There stood the tall strawberry blonde haired girl in a floral dress with a sympathetic smile on her lips. She knew exactly what Rissa was thinking, she'd known for a while and she came prepared.
"I... I can't.." Rissa spoke but her voice was like a whisper. Roxxie walked over to her best friend and gave her the biggest embrace. Before Rissa knew it her legs gave way and she fell to her knees bringing Roxxie down with her.
Roxxie wrapped her arms tightly around the woman as she completely broke down. She absolutely hated seeing Rissa like this, it broke her heart. But she was here and would support her best friend through anything.
"It's okay baby, it's okay.. I got this... I got you." Roxxie whispered, brushing back her friend's hair. "The car is ready whenever you are, okay? I'll take care of everything."
Despite hating to watch Rissa's heartbreak, Roxxie was so proud and glad that her friend was going to call off the wedding. She knew exactly what kind of man Elliot was, she'd known since she was a child.
Roxxie didn't know about the physical abuse, but she knew that they would have very heated arguments. Both of the girls kept secrets about Elliot from each other, none of them wanting to relive or be honest about what had happened to them.
"I need.. I need to get out of here." Rissa stuttered, standing up and smoothing down her dress. "I can't stay here.. I can't face him. I can't!" She could feel herself starting to panic again but Roxxie grabbed her face and stared her square in the eye.
"I got you. Okay?" Roxxie reassured her, nodding her head. "The car is out front. It's ready to go whenever you are." Rissa's brows furrowed in confusion. "How did-" Roxxie cut her off before she could finish her sentence.
"Ris, you're practically my sister, i know you better than you know yourself." Roxxie smiled at her friend before taking hold of her hand and leading her out of the big doors.
The two girls ran through the hallway of the church hand in hand. Adrenaline rushing through their veins and high heeled shoes tapping loudly on the wooden floor.
Rissa couldn't help but smile when seeing Roxxie's car parked directly outside the entrance to the church. She was finally going to be free! Free from Elliot, her mother, the abuse, everything! All thanks to Roxxie. She had no idea what she'd do without her.
"Where are we gonna go?" Rissa asked her friend who was taking control of the situation.
Roxxie quickly unlocked the car and the two of them hopped inside and put on their seatbelts. "I know a place. I'll explain on the way, but we gotta go now, okay?"
The ignition came to life with a roar and Roxxie looked over to Rissa and raised her brows, as if to say 'are you sure you want to do this?'
"Let's go." Rissa declared.
And so, the car sped away from the church, their family and their home in Redding.
--
5 hours of driving and only 3 toilet stops later, the girls were finally at their destination, a town called Charming in California.
Roxxie explained to Rissa about how before she came to live in Redding, she used to live in Charming with her uncle after her mother died. She kept out the part where her uncle was the President in an MC, she didn't want Rissa to freak out on their journey. Besides, she'd eventually find out when they got there.
Roxxie also told Rissa that they'd be safe with her family and that Elliot won't be able to find her. Even though Rissa didn't know much of what was happening, she trusted Roxxie.
Rissa watched as her bestfriend walked out of the main hall and down a corridor and let out a groan. She was now left alone in a bar like area, completely clueless as to where the hell she was.
Suddenly something in particular caught her eye. By the two large wooden doors, there was a wall covered in framed mugshots.
"Oh god, Criminals..." Rissa exclaimed, she couldn't believe the sitution she was in. Especially since Roxxie had brought her here! This morning she woke up thinking she was going to marry her fiance and now she was stood in a dirty and smelly place thats probably owned by criminals, alone.
A couple of minutes later, the doors her and Roxxie entered the building bursted open. "Oh hell no!" Rissa whispered to herself as saw three men in black leather jackets walk inside. She stood awkwardly in her wedding dress by the bar wishing the ground would swallow her up.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" The first man to enter said as he looked the girl up and down. His crazy, black, curly hair and matching tache was the first thing that the girl noticed.
