"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." —Dr. Seuss
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Chapter 7
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Maggie

"He did what?" Jax exclaimed, his eyes bulging with disbelief. "Wait, you did what?!"

I cursed, placing my face back in my hands. The memories of what I'd done replayed in my head, but this time, they didn't leave me with glee. Only doom.

"Okay," Jax rushed out; I could hear him pacing holes across our apartment floor. "Okay."

Just as I dropped in my hands, I saw him in my line of sight. His large eyes only widened as he grasped me by the shoulders. "I can't believe you vandalized the mayors' son's building! A Vaudest, Maggie! What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that there were no security cameras, and I could get him back for getting me fired!" I shouted back, my expression tightening before it fell. "But, then he came here and—"

Jaxs' expression mirrored one of the devils at the reminder. "Fuck this." Rage blazed behind his eyes as he yanked his keys off of the counter. "I'm gonna go beat his ass."

Alarmed, I jumped off the stool to get to him. "No." I yanked his jacket away from his arms. "You're not going anywhere."

"He put his fucking hands on my sister, and broke your shit. I don't care about anything else," he snapped, pulling the jacket back. His face reddened with rage, and for a moment, I was afraid he was beyond reason. "Mayor's son or not, I'm gonna go, and level this shit out with him."

I knew he could definitely take Luke; my brother was a gentle teddy bear, till the moment you tested him. Then, you saw true rage that wouldn't end until he slapped whoever he was after.

"Jax, he didn't put his hands on me; if anything, I did the swinging." I grasped him by his wrists, my voice in a plead, "Please, Jax." His expression softened, but his eyes lingered on the door. I continued on with, "I'm going to jail, but you're not. Granny will need someone to look after her, and if it won't be me, then it has to be you." My hands went to his, tightening around them until I was able to draw him closer.

My eyes burned as he hauled me against his chest. One hand behind my head, the other hanging loosely beside him. For a moment, I felt like that little girl again, in the comfort of my twin who I thought could move mountains. I still believed it, but this time, there was far more to lose than just myself.

His body was shaking. "Why did you have to be so fucking stupid, Mags?" His voice cracked near the end before he held me tighter to him. "Why?"

I shook my head with a weak laugh, which came out muffled. "Hell if I know." I had always acted on impulse, consequences be damned. But, now, that would cost me my freedom.

Luke hated me, even more so now that I had destroyed his property. I knew he wasn't bluffing when he said the cops would be with him tomorrow morning. I might as well start the arrangements because with him, I'd be in cuffs before I even had time to pop my back.

I stared at the door in shock. "I'm going to jail," I whispered. "I'm actually going to jail."

Jax pulled back, his warm eyes glaring down at me. "No," he shook his head. "You're not going anywhere, okay? I'll talk to him, and see if there can be some type of arrangement—"

"Arrangement?" my eyes widened as I shook my head. "What the hell kind of arrangement could there be? I quite literally destroyed the building!"

Jax sighed roughly, shoving a hand through his raven locks. "Okay, okay." He pulled us to the couch until we both fell atop. He nodded at me. "What all did you do? It couldn't have been that bad, right?"

At my silence, his head tilted, his voice turning into a plead, "Right?"

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be shameful of what I did. I expected to take it to my grave, to have it be an inside joke for me and me alone. But, here we were.

I averted my gaze, my skin darkening under his stare. "Uh..." I moved my eyes back to his, They were narrowed at me with impatience. Finally, I sighed. "I went and got paint, a lot of paint."

"And?" Jax urged.

I shoved a hand through my hair, nearly slamming my skull along the back of the sofa. "And, I threw it anywhere it could go. I tore into the walls with a hammer, just a couple spots. Got some cupcakes, crumbled it all up and threw it around so that he would have more bugs and shit. I spray painted a couple of dicks around the place. Mixed glue with glitter, and painted it everywhere."

Jaxs' expression shifted into one of shock then pure panic. "Mags—"

"I'm not finished," I murmured shamefully. His hand fell to his chest, like he was expecting a heart attack any moment here. I'd probably him one by the end.

