Finally Getting Rid of All the Troubles

   It has been almost a month since our dark encounter with Sheldon and his fellow Socs, and I decided to have a girl's night to put it all behind us.
     "I just don't think that I can go all night in the same room with Audrey right now." Jelly said before crunching on some cheetos during lunch period Friday.
     "She's not going to be there Jelly, and I need my drinking buddy." Kit pleaded. Audrey and Jelly have not been on speaking terms since Hunter told Audrey that he slept with Jelly, but I knew for a fact that Audrey was planning on coming, but I decided to go along with it.
   When Jelly arrived and noticed that Audrey had not in fact skipped out on the party, she was a bit reluctant, but I convinced her to stay. We watched scary movies, played games, went swimming, and took silly photos. Dallas was working the late shift and Owen was out for the night, though I'm not sure where, considering all the girls were at my party. We ended up making margaritas and playing strip poker, but after a half hour of Dawn being completely topless, everyone threw their cards in. I felt like drinking, so I broke into Owen's stash in the liquor cabinet, and we all ended up getting crafty and making our own drink mixes. I didn't want to get completely wasted, but I drank enough to find myself dancing on top of the dining room table with Bre, which ended me in falling and hitting my knee on a chair. Everyone was passed out on the living room floor when I was awoken at seven a.m. to the sound of the front door opening. I grabbed a half full margarita glass from the coffee table and took a few swigs before greeting Dal.
     "Hey there handsome." I giggled, stumbling towards the door.
     "Wild party, huh?" Dallas glanced around at all the girls sprawled out on the living room floor.
I threw my free arm around his neck and took another sip of the margarita until he took it from me.
     "I think you've had about enough of that." he said. I giggled again and then squeezed my arms around his torso.
     "Aren't you tired?" he asked. I playfully shrugged. I pulled on his hands, signaling for him to follow me. I started to kiss him passionately while struggling with the doorknob to my bedroom. I pulled his shirt over his head and pitched it behind him into the hallway. He reached around me and opened the door himself. I quickly pulled him inside, shutting the door behind me. He pressed me up against it, one hand propped against the door, and the other running up my thigh, pulling my legs around him.
     "I'm not wearing a bra." I whispered. I wasn't wearing pants either, somehow they never made it back on after strip poker. His hands tugged on each side of my shirt, sending the buttons popping off and hitting things around me. I pressed my bare chest against his as he carried me over to the bed. I laid back, unbuttoning his jeans and pushing them to the floor. He pulled back for a moment, and looked at me.
     "Rhyan...you don't have to do this if you're not ready." He said softly. Then all of the memories came rushing back, pushing through the haziness in my thoughts. This would be the first time Dal and I have been intimate since I was jumped. He had been patient and understood my feelings, and he never pressured me into doing something I wasn't ready to do.
     "I'm ready." I smiled.  

Revenge Doesn't Solve everything!

   Since the incident with Bob, I haven't been able to be alone. Not completely by will, but partly by choice. The only time Dallas left my side, was when he had work and I had school. I think we broke our own record not having sex all week, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it, not after such a thing had been violated for me, but Dallas was okay with it. His mind was distracted by thought of sweet, bloody revenge. He had to work the night shift one night, meaning it would be the first time I'd be sleeping alone since the incident. I thought it would be hard, but the moment I closed my eyes, I drifted off. I was on the ground of the vacant lot again. The same Socs surrounded me, and Bob was there, doing the same things he did before. I sat up in my bed, my heart racing, my body in a cold sweat. I laid there for about half an hour before I decided I wasn't going to fall back asleep again. I crept into the bedroom down the hall. Luckily he was alone, and clothed. I quietly slipped into his bed an instantly fell asleep.
   The sunlight hit my face as my eyes blinked open. I found Owen staring at me confused, his head propped up on his arm.
     "It's been a while since you've sneaked into my bed in the middle of the night." He said.
     "I had a bad dream, I couldn't sleep." I said, rubbing my eyes.
     "We're going to get Bob for what he did, Rhyan, I promise you that." His voice was soft.
     "And then what?" I asked.
     "And then Bob Sheldon thinks twice before laying a finger on you ever again." He replied.
Maybe he was right. Maybe it would scar Bob so bad that he would leave me alone, but I kind of took it as a long shot.
     "Are you going to the rumble tonight?" He asked.  I sighed.
     "Yeah, we need everyone we can get.: I heard the front door close from downstairs.
     "That'll be Dallas." I slipped out of bed, and just before making it through the door Owen spoke up again.
     "Rhyan?"
     I turned, "Yeah?"
     "I love you sis." He said.
     "I love you too." I smiled, then headed downstairs.

