rageandruin (rageandruin) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-09-19 11:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | #april 2018, aaron, aaron x caden, caden |
Who: Caden and Aaron
When: Late morning, Late April
Where: The woods... Cherries
Status: Complete
Since Caden was scheduled to close the bar that night, he texted Aaron after he woke and had some coffee, explaining that he needed his help with an errand. He left it vague enough, aware that cell phones weren’t as secure as corporations wanted them to think they were. While waiting for Aaron’s response, Caden grabbed a few supplies to toss into the back of the truck, just in case they needed them. As soon as he got Aaron’s response, Caden thumbed in a quick text that he’d come by to pick him up. There was no real reason to drive separately.
After lighting a cigarette, he climbed into his truck and headed for Aaron’s new place. Caden had only been there once, when he and Roxy had gone over to have dinner with Aaron and Mila. It was strange to see his brother living somewhere other than his trailer in Seaview, but at this point, if it made him happy, Caden was going to keep his mouth shut about it.
Pulling up to the house, Caden laid on the horn a couple of times, noting that Mila’s car was gone. That was good too. The less people who saw them out and about, the better.
Aaron wasn’t positive what type of errand Caden wanted to run with him, but he could guess a few options and none of them were very good. Glad that Mila was at work already, he got dressed in some grubby clothes he could get filthy and his work boots, then sat down to wait for his brother. Things were going well -- the house was great and they’d been able to do a lot with it thanks to Mila’s job. So far the baby was healthy and pretty soon they were going to know what gender it was, and Aaron was unbelievably excited about that.
There was a darkness lingering in the back of his mind though, a shadow hovering over everything. Joseph had caused darkness in his life since he’d been a baby, and it seemed like he was inescapable even when dead. Aaron zoned out a bit while he was thinking about it, and he jumped at the sound of the car horn outside. He got up and left the house, locking the door behind him.
“Hey,” Aaron greeted as he climbed into Caden’s truck and settled in, glancing over at his brother’s profile. “What’s up?”
"We've gotta check on something," Caden said, pulling away from the curb as soon as Aaron shut his door. "Ground is warmer now." They'd had a shitty time burying their dad, given it was the middle of winter. While Caden was sure Joseph was out of sight, he wanted to make sure. And dig a deeper hole, if they needed to. At this point, he figured the remains would be pretty much bone, but he didn't know for sure and he didn’t even want those discovered. Caden glanced at Aaron before offering him his cigarettes. "How're things going? Got everything settled in the house?"
That was all Caden had to say, and Aaron’s mind was suddenly full of memories of his father’s crushed and ruined face, the jagged bits of bone and ripped flesh turning it into the most fucked up sort of mountain range. He’d tried his best to bury Joseph in the frozen ground so the animals wouldn’t get to him, but he didn’t know that hadn’t happened. Aaron hadn’t been able to make himself go check once the thaws started to come. Maybe there would be nothing left to find but scattered bones and scraps of fabric ... but Caden was right. It was better they try to re-cover their tracks. Aaron accepted the cigarette pack and pulled one free for himself, hoping it would settle his stomach. He lit it up and rolled the window down a bit, then nodded a little. “Yeah, the house is coming together,” he murmured. Aaron hesitated, glancing over at Caden again. “I uh, we got some news.”
If he'd been able to, Caden would have probably taken Gavin out to the woods to help. But Gavin didn't know their dad's fate. Not to mention his fucked up arm, and... well, mental state. Gavin was essentially useless to them at the moment. This was his and Aaron's problem to deal with, so they would. As long as the body remained buried, they would be all right. Caden took his own cigarette out from between his lips and glanced at Aaron. "Yeah? What's that?" It occurred to him then that Aaron said "we" got some news. A small ball of dread began to form in his stomach, but he kept his expression neutral, if mildly curious. Aaron didn't seem overly happy, or overly upset so... he wasn't sure what the news could be. Or maybe deep down he knew what was coming and was trying to find any slight chance that he was wrong.
Aaron probably would’ve been happier about sharing the news if they weren’t on their way to tend to their dad’s corpse in the woods. Maybe this made it a terrible time to make the announcement, but he honestly thought any time would be a bad one to do it with Caden. He would have to give more thought to telling Gavin, trying to do it gently since the man had lost his son, but Aaron was sure the response from Caden would be the same regardless of circumstances. His middle brother wasn’t going to be happy for them no matter what. Aaron wasn’t sure that Caden got happy about anything anymore. So he might as well get it out in the open, now that Mila was okay with him telling his family. “Mila’s pregnant,” he said, a little smile crossing his face regardless. He was happy, and Mila was happy, so that was all that mattered, right? “We got through the uh, the first trimester thing, so she said it was okay to tell people now.”
