Walk Away from the Son
Parker Sister Saga continues - Season 2 of SoA
Chapter 11- Reach out and touch someone
By BG and Reaper
Sorry to make you guys wait so long for this chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews and the emails prodding us to hurry the hell up!
XXX
Most of Hueytown, Alabama was still fast asleep but that was not the case at Parker Place South. Roxy wandered out of the opened front door and onto the porch; she spotted BB sitting on the bottom step. He was smoking a cigarette and rubbing the back of his head with his hand. He heard the porch creak and knew his wife was coming to check on him. Without turning around he assured her, "The girls are ok. You should go back to bed, baby."
"Charming." Roxy said quietly and blew out a breath. When his cell phone had rang, her brain hadn't been sure but her heart had known. "No call at four-thirty in the morning that's got you slippin' out to the front porch can be good. What's goin' on?"
BB remained silent and stared down their driveway.
"I will NOT be placated, Billy. The girls are ok...fine. But something has happened...spill it."
"Someone set fire to Vix's salon."
"SWEET LORD!" She gasped and turned to run back inside.
"HEY! Stay put goddamnit!" BB twisted around and yelled to keep his wife on the porch and safely away from her cellphone. "The girls are in no mood to be talking to you right now. That was Jax that called, said they've got a handle on the situation. Trying to get the girls calmed down and settled for the night. You can call in the morning."
Roxy crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her husband. He seldom ever told her no but she knew by the tone in his voice now that he'd rip a cellphone out of her hands if she tried to ignore his order. She sighed and gritted her teeth. "Ok...fine. Are they are ok? Really ok? Don't you lie to me."
"Vix burned her arm a bit trying to get back inside to put the fire out but its MINOR." He related the details that he had gotten from Jax...well some of the details.
BB was still seated but now twisted at the waist to stare at his wife. He looked up at her and could see the wheels turning in her head. "NO! We are NOT going back to Charming so get that thought right out of your pretty little head. We can't afford to go running out there everydamntime one of the girls has a crisis. Crisis seem to happen on a goddamn daily basis."
"This is not a flat tire or somethin',Billy! Someone blew up Vix's place up, almost killed her!"
"She burned her ARM. Just calm down, baby. I know how you're feelin', I do. But Jax assured me the people who did it will be dealt with. That's a directive straight from Clay and we're by God gonna follow it." BB turned back around and stretched out his legs, grumbling. "The girls decided to move way the fuck there. I think we need to hack off the apron strings. SAMCRO'll watch over em, make it right."
"SAMCRO's half their damn problem." Roxy hissed and glared at the back of his head.
"Watch it." He warned lightly. The moments clicked by and he waited for her to come sit down by him but that didn't happen. He finally grunted and stood up, tossing his hands in the air. "Look baby, the girls ain't moving back here... we ain't movin' out there. I can't change geography so what the fuck you want me to do? I've got the president of the mother charter tellin' me to sit tight and let them handle it. It happened on THEIR turf, my hands are tied. So tell me how you want me to fix this?"
"I guess you can't." Roxy replied and stormed off back into the house. She missed her girls like crazy on a daily basis. The thought of them dealing with this latest crisis alone, without her, ate at her immediately.
"You stay off that phone! I MEAN IT, ROXANNE!" BB yelled. All he received in response was a dramatic slamming of the front door. "Goddamnit!" He yelled and chucked his pack of cigarettes into the yard. He blew out a frustrated breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.
BB had been trying to hide his true worry about the girls from his wife. Roxy loved those girls fiercely and if he had shown one ounce of panic about their situation she would have been driving them to the airport immediately. He may have pissed off his wife, but at least he had put up a convincing front.
Jax had told him Clay and the guys were handling everything but he didn't have the warm and fuzzies about the situation. He couldn't believe this next thought had crossed his mind, but he would honestly feel better about things if Vix was still with Juice and Jaci had still been wrapped up with that crazy assed SAA. Then the club would have a direct reason to protect and avenge his girls. Sure, they were Abel's aunts and he was their uncle and that gained them probably enough clout but he worried about them just being an afterthought...or worse yet, a pain in the ass to the club.
He groaned and ran his hands over his face. No good can come to a Parker in Charming...that had been his mantra since 1988 when his brother and his old lady had moved the girls to California. That move had been the beginning of the end for JJ and Dawn, BB had seen it coming a mile away. He had went with them and stayed awhile but then packed up and head for home back in Bama. There was hardly a day that past that he didn't regret not taking Wendy, Jaci and Vix back with him.
Every time they would talk about it, Roxy would assure him he had no guilt to carry. That those mistakes were on JJ, not him but the truth of the matter was everything had always been on HIS shoulders. The survival of the Bama charter, the survival of the Parker family, seein' after the girls...all that was BB's lot. JJ had always been the one to start shit and then walk away. BB was the one that would come in and fix, stabilize, and maintain. It was a heavy load to carry and no one knew the real stress of it all because he didn't complain about it, he just put his head down and DID IT. Over the years, that attitude had garnered him a reputation and whenever shit hit the fan everyone looked to him, knowing he'd come up with some brilliant plan to FIX IT and make everything better.
But carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders was hard and eventually you were gonna break, it happened to everyone no matter how tough you tried to be and that was what worried him right now. Jaci, bless her heart, was just damn like him. Having semi-worthless parents had made her grow up fast and she had turned into the responsible one at a young age. All the summers she had spent down in Bama with him and Roxy had just solidified her tendency to take charge. She had watched BB closely, seeing how he always had an answer for everything, a solution to every problem. BB smiled as he remembered one summer when the girls had gotten themselves in a jam. Jaci had arrived at a mind boggling brilliant solution and when he asked how she thought of doing that she had grinned proudly and said, "I just thought What would BB do?...and then I did that."
The salon being torched was gonna test the limits of Jaci's patience and her fixin' skills. BB worried that with all the shit she'd had dealt with since being back in Charming, the fire might be the straw that broke the camel's back. He looked back over the dark yard and let his hands hang between his legs. He wondered, when the inevitable happened, what Jaci's descent into hell, would look like. Hell, his little snap all those years ago had damn near cost him his marriage. He snorted a laughed when he remembered that Jaci, of all people, had been the one to save it.
Back in the early nineties, the Bama charter had fallen on stressful times. There was heat from a few other Southern MCs and the Sons had even gotten into some trouble with the Klan; a few of the 'Bama crew had went to jail. BB was up to his eyeballs with worry and to make matters worse, his construction company had hit a low point. He had started drinking too much, staying at the clubhouse too often and too late and had committed a big no-no...he had taken up with a 'Bama Lamb, Alabama's version of a CrowEater. Now all old ladies knew that stuff happened on the road and there was a certain level of shit that club wives were expected to over look and Roxy begrudgingly held to those 'rules'. What she didn't hold to was BB carrying on with that bullshit in their own backyard. BB hadn't just been fuckin' around...he had been seein' that sweetbutt. In his mind, that girl was a reality break, he headed to her place and didn't have to think about all the shit going on in his life, he just went to her, got drunk, got high and forgot about it all. That was until Roxy found about it. Hueytown was a small place and no matter how hard the guys in the MC tried to cover for him and just waited for him to come back around to his old self, Roxy had gotten wind of the real reason for his detachment from her.
