Who: Caden and Gavin When: Thursday afternoon, October 12th Where: The Back Porch Status: Complete
Caden had gone through the motions of opening the bar with Miles and working the quiet afternoon when he decided to hang around for a bit until Gavin arrived for the evening and closing shift. The week had gone pretty much how he expected it too, with Aaron being pissed off, Mila taking time off work and Roxy silently judging Caden’s displeasure with the entire thing. Everything was becoming a shitshow and it seemed to be a mere foreshadow of what was going to happen once Aaron actually became a father - or whatever he thought would pass as one. With his mind semi-made up on what they ought to do about it, Caden lit a cigarette and sat in the back room with the back door propped open for the smoke.
He finished his cigarette by the time he heard Gavin’s truck pull in, and Caden flicked the butt somewhere outside as he waited. Honestly he kind of wished he had taken a couple shots of whiskey to deal with this conversation. Gavin was hard to talk to when things were good, let alone when the shit was hitting the fan. All Caden could do was hope Gavin would hear him out and the two of them could finally do what they needed to do in order to take care of Aaron. This pregnancy affected everyone, and it seemed like Aaron and Mila were the only two people not to realize that.
Gavin was actually in a decent mood, compared to his usual self at least. He had a date with Charlie tomorrow and the thought of it had him both giddy and nervous. Of course that good mood was fading fast the closer he got to the bar because at the bar there was family and he was so done talking about Mila's pregnancy. In his mind there was nothing more he could do. He had talked to Aaron, he had talked to Mila, they were both stubborn and stupid so this was happening. Unless nature intervened and he knew better than to hope for that. Nothing ever really went right for the Lucas clan, not for long.
He planned on smoking a cigarette in the car before going in, maybe browse the net on his phone for those few minutes and had begun bracing himself for dealing with shit when he saw the back door was open. He grumbled softly, thought about it for a few seconds, then grabbed his keys and got out of the car.
Once he knew Gavin was out of his truck, Caden stepped outside, thinking it might be best to have this conversation somewhere no one was apt to overhear. Not that Miles was much of a busy body, but he could interrupt at any moment. He stayed close to the door that remained propped open, but folded his arms against his chest as he leaned back against the building. "This isn't going to be a surprise, but we've got to talk." Caden knew that would annoy Gavin - hell, it annoyed him - but it had to be done. Ignoring a problem seemed to be the Lucas way, but not this time. A faint smirk crossed his face. "I'll give you three guesses what about."
Gavin shook his head and tapped a cigarette out of his pack. "I've done what I can and all that's gotten me is an angry brother and a pissy waitress," he said dejectedly before lighting up and taking a deep drag of smoke. "So unless you've got some good news I'm not sure what else there is to say." From the look on Caden's face Gavin could surmise there were no good news, just more bitching and possibly additional shit to worry about. He was so not in the mood for that.
"I don't know if this would be considered good news or not," Caden said with a shrug. "Depends on how you wanna take it, I guess. I've been thinking about it since it became clear that Aaron wanted to have this kid." He knew what he was going to say would sound crazy. Cruel, even, but that's the way the shit had to hit the fan sometimes. They'd both tried to do the right thing and talk to Aaron and Mila, but at some point, they'd have to take matters into their own hands and do what was right. "There might be a way to make this problem go away without really hurting anyone."
That sounded both too good to be true and too dubious to be good but the first feeling Gavin got at Caden's words was hope. "Like what?" he muttered, watching his brother intently. "Hypnotize her into giving it up for adoption?" He couldn't imagine anything that could help them now, Aaron and Mila were stubbornly going through with this without any rational thought on how it would affect their lives and the lives of those around them. The only hope Gavin still had was that the pregnancy wouldn't last, it was common enough though never when he needed it to be it seemed.
Caden rolled his eyes, but resisted telling Gavin not to be so fucking stupid. He understood how out there his suggestion would be - right up there with hypnosis. It was very possible Gavin would laugh in his face, or call him fucking stupid, but Caden didn't care. He was feeling pretty confident in his suggestion. And maybe he'd do it anyway, even without Gavin being on board. It was just mildly difficult to explain shit without sounding crazy. "There's a lot of weird shit in this town and people who have the ability to make things happen... or not happen. I'm not talking about violence, but... " Caden sighed and rubbed his hand over his short hair. "Like, witches."