   We all met up at the Curtis house to gear up for the rumble. Everyone was getting focused while I hid in the corner with Audrey and Jelly. Suddenly, the house started shaking as a familiar roar filled the air. I squinted, glancing through the cracks in the blinds and felt my eyes widen. I marched up to Owen,
     "You invited the sons?" I said in a hushed urgency.
     "We needed more guys, and I knew Jax would come running once he heard what happened to you." He explained before turning and heading outside.
     "That's exactly what I was afraid of." I mumbled to myself.
With every ounce of my being, I did not want to step out that door, but they came all this way and in my defense, so I sucked it up and stepped outside. I was happy to see Chibbs first. If any of them had come, I would've wanted it to be him.
     "How's my girl?" He asked, his arms wrapping around me tightly.
     "Well, if I was any kind of good you wouldn't be here would you?" I said, playing a smirk on my face.
     "We're going to get the guys who did this to you Rhyan." Clay assured.
     "I know you will." Just like they always do. If anyone was a master at revenge, it was the Sons.
I stood as far as possible from Jax, feeling his gaze upon me the whole time. Just when I start to think I put my past behind me, it comes riding back, perched on top of a motorcycle.
   I stood behind my boyfriend and my brother before the rumble officially started.
     "It's a shame that I didn't get to finished what I started." Sheldon's devilish gaze was glued to me. "Why do you hang out with these low-lifes? You're rich...and with a body like that you have everything it takes to be a Soc." he continued.
     "Really? Because from what I'm looking at Socs look like horse's ass." I replied. His gaze narrowed.
     "I'm really glad we got to have that a moment the other day Thatcher, it was nice to feel how wet you got for me." That had done it. Dal and Owen simultaneously collided fists with Sheldon's face.To say that they beat the shit out of Bob would have been an understatement. From what I heard, they weren't quite finished with him. We had planned a victory party at my house after the rumble. It didn't take long for the music to start blaring and the beer to be passed out. I instantly stripped down to my bikini and joined Dawn and Audrey in the hot tub.
     "What happened to your gnome Dawn?" I asked.
     "It shattered over some Socs face." she said, laughing. A little while later I met Dallas leaning against the fence, talking with Tim.
     "Your bruises are already starting to appear." My fingers traced his bare chest.
     "Ah, they ain't nothin'. I'm kinda disappointed I made it out with no broken bones." he said. I glanced across the yard, and met a familiar pair of eyes.
     "I'll be right back." I said, kissing Dallas before I left. I paced slowly to the back porch where Jax was sitting in a patio chair.
     "I was starting to think you were going to go all night without talking to me." He said.
     "Thought it'd be rude not to at least say thanks for coming." I answered.
     "I'm sorry that happened to you Rhyan. I wish I was around to stop it." he replied.
     I sighed. "I'm not your responsibility anymore Jax."
     He pointed across the yard, "Is that Dallas?" he asked. I shot him a confused look, I had never mentioned anything about Dallas to him.
     "Gemma told me." He said. I shook my head. "You got a nice thing here Rhy."
     "Yeah." I smiled. "They're like my family ya know?"
     He glanced in the direction of the other Sons. "You know I do." There was a moment of silence. "It's good to see that you've moved on." he added. I was beginning to think he didn't exactly grasp why I left California.
     "Jax, it wasn't like that. I didn't just drop you guys and trade you for new friends. I never stopped caring about any of you."
     "Even me?" his blue eyes peered up at me, searching for an answer deeper than I had time to give him.
     "Especially you." I confessed. "It just wasn't the life I wanted. It may work for Owen, but not for me." I was telling the truth. I grew to love everyone in the Sons, they were like family to me and I didn't judge them for what they did or the choices they made, but I couldn't be with someone like that anymore. Owen loved it, and I know sometimes he wishes he was in Cali with them rather than here in Tulsa, but I had a new family now. I did move on, and I found where I truly belong. I'm not a part of the Sons, I'm a greaser.
   The party was starting to come to a close around four a.m. when a fight broke out between Hunter, Soda, and Jelly, resulting in ending Soda and Jel's relationship. I wanted to comfort her, but she ran off too fast, and I didn't see her again.
I stood in the doorway of my bathroom, brushing my wet hair and wearing only a towel.
     "Everyone's gone." Dallas said as he stripped off his muddy jeans and plopped down onto the bed. I slipped on a pair of underwear and a sports bra before crawling into bed myself. We both laid on our backs, staring up at the ceiling. Dallas rolled over to face me.
     "Rhyan...would it help to talk about exactly what he did to you? Ya know, they say it's best not to keep these things to yourself..." He spoke softly. I closed my eyes and waited for about thirty seconds before answering.
     "Two guys, out of nowhere, pinned me to the ground, trying to keep me still. And at first I didn't understand what they were doing, because they weren't directly trying to inflict pain...until Bob shoved his hand in my pants, and when he couldn't get it far enough he flipped out a switch and cut my jeans off of me." I swallowed hard, trying to hold back the tears developing in my eyes. "The socs holding my arms each grabbed and leg, spreading them apart...and then he shoved his fingers in..hard, numerous times..." I chewed on my lips, "...and at one point his tongue, maybe even teeth, it hurt, and the worst part was that I couldn't do anything about it." A tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. After Dallas didn't answer, I tilted my head to look at him. His eyes were watery and I could tell it gave him even a bigger hatred for Bob, but there was also a deep sympathy in his expression. Dallas Winston hardly, if ever, cried. He pressed his forehead against mine, stroking my cheek with his fingers.
     "I will never let anything like this happen to you again Rhy...I swear to God..." he said before gently kissing my lips.
     "I know." I said, and I believed him with every ounce of my being.