They had had a vicious screaming match that had culminated with Roxy leaving his ass. They had been split up for several months when it was time for Jaci and Vix to make their annual summer visit, Wendy always opted to stay at home. As soon as school would let out in Charming, JJ would pack up the girls and ship them down to Alabama and not just for a week or two. The girls would spend the entire summer there but BB and Roxy didn't mind a bit, they looked forward to the visit all year, counted down the days. The girls enjoyed the hell out of themselves while down there, free from the drama of their everyday home life. That summer, BB had a decision to make. Technically, HE was their blood relation, if he had wanted to be an asshole he wouldn't have had to even let Roxy see the girls. But those girls had demanded to spend time with Aunt Rox and BB was not going to deny them.
Even though they were headed straight for divorce, they tried to make the summer happy for the girls. Jaci and Vix split their time at different places, staying a few days with BB and then heading to Roxy's place. BB had used the time to pull his head out of his ass; he had dropped the sweetbutt and the girls had ended up being his saving grace. He shamelessly used the girls as an excuse to be around Roxy, to try to work his way back to her. He had gotten Roxy to go with him to take the girls on a few fishing and camping trips, always adding, "but the girls want you to go."
The summer ended and the girls had went back to Charming and it hurt a million times worse for BB that year. The girls were gone along with his excuse for spending time with Roxy, but after a month of silence he worked up the nerve to ask her to dinner and she surprised the hell out of him by accepting. That night, while eating from a fried catfish buffet, Roxy told him the reason she had accepted his invitation. She recalled a chat with Jaci before the barely-teen had headed back to California. 'Aunt Rox...I don't know what all happened with Uncle BB and I know I'm only 13 but I've already learned a very important lesson in my life.' Roxy had looked at her niece with amusement, 'Oh yeah? What lesson's that, baby?' J had looked her in the eye and said, 'Boys are stupid. They're easily distracted and they don't THINK things through and they screw up ALOT. And honestly...they need female supervision. But BB's better than most boys, Rox...he's damn near perfect but everybody screws up sometimes. He usually fixes everything but I think this time HE needs you to fix him. Or he needs another chance to fix ya'll himself.'
Roxy had listened to her niece and together her and BB had worked things out. It hadn't been easy, in fact it had been horribly painful but in the end, they had put the past behind them and had never looked back. He had never thanked Jaci for helping him get Roxy back...maybe he would one day.
BB sighed and stood up, knowing he needed to grab a couple hours of sleep. When morning light broke, Roxy would have that phone in her hand and drama would be crackling over the phone lines. He looked up at the blanket of stars in the black Alabama sky and prayed for Jaci to be strong and for Vix to be smart.
"Oh shit...Vix." He muttered and smiled. If Jaci was like him, Vix was the antithesis…although she tried hard to pattern herself after Roxy… it was an up-hill struggle. That girl had a heapin' helpin' of Jesse James Parker runnin' through her veins… sharp tongued, quick witted and even quicker to fight. With the fire, Jaci would be looking for a solution, Vix would be looking for revenge.
Maybe if he got lucky, they would balance each other out and stay out of trouble. If not...his ass would probably be on a plane to Charming with his wife a half step behind him. He shook his head and pulled open the front door, he figured he best sleep on the couch.
XXX
Early that morning in Charming, Marti steered her Jaguar through the streets of the town with Kipp sitting uncomfortably in the passenger side.
"You really didn't have to drive me home, Mom." He said for the tenth time. "Jaci could have came and got me."
Marti waved him off. "I never get to see you. I'm riding this mothering thing out all the way. When we get to your place, maybe I'll even make you a few things, that way you don't have to try and cook."
"You'll have to go to the store first." Kipp replied and smiled despite himself. The only thing she'd be able to cook at his place right now was macaroni and cheese and maybe some nachos. To say his cupboards were bare was a huge understatement and the milk in his fridge, well he was pretty sure it was a solid.
"Well just point me in the right direction then and I'll come back and shop when I get you settled."
Kipp told her which turns to make and they rolled through the middle of town on Main Street. He was thankful to be back in Charming. One night in San Francisco had made him oddly appreciate the small town he called home these days. That relief was short lived as he turned his head to glance at Twisted Scissors. He was just about to point the place out to his mom, tell her how Jaci and Vix owned the place when he noticed its new appearance...that of a burnt out shell.
"Oh shit! STOP!" Kipp yelled. "Stop the car! Holy shit!"
Marti shot her son a panicked look mixed. There was no traffic around them, she wondered what the yelling was for, it wasn't like she had nearly hit anyone. She pulled to the side of the street the best she could. "What in the sam hill are you..."
"Oh no, oh shit." Kipp mumbled as he struggled to get his seat belt off and the door open. He winced as he pulled himself to a standing position with one leg outside of the car. His face was a huge frown of confusion as he tried to wrap his brain around the salon being such a bleak contrast to the last mental image he had of the place. "Fire... damn."
"Fire?" Marti leaned forward and followed her son's gaze. "Oooh...something got a little hot. What did that USED to be?""
The salon fire could have been a complete accident but for some reason Kipp had a very bad feeling about it. Something about it seemed violent. Hell, all fires probably seemed that way but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something really wrong. He put both his feet on the pavement and leaned back inside the car. "I'll walk the rest of the way."
"WHAT?" Marti exclaimed. "No sir you will NOT! Get back in this car..."
"You need to go...go home."
"I will...AFTER I get you settled, now get back in the car."
"MOM!" Kipp yelled in an effort to get her direct attention. "There's...there's some bad shit going on around here. You need to leave...now."
Marti looked at her son as if he was crazy. "And I'm supposed to just leave YOU here?"
"I can handle it." Kipp said as he shut the door and retrieved his bag from the past seat.
"I certainly hope so." Marti said with a sigh. She knew better than to try and argue with her boy. He was suddenly determined and she knew her window of mothering opportunity had come to a close again. She sighed. "I love you, sweetie."
Kipp rolled his eyes but leaned down by the passenger window that was now lowered. "I love you too, Ma."
XXX
At Little Graceland, Bobby awoke first. He had tossed and turned most of the night, but when he did sleep, he had managed to have dreams that could only be described as inappropriate given the events of last night. He had dreamed he was standing in front of Twisted Scissors as it burnt and happy as a lark roasting THE biggest marshmallow he'd ever seen. To make matters worse he had then started looking around for a huge slab of chocolate and some graham crackers ...to make a s'more.
He rolled his eyes at his own stupid subconscious as he knocked softly on the door of the guest room. The only response he got was a loud snore from Juice and then a whining real close to the door. He cracked the door and saw that Spawn was awake so he let the little fellow out of the room and took him outside. After they had both relieved themselves in his backyard, Spawn by the tree in the corner of the lot, Bobby off the back porch, they headed to the kitchen.
Just as Bobby began beating the hell out of several eggs, he heard a song began to play in the living room…
One hot mama;
You turn me on, let's turn it up,
An' turn this room into a sauna.
