❛ You seriously can't think this shit is okay! ❜

chapter thirty five.

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"THERE YOU ARE," Luann screeches across the parking lot, her high pitched tone cutting the night sky like a blade. Her heels click rapidly on the concrete beneath her as she rushes over to Scarlett, "What the hell was that back there?"

Scarlett, who's laid back on the hood of the truck, groans lowly as she pushes herself up into sitting form to look at Luann, who's glaring at her furiously, "What?"

"You just broke my best girl's nose, Scarlett!" Luann gasps.

Scarlett rolls her eyes at the mention of Ima, "I didn't break it. I made sure not to punch her too hard. I know how precious she is to you all."

Luann wavers for a moment before saying, "Well, she's saying it's broken! She's the studio's favourite girl! Do you know how much people pay for her?"

"A lot more than what she deserves," Scarlett mutters, "Look, Luann, just run a wet cloth over her face and she'll be right as rain in thirty minutes."

Luann sighs heavily, stressfully brushing her long hair out of her face, "Now I have no one to do her shoots. Unless. . ." She flashes Scarlett a sly look.

Scarlett laughs at her expression, immediately recognising what she's hinting at, "Fuck no, Luann. I respect the work, but I'm never fucking someone in front of a camera."

"What if I got Jax to be the guy?" Luann's brows raise curiously.

"Yeah, you try get him to do that," Scarlett snorts, "Sorry, Luann, but I'm not joining the porn industry."

"But just look at you, Scarlett," Luann holds her hands out and motions up and down at Scarlett's body, especially at the skimpy dress, "I can't think of anyone more perfect for it."

"I'm going to try my hardest not to be offended by that," Scarlett says in an unsure tone, "Just give up, Luann. The only way you'd get me to work for you is if I was living on the street."

"You're almost there, right? Camille told me that you're living with her and Luke," Luann's head tilts, "Without her you would be on the street."

"Yeah, well, thankfully I do have her," Scarlett sighs, rubbing her hands on her cold legs that are littered with goosebumps. She jumps off the hood of the truck, glancing around the dimly lit parking lot before saying, "I'm gonna go on a walk. Tell Cami that's where I've gone if she asks. See you later, Luann."

"That's a bad idea, Scarlett," Luann speaks softly, "It's too dark out for you to wandering alone looking like that. Just come back inside. I'll stop trying to recruit you."

Scarlett steps away from the truck, turning around to face the woman, "Thanks, but I'm tryna avoid a few people in there, so I'll just go on a walk. Trust me, Luann, I can hold my own."

Luann sighs heavily, folding her arms over her chest, "Oh, I know you can, sweetie. Just. . . be careful."

Scarlett sends a simple smile before remembering, "And don't tell Jax that I've wandered off by myself. He's currently dealing with his saviour complex so he'll try come and find me. I'd like to live without him for at least a night," She spins on her heels and begins to leave, raising her hand to wave to Luann behind her.

Silently and already feeling guilty for letting her leave, Luann watches her walk off as she curls her arms around herself to keep warm. Scarlett disappears around the corner, suddenly feeling the urge for a cigarette.

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SCARLETT wandered until she find a bench. The sky night surrounding her being too dark for her to really understand where exactly she is, but the dim streetlights in the distance make her aware that she's near Charming's town centre. It had been a relatively short walk, and the whole way Scarlett was cursing audibly at herself in frustration, annoyed that she'd let Jax and her to do that.

With a small grunt, Scarlett drops down onto the freezing cold wooden bench while she glances around for a sight of anyone but when she sees no one, she returns her attention to her handbag. She pulls the zip open, looking inside and she sighs in relief as she pulls out her packet of cigarettes and a lighter she had nicked from Luke a while back.

The flame lights up as she clicks at the lighter while her lips gently hold the cigarette. Carefully, she lights the end and drops the lighter back into her handbag before moving that to the side of her on the bench so that she's able to cross her legs. Each drag she takes causes bright orange specks fall from her cig and flutter majestically down to the dark concrete before fizzling out and leaving her in complete darkness until she takes another drag.