   I awoke the next morning and every muscle in my body ached. It took all of my effort just to get out of bed. I found Dallas downstairs making pancakes.
     "Ooh, babe, you don't look too good." He commented, noticing my entrance. I glanced at the mirror that hangs on the wall above the dining room table.
     "Damn!" I said loudly, noticing the dark bruises on my face and shoulders. I lifted my shirt to find even more on my abdomen.
     "I feel like I was hit by a car." I said, plopping into the nearest chair. After eating, I didn't want to do anything but sit on the couch. I flipped through the television channels and found nothing. Knowing that I did not have a movie I wanted to watch, I headed upstairs to Owen's room.
     "Owen, I'm getting one of your movies." I shouted to him in the kitchen. He had just found the pancakes. His room smelled of doritos and ass cheeks. I glanced through the movies on his book shelf as well as the ones scattered on his desk. I picked up a disk and flipped it over in my hand. It was blank, so I figured it was one of our old home videos of when we were little. I popped it into the DVD player in the living room and pressed play. Three guys popped up, standing in Owen's room and wearing only underwear and sombreros, and singing to Celene Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". Those three happened to be Soda, Steve, and TwoBit.
     Dallas laughed. "Is this from last night?"
     "Looks like it." I said, smiling at their stupidity.
The scene suddenly changed and the room grew dark. There were two people tossing around on the bed.
     "Owen!" I shouted, "You made a sex video?"
He appeared, shoving a biscuit in his mouth, staring at the T.V.
     "That ain't me." he pointed out.
I looked closer and saw the familiar blonde curls dancing on the screen.
     "Oh my God, that's Audrey."
     "Well who is she with?" Dal asked. Considering that there was something going on between her and Hunter, I figured it would be him, but once that long brunette hair flashed across my vision..my mouth dropped to my feet.
     "HOLY SHIT!" All three of us said at the same time.
     "Jelly and Audrey?" Owen shouted.
I jumped up from the couch and pressed eject on the dvd player. After that we all just glanced around the room awkwardly, not saying anything.
     "This does not leave this house." I pointed my finger at both of them.
Audrey and Jelly had made a sex tape.    