One hot mama,
The verse repeated loudly three times before he located Vix's cell phone laying on the coffee table under the blanket she'd be wrapped up in last night. He picked up the phone and held it out in front of him so he could read the small print. The display read MAMA ROX, missed call (1). A few seconds later, Mr. T's voice advised him: Voice Mail Motherfucka ...
Bobby rolled his eyes and headed back into the kitchen only to hear the same song blare forth a few minutes later. By the the third call, Bobby decided it was probably best to at least speak to the woman. He grabbed up the phone at the last possible second, "Hello Roxy..."
XXX
As light streamed in through the open mini blinds, Juice held Vix's body tightly against his. Well, given their current sleeping arrangements, plastered together on the twin-sized bottom bunk bed, he didn't really need to hold her, she was more or less trapped and not going any place but he was thankful for the closeness and for the contact. He'd been a million miles from sleep most of the night, his brain was racing and he'd been wired and wound up, humbled and horny, restless and edgy. Last night he'd been grateful that Vix had spoken to him, reached out to him, let him hold her but as dawn first light came, he added worried to the laundry list of emotions. What if she didn't really want him back after she woke up? What if all of that had been a knee-jerk response to an overly horrifying and dramatic night? She'd sounded sincere enough but he held the tiniest doubt and it kept growing with each minute that ticked by. If she didn't want him he couldn't hold onto her, the harder he might try to pin her down the more it would tear HIM up when she left. He sighed, we'll find out soon enough. Either she'd want him or she wouldn't. He'd fucked up but what was done was done, period. He closed his eyes and tried to at least charge some of the receptors in his brain
XXX
Tig opened his eyes and moved his head slightly to the left to look at Jaci who lay sleeping soundly beside him. He lifted up his body and checked the time on the clock on her beside table... 7:30am. He'd be late for work but didn't think anyone would care given the circumstances. Surely Jaci would be taking the day off too. He rolled carefully out of bed and snagged his jeans that laid crumbled on the floor. He pulled them on and padded out of the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. First on his agenda were cigarettes and coffee.
He dug his cigarettes and lighter out of his cut where he had discarded them on the couch and lit up as he walked into the kitchen. Under normal circumstances, Jaci didn't allow smoking in the house but these were anything but normal times. That little admission made him think back to the prior night and his rash actions. He hadn't meant to fall into bed with her, all of that had been spur of the moment, knee jerk reaction shit. But in the light of day he couldn't say he regretted it. He didn't have any sort of plan though...figured he'd just see how things went with them over the next few days. If she told him to fuck off, he would. If she wanted him to hang around, maybe he'd do that. But, if he was honest with himself, keeping her at arm's length was getting tiresome.
He pulled the canister of coffee from the fridge and stared at the coffee maker on the kitchen counter. It was not the kind Jaci had owned months of ago. He mumbled to himself as he ran his hands over it, trying to figure out how to work it. "Looks like a goddamn space ship...supposed to be coffee, water, go. Why's this shit have to be so fuckin' complicated?"
After a few minutes, Tig slammed his fist on top of the machine in frustration but before he could do anymore damage he heard a noise at the front door. Someone was trying to get inside. He didn't have time to get back into the bedroom to grab Jaci's gun so he took a quick scan of the kitchen. He slid the biggest knife out of the butcher block and stepped to the kitchen doorway, preparing to bury the blade in any intruder that was dumb enough to breach the door.
Rachel pushed through the front door and then called out, "Hey guys? You home?" She stepped a few feet down the foyer hall before Tig made his presence known.
"Morning sunshine." Tig said as he poked his head into the hall. Rachel screamed in surprised,he smirked. She stared at the giant knife in his hand. He grinned at her and held it behind his back. "Just a precaution."
Rachel nodded and waited for her heart to regain its normal rhythm. "Uum...hi?Are Vix and Jaci ok? I saw the salon."
Tig nodded, "Yeah, they're fine. Some asshole blew it up." He thumbed back toward Jaci's bedroom, "She can give ya the rundown." Rachel nodded and started to head that way but he stopped her with a laugh. "Oh shit wait... she's naked in there." He remembered Rachel was gay and grinned. "On second thought, go ahead, I'll come too."
As she shot him a dirty look, he rolled his eyes and handed her the knife as he started back to the bedroom. He grabbed his shirt and cut on the way back. He walked in the bedroom and started getting fully dressed. Jaci sat up in the bed after hearing him move around. He nodded at her as he pulled on his boots. "Hey, get dressed. The dyke's back, wants to know about the fire and shit."
"Oh...ok." Jaci replied as she wiped sleep from her eyes.
Fully dressed, he stood at the door and looked back at her. "I'm takin' off. I'll call ya."
Jaci stared at him with confusion. "You will?"
He mulled it over for a moment. "Yeah, I think so. You ok with that?" Jaci nodded slowly in agreement and he was gone.
Rachel was sitting on the couch as Tig walked back into the living room, heading for the front door. She had quickly found that he loved to mess with her, make her uncomfortable so she tried to do the same to him. She waited until he had reached the foyer hall. "Hey! You got a pretty hot bod...for an old guy." She called out. Tig just laughed as he slammed the front door behind him.
XXX
Jax rode his bike onto the lot at TM and before he had time to fully dismount, Clay was beside him unloading a tirade. "Thought I told you to deal with 'Bama first thing."
"I called BB, told him what happened. Told him SAMCRO was handling shit." Jax replied as he pulled his helmet off. "Why?" He upnodded to Opie who had walked over to inquire about the Parker sisters but Clay was on a roll.
"Why? Cause I just got off the phone with him." Clay shot back with a sneer. "Apparently while YOU were worried about lettin' 'Bama get their beauty sleep, the shocked-beyond-all-reason-or-function Vix Parker managed to phone home. Left some crazy voice mail for her mama . 'Bama is officially fuming."
"Jesus Christ." Jax muttered. "Seriously Clay, what did you expect? Did you think BB was gonna say 'well damn, someone set fire to my girls' shit … almost toasted one of them, that's damn awful.'? OF COURSE 'BAMA IS LIVID. What Vix say when she called Roxy?"
They all looked over to Bobby arriving on the scene. They watched him get off his bike and lumber over to them. Clay finally replied. "She wants to go home."
"Well maybe goin' home would be good for her, be with her family." Opie offered.
Bobby eyed the intense looking group. "Her, who?Home, where?"
Opie clarified. "Vix, the fire last night has her ready to run back home to 'Bama."
"Yeah, I don't think so." Bobby shook his head and chuckled while thinking about Juice and Vix all cuddled up on the bunk bed. "Joanie and Chachi ride again."
Clay groaned and shook his head as he walked off. "Jesus Christ."
XXX
Vix forced her eyelids to open then quickly squeezed them shut again. She found herself in the tiny bottom bunk at Bobby's house. Juice laying smooshed up beside her in the cramped space with Spawn curled up on top of her legs cutting off her circulation. The throbbing in her head matched that pain in her arm, making it very evident that the events last night were very real and not just some bad dream that she could wake up from and forget. The sun shining in the windows, all perky and promising, was more than she could handle.
Juice felt her stir. "Morning." He said with a yawn.
"It's technically afternoon."