"Boys, i think we're a little underdressed." The second male said in a thick scottish accent. He was a handsome man, old enough to be her father but very handsome. He had grey and black shoulder length hair and noticeable scars on his cheeks.
Rissa just stood in silence, taking small steps back. She looked from man to man, praying every second that her friend would return.
The last male didn't speak, he just ignored her presence and went to make himself a whiskey. He had blond locks and stubble on his face, it was safe to say he was gorgeous and definitely more in Rissa's age rage.
"So? Who are you and why you in a fucking wedding dress?" The blond man now spoke, his voice was gruff and scary... It was obvious he was not in a good mood.
Rissa gulped, feeling extremely intimidated. "Erm...I'm just waiting for my friend Roxxie, sir." She said awkwardly, biting down on her lip after she spoke.
All three men burst into laughter and she looked at them with a confused look on her face. What was so funny?
"Less of the sir, take a seat darlin." Blondie spoke again but this time he sounded a lot more nicer. He patted the bar stool next to him and Rissa enhaled sharply.
The girl looked down at the seat, eyeing it for a few seconds before wiping it with a rag off the bar. She finally took a seat and looked up at the males, who were all staring at her.
"Fuckin' hell, why did no one tell me the queen of england had arrived in charming?" The black haired male scoffed as he spoke. He had a smirk on his lips and his eyes were travelling up and down her body. It made Rissa extremely uncomfortable.
"Now now Tiggy, leave her alone. You know what kinda shit gets on them seats." The Scot said with a smirk, which made Rissa grimace as she thought about all the bodily fluids the chair probably had on it.
"So what's your name pretty lady?" The Scottish man asked as he sat down beside her. He studied her face and knew that she did not feel at home at all.
"Uh Clar....Rissa, Just Rissa." She replied with a small smile.
The Scot outstretched his hand for her to shake. "Well just Rissa, I'm Chibs. The rude fucker that keeps checking you out is Tig and the pretty one is Jax." As he finished speaking Jax slid two beers his way, he took one for himself and he handed one to the girl.
Rissa reluctantly took a sip, pulling a sour face as the liquid entered her mouth. It tasted bitter and awful. She would much prefer a bottle of her favourite champagnes, Krug 2003 Clos du Mesnil.
"Not good enough for ya, princess?" Tig laughed, Rissa just rolled her eyes. She didn't like him at all. He was rude and sleazy.
Jax cleared his throat. "So what are you and Roxxie doin' here?" Jax now spoke up, speaking like he knew exactly who the girl's bestfriend was.
"Well erm, I left my fiance at the alter and we ended up here... So I don't actually know." Rissa pushed back tears as she spoke, two of the men noticed this and decided not to keep pressing. They didn't want to make her talk, it was obvious she wasn't in the greatest of situations.
But obviously, the rude crazy haired man didn't notice, or care. "What did the unlucky fucker do to deserve that?"
Rissa was taken to a dark place with that comment, remembering all the bad things he did. And before she could stop herself, the tears began to spill from her eyes. 'Oh god, I'm sat in the middle of some strange men, in a wedding dress, crying, probably catching dieses. Fuck.' She thought.
"TIG!" Both Chibs and Jax shouted together, acting as a warning.
"What?" Tig threw his hands up and chuckled.
--
Meanwhile in the office, Roxxie had reunited with her Uncle Clay and was expressing the situation her and Rissa were in. She told him everything, even the dirty little details she'd kept secret all these years. She knew she could trust him to keep them safe from Elliot. But then, their conversation was interrupted.
After hearing shouting and the sound of crying, Roxxie came running into the main hall to see three men surrounding Rissa who was crying at the bar. Roxxie stomped over to the men and folded her arms, giving them all the death glare.
"What the fuck did you ass fucks do?" Roxxie snapped looking at the strangers. "Huh? Are you fuckin' mute?! I asked a question!" Her voice proceeded to get louder. She didn't know who any of them were but she didn't care. If they picked a fight with Rissa, they picked one with her too.
