JUST SAW FAST FIVE and let me just say this…holy. cow. O.O It was auh-mazing. Just amazing. I loved every minute of it from the first time we see VINCE (who looks just as fine as always) until the scene at the end of the credits. Unbelievable. There was only one part that killed me and when you see it, you'll know exactly which one made me tear up (and get made fun of for the rest of the night for sniffling during a "man movie". :p). :\
I canNOT wait until the sixth one. O.M.G. :D
Anyways this super extra long chapter (7 pages!) was inspired by the awesome new movie! (Did I mention I loved it? Because I did. ;])
Thanks to: D274, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto (You can try to kick Lauren's ass, but you'll have to wait til Mickey's done), xsparklesthemagicalunicorn, sweetist of sin, Blank, and Rue Dawn (You and Mickey both ;))
Anyways…THREE days until the official FAST FIVE release! :D (and yes, I'm going to pay to see it again. Hehe)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mickey, Alex, and Lauren
Diamond in the Rough
Chapter 42: Going Back
By: LoveInk
Vince recognized the shouting voice as soon as he heard it. He and Leon exchanged a quick glance; clearly the other man had recognized it as well. "Michaela," they both said together before they started sprinting towards Jesse's hospital room. Nurses were gathering at the door, but Vince and Leon pushed their way through them. What Leon saw when he finally got through froze him in shock. Michaela was straddling Lauren, punching her face as best as she could with her casted hand while the other girl tried to fight her off, scratching at Michaela's arms and face.
They both sprung into action. Vince grabbed Michaela around the torso and pulled her away while Leon helped Lauren to her feet. "Cut it out!" he exclaimed, letting Lauren go as soon as she was standing. "What the hell is wrong with you guys?"
Michaela was still clawing at her brother's arms, trying to get back at Lauren. "That bitch…" she growled, her eyes dark with anger.
"Oh you're the bitch, Michaela! You came at me, you dumb whore!" Lauren shot back, acid dripping off her words.
"That's enough!" Leon bellowed, glaring at both of them in turn. "You two have been at each other's throats all week and I'm fucking sick of it," he seethed.
Michaela stopped struggling against her brother. She hadn't realized just how much it bothered Leon when she and Lauren fought. Now, she could see it in his face. It hurt him to see them go at each other like that. A feeling of remorse came over her, not because she hit Lauren but because she got caught doing it. "Lee…"
"Both of you need to grow the hell up and stop fighting over stupid ass shit," Leon shouted, his green eyes furious. "You," he said pointing to Lauren, "You've never wanted me. I know it, you know it. If Michaela wasn't here you'd be trying to get into Vince's pants, not mine. All you want is the chase and there's no way in hell you're going to catch me, Lo, so just forget about it. If you're here for me, go home because I don't want you."
Lauren's mouth fell open. Leon had never yelled at her. Not once in the twelve years she'd known him. "Wha…"
"And you," he said turning towards Michaela. "I love you and only you. When are you going to see that? When are you going to trust me?"
Michaela felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. It hurt to know that he was disappointed in her. She hadn't even considered how her fighting with Lauren would make him feel. "Leon, I'm…"
"Fuck it," he murmured under his breath. He shook his head, disappointed at the both of them. "I'm done with this. Lauren, find another way home because I sure as hell am not going to drive you."
With that, he turned on his heel and left, muttering curse words to himself. He could not believe it. That kind of behavior was unacceptable from two women of their age. It was like they were little two year olds fighting over a toy. Except he was the toy, and he didn't like it.
He stormed through the house, almost knocking Alex over as he headed to his room. He grabbed onto her arms before she toppled over. "You're such a klutz," he mumbled before pushing past her and to his room.
Alex stared after him in disbelief. There was no playfulness or joke in his tone; he'd meant what he'd said. He had never insulted her like that. Turning, she chased after him. "Hey asshole!" she shouted at him, opening his door hell bent on yelling at him for being such a dick. She found him sitting on the bed, his head in his hands looking absolutely miserable. Her resolve softened a bit. "Oh, Lee. What happened?"