He cast a glance in her direction, she looked so pale, fragile and very nervous. She frowned at him. "You here with me Jean.. what does it mean? Where does it lead?"
In typical guy fashion, Juice tried to answer a question with a question, "Where do you want it to go? What do you want it to be?"
Vix groaned. "It's NOT ALL up to me, Jean. I have a lot of say-so but it's a choice that has to come from both of us."
A silence hung between them for a few extremely long minutes before he broke it, "I never wanted shit to go down the way it did and every time I tried to fix it I just ended up fucking it up more. I'm sorry, baby… for EVERYTHING. What I want is you back. where I want this to lead… to forever. But to get there, the only way to get past all the bullshit, I think we need to start over."
She shifted to laying on her side to afford herself a better look at him, "You wanna start over? How far back?"
The right side of his mouth curled into a grin and he up-nodded at her "Hey, I'm Juice… how ya doin'?"
Vix shook her head, "That's some do over!"
"What says you?"
"I say you're insane. We've been through a shit-ton of stuff in our months together Juice… and not all of it bad. You wanna forget all that? Like self-induced amnesia or somethin'?" He didn't reply and they both laid there just thinking about it, trying to figure out how it would work. She was the first to speak. She really wanted to leap at the chance to get back with him, latch onto this crazy suggestion of his and hold on tight, but some part of her was cautious. "We've had a good run Juice."
Juice felt his heart plummet. He sat up the best he could in the crazy bunk bed and failed miserably at trying to keep emotion out of his voice "Vix? You know I'm not just reacting, right… to the fire? To the bullshit that keeps happening with the club? I fucking love you! I have since you beat me at 5-card with that Queen of Hearts bluff."
Vix wasn't shocked that he recalled the details. It's who he was, the little things had huge importance to Juice. The little things add up to the big things, he'd explained to her once. She made a move to interject but he stopped her.
"I'm not finished... just please let me finish. You know I was leaving the club house last night? To come find you and talk to you and apologize for all my bullshit. Then Piney got the call from Mary about the fire… everything else sorta grey'd out in my brain… and all that was left was you. I knew I needed you. need you. I love you, I want you in my life not on the fuckin' fringes as somebody I used to know but front and center." He stopped for a second and ventured a look at her face and couldn't even begin to read the look she was giving him. He groaned and ran his hands over his head.. "Am I fuckin' this up too?"
"No.. you're not fuckin' up, baby." She looked at him and bit her lip.. "I gotta little confession to make. I, um.. I knew you were trying to set things to right… and I… maybe I. NO! not maybe, I DID, I refused to make it easy on you. You hurt me… A LOT. And on some level I was trying to make you suffer for that but all I really ended up doing was making myself miserable and everybody else crazy. But I did score a puppy outta the deal." She shrugged ."So, I'm sorry too... ok?"
He sighed with relief and nodded. "Apology accepted."
"Thank you." Vix nodded. "I do have something else to add… if you chose to start down this road with me again you'd better make damn sure it's what you want, no bullshit. Because you hurt me once, shame on you. You hurt me again… I will torture you til you scream so loud the Devil will cover his ears."
He nodded, the flicker of a hope spreading through him. "I promise I will try my damnedest never to hurt you but we both know it's bound to happen, right? Both gonna screw up and end up breakin' each other's hearts every once in a while. It's gonna happen, it's impossible not to when you are wrapped up with someone in a vested relationship. Shit happens. But I promise that I'd never SET OUT to purposely hurt you and I won't let anyone else either, not any more."
Vix bit back a HUGE smile that threatened to erupt on her lips. She exhaled deeply and said, "Vix Parker." She grinned at him. "Very... VERY glad to meet you."
His face lit up with a smile so bright you'd swear he ran on batteries. "Are you morally opposed to kissing on the first date?"
Vix cocked an eyebrow at him but laughed. "Not at all."
XXX
After receiving a million assurances from Vix via phone call that she was ok, Jaci worked a half day. She left the office around 2pm and headed straight for Teller Morrow where Vix was hanging out. They made small talk about the fire and how there was really nothing they could do until the fire marshal made his report and the salon, aka the scene, was released. As they drove home, Jaci felt worthless. She wanted to DO something, just sitting on her hands waiting on other people to handle shit wasn't going to work and she knew Vix felt the same way.
"You up for a field trip?" Jaci asked suddenly.
Vix looked over at her sister and shrugged. "Where we goin'?"
"I was thinking Darby's Refinishing." Jaci answered casually. "I mean...the guys didn't talk to him today right? I don't see how giving him a few days to get his lies straight is going to help us. I think we should just go see him."
"No shit?" Vix eyed her sister like she was crazy. Spontaneity was not Jaci's strong suit...deciding to visit their mortal enemy ALONE on the fly was very very UN-Jaci but it was right up Vix's alley. "Fuck yeah...let's go."
Jaci parked her car across the street from Darby's business. "Alright...let's keep the drama to a minimum, ok? No screaming, no violence. We're here to ask questions. He hates us but he helped you and that doesn't make any goddamn sense. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll give us some answers, if not we just gotta leave."
"You're sucking the fun out of this." Vix groaned but she understood the reasoning behind keeping things calm. The Sons would have their asses if they found out they were here taking on Darby alone. If they could get what they needed without anyone knowing, that was definitely the way to go.
The girls got out of the car and quickly crossed the street., Spawn trailed behind Vix on his leash. The huge shop doors were open and the sounds of electric saws and sanders filled the air along with the strong aroma of wood. A man they didn't recognize spotted them, walked over and asked if he could help them. They asked to see Darby. The man disappeared into the workshop.
Vix looked around the place and whispered. "I feel like I should be packin'."
Jaci shook her head. "If there was ANY need for THAT, we wouldn't be here. We're just here to talk." A moment later a very pissed off Ernest Darby emerged and headed straight for them.
He tried to hide his bewilderment as his eyes locked onto the Parker girls. He had fully expected a hostile visit from the Sons today on behalf of the bitches but not from the girls themselves. "Jesus Christ, what the hell are you two doing here?" He demanded as the glanced around uncomfortably.
Vix smiled ruefully and held her bandaged arm up. "No good deed goes unpunished."
"How'd I know my moment of humanitarianism would bite me in the ass?" He eyed Vix's every present puppy companion with disdain. "I meant that figuratively."
"Humanitarianism? Figuratively?" Vix let out a low whistle. "Been expanding the vocab, hmmm Ernest?"
He just shook his head and looked toward the street. "How long til backup rolls on in?" He noticed a split second glance between the girls and realized they were on their own, no one knew they were there. He started to smile but stopped himself, something wasn't right. "Come on... after what all has gone down recently I'd expect Clay to have fitted the two of you with tacking devices."
"Oh Darby, you know we have an independent streak runs a mile wide." Vix teased with humorless eyes.
Jaci was more serious, "Need to know the story behind the fire last night."
He snorted and shrugged. "Good luck...I don't know it." That was actually an honest answer although the girls would never believe him.
"Well then...why don't I tell you my theory and you can correct me? That way you're not a total snitch." Jaci offered. "I heard you recently lost a meth lab...to a fire?"
