Charming the Charming

The kiss still felt warm over his cheek the next morning as other club members began to turn up and start about their duties and jobs.
Helen walked out with her hands wrapped around her cars keys. She was wearing a white tank top over her black jeans that highlighted the heavy marks over her arms. Her curls had been bunched to the top of her head and Helen's sunglasses sat tucked through the strands of her hair.

“Whoa,” came a familiar gruff voice, “Jax said your old man messed you up, but this...” Clay waved his hands in front of her.

She forced a smile, “Yea well can’t go crying about it now, can I?”

Clay nodded, “This is true, at least you got one quiet night here.”

“Yeah,” her thumbs went to the back pockets of her jeans knowing that wasn’t totally true, “Anyway, thanks for having me stay.”

She watched Clay walk through the clubhouse door and shut it behind him.

“Where are you headed?” Juice asked from his place behind his computer screen.

She looked over, “Just gonna pick up some food.”

“Alright,” his fingers hit several keys and the screen in front of him went blank, “Give me your keys.”

“It’s cool-“

“Yeah no it isn’t,” he left the table and walked up to her with a hand out, “If Jax knew I let you go out on your own he would literally kill me, so keys.”

Helen’s lips turned up in a half smile, “You’re the boss,” and dropped the keys into Juice’s out stretched hand, “But when he finds out about last night he will be livid anyway.”

Juice scoffed, “I am more worried about your sister’s reaction.”

Again she sat in the passenger seat with her heavily tattooed feet pressed against the dash and music vibrating through as Juice drove through the streets. The stores along the Charming strip were quiet and the people few and far in between. Helen guessed it half ten in the morning and at that time people had lives to attend to.

Carefully parking something larger than what he was used to riding around with, Juice cut the engine and pocketed the keys inside his leather SOA jacket. Helen looked over at him as she unbuckled her belt, “You look like crap.”

“Gee, thanks. After no sleep here I was thinking I looked like a regular Princess.”

She smirked. “Stay here and take a few. I won’t be long,” but as she shut her car door the driver’s side followed, “Persistent, aren’t we?”

He met her step for step into the store and kept close by. Body tense and alert for anything sudden or out of the ordinary almost pulling his gun at the sound of his mobile ringing in his pocket.

“Yeah?”

Jax’s voice came through on the other end, “Where are you guys?”

“Helen wanted to do a food run, so I went with.”

Nodding on the other end Jax ran a hand through his goatee, “Alright, but when you get back we need to talk.”

“Won’t be long,” he snapped the phone shut.

Helen looked up at him with a box of cereal in her hand, “Crunchy and sugar filled sit ok with you?”

“Uhh...”

“I haven’t seen you take a bite to eat and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So crunchy and sugary?”

He breathed out a short laugh, “Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Great. Who was that?”

“Jax just wanting to know where you were.”

She nodded, “We should get back then.”

“Yeah.” Juice smiled after Helen as she took the lead to the check out.

That smile soon began to frown as his eyes fell on the deep and thick scars poking out from the shoulder seams of Helen's tank top.
Juice understood the need for violence. He knew it was apart of his life and others. But what he failed to understand was raising a fist to a woman.

"Why do you let it happen?"

Helen's eyebrows rose. She hadn't expected to be asked that especially lining up to pay for cereal and milk.

"Um...I am not really sure how to answer that Juice."

His brows furrowed and skin blushed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ask like that. I just don't understand."

Helen looked over her shoulder as they moved a step up the que. "Neither do I. All I know is running never lasts and he always drags me back. Kicking and screaming."

Helen sat in the warm sun as the boys talked shop inside watching as cars were taken apart and put back together again.

“Helen!” The unmistakable rant of Jax’s voice boom across the lot. She turned to see him walk over with Juice close behind and a rank look on his face. “Did Hoss come by last night?”

She met his fierce blue eyes and shrunk with a slight movement at his intense gaze, “Yeah, but Juice took care of it without-“

“I don’t care. You can’t stay here any more, not now that he knows where you’re at,” his hands went to his waist.

“Where am I gonna go? You’re the one who said you’d take care of this!” she stood with her brow furrowed and imitating Jax’s hands to waist movement.

He thumbed at his goatee as he thought before turning to Juice, “You took care of it with no issues?”

Juice nodded in response, “Yeah bro’.”

“Good, she can stay at yours.”

Helen’s mouth fell slightly ajar. “Jax, seriously I can grab some money and skip town.”

“Money from where, Hoss’s place? No. You’re staying with Juice. End of story,” Jax turned on his white sneakers and headed back with a stomp to more pressing matters.

Juice looked at her with raised brows and pressed lips.

“Shit,” she kicked the ground with shock still wavering around. “I’m sorry, just give me some hours to get my cash and-“

“What Jax says goes, grab your bag.” He pulled her car keys from his pocket and threw them over to her. “Just follow me and don’t think about pulling anything stupid.”