She rubs her free hand up and down her cold legs while the wind breezes gently against her hair and lifts it from her shoulders, causing her to shiver. Trying to distract herself from the freezing conditions, she digs her hand into her handbag and flips open her phone. The small screen lights up her face as she scrolls through the contacts. She swallows when she lands on the number that Jamie called her from a few weeks ago before she quickly clicks it and raises the device to her hair.

The phone rings and buzzes rhythmically against her
cheek as her foot begins to tap impatiently. She blows out another cloud of smoke when finally someone picks up.

"Hello?" Scarlett says when no one on the other side bothers to speak.

"This is Sam Francisco County Jail," A ladies voice finally replies, "Who are you wishing to speak to today?"

Scarlett shuffles awkwardly the bench, tapping her cigarette against her finger to cause more sparks to fall before she replies, "Jamie Miller, please."

"Okay! Hold, please. Inmate Jamie Miller will be with you shortly," The, surprisingly, springer lady answers before some quiet elevator music fills Scarlett's ears. She groans, throwing her head back in frustration as the tune repeats and repeats for minutes, until finally it clicks to a stop, causing her to straighten up in anticipation.

"The fuck are you calling me at this time for?" Jamie croaks from the other line.

Scarlett smirks, "Sorry. I wasn't sure if they'd even give you the phone. I thought there was set times."

She hears Jamie move around for a moment before he replies, "They like to make my life a living hell here, they'll wake me up for anything. What are you calling for, anyway?"

"Am I not allowed to want to speak to my brother?" Scarlett gasps sarcastically.

Jamie sighs heavily, managing to understand the hidden feeling behind his sister's tone, "What's up, Scar?"

"I have no idea what I'm doing with my life," Scarlett grumbles, "I feel stuck."

"You do realise you're speaking to a dude who's literally stuck in a concrete building, all day, every day, for a year, right?" Jamie retorts.

"Only a couple months left now," Scarlett reminds him.

He grunts in response, "You still in Charming?"

"Yeah," She answers simply, blowing some smoke out of the corner of her mouth.

"Then, what's wrong?" He questions, growing concerned, "You've got Camille, right? You never stopped talking about her when we were in the city. And what about Donna? I thought that's why you went back."

Scarlett pauses at the mention of Donna, and she squeezes her eyes shut before whispering, "Donna died."

Jamie clicks his tongue, "Fuck. I'm sorry. Do you want to talk—"

"No, no. It's fine. I'm fine," Scarlett quickly blurts out, "But. . . going back to the topic before, I've now got to deal with our parents and— and Jax, and all his women. I can't help but feel like an idiot."

"What? What has Jax done?" Jamie says, his tone becoming hard and serious, as he tries to ignore Scarlett's deflection from Donna, "He hasn't hurt you, right?"

Scarlett takes a second to stub out her cigarette and she squints through the dark before flicking it into the trash can at the end of the bench. She bites her cheek as she turns back and returns her attention to the call, "He hasn't hit me, no."

"But he has hurt you," Jamie grinds out, "Scarlett—"

"We shouldn't be having this conversation over a prison call, especially when there is a four minute time cap," Scarlett sighs, dropping her gaze to her lap and her goose-bumped leg, "I don't really know why I called you."

"Because you miss me," Jamie lifts his tone, "Duh."

Scarlett rolls her eyes with a small smile on her lips, "Obviously."

"You are a bloody hard woman to track down, Scarlett Miller," A deep southern accent fills her ears from beside her and Scarlett snaps her head to the side.

Due to the sheer darkness, all she can see is the outline of a man in a darker shade as he looms over her. She stares at him silently for a moment, before looking away again, acting as if he's not there.

"Jamie," She speaks calmly into her phone.

"Scarlett," He chimes back.

She drops her voice to a whisper, almost so quiet she can hardly hear herself, "Call Camille if I don't ring you back tomorrow morning. Tell me something's wrong."

