Chapter 8
Janet was quite possibly the greatest woman Natalie and the rest of Sandy Shores had ever had the immense pleasure to experience. For a near uncountable amount of years the redhead had been the den mother and bartender to the drunken, sunburned, and weary of the barren countryside.
Her face had grown stern and harder than steel throughout the years of providing for the chronically inebriated. She had a tough look about her, and even though they residents hadn't seen her throw a punch since the 90's, they we're sure her swing could take down anyone that pushed her to the limit. Despite her don't-fuck-with-me nature, when she saw that someone truly needed it, they could hear her voice soften and even a feel a few dollars slip into their pocket when she felt life was being too hard on them.
When Natalie was hired to be a helping hand at The Yellow Jack, she found soon enough that she loved Janet well more than her own parents. Janet was the toughest woman she had ever met and she loved being close to her on her work days. Janet found comfort in Nat as well, Janet was ailed with the inability to bear children, not that she minded; she never found much of a maternal urge. But if Janet was to have a child, she would want it to be her.
When the brunette had returned from her kidnapping and the resulting hospital visit, Janet was more than willing to give her as much free time as she needed to heal her wounds. Natalie however pushed passed being coddled and went to work not long after she returned. Even though Nat and her boss didn't speak much since her return, Janet already knew something was up between her 'adoptive' daughter and Trevor. As all knowing as she seemed to be, the younger girl was pretty sure Janet had known the second she hooked up with him.
The redhead wasn't necessarily fond of the idea of a person she cared for getting close and personal with a man with a rapidly growing body count. However, she knew Natalie was stronger than she thought she was and could do what needed to be done if he ever tried to screw her over.
Natalie had no intention of leaving her legitimate job with Janet even when it turned out Trevor paid better than her salary and tips at the bar. She enjoyed her job, enjoying her boss, and the occasional free shot she would take, and she wasn't going to quit a lesser paying job when money became increasingly tighter.
She found herself behind the bar on a particularly boring day, Janet was working the same shift as her, and they talked idly to each other during a slow day. They would both be lying if they said they weren't a little drunk, both of them sneaking shots every so often when they weren't serving others. They're conversations usually came to something crude, in which Janet would quickly try to quiet it down as to not hear anyone else, in which her younger friend would be left in a fit of giggles to see her mother figure blush.
A man had come in, someone Natalie had seen before, but never thought much of. She was sure she'd seen everyone in Sandy Shores at least once so it wasn't a surprise to see him cross by. He looked young, maybe Nat's age, maybe younger. He was amazingly tall and thin, with messy, medium length, brown hair that was shaved into an undercut. She saw a scatter of tattoos along his arms, definitely a turn on for her.
He was cute, definitely, in an awkward, innocent manner. He saw her upon his arrival and gave a small, polite smile. She returned it, her buzzed state dictated he was cute enough to go home with. So as he found a seat at the bar, she poured him a drink and gave him a smile that made many a man feel weak in the knees. She knew by his gentle, nervous laugh at her flirtatious advances, she already had him hook, line, and sinker.
–
Natalie woke up in a place she hadn't been before. The sun was bright through the window beside her, far too bright for her hangover. She groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, grabbing the pillow beside her and hiding herself from the waking world. She remembered she went home with the guy from the bar, his name was Jessie, she later found out, but that was the most she could really remember. She guessed they had sex, despite him not laying beside her, her body was still naked and she had that pleasant soreness that followed a night of rough sex.
She decided after awhile she should probably leave so she heaved herself up from the mess they made of the bed, wincing at the sunlight again but this time toughing it out. She exited the bedroom to find her clothes scattered across what she presumed to be Jessie's trailer. It was plain and messy, not far off from a typical male's trailer, though she didn't mind, having seen it all before. She collected what she thought to be all of her clothes and put them on, finding her shoes by the door.
Also by the door was a little photo frame that seemed to be one of the very few decorations of the trailer. It was a picture of Jessie and another man. Jessie looked a few years younger than he did now and the man beside quiet possibly was his brother. Both were holding a beer and smiling to the camera. The man, whom she didn't know was wearing a leather biker's vest, which unsettled her to no end. Sure, there were plenty of biker gangs to be had in San Andreas, and thousands more in the US, his brother belonging to any number of them wasn't a stretch. But still, the thought of a biker, any biker, wasn't pleasant to her.