"That right?" He cocked an eyebrow at her and smirked, thinking she sounded like a lawyer and looked the part too in her slacks and heels and slim button down shirt, a stark contrast to Vix who looked like she was dressed for a day of cleaning out the garage.
She nodded and feigned concern. "Meth is a nasty thing, Ernest. You should stay clear of it, could get hurt."
"Well... unlike your big sister, I don't sample the merchandise."
"Oooh, touche." Jaci retorted.
"Fuck you." Vix spat, not liking the dig at Wendy.
Darby frowned at the pair and looked bored. "Whatever. Look...if you know I lost a lab, then you probably know WHY I lost it. Your precious little biker boys set it on fire."
"Is that right?" Jaci replied, mocking his answer from earlier. "Sooo... you struck back? Torching our place was the perfect hit...you hate us and SAMCRO, get to piss us both off with one strike of the match?" Jaci offered and stared him down.."Completely stupid plan considering the fact that you've been warned about messing with us and the Sons. You don't deal meth in Charming and you leave us the fuck alone, those are the deals. But I guess you decided to ignore all those warnings. What I don't get is the sudden change of heart last night."
"Yeah, why torch our shit and then SAVE me?" Vix questioned. "You chicken out or just didn't want the murder charge?"
"I didn't chicken out of shit. I didn't set the goddamn fire." Darby explained with annoyance then mused, "Fire probably wouldn't kill you two anyway. Hell if an A-Bomb detonated over Charming only thing left would be cockroaches...and the fuckin' Parker Sisters. You're some feisty bitches, I'll give ya that."
The girls lobbed a few more questions at him but he remained stoic. Vix finally got frustrated. "Oh fuck this. This asshole ain't gonna tell us shit, J." She grabbed up Spawn and started to stomp off back across the street, leaving Jaci and Darby alone.
Jaci stared at the head of the Nords, completely confused by him. She started to walk off but then turned around and frowned. She had a few more things to say to him. "Given the fact that you tried to have me killed in that hospital stairwell, I can't believe the words I'm about to utter to you, but.. thank you. I have no clue why you did it, what your motives were but thank you for keeping Vix out of that fire."
Darby snorted at her apology. He knew exactly who had torched their salon, had just found out about it a little late in the game, hadn't been asked to partake and had been pissed off about it. It seemed the LOAN crew did whatever the hell they wanted...his involvement with them it wasn't turning out to be the quitepartnership he had thought it would be. Between the antics of LOAN and SAMCRO, he had been thinking his life was an endless stream of bullshit he didn't need. He wasn't really sure why he had saved Vix Parker... was it because she deserved to live or because LOAN didn't deserve to be ones to take her out?
He rolled his tongue against his cheek and felt an odd bit of respect for the woman standing in front of him. It took some serious balls for her to be here facing him down considering their past. He felt it was only fair to give Jaci a bit of honesty. "I'm gonna shoot you straight on a few things. First of all, that little stunt in the stairwell...I didn't green light that shit. Don't get me wrong, I would have HURT you, probably wouldn't have tried to KILL you though. I needed you scared not dead. Secondly, I don't know why I saved your pain in the ass sister. I didn't set that fire but I know who did and I don't think it was about you or your sister directly. Let's just say... connections to SAMCRO come with a price... but I think you know that by now."
Jaci nodded as he spoke. It was absolutely crazy but she fully believed he was telling her the truth on all subjects. "Ok, fair enough." The pair stared uneasily at each other for a moment. Jaci raised her eyebrows. "So now what?"
"Now you get the fuck off my property and leave me alone." Darby retorted but without much malice. Jaci smirked at him and turned to leave. He let her take a few steps before calling after her. "Hey I've been thinking..." He waited for her to turn and look at him. "Maybe my nephew was an asshole."
'Yeah...he was." Jaci replied. Darby nodded at her in agreement and she nodded back then walked across the street. She frowned as she reached her car. Goddamn...that felt an awful lot like a truce. Hell, if he wasn't such a racist, meth dealing piece of shit I might actually like the guy.
XXX
The next week slowly past by. Vix spent her days going to school, her current mode of transportation was Gramma Ruby's Gran Torino. When she wasn't at school, she hung out at Teller Morrow and at Juice's apartment. They were taking things very slowly but it was good to be in each other's company again. Jaci spent the week working during the day and worrying her ass off at night about the current state of her and Vix's life. Tig had kept his word and called her, matter of fact they talked on the phone nearly every night but he hadn't ventured back over to see her. Oddly she was ok with that, thinking that baby steps were order after their little fling the night of the fire.
XXX
David Hale sat in his office, going over the fire marshal's official report on the salon fire. Funny thing was, the report wasn't scheduled to be released until tomorrow. He was frowning when his brother Jacob knocked on the door and poke his head inside. He gave a swarmy grin, "Heard you got the report on the Parker fire."
"I just receive an anonymous copy. How suspect that you show up right after it lands on my desk." David retorted and stared at his older brother. "What do you want, Jake? I know what you've been spouting but do you really believe those girls would burn down their own salon?"
"Yes I do. Jaci and Vix Parker are at least third generation criminals ... and I stress the AT LEAST." He glanced at a document frame hanging on the wall and re-centered it with his fingertips. "Probably have direct bloodlines back to the robbing of the goddamn pharaohs."
"Well MY BELIEFS and YOUR PROBABLIES... wont criminal charges make." David said with a sigh. "I need hard evidence I can work with, not assumptions." Jacob slapped down a few documents and his little brother frowned. "What are these?"
Jacob smiled. "Credit card purchases made by one Victoria Parker for THE VERY THREE INGREDEINTS in those Molatov Cocktails."
David reached out and grabbed the papers, looking them over. "Circumstantial at best... public defender would point out the likely hood Vix drinks - hence the bottle, probably does laundry... that covers the detergent... and we both know she owns a ... "
Jacob held up his hand. "Gossip in this town said Parker and Ortiz were through. The only thing holding her in Charming was that salon. What better way to cut and run than burn the ties that bind, right?"
"Brilliant thinking." David deadpanned.
"To figure out the criminal, you must think like the criminal. Didn't they teach you that in cop school?"
David regarded his brother with an amused look. "And buying the items with your own credit card, leaving a trail...? "
"Vix is not the smartest of the Parker Sisters Three." Jacob smiled.
"Your evidence is a stretch at best. You mind telling me how you got Vix's credit card purchases?"
"I have my ways, dear brother."
"Well...your stance is a waste of time. Jaci will just hire a lawyer; fight your claim denial if you go that route. All this isn't going to do anything but paint a target on your back for SAMCRO. These guys are pissed off this happened..Jax was in here this morning asking about leads."
XXX
Across town Juice walked into the club house where some of the guys were sitting around after working at the garage all day. Bobby and Piney were still at their 'jobs' at Cara Cara. Juice slapped the file folder he was carrying against his hand to get everyone's attention. "SANWA fire marshal's official ruling on Twisted is coming out tomorrow but I got a sneak peak. It's been ruled arson."
"No shit, Sherlock." Chibs quipped. Everyone KNEW it was arson.
