SUNLIGHT | JUICE ORTIZ

❦.♱ʚ nineteen | hell followed ɞ♱.❦

1x09 'hell followed'

THE TRIO HAD WORKED INTO THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING.

Aislin's body ached for sleep, but she had stayed. She had stayed because Chibs was her family. She supposed in a way, Cameron was too, though his presence still spooked the girl something terrible. Chibs had left Aislin and Juice to report back to Clay about Camerons status. The poor man was still a mess. A slug knicking artery being the only thing keeping him from losing more blood than he already had. Aislin could hear stressed chattering. She knew they were awaiting medical supplies from Jax, they had gone the whole night without them, making due with what they had. Aislin didn't care at the moment. She backs away from Cameron's still body, taking a seat in one of the chairs in the chapel, slumping with a tired breath. The blood on her hands had dried, crusting the appendage. She felt sick, looking at Cameron's body, that taste of saltwater had yet to completely go away and the sight of him so still made him look like he was dead on the table, she shivered slightly.

"You alright?" Juice asks, his gaze tossing her way sympathetically. The girl looked practically green, like she could be sick at any moment. He assumed it was from the alcohol as well as the sight she had seen. Aislin gives him a soft nod, her eyes drooping slightly before she stretches in the chair.

"He's got'ta make up his mind..." she breathes
"Who does?" Juice asked confusedly
"My da...he says he doesn't want me gettin' in too deep...but here I am" she replies softly "I think Tig's situation with his girls scares him. I think he wants me away, but he can't help it. I'm his only family."

Juice doesn't know what to say, pausing awkwardly as he watches Aislin's tired gaze on Cameron's face. To hear her drop these words so casually went against everything he knew about the girl. It was as if she was so exhausted that she couldn't even keep up with the polite demeanour she usually wore.

"Sorry..." Aislin breathes, passing him a soft smile. Juice shakes his head, looking down at Cameron's wounds.
"S'okay..." Juice replies softly, gaze flickering back to her. He takes a brief beat, pursing his lips "I'm sorry for snappin' at you, Ash. I don't...I don't talk to women that way. You were just so freaked out...I figured you needed a break" he says. Aislin nods softly, shifting forward in the chair, passing another small smile.
"You're alright, Juice...you're not wrong...I just...I always knew things like this happened. Guess I had the privilege of never seeing it. And the thing...the thing is that it's not the violence that's getting to me. It's just...it's him..." She says, gesturing slightly to Cameron's clammy, pale body.

Juice feels a tension in his shoulders, looking down at Cameron. Chibs had said she wasn't in danger, that she was lucky it was Cameron and not someone else. Aislin's words had him thinking otherwise, it made him feel discontent to be holding pressure down on Camerons wounds if that was the case.
"He hurt you?" He asks, looking over at her. Aislin can see the slightly cross look on his face and her gaze immediately softens.

"No! No...Cameron...he's a good guy, one of the best...without him and McKeavey I wouldn't be here...it's just...seeing his face. The tattoos. They make me...remember things I would rather forget. My da's right, it's irrational. I just...I'm scared. Scared of getting pulled back to where I was." She explains. Juice relaxes a bit at her explanation, but her worry for Aislin doesn't cease.

"You carry all that shit with you? All the time?" He asks, gaze softening on the girl. Aislin shrugs

"I thought...bein' in Charming would be good. I'd replace all the bad memories of what happened to my family with new ones...with a new family, with my dad. But...it's like there's this leaky faucet. It's barely there most days, then I see something or hear something and all I can focus on is just the drip. It's gotten louder in the past few months I've lived here but...I don't think I could leave. I mean, I already worry about not being protected by SAMCRO when I'm older, I don't know what I'd do if I went to Nevada or Washington, sure it would be good for a bit but...I'd get scared. Wouldn't have college or that to distract me. And at this point, I'd probably be constantly worryin' about you...all of you" She admits, her big doe like eyes looking up at him from her seat, flickering across his face as she studies his reaction. She gives a small sigh, her head tilting down "I think...I just might need to get out of Charming. Temporarily. It feels like there's so many details, so many conversations, I need to be away from it for a bit to compartmentalize. I think Washington will be good for me..." she says, not realizing she had dropped the last sentence.