Gavin knew all about that, the witches and the supernatural. He had never expected his brother to talk about it like it was fact and that part caught him off guard. "You believe in that stuff?" he muttered, watching Caden with a look that probably looked like he was skeptical about witches when really he was skeptical about Caden actually believing in what he was saying.
With a shrug, Caden stared at Gavin for a second, as if daring him to challenge anything Caden might say or believe. It was natural to feel defensive. It was the story of his life, really. But Gavin hadn't scoffed or rolled his eyes, so maybe he could be convinced. "Yeah, sure. I mean, shit, you can't live here as long as we have and not hear stuff. I've got a buddy who dealt with one of the women here who supposedly knows all that... magic, voodoo, whatever it is shit. Swears up and down she helped him out with a problem. And we've got a problem that's not going to go away unless we make it. You gonna laugh at me now?"
Gavin almost told him everything in that moment, about the thin man, the black-eyed children, how he used plenty of magical items himself to keep himself safe, how he went to church not just out of obligation. He shook his head at Caden's question and tried to suss out just what he was feeling. Relief? Worry? Caden believed in 'that shit' too and Gavin really didn't know what to make of it. "Shit, what have we got to lose," he said with a little shrug, not ready to lay it all out there because Caden could believe in things when it suited him but he might still think Gavin was off his rocker if he knew about all the things he believed in.
Caden wasn't sure how much he believed. Like with anything, he was sure there was some truth to the rumors and myths of this town, but he tended to think a lot of it was exaggerated through the years. Embellished to make a better story. To scare kids into behaving. In this case, however, he trusted the source and there had been more than just whispers about actual witches living in Point Pleasant. He was willing to find out, anyway, if it meant taking care of this problem. He nodded when Gavin seemed to agree. "You know Reagan Kelly? I figure if we go by her store sometime before she closes up, we can talk to her. Doesn't have to be tonight, but the sooner the better."
Gavin didn't know the witches by name, Ollie had always taken care of that stuff and she'd been protective of her sources. It occurred to him that maybe he should have asked Jasper who now was in the know as well. "I don't know her," he said with a little shake of his head. Obviously he knew who the Kellys were but it wasn't in any way a person connection. "What is it you think she can do?" He hated asking for help and this all sounded more than a little dodgy, like they might be taken for fools.
"I don't know," Caden said with a shrug. "Something. A spell, some kind of... I don't know, tea? Won't know until we ask her. Obviously we don't want anything that's going to, you know, hurt Mila. It'll probably cost some money, but.... we'll take care of it. It's just better for everyone to deal with it this way. Aaron'll be better off, and so will we." They would never tell him what they did, of course, if this ended up working, but hopefully Aaron would eventually see what a mistake it would have been if he and Mila had gone ahead and had the baby. The Lucas family had enough bullshit to deal with. It was just cruel to bring another kid into it.
Gavin sighed quietly before taking another drag of his cigarette. It was probably wrong but if they could just raise the odds of Mila's pregnancy not being viable... That wasn't the same as abortion and she would never have to know it hadn't been a natural occurrence. If she and Aaron really wanted a baby they could have one later when they'd tested their relationship for more than just a month, when they'd had time to plan and prepare. "When do you want to go see her?" he asked though he worried Reagan Kelly might not be inclined to help them with something like this.
"Well, you're closing tonight, and you're taking tomorrow night off and the weekend is going to be busy. I'd rather catch her when she's closing than try and talk about this during the day." Caden sighed and shrugged. "Why don't we try for Sunday night. If she's not there, we'll go Monday. Sound good?" If Reagan Kelly didn't want to help them, they would just find someone else. Caden had trouble taking no for an answer, and he had it in his mind now that they had to do this for Aaron, and for themselves, and so it was going to get done.