All the men were wide eyed and looking at each other awkwardly, none of them having any idea what was happening.
"Was it you? Did you make my best friend cry?" Roxxie exclaimed, pointing at the blond male who was nearest to Rissa. The man shook his head and cleared his throat, about to speak but Roxxie cut him off.
"Oh no asshole, you don't get to speak unless you're confessin'!!" Roxxie was now shouting. All of the emotions from the day had finally caught up with her and she wasn't taking it well. She'd always been protective over Rissa, especially when it came to men.
The man with the crazy black hair stepped forward. "I don't know who the fuck you are Red, but you need to lower your voice." The man told her, which only made her angrier.
"Excuse me? Don't fuckin' talk to me like that!" Roxxie also took a step forward, squaring up to the man who would easily knock her on her ass. "I will fuck-"
The feeling of a hand on her shoulder made Roxxie jump. Less than a second later, Roxxie turned around and punched whoever it was. She'd developed that reflex back in Redding when people would try to fight her.
A loud groan came from the tall grey haired man who was only trying to help, he staggered back but regained his balance as his nose started to gush with blood.
Roxxie's eyes widened when she realised who she'd just assaulted. "Oh shit, Uncle Clay i am so so sorry!" She stuttered, reaching out to help but he pushed her away.
"Uncle Clay?" The black haired man said, more bothered about what she'd called him rather than her possibly breaking his nose.
"You've done enough." Clay's voice was low and gruff. Roxxie knew that she'd obviously fucked up. Not only did she show up out of the blue with all this drama, she'd just punched him! "Go take your friend in the back, sort your shit out." He ordered.
Roxxie sighed, nodding in agreement. "C'mon Ris, let's go." Roxxie took hold of her friend's hand and lead the way out of the main hall, down a corridor and into a dorm room.
It was fair to say that neither of the girls weren't having a great day.
--
An hour or so later, it was now 8pm and both Rissa and Roxxie were both physically and emotionally drained. After being sent to their new room like they were teenagers again, the girls hadn't really spoken.
Rissa had just been lying in bed staring at the other side of the room. And Roxxie didn't want to force her to talk so she stayed quiet to. She wondered whether she should find Clay and apologise but she didn't want to make things worse so she stayed with Rissa.
Being quiet meant that Roxxie was caught up with her thoughts and that always stressed her out. Especially since she wasn't well, mentally. She had her mother to thank for that.
"I'm going out for a cig, i'll be back in a bit." Roxxie said, getting up from the bed. She could feel her thoughts getting louder and it was stressing her the fuck out.
Without waiting for a reply, Roxxie put on her denim jacket and exited the clubhouse quickly. She really needed some fresh air and a cigarette. As she made her way outside, Roxxie noticed a ladder on the side of the clubhouse that lead up to the roof and she smiled to herself.
The girl carefully climbed up the ladder, curious to see what the view of Charming looked like from up high. When reaching the top, Roxxie saw that somebody had already beaten her to it and her smile dropped. The blonde man she shouted at earlier was sat on a deck chair having a smoke by himself.
"What are you doing up here?" He asked, noticing the girl who was glaring at him.
Roxxie rolled her eyes and climbed over the ladder and onto the roof. "I could ask you the same thing." She grumbled, not impressed by his presence.
He chuckled and patted the empty seat next to him. Roxxie sighed and walked over, moving the chair away from him and taking a seat. She sparked up a cigarette and exhaled loudly. Nicotine is just what she needed.
The man watched Roxxie for a couple of minutes, realising that she did not remember him at all, even though they grew up together. He smirked and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Hey grumpy?" He called.
Roxxie looked over to him and gave him a dirty look. "You don't know who i am, do you?" He asked her. Roxxie shook her head. "Am i supposed to?" She answered.