"What? What are you talking about? I— I don't even have her number?" He rushes, "Scar, what's going on?"

She swallows, "Bye." Then she flips it shut and places it on the park bench and slides it slowly closer to the edge before she drags her attention back to the strange man, "Who are you?" She watches carefully as he reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a torch. He clicks it on, the bright beam shining into her eyes as she shies away from the light, "Fucking christ, is that necessary? I've got sensitive eyes," She curses.

"Look at me." His deep croaky voice demands as she notices out of the corner of her eye that he's dropped the torch slightly.

Warily, she does as he said and lifts her head to finally get a good look at him. Towering over her is the same man that Bobby threw up all over in Georgie's studio; the bodyguard that took a shift on a bad day.

"You," She mutters in realisation. Her face pulls up in confusion as she folds her arms over her chest and rests her back against the back board on the bench, "If you're wanting revenge for the vomit that's stuck in the bottom of your shoes and the buttons of your shirt, I cannot help you. I was only there becau—"

"Georgie wants to speak to you," He cuts her off, "Now."

"Well, tell Georgie," She smirks humorously at the reminder of the man's name, "that I'm not willing to join the porn industry. I've already said no to Luann and—"

"Come with me, Miller." He demands.

Her nostrils flare, "Cutting people off is fucking rude." Her eyes follow his hand as he lowers and wraps his palm around her bicep, dragging her from the bench. She grimaces, "Let go of me. . . hold on, what's your name?"

"Dave," The man grumbles as he pulls Scarlett directly in front of him, "Now, Georgie isn't wanting to speak to you about hire."

Scarlett's eyes narrow and she wants to say more, but she can't get her mind away from the hand wrapped around her arm, "Let go of me."

"I will, if you agree to let me take you to the studio," Dave says simply, loosening his grip slightly.

She swallows before taking a deep breath, "Fine, as long he isn't planning on killing me."

"That's not his plan at all," Dave nods, releasing Scarlett and allowing her to sort out her dress before he leads her along the concrete path. The entire time, he makes sure to keep close to her until they reach his car and he shoves her roughly into the passenger seat, where she's left in shock and slight terror.

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

THEY ARRIVE AT Georgie's studio, which is completely dead compared to Cara Cara which is still absolutely teeming with life as the wrap party rages on, the occupants not yet recognising the disappearance of Scarlett, who's sat in the car sat with her hands wedged between her thighs.

"Out," Dave snarls with a nod of his head as he pulls open her door and steps to the side to leave her room.

"What the hell does he want, Dave?" Scarlett questions as the door of the studio clicks open and they step into the dimly lit reception where she had been only a few days previous.

Dave ignores her completely as he opens the next door, causing her to throw her arms up in frustration and send him an annoyed glare as she passes him and steps into the hallway. She glances down at the floor, noticing a small stain of Bobby's vomit and she snorts quietly until Dave nudges roughly at her back

She spins around to face him, "Lay off with the hands. No need to touch me to tell me where to go."

Dave lifts his thumb and motions to the office door beside her, "In there."

Scarlett looks at the door that has Georgie Caruso plastered along the front of it, and she takes a deep breath before her hand curls around the handle and she pushes it open. Dave disappears from behind her and leaves her to enter alone.

Before Scarlett can even take her first step past the office's threshold, she freezes completely in the doorway, her eyes burning into the back of her father as he sits opposite Georgie at the desk. Her fists tightens around the door frame and her jaw drops but she can't force herself to step away and leave, too confused to move. It's as if her feet are frozen to the ground with terror and if she dares to move an inch then her father will come racing after her like he always used to do.

At the sound of his door, Georgie's eyes wander over Robert's shoulder and spot Scarlett frozen in the doorway and a smirk grows on his face. He raises his hand to wave at her, "Come on in, Scarlett."

That's when Robert Miller turns around in his chair and the second he spots his daughter, his face contorts into pure evil as he pretends to smile at her like any normal father would, but she sees right through it and shakes her head.

"Why the fuck are you here?" Scarlett grinds out, "Out of all places, why here?"

