to her head. "Stop put it down now. Talk to me."
"It's too late." She turned off the safety and put her finger on the trigger. "I don't know what else I can do. I'm really screwed up this time."
"Don't you even think about pulling that trigger. Nothin' you've done could be that bad. I know you girl."
"Do you? Do you really know me?" Her left hand was wrapped tightly in her hair. "I'm not that girl you knew. You don't understand." The index finger of her right hand was pushing down on the trigger. "Go away now. This is my problem now."
He moved closer to her his hand on her thigh, "Please give me a chance to help. Talk to me. It's not worth it girl. Don't do this to yourself."
"You can't always ride up on your white horse to save me. Go back to your life and forget that you ever found me."
"You're wrong. I will always be here to save you. Why are you doing this?" His hands were shaking as he slowly moved closer to the gun.
"I killed a man. I beat him with a baseball bat until he died. Do you still want to save me? Do you think I deserve to live?"
He was just inches from her, "Yeah."
"Why?" Tears were rolling down her cheek and the hand holding the gun was shaking.
"Cause I love you and I know that you'd never hurt someone who didn't deserve it." In a flash, he took the gun from her hand and popped the clip out. He removed the bullet from the chamber and threw it to the other end of the hall. Her body collapsed in his arms. He pulled her into his lap and rocked back and forth, "I'll fix it. Don't you worry. Nothin gonna happen to you ever again." Her cries echoed through the house. "It's alright baby." He lifted her chin with his fingers. "How long have you been here?"
"Days. A week. I just don't know."
"You don't need to worry anymore. I'm here to take care of you." He rocked her in his arms until she gave into her exhaustion and slept. He carefully carried her to his car and seat-belted he in. He grabbed a duffel bag and backpack he found in the kitchen. She was still sound asleep when he slid into his car. He was saddened by the condition she was in. Her skin was pale and dirty. It almost made him want to cry.
During the quiet ride home he tried to think of how to explain to Dom the situation. He hoped that Dom wouldn't mind Sky staying with the team. They arrived at the house to find no one at home. Just as well Leon thought, as it gave him more time to have Sky to himself. He woke Sky from her slumber. "Damn girl you slept the whole way. Am I that boring? Look I got food too." He waved a bag of food in her face. The worried expression was still upon her face. "Stop it. Everything will be ok. I'll handle it. Please just smile for me once." His arms enveloped her and a tiny smile appeared on her face. He unlocked the door and took her to his room.
After a long hot shower together, Leon carried Sky back to his room. She lay with her head on his chest and her hand over his heart. "I love you." She said softly before drifting off into sleep. Leon picked up his phone and dialed Jess at the shop.
"DT what can I do for ya?" Jesse laughed into the phone.
"Yo dawg, need a favor."
"Anything Leon. What is it?"
"Need you to check out a few people. The first is a guy named Simon Zynne, last known address in New York City. The second is Skylar."
Jesse broke in "Let me guess Skylar Elizabeth Thomas, right. Damn man I've been looking her up for you every year since."
"Since '95."
"Yeah. Wish you would find this mystery girl."
"I found her. She sleeping right next to me."
Jesse scratched his head, "So why ya looking her up?"
"She got herself mixed up in some shit and I want to know what. Hey check out the name Skylar Maria Davison, too."
"Shit did you two get married?"
"No, but I found it on an ID in her bag. Just check it out and get back to me."
"No Problem."
~ July 2000 ~
They had been driving for twelve hours and decided to get a room for the night and get some sleep in Chicago. Razor pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and walked into the office. A few minutes later he came back with two keys. "Got us two rooms next to each other. Everybody out, the rooms are right over there." He pointed to the first floor near the pool. They piled out and grabbed their bags from the trunk.
Takara followed Sky into their room and the boys took the other. Sky silently made her way to the bathroom and stripped off her bloody clothes. She looked in the mirror and tried to wipe away the streaks of Simon's blood on her face. She stepped into the shower and turned the water on letting the water wash away the memories of what she had done. Takara was fast asleep when Sky got out of the shower. She took out a notepad and quickly wrote a goodbye letter to her and the guys. She called the front desk and asked for a taxi to pick her up.
After one last look around, Sky walked out of the room and out to the waiting taxi. "Chicago O'Hare please and there's extra if you get me there fast."
"Yes mamn."
The taxi practically flew to the airport for which Sky was very happy. She paid the man an extra $30 and ran quickly into the terminal. The woman at the counter looked her up and down, "May I help you?"
"Yeah you can. I need to be on the next flight to LAX and no I don't care how much it costs. I can cover it believe me."
"One moment." Her fingers moved quickly over the keys. "We have a flight leaving in an hour non-stop arriving in Los Angeles International at 10:21 pm. Would you like to book that flight?"
"Yes." She pulled out a wad of cash. "How much?"
"This seat is in first class. The cost will be $2563."
"Are you kidding me? Whatever. Here." She handed over the cash.
"I will need an identification card and do you have any baggage to check?"