She nodded but not really wanting to agree with the decision made for her and even though she could tell Juice was reluctant on having her stay with him he wasn’t about to disobey his VP.

The drive was barely a half hour out from the club house and Juice made sure Helen parked her car inside the internal garage in case anyone recognised it and put word back to Hoss.

“So, I’m gonna hit the sack for a few hours. If anyone calls, don’t answer. If anyone knocks, don’t answer."

Helen felt like she was a child being put under lock and key for the day and rolled her eyes

“If you need me for anything my door is the third left down the hall.” Juice looked around once more checking off a mental list of locks before heading down the hall.

Helen sat down in a body hugging couch facing a smallish television. The only sound was that of the shower running and Juice locking the bathroom door behind him. Sitting back her lungs let out a heavy sigh and she took a look around at the kitchen positioned some paces from the lounge.
Her eyes landing on the large pile of dishes that must have been sitting there for at least a week. Typical guy.

“Everything okay?” Juice’s voice sounded from the hall as he stopped for an answer.

Helen turned and blushed at the sight of him holding a towel around his waist and still dripping from the shower.

“Sure is,” she smiled and turned back around, listening for the click of his bedroom door before scoffing out a smile and shaking her head.

Softly her bare feet padded across to the kitchen where Helen set to work cleaning away the dishes and performing mindless tidying jobs to pass the time as best she could. Stopping every now and then to catch her breath or at times where she could feel her ribs crunching.

After the last dish was dry and away Juice still wasn’t up but Helen began to feel that familiar wave of sleep wash over her body. Grabbing her bag from the lounge floor she scavenged through it looking for something more comfortable than jeans to nap in. Finally she came across a pair of black mini sweat shorts and a worn out and over sized Guns ‘n’ Roses shirt that Helen had once cut the sleeves and collar ribbing from.
Quickly she slipped her tank and jeans off and pulled the fresh clothes over her damaged skin. The cool of the new material felt like heaven. A little yawn left her pouty lips as she moved around to the couch when a sudden and loud thud tore through the silent house.

“Juice!” a shaking voice shouted followed by more thuds.

Helen’s eyes widened as the thudding continued. “Damnit,” she muttered to herself and steadily tip toed down the hallway.

“Juice,” her knuckles rapped over his bedroom door, “Juice!”

“Yeah?” is voice replied from face down in a pillow.

“There is some guy at the door thudding and yellin’ out for you.”

She could hear him groan before opening his bedroom door. Helen averted her eyes as skilfully as possible when she was met with Juice in just a pair of gray sweats, gun tucked firmly into his hand.
It seemed in the last few hours she had seen more Juice than one would normally see in a good lifetime.

Pulling her into his bedroom Juice pushed Helen to sit on the bed. “Stay here and I really mean it this time, alright?”

She nodded feeling the warmth of where he had been sleeping minutes before in the double bed.

“Good,” Juice shut the door leaving Helen there to wonder what was about to happen.

Carefully she listened as Juice opened his front door and asked with force what the hell did this person want. With a muffled reply Helen heard Juice pass the bedroom door and rustle around in another room before going back and shutting the front door again after a few minutes.

“Hey,” Juice’s voice came as he opened the bedroom door, “Everything’s ok.” He gave her a smile looking down at her. Juice's eyes lingered for a moment too long at the woman sitting on his bed burning the image into his mind's eye.

“What was that?” Helen pushed herself from his bed.

His head tilted at the question. Juice pondered his reply for a moment. "Just another happy customer."
Helen's brow rose and she shook her head.

“Did you clean?” Juice asked he sat at the small kitchen table while Helen pulled out a bowl from the cupboard.

“I hope you don’t mind. It’s just Tara forgot to pack my books and I didn’t know when you’d be awake so I got kinda bored,” she blabbered with wide eyes used to being picked on for anything she did.

“No, it’s fine. Thank you.”

Being thanked sounded somewhat odd to her but never the less she placed the bowl in front of him with the box of cereal she had stuffed in her bag and pulled out the carton of milk from Juice’s fridge.

“Not hungry?” he asked filling his bowl.

She shook her head, “I can’t stomach that stuff.”

“So why’d you buy it?” He smiled slightly.

“I asked if it was ok with you. Like I said I hadn’t seen you eat a thing,” her thumbs found the sides of her shorts and dug deep into them revealing matching rose tattoos covering both of her hips.

Juice swept his eyes over the ink and back to her face where she was chewing her bottom lip, he could get used to this easily enough.

Helen tilted her head, “Best eat that before it gets warm and soggy.”

Juice smiled at her once more before sticking a spoon into his bowl.

