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'Back here in the same town, Same bar'
Nicolette's eldest brother used to joke that California chewed them up and spit them out. He was wrong. Charming wasn't kind enough to spit them out. Instead that anything but charming town continued to gnaw on them until their bones cracked and their skin bled without warning. He would claim it made them tough. After all Nikki did learn to punch at the age of five. Kept a pocket knife in her shoe up until the age of...well up until now. The knifes still there tucked in her sock hiding under the illusion that a pantsuit and high heels can somehow make her less of a MC affiliate and more of a valued member of society. Truthfully she was still that little girl who barely brushed her hair, spit out curse words like a trucker and had more bruises than her teachers knew how to address. So why was she back? Why was she staring at her childhood home when she knew that nothing had changed on the inside. The carpet was still going to be bloodstained. The fridge was still only going to be filled with beer. The living room would still smell like her father's cigars that haven't been smoked in six years. He died in that chair. Cigar in hand. There's a fucking burn mark on the arm from it. So why was she fucking here? Did Nicolette really want to reminisce about how when he got angry that cigar burned her arm not the chair. How her brothers were in and out of jail for trying to protect her. She had cried when he died. Wouldn't be able to tell you if it was tears of relief or grief that left her eyes. Wouldn't be able to tell you how many days it took for someone to scrape her off the bathroom floor. All she knew for sure was that when she finally scraped herself off that floor Nicolette Manning ran out of that town as fast as she could knowing a goodbye would have only made it harder.
Nicolette slowly kicked the door open. A single light flickered from the kitchen making her skin crawl. She knew who was waiting just a few feet away, and still her mind wandered to what if it was her father waiting for her in the other room. Gun in one hand and whisky bottle in the other. It wouldn't be a shocking sight. Juan looked up from his phone when he heard the sound of heels on the hardwood. His eyes were rimmed in red giving away the fact that he hadn't been sleeping properly for weeks. He had aged. No longer the young boy Nikki had been standing beside when he was a prospect. It was a strange sight. An unfamiliar sight, and yet she couldn't stop herself from staring.
"How much more are you willing to lose for these people?" This was a question Juan had asked himself multiple times. A month ago he would have said everything. He would have jumped in front of gun fire to save one of his brothers, but now he wasn't sure. The club was going to shit. Power was corrupting everything he once stood for. His hands were stained red, and despite him knowing this day would come it had still taken him by surprise. "Juan you called me here. So you better start talking."
"I need to get out of Charming for a little while," he breathed, making sure to watch Nicolette's every move. Just because they used to know each other didn't mean he still knew her. The life she had been living these last few years was something he knew nothing about. Of course if Juan had wanted to he could have, but cutting ties was supposed to protect her. Everything he had been doing since the age of seventeen was supposed to be protecting her, and yet calling her here was the exact opposite. "I didn't think your number would still be the same..."
"But you tried it anyway, because why? Because you knew I would come running to save you," Nicolette finally sat down. Her knuckles were white from squeezing so hard, but it was the only thing keeping her from pulling the gun out of her purse. This whole thing felt like a setup. The Juan she once knew wouldn't do that, but this man across from her was a stranger. "You're going to get us both killed."
"You are the only person I trust Nikki."
~
Nicolette didn't know who she should go to first when she drove into San Pedro. Juan had slept most of the drive giving Nikki some time to breath. She knew she should have left him there. He got himself into this he could get himself out...and if he couldn't. Well he had to deal with the consequences, but she couldn't say no to him. Not when he looked so broken. She had a few options for where to take him. The first one was to take him home. Look her husband right in the eye, and explain that sometimes when the past comes knocking you have to open the door. The other option was to walk him over enemy lines. The Mayans could deal with him. Either they would take him in or throw him to the wolves. Neither option was great, but Nicolette wasn't about to hide him. That would just make things worse.
Miguel was standing on the porch when Nikki pulled into the compound. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen his wife so frazzled. It had taken him by surprise when she first told him she was going back to charming for a few days, but he trusted her. She was a smart woman, and if something were to happen he would get her out of it. He always did. What he wasn't expecting was the man to crawl out of her backseat.
"He needs a place to stay for a few days," Nicolette kissed her husband's cheek nodding to the man beside her. "I'll explain everything I promise, but first can we just get him to bed." Miguel nodded and motioned for Juan to follow him. Juan had tried to imagine Nikki's life once or twice through the years, but he never imagined this. Mansions were not something Nicolette had ever talked about wanting. She had always talked about wanting a simple life. Small brick house, no white picket fence necessary. Just a working furnace, and a fridge full of food. Two things she never had. This. This was something he could never have given her. Maybe growing up changed her. Or maybe him pushing her away did that. He was in no position to ask even though right now he wanted to.
"I'll call Marcus in the morning," Nicolette sat at the edge of the bed. "I couldn't bring myself to do it today...but I don't know what he got himself into, and I won't have him destroying my life again."
~ Cast Alicia Vikander as Nicolette Manning Danny Pino as Miguel Galindo Theo Rossi as Juan 'Juice' Ortiz Mayans cast as themselves SOA cast as themselves ~ I do not own either of these shows or the characters. This is purely a work of fiction. I hope you enjoy xoxo
