i am no damsel in distress

+ The first of her family born in America, her parents both originated from Lefkada (a Greek island in the Ionian Sea), though relocated to Detroit, Michigan when they were both young and figuring running away to America together was the best thing ever. They were naive, and Layland unintentionally fell into the wrong crowd when he stopped to help a young man on the side of the road with what appeared to be a gunshot wound. He would later come to learn that the man was a patch for a local motorcycle club, and being unsure how to find his footing in a new country, Layland (19 years old at the time) began hanging around the club. It wasn't a lifestyle he ever saw himself getting into but having a love for motorcycles since being a little boy, it wasn't entirely far fetched. Calista, on the other hand, was completely against the idea at first and took time to warm up to the whole thing.

+ Calista grew even more wary of the whole MC life when their first child was born, but seeing how accepting and how willing to help out the club was had her coming around to the idea a little more. By the time their second child was born, she had accepted it completely and went through the process of becoming Layland's official Ol' Lady. Anastazja was a handful at best, nothing like her older brother who was strangely calm for a little boy. Staz tested her limits, even from an early age. There were only so many things that they could do to keep her out of trouble or keep her occupied. When it was just her brother, a quiet household was nothing to be concerned about, but with Staz? Quiet usually meant something bad was about to happen or had already happened. It wasn't until she found her way to the roof of the Fallen's clubhouse during their Christmas party when she was six that they realized they really needed to do something. That's when Layland started bi-monthly survival training with her and her brother. He'd take them camping for a week, every other month, and teach them survival skills for the first six days, the seventh and final day of each trip consisted of a test for them to pass. Each trip consisted of learning new tactics as well as honing old skills. Staz absolutely loved it and learned quickly just how well she thrived in the so-called wilderness, her parents learned within the first two camping sessions that their daughter preferred outside activities compared to indoor ones.

+ When Staz was eight years old, her father became an officer with the Fallen which meant his time with the children reduced but he still maintained their camping trips despite having to move them to every three months instead of every other. It was also around that time when Layland began introducing her older brother to motorcycles, meaning she wanted to join in as well. Staz took to it better than her brother but it was still something all three of them could bond over while their mother kept her younger brother occupied. While most kids spent their Saturday mornings watching cartoons, Staz was out in the garage helping her father work on his bike, wanting to get right into the mix of things which usually left her covered in dirt, grease, and grime by early afternoon.

+ Staz kept with her tomboy phase through elementary and middle school, which lead to a lot of bullying and a lot of parent-teacher conferences when she got into fights to defend herself. She didn't care, she loved what she loved and she was going to stick to it. Hanging out with the other club kids that were around the same age as her helped too and she always joked that the girls needed to form their own group within the Fallen because it wasn't fair the boys got to have all the fun. That was of course due to the fact that she only knew what she saw of the club, not completely understanding the inner workings just yet. She didn't get a glimpse of that until she was sixteen and began dating an eighteen-year-old prospect (Dominic Matthews) - something both her mother and father tried to put an end to multiple times and while her boyfriend tried to break things off (fearing her father's wrath as an officer), Staz would not have it. She point blank told her parents they could either let her continue dating the prospect and them knowing what was going on in her life or her dating him behind their backs and them having no idea. With the Cassavetes always having open lines of communication with one another and a tight family bond, they realized it was better to know what their daughter was up to versus her going behind their back and potentially finding herself in a worse predicament.

+ That particular relationship lasted until Staz was twenty-one when her boyfriend was killed during an altercation with the Fallen's rival gang, the news came just a few weeks after confirming she was pregnant with their first child and she was still trying to figure out the best way to tell her boyfriend. Due to the stress and grief of losing her boyfriend as well as an undetected fatal genetic problem with the unborn baby, Staz suffered a miscarriage at twelve weeks, just two weeks after his death. Between her boyfriend's death and the miscarriage, Staz started to shut herself in, the usually bubbly and outgoing woman just wanted to be left alone most days and really only got up to go to work. She lost weight due to eating only enough to sustain herself for the day, she stopped going to the clubhouse despite the guys (and women) checking in on her, the depression lasted for nearly a year before she finally eased herself back into a normal routine. It wasn't an overnight change, but by the end of 2013 she was more or less back to normal and somewhat interested in rejoining the dating world.

+ In 2014, at the age of twenty-four, Staz began dating another patch (Ethan Grant) who worked as a mechanic at [insert business here]. The relationship was rocky at best, but somehow they made it work once he realized she wouldn't take his shit and kept him in line. It changed each of them for the better, learning new things about one another as well as themselves. He had plans to propose on Christmas day 2016, but once again the Knights took something from her. A van plowed into a small group of gathering people outside a local watering hole, mostly prospects and a few patches, one of the patches killed was Staz's boyfriend, and while she handled this loss a little better than the first, she still closed in on herself a bit, only this time she leaned on the club for help getting through the grief. It was still rough, dealing with everything, especially the cleanout of his apartment where she eventually found the ring he intended on proposing with. She tried giving it to his family, but they insisted she keep it, to which she decided to wear it around her neck on a chain for almost a year. In August 2017, Staz finally took the chain off from around her neck and keeps it in her jewelry box. A few of the other women have told her she should pawn it, but given how the relationship came to an end, with his untimely death, she intends to keep it as her relationship with him will always be a part of her.

+ With everything that has happened in her life, Staz has mostly gotten herself to a good place. There are days she still wonders what's lurking around the corner, but she well equipped to handle just about anything. The dating realm has been a little scarce as that's one category she's yet to tackle head on. Or at the very least she's been wary of letting things get too serious, sure the third time may be the charm but she's not sure the risk is worth the reward just yet.

rapid fire facts + Speaks fluent Greek
+ Obtained dual citizenship between America and Greece at eighteen
+ Owns two Harley Davidson's
+ Owns a 2019 MV Agusta F4 Claudio
+ Owns a 2018 Aprilia RSV4 RF LE (Limited Edition 1 of 100)
+ Owns a 2017 Aprilia RSV4 RR
+ Owns a 2015 Audi R8
+ Very outdoorsy - prefers being outside to inside
+ Profcient with weapons and hand-to-hand combat
+ Has been taking MMA classes since 2010
+ Has been helping her boss with jobs every now and then
+ Is also used by the Fallen as a contract killer when need be
+ Layland Cassavetes was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease
+ Layland was Secretary from '98 to '13 and Treasurer from '13 to 12/31/2015
+ Owns a house with a three car garage
+ Has two Dogue De Bordeaux's Castor (4yo) & Pollux (4yo)