Mount Zonah
Noah could see it clear as day on Carly's face after Johnny reluctantly walked away to check on Amelia and a silent Jackie… she felt like she didn't belong here, waiting for news on her mother.
And Noah also knew a battered and mistreated soul when he saw one, he knew because the eyes of a person never lie… and much like Johnny never would, Noah wasn't gonna walk away from Carly.
Standing up, Noah walked over to Carly and rested his hands on her arms, Carly looking up at him.
"She's family… but she hasn't acted much like it to you, has she?" Noah asks.
"Throughout the last few years of my life, she's… she's detached herself really. She hasn't really been the most affectionate of mothers before that though and that's… that's putting it mildly. When I was three and she kicked my dad out for a time, I… I resented her for it, I flat out told her that I wanted him to come back home and she took a belt and beat me with it to the point where some discs in my spine were cracked." Carly says, Noah cringing as he tried to fight the mental image of a tiny child being beaten so badly with a belt.
Across the E.R waiting room, Tracey narrowed her eyes in anger at her younger sister and the former underboss and Michael lightly nudged her, Tracey turning to him.
"Back off." Michael says in a low tone.
"But she's-" Tracey starts to protest.
"Frightened by what she witnessed and not processing it properly!" Michael growled, Tracey looking at him.
"As if you have any right to talk when your newest fuckbuddy threw Mom through the glass doors!" Tracey screamed at the top of her lungs, making everyone nearby jump out of their skin before turning her rage to Carly. "And you, acting like you care and staying here as a phony show of support when you've always been the one that Mom didn't even want around! But hey, at least the guy comforting you is closer to your age, you'll probably end up in his bed instead of that biker's!" She yells after storming over, Noah standing in front of Carly as Johnny and Ashley left the treatment room Amelia and Jackie were in.
"You are what I like to call bitter, bitchy and above all else and what you've proven with every little tantrum you've thrown over the years, a blame shifter! Yeah, things are far from perfect but I don't want her dead or in the damn hospital to begin with, Tracey!" Carly says angrily, Tracey trying to slap her but her right wrist was grabbed by Noah.
"Stay out of this!" Tracey yelled at Noah.
"You need to calm your ass down and not lash out at your sister!" Noah growled menacingly, Ashley going and pulling Tracey away from them as Johnny rested a hand on Carly's back.
"Ash, he has no right being here! He's known her for what, less than a week?! That's nothing compared to someone who's known her all her life!" Tracey screamed, Ashley trying to keep her calm.
"And you need to stop screaming like this! I don't like Amanda either but she's your mother and she was nearly killed!" Ashley growls.
Ignoring her crutches, Carly walked away after she and Johnny hugged as she was starting to feel alienated from the family… it was when she felt a hand on her shoulder that she turned and saw Noah.
"Welcome to the insanity that is my life… not that it's anything compared to what you've gone through in yours, Noah." Carly says, Noah noticing that she was trying to hide her hurt feelings behind sarcasm and slight bitterness… and he didn't like that and pulled her into his arms, the two hugging.
Slowing the truck, Trevor turned from keeping an eye on a drunk Jimmy to seeing Carly and Noah.
"Uncle T… you alright?" Jimmy asks before seeing them. "You don't trust him around her, do you?" He asks.
"It's a long story, Jim… go check on your mother." Trevor says, Jimmy climbing out of the truck and heading into the E.R… but he sat down for a few minutes to try to sober up, Ashley walking over to him.
"How bad is it, Ash?" Jimmy asks.
"She's okay for the most part… her vocal cords are bruised." Ashley says.
"Is it wrong to say that it'll be good to not hear her and Dad yelling at each other for a while? This might bring them closer to each other again." Jimmy whispers.
"It might." Ashley says, sitting down.
"I wasn't gonna say this but I saw Carly and some guy hugging outside, Trevor saw it too and turned a little angry… who is this guy and what's the deal with him? Are he and Carly getting closer than they should?" Jimmy says, startling Ashley.
"Don't listen to anything Trevor says, okay? He's just… he hates that Carly's not who she was when she was younger." Ashley says.
"Doesn't mean he doesn't care about her, right?" Jimmy asks as Carly and Noah headed back into the hospital and found Johnny, Carly and Johnny hugging.
At the same time, Jackie looked up when Amelia handed her an AP Pistol.
"Come on, we're getting out of here and tracking that lunatic down!" Amelia says quietly when Jackie tried to ask her what the hell she was doing.
Jackie glanced out of the room after putting the gun in the waistband of her jeans and saw the looks on the four faces nearby, Noah, Michael, Carly and Johnny… and it was after Johnny went to talk to Ashley as Jimmy was comforting Tracey and Michael and Carly hugged that Jackie saw Carly lightly entwine her right hand with Noah's left hand that rested on her right shoulder.
'Yeah… before things get crazier and I know they will.' Jackie thought, her and Amelia sneaking out the back.
Jackie was listening to her instinct… and she knew it was telling her that Trevor was once again ready to rain hell on San Andreas.