Leon lifted his head to look at her and sighed. "Michaela beat the crap out of Lauren."
"Awesome," she said on a laugh. He glared up at her and she stopped laughing. "Sorry."
He ran a hand over his face before shaking his head. "You should see them, Shorty. They're both covered in scratches and bruises and shit. Mickey fucked up her wrist again, Lo's nose looked broken."
Alex had a feeling he needed someone to talk to, so she took a seat next to him on the bed. "And you're in a foul mood because?" she pressed.
"Because it's fucking wrong! I told Lo from the get-go to back the fuck off because I'm not interested and I told Michaela not to worry because I don't give two shits about Lo, yet you put them together and they go at it. I'm sick of it."
"Most guys would love to have two girls fighting over them, Lee," she pointed out, still trying to see where he was coming from.
Leon shook his head exaggeratedly. "Not me, Shorty," he said softly. "I'm over all that shit. It makes me feel dirty. Like I've done something…wrong to lead Lauren on or to make Michaela not trust me. It's like neither of them listen to me. I'm not a cryptic guy. I told each clearly what I wanted and it went over both of their heads."
Alex sighed, gently rubbing a hand up and down his back in an effort to calm him down. "They're jealous, Lee. You're a good lookin' guy; it's hard not to want you."
He gave her a look that clearly said her compliment was not appreciated. "Yeah, well, I'm tired of it."
"Want me to disfigure your face? They'll fight over you less then."
The corner of Leon's mouth lifted in a slight smirk. Alex always had a way of making him laugh when he was angry. "I'm good, Short Stuff," he said, kissing her temple. "Don't tell me you're going to get in on the action too."
"Oh please, you're hot, but not as hot as my man," she said, smiling when she saw Vince walk past the open door.
He stopped when he heard the comment and grinned at her. His eyes fell on Leon looking a little peeved. "You left me with the two of them. Do you know how hard it is to play referee in a car?"
Leon sighed again. "I'm sorry, bro. I couldn't take it anymore."
"Are they both all right?" Alex questioned.
Vince nodded. "Hospital took care of the serious stuff. Michaela needed a new cast 'cause she cracked the last one on Lauren's thick ass skull and Lauren needed to get her nose set. Mia's taking care of the minor stuff now."
Alex eyes widened. "Michaela broke Lauren's nose?"
Vince nodded, a proud smile on his face. Leon scoffed in response, more anger bubbling up inside of him. "Ridiculous," he spat out, shaking his head furiously. "This shit has got to stop before someone gets seriously hurt."
"I'm sorry," Michaela's voice came from behind Vince. He stepped out of the way so she could get into the room.
"You should be," Leon mumbled in response.
Vince cleared his throat, glaring at Leon for his harsh response. Alex rolled her eyes as she stood up. She kissed Leon's head before ruffling his hair. "C'mon, big guy, let's go," she said, grabbing Vince's arm as she walked out of the room.
"Scale of one to ten," Michaela started, standing in front of Leon. "How mad are you?"
He let out a long breath. "Nine."
"Lee, you don't know what she said."
"Michaela, I don't care what she said," he replied easily. "There's no reason to attack her like that."
"She hit me back, Lee!"
"That doesn't make it right!"
Michaela sighed and ran her good hand through her hair. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
She tried to think of answer and shrugged. "For making you mad."
Leon shook his head at her; that was not a good answer. "You don't think what you did was wrong?"
She shrugged a shoulder and shook her head. "No. She deserved it, Lee. She said she wanted Jesse to die so she could move here and steal you."
He clenched his jaw furiously. So they hadn't been fighting over him. Michaela had attacked because of what Lauren had said about Jesse. His anger at Michaela dissipated slightly while his anger at Lauren grew. "So it wasn't about me?"
"Not entirely," Michaela answer honestly. "She wants Jesse to die, Lee and she can do it too! She's the only blood family he has!"
Leon was up and charging down the hall at once. "Lauren!" he shouted, furious.
Alex's eyes widened as he stormed past. "Lee…"
"Where is she?" he shouted at her.
"Hey!" Vince voice boomed, louder than Leon's to remind Leon of his place. "She's in the bathroom with Mia."