As he placed the empty bowl in the sink Juice looked over to the couch where Helen had moved to and noted the blank stare on her face. His mobile rang on the kitchen table causing Helen to jump and snap back into reality.

“Tara is dropping by soon. She said you’ll need some new bandages and a check up,” he leaned over the back of the couch, still shirtless and in his sweats.

She nodded, “Okay,” her voice was blank.

“Something the matter?”

“No,” quickly she turned her head, “No I’m okay,” her smile was fakely plastered over her face.

Juice wasn’t going to believe that for a second but as he went to move away he looked down noticing the mobile in her hands and the open text message. He scooped the phone from her palms and read the words that had her body frozen.

I will find you and bring you kicking and screaming home. Don’t think you can run away from me. It will be more than your collar bone I break this time.

“This from Hoss?”

Helen slowly made the motion of nodding, “I can’t keep running.”

A grunt left Juice’s throat as he snatched the phone from Helen's hands. He walked down the hallway and through to the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” she walked after him, stopping at the bathroom door.

“One less thing to worry about,” he replied as he dropped the phone into the toilet and flushed it. "And don’t whine, I'll pick you up another one.”

She scratched the stitches above her eyebrow with a low hum of semi approval.

Juice pulled her hand from her forehead, “And don’t do that.”

Helen gritted her teeth and whimpered as Tara pulled the stitches from her brow. Her fingers clutching the side of Juice’s kitchen table causing her knuckles to glow white, “Damn it!”

Tara scoffed, “Don’t be such a baby,” she dropped the stiches onto a sterile towel and positioned a butterfly bandaid over her sister’s gash. “Now the ribs.”

A groan left Helen’s lips as she peeled off her shirt leaving her in just a bra and her shorts.

Juice looked over at her groan from the lounge room where Tara are shooed him off too, quickly looking back toward the blank television, “You okay?”

“If you stopped asking every minute maybe you would get a different answer. No,” Helen winced as the last of the bandages dropped free from ribs.

“Oh wow, this isn’t good,” Tara said as she observed the heavy bruising that covered Helen black and blacker.

“What?” Helen asked, her stomach dropping at the sound of her sister turning on her doctor tone.

“I think,” she gently pressed on Helen’s lowest rib forcing a yelp out of her, “Yea, I am going to have to book you in and reset them. They aren’t going to heal without some help.”

Juice rose from the couch, not caring that Helen was partially nude or that Tara had shooed him out in the first place and looked down at her mid section. “Shit.”

Helen could feel tears prickle at her eyes, surgery the first time around had been more than enough.

“Tara, I can’t. Don’t make me go back in there,” her body began to shake and she shook her head.

Tara sighed, “Alright, just,” she ran a hand through her hair, “I have to reset them somehow,” she looked at Juice, “Up for some cheerleading?”

His brow dropped as the realisation of what she was asking him dawned, “I guess I don’t have an option.”

“Clear the table for me while I get ready,” Tara ordered before turning to dig through her medical bag for bandages and gloves.

Juice did as he was told before turning to Helen. “Come on,” he said lifting her on the table as gently as he could gritting his teeth as she whimpered into his shoulder.

“Lay down,” Tara breathed, “And stretch out your arms.”

Without thinking Helen grabbed Juice’s hands as she let her arms dangle above her head. She took a deep breath in as she felt her sister place one hand over another on top of her ribs.

“I am going to press down on the count of three. There should be a loud crack, but try not to move.” Tara nodded at Juice as he moved his hands from Helens and placed them on her shoulders and pressed down, “One. Two. Three!”

Helen screamed at the top of her lungs as Tara pushed down. She could hear and feel three ribs slip back into place leaving her with a dizzying haze before her eyes.

“You’re doing good,” Juice tried to smile down at her but could only muster a ghostly half smile.
Tara pressed down again and again over each rib of Helen’s and with each crushing sound Helen yelped and screamed.

“We’re done. Juice, hold her up while I bandage her.”

Scooping his arms under Helen’s, Juice pulled her up so her back was leaning against his bare chest and shifted accordingly as Tara pulled tight bandages around her sister.

“How you feeling?” she asked.

Helen rolled her eyes sluggishly, “Like I just had my ribs crushed, again.”

Tara ran a soft hand down Helen's face. “Pain killers every two hours and rest. They should heal fine now. I will drop in tomorrow.” Tara began packing up her bag, “If anything happens call me and if you can’t get through to me call Jax and the hospital, ok?”

Juice nodded with his arms still under Helen’s.

Helen leaned her head further back into Juice’s chest as the front door shut behind Tara, “That was hell.”

"I know."

"Hey," her breath was ragged, Juice looked down as she managed a smile, "Thanks."

"Yeah." Juice pursed his lips before scooping Helen into his arms. "Let's just get some pills into you and you can get some sleep."