Natalie grabbed her house keys from her pocket, wondering how far the walk was back home from where she was before she opened the door. She took one step out and stood frozen in place immediately as her heart damn near stopped. She had only seen this place in passing, but knew exactly what it was; Stab City. The local residents, who consisted almost entirely of The Lost MC sat together in groups, doing a bit of early drinking and in general partying, having a good time. She however was filled with terror, her breath fast paced and aching while she tried her best not to cry or shake right then and there. Her eyes darted around, trying to convince herself that she could get out of this without anyone seeing her run away.
Before she could even make a proper decision she heard her name called, she quickly looked over to find Jessie flagging her down, grinning from ear to ear. He was with others in his own little group, several wearing their patches. She swallowed the massive lump in her throat, her feet mechanically leading drawing her towards his direction. She figured her playing the part of unassuming was better than her running away screaming.
When she made her way into the circle Jessie threw an arm around her shoulders, shoving a beer in her hand, "See? I told you she was pretty!" He said proudly, a couple of the people around them giving their hoots and hollers in agreement with him, "Nat, this is my loving family." He gestured towards each person, stating their names but she barely listened.
On the outside she looked pleasant and happy to meet them, but on this inside she was a screaming, sobbing mess, "Hey everyone." She took a sip of the beer handed to her, barely tasting it however, "Nice to me you all."
Jessie grinning, squeezing her tighter to his side and giving her a firm kiss on her cheek, "Ain't she great?"
The conversation among them went on without much of her involvement. She was still attached to her bed mate's side, unaware of the sniveling mess she was about to become if she didn't leave Stab City soon. By the looks of it, none of them recognized her, which was a blessing in itself, thanking whatever heavenly being that made the people who held her captive keep their mouth's shut about the whole thing. But she knew she shouldn't push her luck any further and went to excuse herself back to her own home when her eyes found a familiar face.
He looked just as he did a month ago and he was staring right back at her across the dirty road that connected the series of trailers occupying Stab City together. It was the one of the men who held her captive, the one oozing with a superiority complex, the one who took off her finger. He said nothing to the rest of his circle of friends and despite his unreadable expression she knew damn well he knew who she was.
She had figured he was shot down with the rest of his friend's at Hookies. But no, he was in front of her, getting a read on her like she was a piece of machinery. His eyes were lingering on her bandaged hand before she quickly turned to Jessie, who -like the rest of the small circle- were completely unaware of her skyrocketing anxiety.
"I have to go." She said quickly, her nervousness slipping out slightly, she silently cursed herself, "Sorry, I just forgot I have work today."
She was lying, but they couldn't seem to tell, Jessie offering to drive her back home to which she declined. He kissed her once more on the cheek, promising he'd see her soon, she made her leave finally after he pushed her into giving him her number. She began walking out of Stab City, not looking back until she reached the main road, seeing if the man who often lead her night terrors was still looking. He was, and when he caught sight of her looking right back at him again he flashed her a sinister, toothy smile with a look in her eyes that turned her blood cold. She whipped her head back, continuing to walk when she felt like running.
Only when she was sure that no one was watching was when she decided to race down the road. She wasn't sure how far she was planning to go, or if she was even going fast, but she found herself somewhere towards the mountains finding the tunnel that drilled into the mountain and hiding herself behind a nearby tree, hoping it was enough to keep her relatively safe as she was trying to collect her scrambled thoughts.
She had no clue if they were going to go after her again, but the thought of waiting and seeing was unappealing and left her nauseous. Before Nat knew it she found herself with her phone in her hand, already dialing in Trevor's number. Getting him involved was the best idea she could think of and with the gun not with her at the moment, he seemed her only option.
After a few rings he picked out, sounding a little annoyed to be woken up, but she ignored it, "Trevor, I need you." She nearly yelled into the receiver of her phone, doing a quick look around to be sure no one was near by.
He was quiet for a moment, seeming to be doing something else, before growling out his response, "This sounds like some weird foreplay."
"Trevor!" She yelped, nearly choking on his name in her panic, "I-I fucked up really, really bad. I woke up with The Lost but I got out, I'm in Grapeseed."
"Wait- what?" He sounded like he was in disbelief, "Run that by me again."
She took a huge breath, trying as much as she could to get her nerves under control, "Last night, I went home with a guy... woke up in Stab City. No one recognized me there, except the guy, one of the guys who kidnapped me. He saw me. He might come back to get me, Trevor." She let her control on herself slip on the last part, sounding like a pitiful child.