"I got a couple rat traps and threw them around the place. Earlier, he had given me money for fixing his car, and...I, uh...I tore it all up and super glued the pieces to the wall. Then, I...I painted fuck you in four different languages on every single wall. I did all of this, to every single room."

Jax pulled out his phone, then began to rapidly tap. I watched him carefully for a reaction, fully expecting to either get cursed out or bitch-slapped.

"What are you doing?" I asked slowly.

Jax pulled his shoulders back, fully pulling in a breath. "Trying to see how many years you're getting."

My eyes widened before I smacked him at the top of his head. "Jax, this is serious!"

He rubbed at the spot I hit with a grimace, sighing. "You know I have no idea how to healthily cope with shit without using humor." He ran a hand down his reddened face. "Okay, you said he's coming over tomorrow morning?"

I nodded, feeling my stomach twist at the reminder. "With the cops, specifically." My heart skipped at the thought of it. My grandmother was going to find a way out of that bed, and come to personally murder me when she found out.

Jax nodded. "I'm scheduled to work a morning shift tomorrow," he told me. "I'll call in and wait with you here. I'll talk to him."

I shook my head with a sigh. "I'll be fine, Jax." Either with or without him, the consequences would be the same.

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "I'm not leaving you alone with that lunatic. He was lucky as shit I wasn't here the first time."

I released a dry laugh. "I handled him pretty well alone until the end, I could do it again." I'd made sure to get him with the taser if the opportunity came, again, but the man was big as shit. With the right anger though, he could snap me in two without a second thought.

His expression attested, his lips in a deep frown. "Mags—"

I shook my head, standing up. "No, Jax. I did it, and I'll have to accept the consequences."

For a moment, I saw his eyes fall then rise with hope. "I could say I did it, that you were—"

Immediately, I shook my head. Of course he'd suggest that. "Absolutely not. You're not going down for something I did. I'm not letting you go to prison for me."

"I don't care," he hissed, standing up with me. "I'm your older brother; it's my job to protect you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You're my twin, Jax."

"Yeah, well I came out first," he pointed out. "And, I don't care. My mind is made up, I'm—"

My frustration grew. "Jax," I hissed. "Luke caught me on camera, and even if he hadn't, you're on the security cameras at your job during the timeframe."

His expression fell at the reminder. "Shit." He planted his face in his hands, groaning. "Shit, you're right."

We both sat in the silence, attempting to right the wrong I had caused. But, there was nothing we could do from here. All we could do was wait.

Jax wasn't listening though; he was relentless on finding some type of loophole. He was always trying to find them out of the situations I caused.

Finally, I sighed. "We can talk about it tomorrow," I offered with a weak voice. "Until then, let's just try to...get some sleep until then. We're going to need it." My voice wasn't even convincing. It was impossible to get a lick of sleep when doom was so close.

Jax ran a big hand down his face, his eyes bouncing between me, and the floor. I heard him mutter a curse before he pulled me into his chest with a tug. I fell into it willingly, wrapping my arms around him.

His hand held my head to him. "You know I'm going to be there for you, no matter what happens," he said in a sigh. "I always will be."

I nodded, swallowing back tears. "I know you will." He always had been there to help, no matter how badly I screwed up, especially right now. But, this time, I wasn't sure if there was any way that he could help.

***

I'd been staring at this cereal for the past hour.

I cursed under my breath, fully pushing it away from my body. "I don't even like this cereal, damn it."

I planted my face right in the middle of my hands, fully wrapped in my exhaustion. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night; it wasn't even possible. My mind was on replay, fully remaining me of my fuck-ups and their consequences.

The moment I finally pulled myself out of bed, I just...sat for a moment. Just waiting, listening for the police sirens, and Lukes' engine with it. It'd been exactly four hours and now, it was noon. Still nothing.

Which meant that it wasn't morning any longer. So, that could mean that Luke had changed his mind. Or, it could mean that he was giving me a chance to confess myself, or it could mean that he was planning some type of horrid death for me.