He stalked past them and into the bathroom where Lauren was whining to Mia about how much the alcohol hurt when Mia cleaned her cuts. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Leon yelled at her as he entered the bathroom.
"What?" Lauren whined back, her bottom lips stuck out in a pout.
"You want Jess to die so you can move here? You think that'll fix things, huh? You think I'll come running to you because you decided to kill of your own brother?" he yelled.
Lauren's mouth fell open as she stared up at him with wide eyes. "Leo…"
"How could you be so fucking selfish, Lauren? Jess is all you got left!"
"No, you're all I have left," she shouted back at him getting in his face. "The last time Jess and I talked he told me he never wanted to see me again! That he hated who I turned out to be and hated how I treated you! He said he wished Michaela was his fucking sister instead of me, all right? So yeah, I'm not his biggest fan right now, but I always have you!"
Leon shook his head slowly at her. "You're un-fucking-believable," he said, his voice dangerously calm. "Why did you even come here if you didn't care?"
"Because I thought you needed me, Leo."
He breathed in a deep breath, trying to keep his calm. "I don't. I don't need anybody."
"There you go being so fucking strong. The badass, huh? Bottle everything up for another day," she shouted at him, tears in her eyes. "What are you going to do if he dies, huh? Leave again? Go running for the next state like when Ess died and leave a trail of destruction behind?"
She swallowed hard as she remembered those days after he left. They had left her alone with no one. Her best friend died, her brother was gone, and the love of her life was gone. She gasped softly as all the pain came flooding back to her. "Did you even think before you left Arizona? You ran away from us all. Me, your Dad, Adri, the kids, all of us. Like you didn't even care."
"Shut up, Lauren! You don't know what you're talking about!"
Lauren glanced behind him towards Michaela who looked confused. It was obvious she had no idea what they were talking about. "I do! You think I'm selfish? Look at yourself! You ran away without thinking twice about the family you left behind! I bet she doesn't even know, does she? Do you know he has another sister, two nieces and a nephew? Bet you didn't know that, did you? These kids ask about their Padrino on a daily basis and he won't even fucking call them for their own damn birthdays!" (Godfather.)
"Enough, Lauren!" he roared. "Get the hell out of here before I kick your ass out!"
She smirked at him. She'd seen the flicker of hurt that had washed over Michaela's face at being kept out of the loop; she knew she was leaving trouble behind and relished in the thought. Leon had ruined her life when he left Arizona, now she was going to ruin his. "Oh, I'm gone," she said, pushing him out of her face before walking past him. She made sure to bump her shoulder against Michaela's on her way out, smirking when it almost knocked her over.
Michaela watched as Leon's shoulders sunk. He leant forward and grasped the edge of the sink with both hands. He was literally shaking with rage. She approached him hesitantly, settling a hand on his back so as not to startle him. "Lee?" she asked, her eyebrows drawn together in concern.
"Just…leave me alone," he murmured, his voice hoarse from all the yelling. He turned and stalked out the front door, slamming it behind him. Seconds later, the Skyline engine started with a roar. Michaela just made it to the door in time to see him drive off.
"Shit," she said, feeling slightly panicked. What if he was running? Just like Lauren had said? She felt a lump rise in her throat, she couldn't handle that. She needed him more than anyone right now.
"Give him time," Alex's calm voice suggested. "He just needs some space."
Leon stood ankle deep in the ocean, watching the waves roll in. A bottle of Jack hung loosely from his fingers, half full. For the first time in years, he let his head drift back to the past. To memories, he'd tried to banish from his mind. When he'd left, he made sure to leave everything in his rearview mirror and had not looked back. Lauren had been telling the truth when she said he had an older sister. Adrienne. Ten years older with three kids. A set of twins, his god-children, Leah and Hope, and a baby boy, Mattias. The twins had been ten when he left and Mati had been just a baby. He hadn't talked to Adri since. Not one call. Though she sent him countless letters and e-mails, they were never opened, just tucked away into a box under his bed. He knew Jesse kept in touch with all of them; he was Mati's godfather after all. But Leon couldn't. It hurt way too much to think about the life he left behind.