"Do you have your gun on you?" He replied quickly, getting the seriousness of her situation, sounding like he was getting ready to get her.
She winced, "No..."
"Jesus, Natalie." Trevor said with obvious irritation in his voice, "Y'know, I didn't get you that gun for the fun of it."
She dragged a hand over her face, knowing she was going to get hell for leaving her house unprotected, "I know, Trevor, I'm sorry... Please help me." She begged, trying her best not to sound as downright pitiful as she felt to no avail.
"I'm already on my way Natalie, where are you?"
She glanced around, biting her lip idly as she got a proper sense of her surroundings, "I'm just off North Calafia Way, right beside the tunnel."
She didn't hear a goodbye, just him hanging up. She dropped her phone by her side, raking her hands through her hair and taking deep breaths to try to calm down. She knew if she was going to get out of this, out of everything, relatively alright then she needed to toughen up. This ordeal with The MC wasn't going to go away quickly so she had to formulate some sort of emotional game plan.
She was tired of letting her emotions get the best of her, despite how reasonable it was that sometimes she couldn't sleep for days and how often it set her heart racing to hear a motorcycle pass by. But now she had to be strong; if they came back for her it was life or death. And when the time came, she hoped she was ready to take a life to save her own instead of falling back on the defending graces of her boss.
The brunette heard a large vehicle stop nearby, making her heart nearly stop. She dared to take a peek behind her hiding spot, hoping it was Trevor. As she glanced behind the tree she saw the giant rusting truck that she only ever saw her boss ride around in. She quickly swiped her phone off the ground and got up just as he hopped out of the driver's side.
He looked her over like he always did, but this time she got the sense that he was seeing if she was alright, "You look like hell." Was all he said as she climbed into the passengers seat.
"Sorry." Was all she said, she did a quick look around to see if he had been followed as if he wouldn't already do that. Still, it calmed her down to see that they were alone.
He climbed in, watching her intently as she fastened her seat belt, speaking with sarcasm, "So you decided it would be a good idea to go home with one of The Lost?"
She frowned, wrapping her arms around himself, "I don't think he's a member, maybe a friend or something, he wasn't wearing a vest."
He spoke again with irritation, "Maybe you shouldn't jump into bed with just anyone considering people are out there to butcher you and you can't even protect yourself."
She winced, knowing he had a point, but resenting his tone, so she argued, "Look at yourself Trevor, god knows you've slept with most of Blaine County's meth population."
The older man shot her a look, a dark, hateful look brewing inside his eyes, something that made her nervous, "Well you see, sweetheart, the difference between you and I is that I don't come running to someone else if I get myself into some shit. If I end up fucking a psycho, I can handle it."
She frowned, gritting her teeth a little, trying to find some way to defend herself but coming up short. The brunette slowly calmed, sighing, defeated, "You're right."
He watched her for a moment, his fingers twitching on the wheel, looking like he was getting ready for a blowout of an argument that was cut short. He debated whether to continue to rip into her or let it be, he chose the later, taking a breath, "That sounded like it tasted like vinegar." Trev reached for the glove box, opening it up and handing her a gun that she recognized as his own, she turned it over in her hands as he spoke back up, "Do not go anywhere without it." He commanded, sounding almost like he was speaking to a disobedient child.
She frowned deeply, but nodded, turning it over in her hands, getting a feel for it once more, "What's going to happen now?"
Trevor was looking towards the road, "You can't stay here."
She looked back at him, "What?"
He glanced back at her momentarily, "You can't stay in Sandy Shores and expect to live, not now. We're going to find you somewhere to hide for awhile."
Natalie frowned, quiet for a moment, as much as she wanted to stay in Sandy Shores, he had a point, again. The thought of her going into hiding wasn't ideal, knowing she'd have to leave without letting Janet or Rebecca know she was going to be away, but she had to make that sacrifice if she wanted to survive, "Where?" She finally spoke up, looking to him.
The young girl saw he cared, not just by actions but by his general patience about the trouble she seemed to keep finding herself in. She wondered if it was a genuine care for her well-being or if he was just defending a pawn for a grander scheme of things.
She saw him running over thoughts in his head for a moment, before he answered vaguely, "I think I have somewhere in mind. I hope you like LS much more than I do."