Shit.

I ran a hand against the skin along my forehead. It was warm to the touch. "Breathe, Maggie," I whispered to myself. "Chill the fuck out." I tried to soothe my nerves, but the waves of my overthinking really had a way of getting their point across.

I had to practically force Jax to go to work. I understood where he was coming from, but if things went south, I didn't want him to throw himself off course. Whether I went to prison or not, he would have to carry on as if nothing happened, and I didn't want him to think any differently.

He was always the smart twin, the one who people looked for at a party, the one that was more...more. I knew it'd be difficult for him, but he'd find his way, with or without me.

I promised to text him every half-hour though, and to call his work if he didn't answer within the first five minutes. I teased him about his paranoia, but honestly, a part of me was nervous, too.

Luke was a big son of a bitch. Sure, I could pack a punch, but I remembered the training he'd received and taught at some type of underground fighting. Raven and Kimberly told me about it a while ago, but I'd never seen it up close.

I had seen Kade, Kimberly's boyfriend, throw a couple punches, though and if Luke had the same level of skill, then I was going to have to use more than a lucky punch, and pepper spray to get him down.

I did have a couple of knives hidden around the house, just in case my past caught up to me. I'd never had to use them, but I guess today could be the day if Luke was just as livid as he was last night.

I stood, and disposed of the full bowl of cereal. It was a waste just sitting here.

Just as I put the bowl back into the counter, the echo of a knock on the door rung through the air. I jerked around, my body nearly crumbling into a ball at the second rattle. Then, a third.

I quickly ran my hands over the towel, rushing to the door. Jax had cleaned the entire place last night instead of sleeping, I heard him. He liked to cook, and clean when he was nervous.

My heart fell in my chest; I possibly wouldn't be able to taste his delicious egg rolls, or tease him about being a neat freak. The next couple of minutes would decide whether or not I did a lot of things.

The fourth knock tore me from my thoughts without merit. I pulled in a rough patch of air, willing my lungs to work with me here. It was all I had left. My poor heart was a lost cause.

My shaky fingers lightly grazed the doorknob, but Luke continued to bang on it. I was sure I had a couple more seconds until he broke it down himself. With my head hanging low, I pulled it open. What awaited me was the last thing I imagined to be there.

I jumped back at the sight with a yelp. "What the hell?!"

Luke was in mid drop-kick, his foot raised in the perfect position to kick the door down.

He caught himself, landing right back on the ground with two feet. Without a word, he pushed by my shoulder, and walked right into my apartment.

Slowly, my hand pushed at the door until it shut. I turned to face him, but his attention was on the inside of our apartment. I waited for him to turn around, but while he was distracted, I peeked out our blinds.

Oh thank fuck. There were no cops behind him...unless they were waiting for a bigger entrance. I couldn't trust him.

I brought my hands to my hips, fully leaning against the wall. "I didn't give you permission to come in."

Luke—who was still examining over the apartment— scoffed, then turned to face me. "You're lucky as shit I didn't kick the door down after the first knock." Without a care in the world, he strode right over to our kitchen. "Cute little place you got here."

I didn't take the compliment because it was never one in the first place. Either way, I knew that it was actually nice since I was the one who decorated, despite what he said.

Jax and I had lived together for a year now. It was a two-bedroom, small to others, but perfect to us since it was just the two of us. The living room, and kitchen were practically one, and we had to put our washer and dryer in the living room as well, but that was fine.

The living room was decorated with a silver sofa, a futon, and a recliner that Jax claimed as his own. We found a good deal on a flat screen, and had it placed in the center of the room. We usually had a vanilla scented candle lit, as well.

I stopped in front of the wall of my kitchen. Crossing my arms, I raised my eyes to meet Lukes' but he was too indulged in our fridge to notice must else. Agitation bit at me before I marched forward, and slammed it close so quick, it nearly caught him in the head.

His glare shifted to me, but he managed to grab a Gatorade, anyway. He tossed it between his hands, before turning and scurrying through our cabinets.

