Who: Kat and Aaron Where: The Back Porch When: Saturday, Mid-March, almost 1am Status: Complete
It was late when Kat pulled into the parking lot of The Porch, but she knew they’d be open for another hour. Most bars usually were on the weekends, even in Point Pleasant. She rested her forehead on the steering wheel for the moment and closed her eyes, breathing slow, deep breaths. The past few hours had been a whirlwind, her entire life shoved into her 4-Runner, and she’d been running adrenaline that was only now starting to fade. She’d stopped crying over an hour ago, but was afraid she might start again the second she saw Aaron. He was the only one she could deal with right now. Everyone else could come later, when her eyes weren’t puffy and she’d had a chance to cover the bruise on her cheek.
Are you working tonight? Kat texted Aaron, but she already knew the answer. His truck was in the lot, right next to Gavin’s. She just didn’t know what to say next. Everything that came to mind would set off alarm bells, but that was probably because they should. If she’d come home for a surprise visit, she wouldn’t be texting him from her car. I’m in the parking lot. Can you spare a few?
Aaron was mopping up a spill when he felt his phone vibrate in his jeans pocket. He didn’t stop immediately, thinking maybe it was just Mila saying goodnight or something, but then it buzzed again. Frowning a bit, Aaron put his mop back into the bucket and wiped his hands on his jeans before he pulled his phone out to look. The instant he saw Kat’s name, nervousness flashed through his stomach. That sense that something as wrong grew as he read her second message. She was here? “Shit,” he muttered. He thumbed in a be right there, already moving to push the mop bucket over into an out of the way corner. Aaron hurried to the back to grab his jacket, then headed outside to find his sister.
He spotted her vehicle near where he and Gavin had parked, and fast-walked over. Aaron could see that Kat’s back windows were mostly blocked by stuff packed inside, but he forgot about that immediately when he saw her bruised face. His jaw clenched briefly, his mind already putting things together. “Hey ... are you okay?” he asked first, even though that might’ve been a stupid question.
Kat rolled down the window when she saw him coming, belatedly realizing she didn’t even have room in her car for him to climb in out of the cold. She laid her head back on the headrest and turned it towards him, her smile lacking humor. “I’ve been better,” she said. “I kinda… hit my breaking point. Packed as much as I could fit in my car and… Fuck, Aaron.” Kat closed her eyes and gave a shake of her head before taking a deep breath and trying again. “It was time to get out. And come home.” This wasn’t how she would’ve done it though, not with her tail between her legs, but it was the only place she really felt she could turn to in a crisis.
There was a long history of domestic violence in the Lucas family, almost like it was written into their genes. They’d all grown up seeing Joseph beating their mother -- and all of them but Kat, to some degree -- and Gavin and Caden had taken it into their own relationships. Aaron had made a concentrated effort to purge that violence out of himself. But desensitized to it as he was, it made his blood boil to see that any man had laid hands on Kat. He couldn’t speak for a moment, his jaw working, then gave a little nod as he reined in his anger. “Well you’re here now,” he murmured, aware that probably wasn’t much comfort. He reached in through her open window to find her hand and give it a squeeze. “You wanna come inside? Or ... we can sit and talk in my truck?” Aaron’s gaze flickered to the stuff jammed into every possible space in Kat’s car.
Kat knew the anger Aaron was feeling. She was angry at herself for letting it happen. A part of her said it was her fault for making it escalate, for letting her own temper rise to the point of shouting, but then she kept reminding herself that she’d not been the one to make it physical. It made her wonder what was broken inside her, how she didn’t see the signs until they literally hit her in the face. All her life she’d told herself she wouldn’t be like her parents and in the moment leaving felt like the smartest thing to do. Otherwise, she could end up like her mom. “I can’t go inside like this,” Kat said, shaking her head. “We can talk in the truck. I don’t really have room for you.” Which he could obviously see. She rolled up the window, turned off the ignition, then hopped out, her boots crunching in the snow. “I could use a drink though,” she said with a heavy sigh, well aware it was probably the last thing she needed at the moment. That didn’t mean she didn’t want one.