Sky reached into her backpack and pulled out the fake ID that Takara had made for her a couple of years back, so they could go clubbing. The name read 'Skylar Davison'. If things had been different maybe that's what it would have been, but that didn't matter. She handed it and her duffel bag over to the woman.
"Ms. Davison, here is your boarding pass. Enjoy your flight."
"Thanks." She took the boarding pass and her ID and headed for the security checkpoint.
The flight was uneventful. Sky tried to sleep, but couldn't get the image of Simon out of her head. Her return would not have the happy ending she had envisioned. She had come home to say goodbye one last time.
************************************************************************
The yellow Skyline sped down the block. He took in the scenery of the old neighborhood. Not much had changed in his opinion. The same people lived in the same houses. He had taken this trip down memory lane every few months since she left.
The brick house sat empty and boarded up. He needed to be close to her things, close to her. He pulled into the driveway. Slowly his steps took him to the backdoor of the house.
The padlock on the door had been busted. He rushed in to find what had been taken. To his amazement everything was still in place and undisturbed. Thoughts ran through his mind. Thoughts of her laugh and the way she would twirl a strand of her hair around her finger when she was thinking. A large portrait of the family hung over the mantle. Staring at the photo it was like she was looking back at him. Carefully, he walked up the stairs to the second floor. He turned the corner to find a woman huddled on the floor with a gun in her hand. Her waist length blond hair was disheveled. She looked up at him; her once vibrant eyes were dull and rimmed in red. He recognized her at once. His heart dropped to the floor. "Sky is it really you?" His voice was soft, fearing he would wake himself from the dream and it would be over.
"Please go away. Please just leave now. I don't want you to see this."
"Sky what are you doing? Baby, take my hand. Let's get out of here." He watched her put the gun to her head. "Stop put it down now. Talk to me."
"It's too late." She turned off the safety and put her finger on the trigger. "I don't know what else I can do. I'm really screwed up this time."
"Don't you even think about pulling that trigger. Nothin' you've done could be that bad. I know you girl."
"Do you? Do you really know me?" Her left hand was wrapped tightly in her hair. "I'm not that girl you knew. You don't understand." The index finger of her right hand was pushing down on the trigger. "Go away now. This is my problem now."
He moved closer to her his hand on her thigh, "Please give me a chance to help. Talk to me. It's not worth it girl. Don't do this to yourself."
"You can't always ride up on your white horse to save me. Go back to your life and forget that you ever found me."
"You're wrong. I will always be here to save you. Why are you doing this?" His hands were shaking as he slowly moved closer to the gun.
"I killed a man. I beat him with a baseball bat until he died. Do you still want to save me? Do you think I deserve to live?"
He was just inches from her, "Yeah."
"Why?" Tears were rolling down her cheek and the hand holding the gun was shaking.
"Cause I love you and I know that you'd never hurt someone who didn't deserve it." In a flash, he took the gun from her hand and popped the clip out. He removed the bullet from the chamber and threw it to the other end of the hall. Her body collapsed in his arms. He pulled her into his lap and rocked back and forth, "I'll fix it. Don't you worry. Nothin gonna happen to you ever again." Her cries echoed through the house. "It's alright baby." He lifted her chin with his fingers. "How long have you been here?"
"Days. A week. I just don't know."
"You don't need to worry anymore. I'm here to take care of you." He rocked her in his arms until she gave into her exhaustion and slept. He carefully carried her to his car and seat-belted he in. He grabbed a duffel bag and backpack he found in the kitchen. She was still sound asleep when he slid into his car. He was saddened by the condition she was in. Her skin was pale and dirty. It almost made him want to cry.
During the quiet ride home he tried to think of how to explain to Dom the situation. He hoped that Dom wouldn't mind Sky staying with the team. They arrived at the house to find no one at home. Just as well Leon thought, as it gave him more time to have Sky to himself. He woke Sky from her slumber. "Damn girl you slept the whole way. Am I that boring? Look I got food too." He waved a bag of food in her face. The worried expression was still upon her face. "Stop it. Everything will be ok. I'll handle it. Please just smile for me once." His arms enveloped her and a tiny smile appeared on her face. He unlocked the door and took her to his room.
After a long hot shower together, Leon carried Sky back to his room. She lay with her head on his chest and her hand over his heart. "I love you." She said softly before drifting off into sleep. Leon picked up his phone and dialed Jess at the shop.
"DT what can I do for ya?" Jesse laughed into the phone.
"Yo dawg, need a favor."
"Anything Leon. What is it?"
"Need you to check out a few people. The first is a guy named Simon Zynne, last known address in New York City. The second is Skylar."
Jesse broke in "Let me guess Skylar Elizabeth Thomas, right. Damn man I've been looking her up for you every year since."
"Since '95."
"Yeah. Wish you would find this mystery girl."
"I found her. She sleeping right next to me."
Jesse scratched his head, "So why ya looking her up?"
"She got herself mixed up in some shit and I want to know what. Hey check out the name Skylar Maria Davison, too."
"Shit did you two get married?"
"No, but I found it on an ID in her bag. Just check it out and get back to me."
"No Problem."