I watched him in disbelief. "Have you ever heard of manners? What are you doing?"

He remained silent, still digging. Finally, he pulled something out, then turned around to face me. Leaning against the table, he crossed his ankles before he ripped open the packaging of a pop-tart.

With a shrug, he said, "I'm simply seeking payment." My lips curled into a scowl of disgust as he bit into the pop-tart.

"Strawberry?" he chuckled around the bite, shaking his head. "Blueberry's my favorite."

I rolled my eyes, yanking the box from his reach entirely. I placed it down behind me with extra force than necessary, then jerked around to face him.

He continued on as normal, just eating the damn pop-tart, and drinking his Gatorade. It didn't take long for the frustration to catch up to me.

"Well?" I snapped.

Luke placed the treat down, then placed either hand behind him along the counter. A half-smile ascended into a full blown grin as he leaned back. "Well what, Norris?"

I felt my hands ball into fist at his tricks. "What are you gonna do?" We both knew what we were here for. Sugarcoating was just stupid.

He matched my stance, pulling his arms up to his chest with a shrug. His plump lips puffed in a pout before he met my eyes. "It's not about what I'm going to do; it's about what you're gonna do."

I blinked at him in confusion. "Me?"

His head fell, a dark chuckle following. Without a word, he stepped forward, pulling one of the chairs out until it scraped the tile relentlessly. He met my eyes, nodding toward the seat.

I rolled my eyes, then took the seat next to that one. I heard a mumbled insult before he sat in that same chair.

This time, he wasn't so slow to speak. He fumbled with the beverage bottle, eyeing it before moving his gaze over to me.

"Mhm," he hummed. "I've had some time to think after our little...altercation last night. You know, after you pepper sprayed me, decked me in my jaw, then kneed me in my fucking balls." His voice grew more vengeful as he carried on.

"I told you not to grab me," I said, daring my voice to straighten out. I couldn't show him how afraid I was. "And, to be fair I didn't even know that you had balls to knee. Oops."

His glare darkened at my joke before he shook it off. He ran a hand down his jaw before it fell to the table. "Right, right, after you vandalized my shit and cost me a couple thousand dollars, though, right?" His eyes dared me to challenge the truth, but I remained quiet this time. It was hard to stop myself from bringing up that a thousand dollars was pocket change for him and his father, but for my own sake, I remained quiet.

But, not about this. "I agree that I should have maybe...thought about my actions a bit, but you had me fired and—"

His lips parted, "Wait, what?"

I straightened my back, eying him. "What?"

"I didn't have you fired, you damn maniac," he snapped. "The fuck are you on?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, leaning up from my seat. "Yes, you did. Right after you did your little stunt, you said something to my boss and next thing I know, he's telling me I have a week off and to talk to him when I get back. What the hell kind of coincidence is that?" I knew that if I wanted to talk him out of pressing charges, I needed to calm my tone, but I couldn't help myself when it came to talking to little bitch boys like him.

Luke huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose. One elbow remained on the top of the table as he sighed. "You're wrong. I told the fucker to stop being a creep, and to give you a paid week off. That damn meeting you were so scared of was to give you a raise, one to your liking."

My body grew still with shock. What?

Luke had told Lowen to give me a paid week off, and a raise. For what, I couldn't understand, but there was one thing I did. I wasn't fired, and I wasn't in danger of being fired. Which meant...

"I-I did it all for no reason," I whispered in disbelief.

"You vandalized my shit over a fucking fantasy," Luke hissed, his grip tightening around the table. "Jesus." Two hands cupped his face, tightening around it.

I hadn't even noticed my mouth was to my knees until I felt my tongue dry. "I—how the hell was I supposed to know?"

His dark blue eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he glared at me. "Hell, let's think about it. You could have, maybe—and I don't know, this might be a little too difficult for you to understand—but you could have just asked!"

I scoffed. "As if you would have given me a straight answer. You're all about that subliminal message shit."

