Let It Bleed ♔ Bless These Wicked Hands
STORY: Bless These Wicked Hands
WORD COUNT: 2161 words
CHARACTERS: April Teller, Tig Trager, Gemma Teller-Morrow
LOCATION: SAMCRO Clubhouse
DATE & TIME: February 4th, 2000; afternoon
WARNINGS: Mentions of mild violence and some coarse language
"Take my arm, take my leg, oh baby don't you take my head Yeah, we all need someone we can bleed on Yeah, and if you want it, baby, well you can bleed on me"
April Teller was no fool. She knew when she walked into the Teller Morrow Automotive that afternoon, she'd be in for a hell of an interrogation from god knows how many people. It wasn't every day the teenager showed up with a black eye and a busted lip and she knew better than to think the men she'd regarded as family for years would let the injuries go unnoticed. But that didn't mean she couldn't try. If only she'd paid attention that one time Luann had tried to explain to her the proper way to cover up a bruise with some make-up. If only she actually owned some make-up. Unfortunately, she didn't and her attention span had been limited the day that she'd been given that lesson. Still, she hoped with the hood of her sweatshirt up and the fringe of her bangs hanging low no one would notice the obvious signs of a fight she was sporting. That and she figured if she just hung out in the clubhouse till most of the guys were finished for the day they'd start drinking and flirting with crow eaters before paying any real attention to her. Unfortunately, she had no such luck. She barely flopped down on one of the couches with her history text before Tig strolled in, pausing at the sight of the teen looking like she wanted to hide from the world. Cigarette between his lips, he dropped next to her, long legs stretching over the couch as his head settled on her textbook. "Sup with you, short stack?"
Her eyes rolled as she tried to shove him away, though it did nothing to deter him. Tig had always been the one around the garage to drive her bonkers in the best way. Usually he was a welcome distraction from whatever she should've been doing. But today, he was the last person that she wanted to see. Because she knew what his temper was like. She'd never had it directed at her, thank god, but she'd seen what he'd do when he was angry enough. It was always bloody and messy and bad for whoever'd crossed him. Rarely did anyone come out of a fight with the sergeant at arms without having lost a decent amount of blood. And the last thing she needed today was for him go find the asshole from school and beat him to a pulp. "Piss off, Tigger," she grumbled, squirming to get out from under him. "I've got shit to do, you big lug."
The annoyance in her voice only earned laughter from him, though it tapered off quickly as he pushed himself up. She knew what put a stop to his amusement and it made her want to disappear. She turned her head away, pretending to find something interesting on the wall next to her. But Tig was never one to be ignored, no matter what his mood was like. And she flinched ever so slightly as she felt his hand grabbing her face for a better look. She could feel the callouses on his hands as he turned her to look at him, the anger evident in his eyes. "Who did this, kid?" he asked, the teasing gone from his voice. She pulled back, trying to get out of his grip but he just held tighter fingers digging into her jaw a bit. "Who the fuck hurt you, April?"
"Well, right now it's you," she all but growled at him, finally breaking out of his grasp as she pushed him away. Her schoolbooks were long forgotten as she jumped off the couch in frustration. She knew his inquiries were far from over but that didn't stop her from trying to put a decent amount of distance between the two of them. The sound of her boots were heavy against the clubhouse floor as she made her way over to the bar. She was grateful it was still too early for most of the crow eaters to be hanging around as she started searching for a drink Gemma wouldn't smack her for having. She could practically feel Tig watching her every move, knowing that he was probably sporting that same manic glint in his eyes that she'd seen plenty of times when provoked. "Don't you have work to do or something?" she grumbled, cracking open the soda can. He didn't say anything as she stood there, eventually glancing back at him curiously. It sent a chill down her spine and she couldn't help but wonder if that was the expression that the men he dealt with, the ones he took care of for the sake of the club saw before he did whatever it was he did to them. If so, he shouldn't have any problems with intimidation. Not that she suspected he would.
"Either you tell me what happened or I go find Clay and Gemma and you can explain to them why you look like you went a couple rounds after school," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument on her part. She glared at him, climbing up to sit on the bar top as he came closer. With a look of annoyance, she sat still as he pushed back the hood of her sweatshirt and got a better look at her. "Shit, kid, who'd you get into it with to get these?" His hands were grabbing at her face again, gentler this time as he checked the bruises and cuts. "Some dumbass jock messin' with you? Cuz I know that's not from a cat fight in the girls locker room."
At first, she stayed quiet, expression apathetic save for the times his hand would bump a bruise. But there was only so long that she could sit there under Tig's gaze without saying anything. "Carter Lewis was talking shit about mom," she mumbled, gaze dropping down to the floor. "Said how she's just some biker slut, how she's just some glorified crow eater. So I decked him. He doesn't have any issues with hitting a girl back though."