Juice looked down at the report. "Laundry detergent mixed with an accelerate in whiskey bottles. Apparently used rolled up salon towels as wicks... "
"Poor Man's Napalm...nice." Tig mused as he popped the top off of a beer bottle.
Juice nodded as his phone rang. "Shit, hang on." He sighed and answered, "Hey babe. Whoa...calm down... what? No he has no fuckin' right to threaten you... Vix... baby.. NO! Do NOT do that! Yes! It would be VERY MUCH NOT be in your best interest just to shoot him."
The guys stared at Juice with rapt attention. Clay threw his hands up to ask what was going on. Juice put his hand over the phone for a second. "Jacob Hale's at Parker Place, running his mouth."
Clay groaned. "Son of a bitch."
Juice turned his attention back to his call. "Hey...put your sister on the phone... please. She's what? Oh...well then put HER on the phone." He rubbed his right palm over his mohawk furiously. "Rach? Rachel? Hey... keep her there until I get there. DO NOT LET HER LEAVE. What? Yeah.. you just keep her there. I'll disarm her when I get there."
"Disarm her?" Opie asked with frown while Tig looked on with amusement etched on his face.
"Big brother Hale is stalling on the insurance claims until a full investigation can be made." Juice explained. "Threatening the girls with arson charges and insurance fraud."
Clay rolled his eyes. "Go deal with Vix ... we don't need anyone murdering a Hale, no matter how convenient it would be for all of us."
"You want help?" Hap asked as he eyed Juice. "How much fire power Vix got?"
Juice nodded and ran his hands over his head. "They have enough guns to arm a small country."
"Sounds like Gemma's closet." Clay chuckled.
Tig held up a finger as he chugged his freshly opened beer as fast as he could and then slapped Juice on the shoulder. "Let's go."
The guys had to deal with a complete cluster fuck of irritate women. After getting the entire story of Jacob Hale's tirade, Juice pulled Vix into her room to try and get her calmed down. Tig and Jaci headed for the back porch where he offered to crank up the fir pit. She shot him a look that clearly stated the last thing on Earth she wanted to see was a goddamn FLAME. Rachel and Happy were left alone in the living room, to glance at each other awkwardly and muse over the entire fucked up situation.
XXX
The next morning seemed like deja vu as the men of SAMCRO sat once again discussing the Parkers. The question was raised about going to see Darby, to find out his odd connection to the fire but the general consensus was talking to the Nord leader would be a complete waste of time. The fucker was going to lie to save his own ass anyway so why bother. They would be better served pressuring someone on the right side of the law...the Law itself.
"You already talked to Deputy Dog once and didn't get anywhere." Tig pointed out.
Jax shrugged. "That was before we had the official arson report and his brother went off running his mouth."
"And if Hale won't help out?"
Juice narrowed his eyes, "Then we torch his brother's business...see how he likes it."
"Easy there cowboy!" Clay warned playfully. "You can't just go blowing up Main Street."
"But they did!" Juice blurted in response. He was so mad he could hardly see straight. Time was flying by and nothing was really being done to help FIX the siuation. "Vix was trying hard to stand on her own with that salon. We all know she was targeted because of her association with me, with this Club. I wanna make this shit right."
"And we WILL." Clay soothed and then pointed to Jax. "Go see Hale...AGAIN."
XXX
Jax was lucky enough to catch Hale walking back into the station from his lunch break. He flagged the Deputy down and walked over to him near the edge of the parking lot. "We need to talk...about the salon fire."
"We already did."
"Oh you don't wanna talk anymore? Your brother sure is goddamn chatty about it. Threatening the Parkers with prison and an insurance claim denial."
Hale sighed. Internally he chided his hot headed brother for messing with the girls. "Why do I care?"
"You should CARE because this is half YOUR fault." Jax spat. "We both know who's responsible for this fire. Darby lost a METH LAB...they blew up a legit business on MAIN STREET! That's why you should care. Your brother is in bed with Zobelle, we both know that and he just happens to be Vix's insurance agent." Jax cocked his head as his anger built. "Do you know how long an insurance company will drag their feet on a claim when arson is involved...if they even pay at all? Zobelle was trying to hurt SAMCRO with this, piss us off. Well, point taken."
"It will take a while for the investigation..." Hale tried to explain.
"Bullshit! I'm TELLING you what happened." Jax blasted back. "Look, SAMCRO has nothing to do with that salon, it's 100% independent. They hit that because Vix is with Juice. She shouldn't have to pay the price for this bullshit and you know it. Next thing we know they'll be blowing up the bakery cause we ate breakfast there."
Hale clenched his jaw and looked around. Zobelle had been in town only a few weeks and was quickly causing the chaos he wanted. Hale shook his head. The fire investigation was open and shut, he knew the Parkers had not set their own business on fire. "What do you want from me? Want me to try and arrest Zobelle and Darby for arson? That will never stick."
"I don't care about arrests and lately you don't either." Jax smirked. "I want Vix made whole...she needs the insurance money to rebuild and she needs it NOW."
Hale sighed. "I'll talk to Jacob." Jax nodded but didn't say thank you. He gave Hale one last hard look and headed for his bike.
XXX
"Would you quit the goddamn pacin'?" Tig growled.
Juice stopped attempting to wear a path in the concrete in front of the picnic tables at TM. "Sorry. I'm just...Jax better pull off a miracle here, bro. Something needs to HAPPEN."
Tig studied Juice and could see the worry and anger all over the kid's face. He wasn't exactly happy with the way things were going as it concerned the Parkers either. Jaci was a goddamn bundle of nerves, he hated even talking to her right now because every phone call was just him listening to her list off things to worry about. He rubbed his chin with his thumb. "I tell ya what...we let Jax try this shit his way. If it doesn't work in say a day or two, we'll MAKE it work."
"Make it work?" Juice questioned.
"Yeah...you, me...maybe Hap...we'll twist some arms."
Juice nodded along, very much in agreement.
"But understand something, Retard. We go balls to the wall on this, I can't have you snatchin' out on me. If you're in, you're IN. Understand?"
Again Juice nodded with a look of utter seriousness and anger on his face.
"Stay here." Tig ordered and disappeared into the clubhouse. He found Clay alone at the bar and walked over to him. "Hey...in couple days...if Jax's little pep talk doesn't work, Juice and me want to rattle Jacob's cage a little. You ok with that?"
Clay eyed his SAA. "Define rattle." Tig gave a noncommittal shrug. Clay leveled a finger at him. "RATTLE, Tig...do not BREAK, PUNCTURE or BUST his cage. Do not put his cage in the hospital. You hear me?"
"Subtle..yeah, I get it. We can do that."
"Don't make me regret this!" Clay shouted as Tig strolled back out of the clubhouse.
XXX
The next afternoon, from inside Impeccable Smokes, Weston and Zobelle watched as a solitary Harley rolled down Main Street and came to a stop in front of the burnt out shell that was Twisted Scissors. They stared as the Spic Son and the feisty Parker bitch climbed off the bike and stood staring at the remains.
"I can barely stand to even look at it, Juice. I feel like a part of me was torn away and I don't know how to get it back, ya know? I can't work without rebuilding, I can't rebuild without money, but I can't get money without being open it's like a huge giant catch 22." Vix shook her head in frustration. "Who ever did this fucked me up the ass without lube. Bent me over the goddamn table and fucked me."