"No, hell no," he snapped, rising out of the chair. "You're not about to pin your batshit anger issues on me."

The chair scraped from behind me. "You're the one who acts like a damned angry bird the moment you don't get your way!" I shot back, standing.

"Me?" he said in disbelief. "You're a fucking copy of the mad hatter, and that's on your best days."

"You're one to talk," I hissed, stepping to him. "You know, I would tell you to stick it up your ass, but you probably wouldn't even be able to find room with that big ass, empty head of yours."

His eyes narrowed in on me, taking another step to meet me chest to chest. Neither one of us backed down, our hateful gazes penetrating. Finally, I forced myself to remember: yelling was doing nothing.

I had to will myself to climb over my mountain of arrogance. "Do you want to continue this conversation like adults, or do you want to keep up with the yelling matches?"

"You? A responsible adult?" he said dryly. "Not a fucking chance."

Before I could offer a retort, he said, "Besides. I don't need to say much else. You're going to listen, and you're going to agree with whatever the fuck I have to say."

Anger and skepticism both seemed to find an uncomfortable position in my blood. "I'm not going to be your damn prostitute, if that's what you're saying."

"Of course not," he retorted. "I wouldn't make a cent off your ass unless I taped your mouth shut."

I rolled my eyes, sitting back down. The seat dug into my ass uncomfortably, but I remained here. With a sigh, I looked up to him.

Luke was already watching me, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I've decided to be a saint, purely out of respect for Kimberly and Kade, but that shit only runs so far. In the meantime, I'm going to have my own fun with you."

I narrowed my eyes at him carefully. I hadn't expected him to go to his friends about it, but now, I thanked god that he did. I knew it wasn't entirely Kade who had talked him out of it, but it was definitely Kimberly's influence over him that had kept me out of jail.

Luke stroked the side of his hard jaw, his eyes moving over me. "First, you're going to be there three days out of the week, with me, at the property. Second, you're gonna clean up every fucking inch of the mess you made. Third, you're going to come whenever I call, day or night, I don't give a damn if you're getting your mustache waxed, you're going to drop it the moment I call. Fourth, you're going to do whatever the hell I say, in or out of work. And, no, I don't mean any creep shit, so don't even suggest it. Just know that if I call, you come."

By the end of his list, my mouth was hanging to my knees. I tried to wrap my head around everything he had said, but I couldn't.

My head must have shook. "No fucking way."

Luke shrugged again, leaning the chair back enough to place his legs atop the table. He crossed his ankles, taking a sip from the Gatorade. For a moment, I contemplated yanking the bottle away, and smacking the everlasting shit out of the idiot.

"By all means, say no," he said so casually, picking the treat back up, again. "I'll gladly watch your ass get hauled off in handcuffs. Maybe even escort you to the station myself." He chuckled around the pop tart at the thought, shaking his head.

My glare only deepened, but it would do nothing. My mind raced to come up with another loophole, another way out of the massive sinkhole I dug...but there was none.

The only way I'd get out of this free was to go with Luke's plan, no matter how fucking crazy it was.

I shut my eyes, rubbing at my temples. A headache was surely coming.

"You said three days out of the week," I started. "But, I have to work. I can't just take off—"

"Should've thought about that, angel," I heard him argue. "If there's a problem, I'll talk to your boss directly. Or, maybe I won't. I might live up to that whole 'got you fired' bit."

This privileged little bitch. "I'm sorry to break it to you, bastard, but not everyone has a silver spoon to lean back on."

"Tough shit," he responded. "I guessed you should have thought about that before you did what you did. Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Norris?"

My eyes snapped open, immediately sizing into a glare. "Don't use my saying."

He raised his hands in defense, then shook like a ghost. "Shiver my fucking Timbers." With an eye roll, crumbling the plastic bag in his hand. "Any questions, or can I get out of this dump, already?" His face skipped over the space with disgust.

My first was the one I dreaded the most. "How long is this arrangement going to last?" I forced through clenched teeth.

With the damage I'd done, I could estimate the time. I just didn't want to face the reality.