"Well, i remember you." He stated. "And how you used annoy the fuck out of me. You'd always ask for piggybacks, throw things at me, and... Oh yeah and the time ya made me jump and i gave you a black eye?"
The girl was confused and didn't know what he was talking about. But then it hit her. She used to terrorize Jax, Clay's step-son, when she used to live here. So that would make him, Jax? Roxxie's eyes widened and she let out a booming laugh.
"Oh my god. Jax? What the.." Roxxie couldn't find the words to say. He looked so different! And he was now Vice President of Samcro! She didn't understand how he got away with that one.. He was such a mommy's boy.
Jax grinned. "That's me, darlin'. The one and only." He was glad they were now on good terms and not acting like strangers. "Man, i can't believe you didn't remember me.. Kinda hurts." He pulled a sad face which made Roxxie laugh.
"No, i remember you.. I just didn't recognise you. You look so different." Roxxie explained. She thought back to when she was younger and how Jax used to be small, spotty and moody. Puberty did well for him.
Roxxie puffed on her cigarette and sighed. "Man, i'm sorry about earlier.. I was not in the best headspaces."
Jax smiled and shook his head. "No need to apologise. You had a tough day. I remember you being pretty crazy but not... Y'know.. Kinda psycho." He teased her.
"Oh that was before i got my ass beat everyday. Now i'm the one that does the ass beatin'." Roxxie smirked, winking at him. "Blondie if you thought that was psycho... Let's hope you never get to witness what Psycho Roxxie can do. Shit'll give ya nightmares."
The pair of them laughed and caught each other up on their lives since they were now adults. Roxxie found out that she wasn't the only one who'd had a tough life. Maybe it was good for them to reuinte, maybe they'd be able to help each other?
--
It had been a long day for Rissa and she was now enjoying some alone time while Roxxie had gone for a smoke. She was sat on the bed in a dormroom that wasn't far from the main area of the clubhouse. Finally she could take a breather and maybe start processing the day.
Well that was until she heard a knock at the door. "Can't a girl get five minutes alone in this place?" She mumbled to herself before storming over to the door and opening it. "Yes?"
When the door was opened, the Scottish male from earlier was stood holding a bottle of wine and a pile of clothes.
"Sorry to bother you darl, but I thought you'd want to get out of that dress. Roxxie mentioned you had no stuff.. It's not much but it's all I could find that wouldn't be huge on you." The Scot told her with a friendly grin.
For the first time all day Rissa let a genuine smile take over her lips. What a gentlemen, she thought. "Thank you, I really appreciate it... Chibs?" She said his name as more of a question, not knowing if she got it right.
"Not a problem Lassie. Oh and I thought you could use the wine." Chibs sent a playful smirk her way as he handed her the things and went to leave the room.
Before he left he turned back towards the girl. "I don't know you, or what you've been through but this is a safe place. I know you are probably way out of your comfort zone but we ain't all that bad when you get to know us." He paused for a short second as he watched her face. "We may be a bit crazy but we're just a big, happy, dysfunctional family darlin'."
"I'm used to dysfunctional shit, I'm sure I'll be just fine." Rissa giggled.
Chibs was shocked at the swear word coming out of her mouth, from first impressions she didn't seem the type of girl who likes to cuss. It amused him.
"Goodnight sweet, hopefully tomorrow is a better day." And with that he walked away.
Once he was out of her eyesight, Rissa closed the door, jumped out of the dress as quick as she could and threw on one of the shirts the male had given her. It was a navy colour, with the writing 'Property of SAMCRO' in white writing across the front.
Rissa pounced back on the bed, opened the wine and began swigging out of the bottle. Lord knows she needed that wine. It was far much nicer than that beer she had ealier.
For some reason the handsome Scotsman was not leaving her brain, no man had ever gone out of their way to be nice to her. Especially not a big ass scary biker trying to help her settle in after only knowing her for a mere few hours. She let out a small sigh before the day caught up on her and she drifted off to sleep with the bottle of wine still in her hand.
