impasse ` dom

[Vicki Reyes]

don't care if he's guilty, don't care if he's not - he's good and he's bad and he's all that I've got

It had not been a good day for Vicki.

One of Trinity's friends had seen her messing around with Freddy, Bee and Evelyn after school yesterday. She was hassling Freddy for his curls again and he'd tickled her. She was very ticklish. But Trinity's friend hadn't seen it that way. She saw it as Vicki messing around with a greaser. A much older boy with a leather jacket and who smoked cigarettes. Her and Freddy weren't like that. And it annoyed her when Trinity was referring to him as if he were a disease instead of a boy - her friend. She was accusing Vicki of all these horrible things - and Freddie too. It was one thing to insult Vicki, to berate her and beat her down. But what had Freddie ever done to Trinity? What right did she have to speak about him; like he was this horrible person who was going to make her do awful things and get her a ticket straight to hell? So Vicki had bitten back. She'd told Trinity she was wrong.

And it was ten lashes with the cane on the front of her thighs and ten the back the next morning. It hurt like hell - but Vicki was standing by her guns. She'd done the right thing. It was what the Sisters and the Sons were about first and foremost - sticking together. And even though she was in pain - she knew she'd done the right thing and that was worth all the lashes in the world.

School was another story. It was hard to concentrate when all she could think about was what she was going to do after school. Trinity was working until late. So it meant Vicki had the evening to herself. Bee was going out with Peter. Evelyn had a test to study for. She really wanted to go to the Can - but she didn't feel comfortable going on her own just yet. But she needed to get out. The welts on her legs made her feel...restless and panicked. And she needed to get out - to go for a drive or something...anything to get her out of that house of horrors. One of the biggest fights her and Chip ever had was over those lashes. Vicki was so defensive about Trinity's strict treatment. She didn't want anybody knowing about it. It was embarrassing that she was still treated like a child. And she knew what he'd say 'you can't let her treat you like that!' etc. But, in reality, she had nowhere else to go - and she had never wanted to admit that. Chip had seen the marks on her legs when he'd snuck into her bedroom to see her - and he was furious when she refused to tell him anything about them.

For some reason she couldn't get that fight out of her head when she was in class. It was scrambling her brain and she was getting more and more frustrated. It made her restless; made her act out to get rid of that restlessness in her gut. And that got her kicked out of class. So she wandered the halls aimlessly - until she found Dom in the library with the rest of his class. Perfect. She sat opposite him - hoping to get some entertainment or maybe get him to skip class with her. Vicki liked Dom. But only in the sense that she liked annoying him. He was so calm and in control of himself - it annoyed her. But she knew how to push his buttons - and she loved doing it.

When he got up to put his library book away - Vicki made her move. She stole the boy's school bag and hid it in the returns chute. Oh, was he mad. Hollering and chasing her out of there. She thought it was the funniest thing ever - giggling as she ran out of the library and hid behind the lockers in the halls. Dom was always good for a laugh. And it was good to have a victory...until she realized that, in her haste, she had left her bag in the library. Cursing under her breath - she realized now why Dom hadn't chased her too far. He was too busy stashing her bag somewhere in retaliation.

The girl came back outside, dragging her feet. Just in time to see her bag - dangling from the highest branch of the highest tree just outside the school fence. Vicki sighed. Well. There was only one thing to be done.

It took her a good half an hour - but she made it to that highest branch. She'd unhooked her bag and clutched it to her chest - but now it was getting down that was proving too difficult. She wasn't sure whether her arms were too short or her legs or maybe both - but from where she sat perched in the tree - she couldn't get herself down. And an hour passed - then two. The sky turned grey and she grew anxious. There were grazes on her legs from the climb and they were beginning to sting. But instead of calling down for help - she sat there stubbornly.

It was almost four in the afternoon - school had well and truly finished. There was only a handful of people left in the school still - those who had been kept behind in detention. There was a real chill in the air and Vicki trembled as she gritted her teeth. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for until she heard his voice.

...You can't get down, can you?

Vicki glared down at Dom, clutching her bag tighter to her chest.

"I just wanted to get away from t'at stupid ugly face o' yours!" she yelled down at him.

But then there was a flash of lightning - a crackle of thunder and the girl just about jumped out of her skin. Dom was looking up at her with that cocky expression, that raised eyebrow of his. The bastard had one up on her. And for now - she would set her pride aside. With the fear showing briefly in her eyes, she tossed her bag down to him and shakily tried to shuffle down the trunk of the tree. But it was clear she would need a bit of help.

And she was too proud to ask.

NOTES: : ) Dominik Kowalczyk | WORDS: enough | OUTFIT: top left one!