༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝗒－𝖿𝗂𝗏𝖾 ༄

THALIA AND JJ, neither in good mental states, decided the best thing to do was to go see Luke, show him that they had the money to pay for restitution. JJ had some sort of need to prove to Luke that he was worthy of his love, just like Thalia felt with her mother. They were abused kids, and they felt if they were enough, their parents wouldn't hurt them anymore. Breathing slowly, Thalia and JJ opened the front door to their old house and walked inside.

        Luke was working on a bike engine with his radio playing country music on the porch, so they pushed their way through the jammed door and stood in front of him. Memories started to flash through Thalia's mind. She was four, and she touched a button on that very radio, and her tiny nose was broken. Her mother had said she was being dramatic. Ward took her to the doctor. Thalia brushed off the memories. She couldn't do anything about the pain now.

        "I've been staying at John B's. Thall's still with Ward." JJ said quietly, fingers shaking at his sides.

        "I didn't ask you where you were stayin'. I don't care. I knew you two'd get hungry." Luke stood up and moved to grab a new tool.

        Thalia's eyes followed him. "That's not why we came back, Dad." Thalia said, hands stuffed into the pockets of her blue hoodie.

        Luke scoffed and sat back down. "We got the money." JJ said quietly, his shark tooth necklace sticking out from his shirt. Thalia had never noticed it before.

        "Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." Luke brushed his kids off, tightening a screw on the engine.

        Thalia rolled her eyes and took the duffle bag from JJ, placing it in front of Luke. Intrigued, Luke put down his wrench and looked through the bag. "It's all there. 25K." Thalia spoke as Luke pulled a stack of the cash out of the bag.

         Luke chuckled in disbelief. "I don't know how you two got this. I... I don't even wanna know. You did it," Luke and JJ laughed comfortably, and JJ took his hat off. "I'll grant you that. You did it. There's beer in the cooler."

        Happy that things were going well, JJ nodded and grabbed a beer, one for himself and one for his sister. "Thanks." Thalia whispered, apprehensive.

        Thalia was about to open her beer with shaking hands, but Luke stood up and walked past the two towards a newspaper. "I think that sale's still on at Guffy's of Makos. They're practically givin' 'em away. Yep." Luke said happily, and JJ and Thalia felt their chests tightening with dread.

        JJ looked terrified, so Thalia did him a solid. "Dad, that's for the restitution." she said quietly, trying not to set Luke off. 

        "We're gonna tap that..." Luke said, and both of his children put down their beers, knowing what was next. "Dad." JJ said.

        "...put a little more in." Luke continued with his plan.

        JJ looked at Thalia again. "Dad. Can you please just do the right thing for once, okay?" the blonde stepped towards their father.

        Luke slowly turned to them, and Thalia knew they were screwed. "You know how much you cost me, you little shits? This nut? It ain't going to the cops. No," Luke stuffed the money in a container. "I'm gonna take it south. I'm gonna triple it–"

        "Dad!" Thalia shouted, unable to contain her anger.

        "You got somethin' to say? After everything you done?" Luke yelled in Thalia's face and she flinched away from him. Luke pushed JJ shoulders. "You wanna get into it?" he asked the blonde. Neither sibling spoke. "I didn't think so."

        Luke turned and muttered something about the motor he was working on. Thalia looked up at JJ, nodding discreetly towards the container of money. "Go." Thalia mouthed, and JJ nodded.

        JJ leapt for the container and tried to make it to where Thalia was opening the door, only for both of them to get slammed against the wall. Luke's fist flew across JJ's face and then he struck Thalia down. Thalia whimpered quietly and brought her fingers to her cheek, her shaking fingers drawing back blood from under her eye.

        "You stay down there." Luke said as JJ spit out blood and began to push himself next.

        The next few minutes were a blur for Thalia. Luke and JJ landed solid punches on the other, and Luke's hands pinned JJ's neck to the ground. When she got a chance, Thalia took a hammer from Luke's tool box and hit him in the back with him. Luke fell off of JJ with a painful groan, and Thalia sunk her fist harshly into his face as many times as she could. While JJ recovered, Luke escaped Thalia's fists and slammed the hammer into her ribs, causing her to yell out in pain. He even went so far as to hit her surgically healed knee with the metal.

        JJ got Luke off of his sister, but Luke hit him in the ribs over and over before tugging him by the back of his head to his feet, all while Thalia forced herself to stand up. Luke held JJ against the wall and went at him again, so Thalia ripped Luke away by his jacket, taking some of the hits against her face, ribs and torso. The three ended up breaking through the porch screen, rolling onto the grass. JJ pulled Luke off of his sobbing sister, blood as red as her hair coating her face. "You wanna steal from us? You gave me nothing! You gave me nothing but a shitty life!" JJ screamed at Luke, hitting him again and again.

        Thalia kicked Luke in the face, breathing heavily, bruised and cut all over. "All you ever did was try and scare us, Dad!" Thalia shouted, collapsing to her knees in order to strike Luke across the eye.

        JJ grabbed a wrench and held it up like he was going to hit Luke with it. "We're not scared of you anymore." JJ cried, blood in his mouth.

        When he tossed the wrench away, Thalia dragged him to his feet by his bicep, limping as she pushed him towards the house. She was crying, in such intense physical and emotional pain. Thalia leant against the porch door frame, waiting for JJ to grab clothes and the money. When they were ready, JJ swung his backpack over his shoulder and held Thalia by the side, helping her walk away from their old house, leaving Luke lying in the grass.

        They split up. JJ went his own way, and Thalia went back to Figure Eight. She snuck her way into her bedroom and collapsed on the ground. Her knee was swelling up, and that alone was painful enough. Thalia had gone through an entire month of rehab, plus countless hours of physical therapy to heal her knee, and her father had gone and messed everything up for her.

        Thalia couldn't stay in the house for very long. Wheezie was in her room and Ward and Rose were conspiring downstairs in Ward's office, so Thalia had to go. She didn't bother changing her blood-stained sweatshirt; her body ached too much for her to lift her arms. So, Thalia grabbed her hidden flask filled with alcohol, her vape, and as many joints as she could find, stuffing them all in her pockets. She popped some pain pills, the last of her stolen stash. If she was going to be labeled an addict, she might as well take everything she could.

        And then, as Thalia went to place the floorboard back over her stash, she saw it hidden beneath her extra joints. Her last bag of cocaine. There wouldn't be any pain if she just inhaled it and passed out on her bedroom floor, which was the ideal situation. But Thalia was too exhausted to use the drug, so she packed it in her back pocket and sealed up her drug stash. She would need the coke at some point.

        Thalia pulled her hood over her head, drank some of the liquor in her stash, and climbed out the window. For a while, she limped, hidden in the treeline, making her way to the Chateau. Thalia figured John B's house was the best place to go. She sat on the edge of the dock as the sun went down and the moon came up, smoking, drinking, and smoking again. Never once touching the white substance in her pocket.

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