His father was still alive too, as far as he knew. Jesse hadn't told him any differently. His parents had divorced when he was thirteen and he married someone else a year after. His stepmother, Shelley, was nice enough. She took care of him and Essie when they were teenagers but also knew when to keep her distance. He had a stepbrother and sister who were both way older. He wasn't close with any of them. Taking a swig from the bottle, he headed back towards the shore and sat down in the sand.
And then there was Lauren. He hated her. Hated and loved her at the same time. When it came to Lauren, everything was complicated. He used to say he loved her that she was his first love, but now that he'd known real love, he knew that was a lie. What he felt for Lauren was…lust. He'd loved the chase and she loved to be chased and vice versa. Sure, they'd done it a few times, but he never felt anything when it happened.
Not like he did with Michaela. When he was with Mickey, the world stopped. There was no one else. She made all the hurt go away, helped him to forget, reminded him that he was a good person, that he deserved happiness too. It was easy with her. She didn't know about his past, didn't ask. There was no pity in her eyes when she looked at him. She accepted him for what he was, broken. He loved her for that.
Did he want to marry her, though? He knew the question was coming. After they'd lost the baby, he thought about it a lot. Marrying her meant he was stuck. As much as he loved her, he didn't like the idea of being stuck in one place. He was a runner. When things got tough, he ran. If he married her, he couldn't do that. Not without having her big brother running right after him. And she wanted kids too. Why? They seemed pointless to him. Why have kids when you were bound to disappoint them in the long run? Just like his parents had disappointed him. And even that he could get over. But if they had a kid and something happened to them…everything would fall apart.
At least, that's what happened with Esperanza. She'd been a powerful force in all of their lives. When she died, it had changed them all.
He felt a hand gently tangle into the hair at the back of his head, blunt nails dragging across his scalp. Lifting his head, he took one long look at Michaela before turning his eyes back to the sea. "I don't want to talk about it," he murmured.
Michaela sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I have family I never told you about either," she started, studying him as she talked. "I've got Uncles and Aunts, cousins, and stuff in New York. My parents are buried there, and every year Vince wants to go back to visit them and I just…can't. It feels wrong to go because…I don't remember them."
Leon nodded, taking another swig of the whiskey bottle. With the alcohol coursing through his system, he found it a little easier to talk about things. "I'm starting to lose Essie too. Lo and Jess, they talk about her like she's still around, but she's not. She isn't coming back. Talking about her hurts."
"What about your other sister?"
"Oh, Adri?" he asked, his words a little slurred. The whiskey was hitting him harder than he thought it would. "Adri's there. She's got her own family now with Chuck and three kids: Leah, Hope, and Mati. I'm Leah and Hope's godfather. I haven't seen or talked to them since they were ten. That's when Ess got in her crash. Jess updates me every now and then but…I don't like to hear it."
"You don't think you should call them to tell them about Jess?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "Lo will."
"Is that the real reason you called her?"
He shrugged his shoulders again. "Maybe."
"Oh, Lee," Michaela said, looping her arms around his waist.
Leon chuckled softly. "Fucked up, huh? I put you all through hell with Lo because I can't suck it up and call my own family," he said, shaking his head. "I'm a broken mess."
"I love you, Lee," she said, kissing his shoulder.
"Why?"
"The day I met you, I knew you were broken. I could see it in your eyes," she admitted softly. "I knew you came up to the roof to think and to be alone and to tell you the truth, I almost left you there. But then you smiled at me and I was hooked. There was no way I was going to leave you up there to be broken alone. I was determined to try to fix you so that I could see you smile like that all the time."
He gave her a small smile before moving his arm around her shoulders. "Is that right?"
"Yeah," she said, leaning into his side. "I like to think I succeeded a little bit."
Leon's smile grew a little bigger. He caught her lips in a quick kiss. "I think so."
A bit dark, sorry. Did you like it? Is it crap? Should I re-write it? Does it even make sense? (It did to me, but I'm kind of tired and frazzled so what makes sense to me, may not make sense to you...hehe) Let me know in a review!
~Love Ink