Dark Side of the Moon

   Yesterday the guys all decided to go to the rodeo, which us girls aren't usually opposed to, but Kit suggested we take a chance to escape all the testosterone and have a girls day out. This of course included mall shopping, dinner, then finally a movie. It was already dark by the time we left the movie house, so we split up depending on who lived closest to one another, and headed home in groups. Kit, Dawn, and Bre went their own way, leaving me, Jelly, Audrey, and Blair walking home together. We made a short cut through the vacant lot, feeling safer after crossing into our own territory. Blair and Jelly stopped for a smoke, while Audrey and I lingered around to goof-off and talk. I suddenly noticed the dark, empty mustang parked across the street, but before I could say anything two guys were on me, pinning me to the ground. I threw my limbs all over the place, hoping I was too spastic for them to grasp a hold of, but they manages anyways. Two more socs had Blair pinned down a few feet away from me, and a few more held off Audrey and Jelly who were screaming vulgar things at them. It took me a minute to realize that Bob Sheldon was one of the guys holding me down. I wasn't really grasping the point of all this, I mean, they weren't exactly beating on us. Yeah, I'd probably have some bruises from the struggle, but there was no sign of intentional pain. I didn't understand, until Bob had my legs spread and was unbuttoning my pants and ripping them off of me. He shoved his fingers in places that I would never dare give him the permission to touch. He was very rough, and honestly, it hurt, and I could tell I was bleeding. I knew if I screamed loud enough, someone from the gang was bound to hear me. It frustrated me to the verge of tears. One of the people I hated most was violating me in the worst way possible. It sickened me, and I was sure I'd soon throw up, or at least black out. I was hoping for the latter, because if he was going to take it any further, I'd rather be knocked out for it. Bob had his pants undone and was just starting to pull it out when I saw lights flashing in my peripherals, hearing sirens in the distance. The cop was enough to scare the Socs away, he sped off after them. It only took another moment for the steady beat of footsteps to reach us. I was gagging and crying so hard it blurred my vision, and I didn't notice Darry was carrying me until we reached the front yard of the Curtis house, where the guys were spilling from their cars, just returning from the Rodeo.
     "What the hell happened?" TwoBit's voice rang loudly off the pavement, as he ran to Audrey who was cradling Blair in her arms. Jelly explained the situation. Dallas emerged, pulling me from Darry's arms in an instant. I suddenly felt exposed, I looked down and saw that I was only wearing purple frilly, blood stained, underwear on my lower half. I think I was in shock, because I suddenly couldn't recall emotion.
     "Where are my pants?" I asked, confused.
     "Oh, Rhyan...they're in shreds." Darry said sympathetically.
Then it hit me, and tears flooded my eyes. Dallas pulled me to his chest. Kit interrupted us, handing me a pair of her shorts. I suddenly remembered that Blair was a second target. Oh No! I thought loudly to myself. I looked around, and found her hiding in the shadows of her brother and sister. I assumed that any progress that I had recently made with her, was now shot to hell. Dallas cursed so loud, I was sure even the south side could hear it. He placed his hands on either side of my face, looking at me, but I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye, not after what had just happened. I felt too vulnerable, dirty, abused.
     "I swear Sheldon's ass will pay for this." Dallas was so mad he was shaking.
     "You sure as hell go that right." Owen appeared from behind me. He placed a hand on each of my shoulders, looking me in the eye, once again, my vision darted away.
     "Are you alright?" He asked.
Normally I'd say yes, regardless of my true feelings, but this time I couldn't even lie. I just stared at the ground and shook me head no. Darry kicked the curb.
     "That's it! I'm calling it." He said. "Vacant lot, Friday night. They're gonna get what's coming for them."
Finally...a rumble.