“Here,” Aaron murmured, dipping his hand into the front pocket of his jeans. He pulled out his keys and offered them over to Kat. “Get her runnin’ and the heat going. I’ll grab us a beverage and be right back.” He gave his sister a little smile. Aaron knew how much none of them wanted to be like either of their parents ... in spite of their best efforts, aspects of Joseph and Bridget were going to shine through sometimes. Aaron didn’t know if this was the first time Brian had hit Kat, but it was damn sure going to be the last. Once she’d taken the keys, he leaned forward to kiss her forehead, then turned to jog back to the back steps of the building and disappeared into the back door.
“Thanks,” Kat said, flashing him a little smile as she took the keys. He didn’t have to cater to her, but after the night she’d had she definitely appreciated it. She’d thought about just checking into Juniper and waiting until morning to let anyone know she was there, but Point Pleasant was small and her car was familiar and there was always a chance that someone would stumble upon her before she had a chance to announce her return. With her world in chaos, she needed that ounce of control. She would be the one to tell Aaron she was home and he could tell the others if he wanted. Or she could text them in the morning. At least she would have told someone. Kat climbed into the truck and started it up, then shifted over to the passenger side as she waited for Aaron to return. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a lot of questions because she wasn’t really ready to deal with Gavin and Caden.
Aaron didn’t even bother going back up front after he re-entered the bar, he just grabbed a bottle of Jack and a couple of glasses from the back. A single beer for each of them might be smarter, but Kat wouldn’t be driving far when she left -- nothing in Point Pleasant was far from anything else -- and what she seemed to have been through deserved a real drink. Or two. He hurried back outside and climbed into the driver’s side of his truck to settle in with her. Wordlessly, Aaron twisted the bottle open and splashed a generous bit into each short glass, then held one out for Kat. There wasn’t much to toast to, so Aaron just clinked his glass against hers before he tossed its contents back. Aaron cleared his throat and then looked over at his sister. “Wanna tell me exactly what happened?” he asked softly.
A shot of Jack was just what she needed and Kat didn’t hesitate to throw it back. One should be enough to take the edge off, but the temptation to have another was strong, especially if she was going to talk about what happened. “Just a stupid fight,” she sighed. “We were out with friends and I said something about his job and—and I guess he took it as an insult. He got all pissy. I thought he’d let it go, but he brought it up again when we got home and things just…” Kat closed her eyes and took a deep breath, swiping at one of her eyes. “It just blew up. You know me, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, and then we were shouting at each other and then—I know he didn’t mean to. I could see it on his face. And he immediately started apologizing, but… it didn’t matter. I just… told him to get out. And then packed everything I could and left.”
It at least sounded like that had been the first time Brian had ever hit her, but he was proud of Kat’s reaction to it. Kick the asshole out so she could leave. All the apologizing probably meant that the dude would try to get her back, but he hoped she would stick to her guns. She knew better than most how destructive that kind of home life could be, she’d grown up in it. Best to be done with it now before it escalated, because it almost always did. Aaron was silent for a few heartbeats as he wrestled that protective anger back down again. If Brian had been a local guy, Aaron probably would’ve been headed over to give him a beating of his own. He knew that wouldn’t really help Kat though, so he reached over for her hand. “You did the right thing,” he told her. “Whether he meant to or not, he still did it, which means he could do it again. So ... fuck that, you deserve better.”
Kat had ten missed calls, two voice messages, and at least 20 texts that she refused to look at, every one of them from Brian. She’d wanted to get away before she listened to them, afraid that she’d give in if it was easy. It was probably better not to and just hold onto her anger. It was easier to hate him if she’d never heard him beg for forgiveness, if that’s what he’d done. Or maybe he’d just said fuck you and burned all her things. Aaron’s hand in hers kept her from drowning in her thoughts and she looked up at him. “I just don’t wanna end up like Mom,” she said, her voice shaking. “I thought he was a good guy, and I want to forgive him, but… I want to hate him, too, ‘cause I can’t—I can’t do this.” It wouldn’t matter if he never laid a hand on her again; she’d always be waiting for the next time and she couldn’t be in a relationship where she feared the man she was with.
