Mea Culpa

Chapter 5

Roxy sat in holding, alone, replaying the long past evening that landed her in her current predicament.

She was drunk, and high, as usual. Roxy and Esai had gone out with a few of their friends joyriding and engaging in general mischief. That, mostly harmless, mischief escalated quickly when Esai felt disrespected by another man for a reason Roxy could not remember. It was so insignificant but it set him off. She could see the altercation so clearly in her mind but at the time it felt as if it all happened so fast. Back then Roxy felt like she even didn't know what she was even agreeing to before it was too late. Suddenly, shockingly, Roxy realized that the man was savagely beaten bloody and Esai was robbing him of anything of value.  It didn't take them long to be picked up by the locals. They were too young and too stupid to get away with such a crime, especially with no plan.

A few hours after the police had arrested and processed Roxy, Chibs, Bishop and Alvarez arrived in the holding area. She hung her head, trying to wipe her tears without anyone noticing, before looking at them.

"I know," she groaned. She didn't even need them to say how furious they were.

"What is this shit?" Bishop asked, feeling less sympathy for her than the other two men.

"I forgot," she said with annoyance.

"Forgot two felonies?" Chibs asked with a huff.

She nodded. "It was right before Esai left, I just found out I was pregnant, and, I just, I ignored it until I really did just forget. Isn't there like, a limit or some shit, on warrants?"

"No," Alvarez said darkly. "You're looking at years in federal prison, Roxy."

There was no way she could keep her already faltering stone expression any longer. Roxy was never the tough Teller she tried to be, she was not hard like Jax or Gemma when it came to the big things, the nastier things, in their lives.

"I was stupid," she cried. "I was young. I didn't even know what was going on."

"You shoulda told 'em that five years ago," Chibs snapped.

"We have no connections here," Bishop reminded her. "I can't call Pena or pay anyone off."

"Who helped you last time?" Alvarez asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Esai called Miguel, I think," she huffed. "I don't know if his dad did something or how but we got bail."

"Bail on two felonies?" Bishop said. He looked at Alvarez and they both nodded. "Had to be Senior."

"Diana has Mateo," she whimpered. "He's going to freak out."

"He'll be fine," Marcus said sagely.

"I...I'm not getting bail, am I?" She asked, her chin trembling as she saw their faces fall even further. "I can't stay here."

"Love, you don't have a choice," Chibs said sadly.

"Can't you call Miguel?" She looked at Alvarez. "Can you see if he'll pull some strings? Please?"

"This isn't the border," Bishop said, "He's got money but I don't know who he knows out here."

"Faces change over five years. Whoever he had on his payroll then could be gone but I'll reach out," Alvarez told her.

Roxy nodded. "Thank you. Where's Coco?"

"He went back to the party," Bishop told her. "He's probably finished drowning his sorrows by now. Passed out with dicks drawn on his face or something."

Pressing her thumbs into her temples she sighed. "Okay."

"We'll do what we can," Alvarez said, "But you need to understand how bad this is."