Chapter 7

*three weeks later*

I sat on the couch with Jacob watching Saturday morning cartoons, which I have to say was nothing like it used to be. I miss the old stuff.

"Hey." I heard from the door and looked up.

"What's up Jesse?" I asked, smiling.

"He's asleep. You could change the channel, it's what I do."

I laughed quietly when I looked to the other end of the couch to see Jacob asleep and turned off the TV,"I wasn't watching it anyway."

"What were you doing then?"

"Thinking mostly."

"About what happened?"

I nodded, "Yeah. When did you become so perceptive?"

Jesse shrugged, "I guess getting shot will do that. And I've been watching you since you came home. Been kind of worried about you." He said lightly.

"Sorry Jesse."

"It wasn't you fault. You know that right? You are the victim yes but it wasn't your fault that you were raped. Yeah, you shouldn't have walked home alone, you should have taken the ride but you didn't do anything. You worked in a bar, okay. Yeah the clothes you wore weren't the most conservative, so what? You can blame yourself all day, but in the end, it's all going to be the same. It wasn't your fault. No one was mad at you. We were worried."

"You sound like Shelly in the women's group at the hospital. And I'm kinda getting that now, it's still there and it will be for a while, but thank you Jesse." I said sitting back on the couch.

"Vince has been off since that day you know. He wouldn't hurt you, ever."

"I know. It's just, he snuck up on me and he grabbed my arm. Three days after I was raped you know. I think I had to right to freak."

"I'm not saying you didn't. I know you guys talked but, he's been off, like he afraid to touch you."

"Okay, I get I'll talk to him again." I said, giving a small smile.

"Good. That's all I ask." Jesse said, sitting back in his chair.

*later that day*

Vince and I walked through the store picking up dinner. I watched as Vince tossed a bag of chips into the cart.

"Hey V?" I asked lightly, slowly pushing the cart behind him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. About a couple weeks ago. Things were still off for me. But I've been seeing my therapist and going to the women's group and I'm not completely past the rape but you can touch me. Because there will be times that I am going to need it and I'm going to need you V. You're my best friend, well one of them and at some point I will be completely okay, but I wanted you to know that we're okay right now." I said, not standing next to him, needing him to know that we were okay.

Vince turned and looked at me closely, "Good because I don't know how much longer I could go with not going to lunch with you, since everyone gripes about how much I eat but you."

I laughed then hugged him, stiffening slightly when he hugged me back but quickly relaxed and let out a deep breath, "Okay, we need to finish shopping for dinner then get back. Before Letty kills Hayley."

"That'd I'd pay to see."

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"I see you and Vince are talking again." Leon said as we cleaned up inside while the others hung out in the back yard.

"Yeah. It felt nice to be able to get Vince back to normal. I just wish I could go back to normal."

"What's normal?" Leon asked, drying a plate that I had just washed.

"Um, I think normal is, um, well. Normal is having a nine to five job, house with a white picket fence, 2.5 kids." I said, shrugging, "Not too sure how to get a half a kid though."

"If that's normal, then I'll stay dysfunctional."

"Well, we have a nine to fine, kind of. We have the 2.5 kids, Vince, Jesse and Jacob, Jacob being the half I guess. We don't have a picket fence but we have a house, so we're as normal as everyone else is, we just have a bigger, funner, dysfunctional family than most. Since most of us have been to jail."

"Good point. We get along better than most families too." Leon said, putting a couple plates in the cabinet.

"True. Lord knows I could get along with my parents better but, maybe if my mom wasn't such a bitch and my dad wasn't so stuck up, I probably would." I said simply.

"Yeah, they always did hate the fact that they hung out with us."

"On no, that's not what they hated. They hated that I dated you. They met Mia first remember? Then you came along and 'corrupted' their perfect little girl. Little did they know that I was doing worse stuff before you came into the picture."

"Oh yeah. I remember when your parents would have those parties they made you go to because you were supposed to be this perfect family. They made you wear those pastel cardigan sweaters to cover your tattoos. We were dating at that time already and you raced into the house, stripping off your clothes as you ran up to Mia's room to change." Leon said laughing.

I laughed, "I remember that night. It was two weeks after my 18th. Man, did I enjoy pissing them off. Was my favorite thing to do growing up. I was the wild child."

"Of course but I can't blame you."

"Blame her for what?" Mia asked as she and Hayley walked into the house.

"Being the wild child." I said laughing a bit, as I shut off the water while Mia got drinks.

"Oh, talking about your parents?" Mia asked as I grabbed a couple bottles of beer from her.

"Who else? We were actually talking about the night that I came here to change from that ugly pink sweater and sundress they made me wear to that party that had." I said as we all headed out the back.

"Oh yeah. The guys got an eye full since you weren't wearing a bra." Mia said laughing.

"At least all they saw was my back and nothing else, you and Letty got it worse remember."

Letty shook her head when she figured out what we were talking about, "That's only because you called us a head of time to tell us to get clothes ready for you and that you were on your way." She said as I sat in her chair while she moved to Dom's lap.

"Well what can I say? I don't like pink. Me and pink tend to fight. Of course it used to when but now I can beat its ass, I got practice in." I said laughing as I handed Vince and Jesse a beer.

Told ya!!! Chapter 7 is here along with rewrite of 6…. I know its not the best but I'm tired, forgive me?