Aaron’s heart hurt for her, it really did. He could hear the raw pain in her voice as she said she didn’t want to be like their mother -- he couldn’t blame her, he’d felt the same way about Joseph. Still did. He was going to be a completely different father to his kid, whenever it arrived. Aaron screwed the top back on the whiskey bottle and set it down on the dash before he scooted over across the bench seat to get closer to his sister. He slipped his arm around her shoulders with a soft “c’mere,” knowing that sometimes the only thing that would help was a hug. “I’m sorry Kat,” he murmured softly. “It really fuckin’ sucks.” He wanted to call Brian every name in the book and reassure Kat a million times that she wouldn’t end up like their mother, but that would ultimately be up to her. This breakup might be temporary, Aaron knew. That was just how it was sometimes, how many times had Caden and Roxy broken up?
She’d told herself that she wasn’t going to cry, but that was exactly what happened when Aaron hugged her. Kat couldn’t seem to stop it, no matter how hard she blinked or how many deep breaths she took, her eyes still welled with tears. “What am I gonna do?” she said softly. “I don’t have a house. Or a job. I mean, I do, but I’d have to move it and that’ll take time. I don’t even have a bed. Everybody already has their hands full. This just sucks so hard.” She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes. “I fucking hate crying.” It made her feel weak and vulnerable, neither of which she wanted to embrace. She wanted to punch something, which also felt wrong, since this was all over being hit in the first place. Kat had to remind herself that she hadn’t swung back, that the instinct to fight hadn’t won, but it was still jarring to relate to it at all.
Out of all of them, Aaron probably cried the easiest, but he could relate to not liking it. He’d always caught shit about being sensitive from their dad -- and his brothers, honestly -- but he was who he was. He rubbed and squeezed Kat’s upper arm, then loosened his grip so she could stay in the hug or not as she wanted. “You know we’re gonna take care of you,” he told her. “I crashed in Caden’s spare room for a long time, I know he’d let you do that too if you need to. And me and Mila have a guest room in our new place too. I’d have to talk to her first, but I’m sure she’d be okay with it. The house and the job and everything we can figure out, you know? Don’t worry. You’re so smart, you’ll figure it all out.” Aaron was pretty sure his baby sister could accomplish anything, she was definitely the most successful out of all of them. He patted her a little. “Just ... really sorry it went down like that,” Aaron added in a mutter. “I’d break his fuckin’ jaw if he was here.”
Kat nodded as she took slow, deep breaths, focusing on calming herself back down. She didn't want to impose on her siblings, everyone had so much shit going on, but that might be necessary until she could secure a job. It would take some time to get her business up and running in Point Pleasant and she didn't want to wait that long to get a place of her own. "It's late," she said softly. "I can get a room at Juniper tonight, but... if you and Mila are okay with it, I swear I won't stay long. If not, I'll ask Caden." She just wasn't as close to Caden as she was Aaron and staying with him and Roxy didn't appeal to her quite as much. "You'd have to get in line," she said, her lips twitching up. "Though... I may need your help getting some of my things, so it's probably best if you didn't."
If you couldn’t impose on family, what good were they? That was one thing Aaron was grateful for with their fucked up family -- there was always somewhere to stay, even if it was just on couch cushions on a living room floor. “I’ll talk to Mila, but I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Aaron told her, nodding a bit. He definitely didn’t want her spending a ton of money she didn’t have on a room at Juniper, but it made sense to him for one night. “There’s always Mom and Dad’s house, too, if Caden’s an asshole about it.” Their parents’ house had an empty room, and it was more peaceful without Joseph in the picture anymore, but Aaron wouldn’t blame Kat if she wanted to avoid Bridget too. Who wanted to talk to their parents about their relationship problems? “But of course, anything you need, you just let me know. And no punching, I promise.” He offered her a faint smile.
Kat cringed at the thought of staying at her parent’s house. Even with her father gone, it wasn’t appealing. There were too many bad memories in those walls and she wanted to avoid facing her mom while the bruise on her face was still fresh. “I’m not planning to stay anywhere long. I’ll get an apartment as soon as I can get a job. You guys don’t need any help at The Porch, do you?” That would be the easiest gig to pick up, but only if they needed the help. It wasn’t what she wanted to be doing long term and she suspected that working with her brothers would be stressful in a completely different way, but it would be something. Aaron probably wasn’t the person to ask. She’d have to go around to Gavin in the morning.