Before Juice could reply with an encouraging word, someone cleared their throat behind them. The newly reunited pair turned around to find Ethan Zobelle and AJ Weston staring at them.
"Afternoon." Zobelle said with a fake grim look on his face. "We've been concern about you, Miss Parker. Do you have any idea what happened to cause the fire? Was it electrical?"
"Yeah sure...if by electrical you mean someone tossed some flaming Molotov cocktails into my salon." Vix answered without missing a beat. She pushed her aviator sunglasses up onto the bandana that covered her blonde hair.
Zobelle made a tsking noise. "Arson? My... that is unfortunate. Was anyone else hurt?" He gestured toward her arm, able to see her wound where her long sleeve flannel shirt was bunched a bit around her bandage.
"Everyone is fine." Juice replied through clenched teeth. His muscles flexed under his blue Affliction t-shirt making the black crows depicted across his chest move slightly. He kept his hand on the small of Vix's back. It was a show of comfort and support but was also there to keep them both in check. If she went to lunge for the fake well wishers he could grab hold of her. Being in physical contact with her also reminded him not to do anything stupid to put her in harms way.
"Are you going to rebuild?" Weston asked without emotion. "A lot of people would take a tragedy like this as a sign...maybe to move on."
Vix had to literally bite her tongue to keep from asking if Weston was going to burn it down again. She glared at the LOAN members and shrugged. "You know the ironic part? Jaci and I had been shying away from the Sons as of late. Hell Juice and I were BROKEN UP. But then THIS happened and well, the guys have been so damn helpful and concerned, we're all back to being wrapped with them again." She let out a humorless laugh and gave them a big smile. "So if someone was trying to force some fractures, I'd say that was a failure."
"EPIC failure." Juice added with a huge grin.
"That's just...lovely." Zobelle retorted without an ounce of sincerity. He waved his hand toward the salon and took a step backwards. "Well, we'll leave you two alone. Looks like you have a great deal of mess to clean up."
Weston glared at Vix. "I'd be extra careful, Vix... wouldn't want to see anything worse happen to you."
Juice gripped a fistful of Vix's shirt to keep himself from lunging at the skinhead. He glanced at Vix and saw her stare at the fake well wishers with such deadly intent glistening in her eyes he half expected sparks to start shooting out of them.
"We'll be seeing you, Miss Parker." Weston added as he turned and followed his boss back to their business.
"I think I want to legally change my name... hearing that fucker call me by it.. freaks me out. "
XXX
Clay and Tig rolled up at Twisted Scissors a few minutes behind Jax, Bobby, and Chibs. The SAMCRO members had missed the semi showdown with LOAN by two hours. Tig surveyed the damage while he hooked his helmet to one of his handlebars. Today was the first day the girls were allowed back inside the salon. He let out a whistle and mused. "This mess is going to flip Jaci's OCD shit into overdrive."
"You and her seem awful chummy." Clay mentioned as he stepped toward the sidewalk in front of the salon. He knew Tig had been calling and checking in with Jaci all week. "It's cute I guess, she comes running to you after your wreck, you go running to her after the fire. You're not careful, you're gonna start shit up with her again."
Tig scratched his head and winced a bit. "Think I kinda already did."
"You slept with her didn't you?"Clay asked with a look of utter disappointment.
Tig shrugged but smiled."She almost got blown up, she was upset. What was I supposed to do?'
"Hold her hand...let her cry on your shoulder." Clay suggested. "A pity fuck was not necessary."
"Well I wouldn't call it THAT."
Clay shot him a sharp look. "We got enough goddamn drama going on right now and here you go adding to it again."
Tig didn't like the AGAIN part of his President's sentence and immediately growled back an assurance, "It's not a problem."
"Better not be." Clay retorted and stepped over the front threshold of the salon.
XXX
The guys strode into the salon and let out an array of goddamns, shits, and whistles as they took in the damage. Juice greeted his brothers while holding a broom. He and Vix had been working non-stop on clean up along with Jaci who had just taken another half off of work. He held his hands up, "Welcome to the ash pit."
Before the guys could say anything, Jaci and Vix came walking back inside from the back parking lot. Vix had been showing her sister her new wheels and it had not gone well. "Big Daddy only wants $5K for the Jeep, that's a hell of a deal."
"Five thousand?" Jaci exclaimed as she stalked back into the salon. "How the hell am I supposed to come up with that? You shove a money tree up my ass when I wasn't looking?" Chibs snorted a laugh before he could stop himself.
"YOU don't have to get the money, I'll make payments. He's not in a big hurry for the money." Vix followed behind her sister.
"Vix...you have NO INCOME. And I've already done the math on how many payments we can make till we max out my credit cards and a Jeep payment didn't make the list. Give it back."
"I don't have to start making any payments now...he told me to just start them when I could swing it."
Jaci turned and stared at her sister in disbelief. "Whoa...he's just letting you borrow it or you bought it? Since WHEN do we take handouts?"
"Its NOT a handout...they were just trying to help." Vix explained. Jaci threw her hands up in frustration and walked toward the front of the salon. She brushed past Tig and Clay with hardly even a glance.
Jax and Bobby exchanged a concerned look. Juice hung his head and whispered to his VP, "They've been pickin' at each other all day." He figured he had better inform the crew of the little visit by LOAN's finest. After his recap, the guys shook their heads at the audacity of the thinly veiled threats.
"They're good at the bullshit threats." Vix chimed in as she leaned against Juice. She told the guys about Zobelle reminding her about leash law in town and how they would just hate to see Spawn hurt. Jaci knew nothing of the confrontation and asked when it had happened. Vix told everyone it was the day before the fire and not to worry she had put them in their place. Her suggestion of getting Weston a dog collar and rabies shot earned a laugh from the guys but a stern look from her sister.
Jaci stared down at a little Buddha statue she had given Vix for the salon's good luck, which now was a charred blacken broken hunk of jade. She sighed, "Jesus, Vix…you just had to egg em on didn't you?" Vix gave her a weird look but Jaci kept going. "You knew those assholes are in bed with the Nords, who already have it in for us, and you just couldn't keep your mouth shut?"
The guys exchanged another concerned look over the hostility between the girls but stayed silent. Vix shook her head in confusion. "So this is MY fault? Surely my one liner didn't turn the tide on whether or not to torch my place."
"OUR place, Vix. OUR place. My name is on the dotted damn line too!" Jaci snapped. "And you don't KNOW what pushed them to this, maybe Weston doesn't like being humiliated in front of his boss, ever think of that?" Vix started to say something but Jaci cut her off. "NO you didn't THINK…cause you never do!" Jaci snapped her fingers, "You just REACT. Would it kill you, JUST ONCE, to keep your mouth shut? To just let something go? You and that goddamn chip on your shoulder's gonna be the death of me, I swear to God."
Bobby grimaced, "That's a little harsh, J."
"Truth hurts, Bobby." J spat back.