"Mhm," he hummed, tapping a finger against his chin. As if he actually had something in that spaceless head of his. "Two years, maybe one and a half if you hurry the hell up, which of course, you will if I have anything to say about it. Which I do." His cocky grin rose at me.

My vision blurred at his words. "Two years?" I threw my face into my hands, digging my palms into my sockets. "Oh my god, I can't believe I did this. I can't do this, I can't—"

Luke tapped the top of my head with the Gatorade bottle. "Uh...hey, miss inner monologue," he called out. "I wasn't finished."

My fingers grabbed the bottle before I knew it. It thumped against the wall after I threw it right for his head, but he ducked just in time. Our scowls matched one another's before his drifted into a frown.

"If your little drama party is over now," he suggested, clasping his hands together. "I'll tell you about your assignments for the week. Since I'm such a generous son of a bitch, I've decided to give you until Wednesday to get ready."

"Tomorrow is Wednesday," I told him.

Luke stood, stretching his arms into the air as if he hadn't a card in the world. I averted my eyes from the fine line of his stomach, and instead focused on his purchasable face. The fresh bruise on his cheek was the only source of thrill I had right now.

"Oh, well," he shrugged with a smile. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"And, another thing." One hand swept over his shirt for any leftover crumbs before he crumbled the plastic up. "I have a Mercedes that's been taking up space in the garage for a while now. You're fixing it for me."

My eyes widened at him. If this kept happening, I'd go blind. "You said I had to clean up my mess, not fix a damn car!" What the fuck was he thinking?

Luke chuckled, crossing his arms. "Nah, angel. I said that you're going to do everything I ask, in and out of work. That includes working on that piece of shit car."

I swept a hand down my face. "How do you even know I can fix it?"

"Oh, I know you can," he replied with a sly smile.

I knew I could, too, and even though I usually would have taken the opportunity to brag on myself, this wasn't the moment.

"You already have a car," I said, annoyed. "Unlike me, because you destroyed it."

Luke nodded, slowly, shaking a finger at me with a chuckle. "Shit, you're right, I did." One arm stretched behind him, then came back with a black wallet. "You know, when you're such an ass for so long, you sometimes forget all the shit you've done." Like I was a damn stripper, he threw the bills out until my eyes were set with green.

"I don't usually carry cash, but that should be good. If not, I'll go to an ATM and—"

I shook my head, shoving the money away as it had a disease. It probably did, coming from him. "Wait, wait...you're paying me for something you broke in the first place?"

"Unfamiliar to you, isn't it?"

With a scowl, I stood. I didn't bother objecting to the money this time; I needed to get my car fixed immediately.

"Don't wet yourself though, angel," he said. "I'm just making sure you won't have an excuse to not show up."

My world spun the Ionger I stood here. On one hand, I wouldn't have to go to jail. On the other, I would be at Lukes' freakin' beck and call for the next, supposedly, two years. I wasn't sure which one was better, since they were practically one in the same.

His eyes fell over me. "You know where it is. Be there at seven every morning. You have three tallies, and one's going to be marked every time you call in, or you fuck up, or if I just feel like being a little artsy," he chuckled at himself, before tilting his head at me. Whatever he caught in my expression made him grin even bigger.

"So...do we have a deal, angel?" He stretched a hand out to me, one that I looked to with such disgust, it made my stomach roll.

If I took this deal, I'd practically be his servant, his to torment and humiliate for the next two years. He'd make me question every single moral I had, how I obtained them, and if I wanted to keep them.

But, if I didn't take the deal, I'd be in handcuffs in the next hour. I'd lose everything, and everyone. I'd never again hear one of grannys' stories, or taste a new recipe Jax found off of Pinterest. I'd never see the girls, or my brother, again. I'd never have my freedom back.

I swallowed past the doubt, the fear, and the very disgust of Luke fucking Vaudest. "You're a fucking bastard," I hissed with nothing but hatred. My hand gripped his with an extra pinch. "You have a deal."