She watched carefully as his fists clenched and unclenched a few times, anger in his eyes. She knew where he stood when it came to women getting smacked around and for a moment she was worried she'd be responsible for the Charming High quarterback getting left bloody in a ditch for no one to ever find. And while she was sure she'd never miss someone like Carter Lewis, she was pretty sure living with that guilt wouldn't sit well with her. Maybe Tig sensed that or maybe he just figured some high school punk wasn't worth his trouble at the time. Instead he focused on April, commenting in lighter tone than she'd expected, "You even know how to throw a punch, short sack?"
That was enough to pull the teen from her funk, glaring at him for different reasons now. "Yes, I know how to throw a punch," she snipped, a little defensive of her fighting skills. She knew she wouldn't win any fights against most of the Sons but when it came to pretty much anyone else in Charming she knew how to handle herself. Tig, however, didn't seem to agree with her on the matter as he just rolled his eyes and let out skeptical laugh. Eyes narrowed, she shoved at his chest a bit and slid down from the bar top, the bruises and cuts forgotten as she focused on her frustration towards the older man. "Just ask Jax or Ope. They've seen just how good I can throw a punch."
All that earned her was another laugh from Tig, louder this time as she saw the spark in his eyes as something other than rage. "How 'bout throwing a punch at a real man, not one of those little shits? C'mon, short stack. Uncle Tig's gonna show you how it's done." Before she could say a word of protest, the sergeant at arms was leading her out back to the boxing ring they had set up behind the clubhouse. A couple prospects were lingering around, screwing around after their shift until Tig was sending them away with a sharp look and a jerk of his head. That was something April'd be more interested in learning than the proper way to punch. How to get rid of people with just a look. Between her mom and Tig she was sure she'd figure it out eventually. But nevertheless, she followed him into the boxing ring, shrugging off her sweatshirt as the instruction began.
For the next half hour, April stood in the middle of the boxing ring with the older man, listening as she got the run down on boxing for dummies from him. Everything from how to stand when throwing a punch to which parts of the body were the easiest to damage to how to fight dirty if you needed to. And for once, she was actually paying attention. Normally when Tig tried to teach her something - or any of the Sons really - she tended to just tune out, nod appreciatively and then bail when they got distracted. But this - this seemed like it could actually come in handy in the future. And considering that her brother was too busy these days earning his way through the ranks of SAMCRO to help her out with this kind of stuff, it might as well be Tig. If anyone knew how to handle themselves in a fight, it was him. And by the time he was finished with her she wasn't doing half bad herself. She was sure that she'd never actually be able to take him in a fight but that was okay. Fighting Tig for real was something on her list of things that would probably get her killed. But for now, she'd settle for getting in a few punches and going up against one of the scrawnier prospects Tig had grabbed to go a few rounds with her in the ring.
It was quite the sight to see when Gemma stepped out of her office, eyebrow quirked at the sight of her daughter going toe to toe with the prospect while Tig and a handful of other guys watched. She wasn't sure what was more surprising - April getting in a few strong punches and managing to dodge most of the prospect's or that the prospect actually seemed to be trying as hard as the girl was. Part of her was impressed. She knew her baby girl was tougher than most teens but she'd never seen the girl like this. Part of her wanted to smack her lifelong friend if the girl wound up with any injuries. Or more than she already had it seemed. The sound of her heels echoed across the ground as she joined the men, stopping next to Tig. "Wanna explain to me where my girl got those bruises on her face, Trager?" Gemma asked, tone light with the slightest warning to it.
"Kid got into it with some jackass at school. Apparently he got a few punches in," he answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He didn't even have to look over at Gemma to feel the look of surprise on her face or to know it would be replaced with blind rage in the blink of an eye. "Short stack's okay. She claims she got a few good hits in too but I figured she could use with a little training for the next time the fucker tried to mess with her. She's got a good right hook, been pretty fun to watch her wail on the prospect."
"You got the kid's name? Think I wanna visit his mother, give her a lesson in good parenting," Gemma quipped, wincing a bit as she watched the prospect finally get a hit in and seeing April double over for a moment. "C'mon, baby! Hit him where it hurts!"
April paused, the surprise of hearing her mother's voice encouraging her catching her by surprise. She couldn't help but offer up that bright Teller smile, one of the few features she and her brother shared, before turning back to the prospect and showing off everything she'd learned over the last hour. Part of her felt a little bad for wailing on the prospect with all the little tricks that Tig had been teaching her but another part of her knew that him doing this with her could earn him a few extra points with Gemma. And earning points with Gemma could make everything go a little smoother in the long run. She just hoped he understood that as much as she did. And despite the soreness in her arms and the taste of fresh blood on her lip, she felt twice as strong as she had when she'd been in the high school parking lot just a few hours before. Sometimes a little blood wasn't so bad.