Clay snorted a laugh. It was rather amusing to see the girls bickering like a bunch of teenagers. Tig was less amused, he didn't like the tone of Jaci's voice, she was getting mean. He'd never seen her be that way with Vix before. Chibs stood next to Juice, nudged him and gave him an apologetic look. Juice shrugged his shoulders and asked for some help carrying out a stack of water logged ceiling tiles, Jax and Chibs quickly obliged.
XXX
Jaci tried to check her rising anger. She slammed the Buddha statue down on the barely standing front desk and turned her attention down to the salon's cash register that was now burnt to a crisp. Tig watched as his ex stared at the desk. He could tell her brain was running number after number in her head, the cost of this, the cost of that, the cost to have things ripped out, to have smoke damage fixed, etc. She frowned and suddenly looked up, "Hey...where's the key for this damn thing?"
"Ummmm, key?" Vix turned a 360 and scanned the salon. She threw up her hands. "Who can find shit in this mess? I knew where it was BEFORE all this wreckage."
"How could you not know where the key to the fuckin cash register is?" Jaci seethed through gritted teeth. She looked around and grabbed a small crowbar they had been using for demo that morning and started to pry open the drawer. Tig took a step like he was going to help her but stopped in his tracks at the look she shot him. Everyone stared at her as she slammed the crowbar into the drawer repeatedly and loudly. She yanked one more time, popped the drawer open, and pulled out the cash. She quickly counted it. "One hundred fifty seven dollars, Vix. THAT'S how much money YOU have. Time to face reality, baby girl...we are FUCKED."
"J, you're not fucked. It's gonna be ok." Bobby tried to soothe. Jaci shot him a near deadly look.
"Hey, don't look at him like that. He's just trying to help." Vix warned.
"Speaking of trying to help...what have YOU done this week?" Jaci asked.
Vix frowned. "I've had class."
"Class...wow that takes up like what, HALF your day? What have you been doing the rest of the time? Talking to the police about the fire? Talking to the bank trying to get some leeway on the monthly mortgage payment? Talking to a lawyer about how to argue against an insurance claim denial? Done any of that? Have you?"
"No." Vix said quietly. She loved her sister dearly but damnit she was being more than a tad bit bitchy today.
"No is right...YOU'VE been hanging out at the garage with Juice like you're on goddamn vacation while I've been worrying about this shit 24/7."
"Hey, I've been worried sick about all this! But I don't see what I can go until we get the insurance money." Vix frowned and tried to defend herself.
Jaci ran her hands over her face. "That's the fuckin' problem. The way its looking right now...there isn't going to BE any insurance money. We're going to be making payments for fifteen years on a burnt out shell we can't use!"
"Whoa...what are you talkin' about...no insurance money? You girls didn't torch your own shit, end of story. Jacob Hale has to pay up no matter if he hates your associations or not." Clay interjected and told them that Jax had talked to Hale and he was going to have a chat with his brother. It should all work out.
"We'll be bankrupt before that fucker ever gives us any money." Jaci said with a shake of her head. "I'll have to put a second mortgage on the house and Vix here will have to go back to cutting hair for another owner ASAP. You hear me, little sister? You better pull yourself out of Juice's ass and go get a JOB!" She dropped the cash from the drawer on the desk and retrieved the burnt Buddha statue, carrying it with her as she walked toward Vix.
Vix finally hit her limit of shit she was going to take from her sister. She didn't appreciate the digs at Juice at all."Hey! Just because you help pay some of my bills...you don't get to run my life.'
"You ungrateful little shit." Jaci muttered and stepped to her sister. "Pay some bills? My ass is on the line for you and this salon. And I've done a helluva lot more than PAY BILLS for you in my lifetime, Vix." The last sentence hit hard, the verbal equilivant of throwing sharp daggers at her sister and they landed too. The look on Vix's face made that perfectly clear.
"Oh well, excuuuuuse me." Vix replied. "I'll be sure to nominate you for sainthood when you die!"
"Fuck you...you would be completely LOST without me. You wouldn't know how to do shit on your own because I'm always covering your back." Jaci spat and immediately regretted saying it. She was letting Vix get to her, as usual turning Jaci into a version of herself, a little too mean, a little too mouthy."
"Get OVER yourself, J! You're not perfect...you're just as crazy and messed up as the rest of us. You just hide it better."
"Crazy huh?" Jaci questioned as she squeezed the Buddha figurine in her right hand. Suddenly she jerked her arm up and whizzed the statue at Vix's head, missing her by two inches.
"WHOA!" Chibs exclaimed in surprise as he led the guys back inside from dropping the tiles in the dumpster out back. They had walked back into the middle of a tense situation and Chibs had nearly taken the statue to the face as it whizzed through the air.
"That crazy enough for you?" Jaci asked with her hands held up. Tig took a step to break things up before it went too far but Clay grabbed his arm and shook his head slightly. This was family shit, the girls were under a lot of stress, sometimes you just had to let it out. Clay had half a mind to drag the girls to TM and throw em in the boxing ring.
Vix narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Why don't you try and knock that chip off my shoulder then if you're so badass today? Huh? Maybe I'll knock you off that fuckin' pedestal you seem to live on." Jaci flipped her the middle finger and that was the last straw. Vix rushed her older sister in a half tackle, grabbing her around the waist shoving her into a wall.
"Get the fuck off me!" Jaci growled.
Several of the guys yelled for them to stop but Clay waved them off, figuring the fury would burn out quickly.
Jaci immediately dropped an elbow onto the middle of Vix's back and then like grabbed a hold of the back of her sister's shirt. A second later she slammed a knee up into Vix's chest and tried to toss her to the ground. Vix stumbled but kept herself from falling completely and shot back to her feet. She slammed a fist into Jaci's side and grabbed her again. The girls were too close for any good punches to land, for the most part the squabble was a painful grappling session with each girl trying to get the other off of her. They pushed each other along the black sooty walls, getting filthy in the process. Jaci finally managed to get an arm free from her sister's grasp and quickly punched Vix in the side of the neck.
The members of SAMCRO had been frozen in place, some by sheer awe of the fight that was going on, others by the knowledge that trying to break up a chick fight was one of the most dangerous feats in the world. So far, no one was getting hurt so perhaps it was ok to let the girls vent their frustrations. But as soon as Vix took the neck punch, stayed ducked down and backed up a few feet with a look of sheer rage on her face the guys knew the real punches were about to fly. Jaci sneered at her sister, completely ready for anything her little sister wanted to bring.
"Ok, ok! That's ENOUGH!" Jax suddenly yelled and stepped in between the girls. Juice grabbed Vix's right fist that was cocked and ready to fire and pulled her tight against him. Bobby stood in front of her as a block.
Jaci took a step forward only to have Chibs grab her by the front of her shoulders and walk her backward. "Knock it off, J." He stared hard into her eyes and whispered. "The fuck ya doin'?" She shoved Chib's hands off of her and moved an inch to her right so she could see Vix.
Clay finally removed his hand from Tig's arm and the SAA walked over to help Chibs with Jaci. He growled "Calm down."
The sisters stood breathing hard and glaring at each other for a long moment as everyone tried to contain the situation. Jaci shook her head and suddenly stalked toward the back door.
To be continued...
Chapter 12 is in pretty good shape so hopefully the wait will be short!