"Maybe I should go see her alone," Gavin said hesitantly, knowing full well how easily his brother could go off. "I think we're in enough trouble without you pissing off a real witch." Caden could get pissed off at him all he wanted, it still needed to be said. Better piss off Caden now than Reagan later, Gavin felt cursed enough as it was without adding to it.
"Yeah, you did a really great job talkin' to Mila alone," Caden pointed out. He honestly didn't care if Caden wanted to go to Reagan Kelly without him, but he wasn't sure he trusted his brother to actually get the job done and be upfront with what they needed. "The only way I'm gonna let you go to talk to this woman alone is if you tell me to my face right now exactly how you're gonna explain this problem to her. You might be worried about me pissing her off, but we both know you're not a people person, Gavin. You're shit at talking to just about everyone, your own kids included. You really want to have this conversation with a witch by yourself?"
Gavin just grunted at that because fuck... Caden wasn't wrong. "Just try and be polite," he grumbled, tossing his cigarette away and shoving his hands in his pockets. "If she is what you say she is then she's got plenty of power to wreck us both." He had to wonder if Ollie knew this woman, if she was one of her sources. Not that he was going to ask her but Jasper might know. Then again, asking Jasper would be like admitting to what they were doing and no matter how innocent it might look, Gavin knew they could never tell a soul.
Having grown up around Gavin and his limited means of communication, Caden knew immediately by the grunt that he had won that particular argument. He snickered softly at his brother. "I'm always fucking polite. I don't plan on trying to piss of a witch. If she can help us, I'll get on my fucking knees and kiss her feet, okay?" He reached out to grip his brother's shoulder before he patted him vigorously on the arm. "We're going to get it taken care of, don't worry."
Gavin felt well within his right to worry but at least he had some small hope to cling to now. "Just gotta make it clear we don't want anyone getting hurt," he said because as much as he wanted this pregnancy to disappear, he didn't want Mila to suffer for it. It was early enough in the pregnancy that it shouldn't cause any problems but if witchcraft was involved? There were no guarantees. "And Caden," he added with a pained expression. "Nobody can know about this but us.
"Yeah, I know that," Caden said, reaching out to open the back door wider for Gavin. As much as he thought she was being an idiot right now, Caden didn't want Mila, or Aaron, getting hurt. He was hoping whatever Reagan Kelly could do for them would be quick, easy and painless for all involved. "And who the hell would I tell about this? It'll stay between us." He had no intentions of telling anyone, even Roxy. With any luck it'll work and he and Gavin can move on and forget about it.
"I don't fucking know," Gavin sighed. "Roxy, Kat..." He shook his head because he knew better, especially now that he thought about it. Nobody would ever forgive them for meddling, even if it was for their benefit. "Between us. Sunday night." God he was going to have to show up for church this time and ask for forgiveness.
"Roxy would kick my ass, and tell Mila," Caden pointed out. "And I don't tell Kat mundane shit, let alone something like this. You don't have to worry. This is between us." Well, between them and God, in Gavin's view. He hoped that Catholic guilt didn't sway Gavin's decision before they could meet with Reagan Kelly. "Sunday night," he added, heading for the front of the bar. "I'll come by and pick you up. It'll be easier to just drive together."
Gavin strolled after him, silently agreeing to everything Caden said. They never told Kat anything, she was so much younger and they'd done their job well at protecting her but that also meant they couldn't quite relate to her. She was closer to Aaron than she was to her oldest brothers and Gavin often felt like he didn't know her very well at all. Neither she nor Roxy would ever understand and that was at least one good reason why Gavin trusted Caden to keep quiet about it. "Sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind," he muttered quietly, ready to drop the subject as they neared the bar. "I'll be in my office."
Kat being closer to Aaron than he or Gavin was another reason why Caden had no trouble keeping this plan a secret. Besides, Caden was pretty sure that most people wouldn't even believe him if he didtell them about what he and Gavin wanted to do. Just because they believed, or maybe believed, in witches didn't mean everyone did. "Ain't that the truth," Caden said, saluting Gavin as he pushed back through the door to the front to get back to work. Being cruel to be kind was a motto Caden lived by. And it was certainly true in this case.