"Come in, Letty," Robert motions rapidly for her to enter.

Slowly, her hand falls from the doorknob as she takes a steady few steps inside, stopping a few feet from the desk, where both of the men are staring her down. She folds her arms around herself and her eyes wander to the floor, as he can't bare to look either of the men in the eyes.

"The fuck are you wearing?" Robert snarls as he takes in his daughter's full appearance. He goes to stand up, but Georgie reaches across the desk and pulls him back down. He grunts, "Is this what you've turned into now? Is this what the Club has turned you into? A slut?"

Scarlett flinches slightly as he tone, and her mind teleports her back to ten years previous, when she was stood in the doorway of her bedroom, listening to him slut-shame her from his usual position of the rotting couch.

"Talk to her, Georgie," Robert waves his hand in dismissal, as he spins back around in his chair in a huff, leaving the rest of the conversation to the man opposite him.

"Scarlett," Georgie raises slowly from his spinning desk chair. His hand glides across the smooth wooden surface of his desk and he saunters out from behind it, "Me and your father have been good friends for decades."

Scarlett grinds her jaw, "Course you have."

Robert whirls around, "What was that, girl?"

Her head lifts and she glares at him, stuffing down her fear, "You heard me."

Her father's eyes widen furiously and he grabs the arms of his chair, ready to push himself out of it and hurl the object at his daughter, but Georgie raises his hand in warning, keeping the oldest Miller seated once more and Scarlett frowns, wondering what sort of connection the two men have.

"As I was saying," Georgie wanders forward, stopping a couple of feet from Scarlett, "Your father and I are good friends. And, I'm also very good at finding people. Take Lyla, for example, though I'm sure you know all about that due to your connections with the Club."

"Connections?" Scarlett says, "I'm just friends with—"

"I'm not done talking," Georgie snaps.

Scarlett rolls her jaw, but remains silent.

"Anyway, I thought it'd be best to help out my good friend and deal with the Club." Georgie reaches forward and runs his fingers gently over Scarlett's cheek bone and she has to refrain from breaking his fingers. He drops his hand and she doesn't fail to notice how his eyes climb up and down her body before he continues, "Kill two birds with one stone."

Scarlett looks at him in pure confusion, "What do you mean by help out my good friend? How the fuck are you helping him out?" Her eyes flick momentarily to her father, watching as he raises from his seat.

"He's been wishing for you to be back in your home for some time now," Georgie smiles, "I thought, why not help him make his wish come true?"

Scarlett watches as Robert's hand curls around a glass park trophy before he begins to stalk over towards her. Her eyes widen as she takes a step back but Georgie catches her forearm and drags her right back. She looks down at his hand, wincing as it clamps down over exactly where her father had grabbed her earlier.

"You seriously can't think this shit is okay!" Scarlett eyes stare at Georgie in desperation, begging silently for him to release her.

"He's also paying a great deal for this shit," Georgie adds, mocking her own words as if it was some sort of joke.

"You don't know what he's gonna do to me," Scarlett pleads as her head shakes frantically at her father while he moves closer with his wicked smile growing on his face, "Please!" She tries to rip away from Georgie's grip, but he latches on harder, "Let me go, you old cunt!"

Georgie winces and Robert chuckles.

"Fuck you!" She continues to shout, her voice echoing through the studio, and if it wasn't for the sound proofed walls then the whole of Charming would hear her yells, "Let me fucking go!"

A single terrified tear barrels down her cheek as she jerks roughly in his grasp, but he refuses to release her, and in a second, her father has pounced forward and struck her directly against the temple with the glass trophy, decorating the small delicate transparent statue with her blood. Instantly, her unconscious body drops to the floor in a heap at the men's feet and they both smile down at her maliciously.

. . .

you get angst then MORE angst
before the fluff

word count,
3307
never proof read atp

if you are at all suffering at home, or in the workplace etc. please speak to someone and remember that you are never alone.
i'm always here to speak if anyone needs, and remember that you can always get help
i love and appreciate you all.