Aaron couldn’t really blame her -- he wouldn’t want to stay at their parents’ place either unless he absolutely had to. He really didn’t want to stay there now, not after he’d cleaned up after his father’s corpse in the living room. Aaron wasn’t sure he would ever be able to sleep in that house again, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. Bridget was settled back in, but so far Aaron had just been checking on her in very brief visits. “We always need help, you know us,” he answered with a chuckle. “But ask Gavin, he handles all that stuff.” ‘All that stuff’ included all the money, and Aaron couldn’t promise Kat a job when he didn’t know how much spare money the bar accounts had. She couldn’t work for free. “We’ll figure something out, though. Mila works for D’Onofrio now, maybe they got an opening somewhere.”
While working for the D'Onofrios didn't appeal to Kat in the least, she knew she'd do whatever was necessary to get by. It could be a temporary arrangement, until she found something better or was able to get her own business afloat. She nodded in agreement, sure that tomorrow would be a hodgepodge of looking for a job and looking for a place to live, short and long term. It was too much for Kat to fully map out at the moment and she reached for the bottle, sure she could still drive after just one more drink. "Sorry to drag you out here. I dunno what I was hoping to accomplish. I just... wanted to let you know I was here." And she'd needed the hug and the reassurance that someone was there for her. It was starting to feel like a bad decision, even when she knew deep down it wasn't. Now that Aaron knew, maybe he could keep her on track.
He let Kat grab the bottle, not at all concerned about her driving. He drove around after a few drinks all the time, it just wasn’t a big deal in Aaron’s world. Kat wasn’t some lightweight who was going to pass out after two shots or anything. Aaron gave her a vague little frown and squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t apologize,” he murmured. “Drag me anywhere you need me anytime, okay? I’m glad you came straight here.” Kat had obviously needed some comfort, a friendly face and a hug, and it made him feel good that she’d come to him. It wasn’t surprising, considering her relationships with their brothers, but still, it was nice to be needed. “You want me to come to Juniper with you? Help you carry some stuff inside?” Really, he just wanted to make sure she would be emotionally okay on her own, but it was hard for them to answer those kinds of questions, Aaron knew.
Kat knew that if she hadn't come straight home, she'd be tempted to go back. Brian would tearfully apologize and she'd step back into the world she'd built like nothing had happened, except it would never really be the same. That line had been crossed, the trust had been broken, and she just wasn't sure that their relationship was good enough to piece it back together. Kat considered his offer as she threw back a shot, then set the bottle aside. "Yeah, if you don't mind helping me unload some of this stuff, it'd be a huge help. I don't need it all in Juniper, but I hate to leave it all in the car. If it got broken into, it's... it's all I've got at the moment, you know?" She was sure she and Brian could work out an arrangement for her to pick up the rest of her stuff and split up some of their belongings, but she didn't know when that would happen and couldn't risk losing what little she had.
The bar wasn’t covered up or anything, so Aaron felt sure he could get away, especially to help Kat out. He knew she wouldn’t be staying at Juniper for long, but it looked like she’d just stuffed everything she could fit into the car in a big hurry, and she probably would need help finding what she wanted amongst all the other stuff. It was late, but he was a night owl by trade anyway, and Aaron would stay up for days on end if it meant helping his sister out. “I don’t mind at all. Lemme just go back in and finish up a couple things, let ‘em know I’m leaving, okay? I can meet you over there, if you wanna go ahead and go book a room and all,” he suggested with a wan little smile. “Won’t take me long.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Do whatever you need to do,” Kat said with a nod. She knew Aaron couldn’t just disappear without wrapping up a few things and letting their brothers know where he was going. She wasn’t eager to tell them she was home, considering the circumstances, so maybe it was better if Aaron shared that news. Then she wouldn’t have to see the disappointment on their faces. Pulling herself back together, Kat opened the door and shot Aaron a small smile. “I’ll see you in a few,” she said, then headed back to her car. She hadn’t planned on coming home, but at least here there were people she knew she could count on and she needed that now more than ever.