Caden exhaled softly, his eyes back on the road ahead of them. He'd had a feeling it was coming but it still sent something of a shock through him. Probably because it just reminded him of the first pregnancy, of what he and Gavin had done. Of Aaron nearly dying. For fuck's sake, didn't his brother know what a condom was? He was silent for what was probably too long but eventually Caden flicked his cigarette out the open window. "If you're happy about it then... I'm happy about it." Caden knew Aaron wouldn't believe that. Caden didn't really believe it either. He glanced at his brother. "You sure she's gonna be okay? Are you gonna be okay? It's a big responsibility... and after everything that happened last time..."
Aaron didn’t believe him, but somehow it was easier to take this time around. Maybe because he’d been through so much terrible shit after the end of the first pregnancy. Maybe he’d matured some and didn’t feel quite so needy for his brothers’ approval. Or maybe it just hurt less because they’d shown their asses about it once before, so Aaron was more braced for it. In any case, he appreciated that Caden at least tried to lie about being happy about it. It was kind of sweet in a Caden way. Aaron gave a wider smile. “I am happy about it, it feels like ... the right time, this time, you know?” he said, though he was aware that Caden probably didn’t know. Aaron was pretty sure he would be the only Lucas brother not to procreate at some point. “So far everything’s going well, and she’s healthy and baby’s healthy, so ... I’m just hoping for the best right now. It’s gonna be hard, of course, but ...” Aaron shrugged a bit. There were no guarantees of okayness, they all knew that intimately well by now. But he was going to do his best to take care of his little family. “That’s the kind of hard that I want. As long as everything like, stays normal for us, we’ll be okay.”
Having kids was the last thing on Caden's mind at the moment. He had never wanted to be responsible for the life of another person. He certainly didn't want to turn into his father, which he knew would happen if Roxy ever got pregnant. Hell, he was probably more like Joseph now than he wanted to admit. Whether Aaron was ready to be a father or not was no longer his business. He'd learned his lesson. Especially considering all of that bullshit led to some small dicked witch taking two of his fingers. No, this time around Aaron was going to have to handle his own shit. "You gonna get married?" He knew Mila's parents were religious. Personally he didn't see the need to have a ring on someone's finger in order to procreate but Caden also knew not everyone shared his views on family life.
Handling his own shit was all that Aaron had ever wanted, so he was grateful that Caden didn’t go on and on about how hard it was all going to be, like he even knew about being a father. None of them had any good examples to look up to, but Aaron was determined to do the opposite of anything Joseph would do. Maybe that would keep him on the right track. He smiled at the question and nodded. “Yeah. Just not sure when yet. But we’ll be setting a date pretty soon, I bet Mila’s mom will want us married before the baby comes,” Aaron said. He paused, then glanced over at Caden. “Are you gonna get married? You and Roxy been engaged for like, what ... four, five months now? Got any plans set down yet?” Maybe this was a strange conversation to have on their way to their dad’s shallow unmarked grave, but weddings were more pleasant to think about, so Aaron was fine with it.
Caden's nostrils flared as he attempted to keep from losing his temper at the question. He was staying out of Aaron's business, so he assumed Aaron would stay out of his. "People are engaged for years sometimes, before they get married. We haven't talked about it. Things have been shitty ever since Christmas. Feels weird to be planning a wedding with dad dead and Jasper gone." Caden exhaled sharply and reached for his pack of cigarettes to pull another one out of the pack. "Anyway, planning all that... Roxy's in charge of that stuff. If it happens, I just want her to tell me what day to show up. Wedding planning's not my thing." He knew Roxy had wanted the ring on her finger. She wanted to make things official, but Caden still felt like they were good the way things were. Complicating things with legal documents and shit just made him antsy.
Aaron’s question had been more curious than accusatory -- he personally doubted Roxy and Caden would ever really get married, but being engaged was something they had in common, so he thought he would ask. Caden sounded pissy and defensive about it though, and he did have a point about how shitty everything had been for the family, Aaron supposed. “Yeah, if Mila wasn’t pregnant we’d probably wait for a while,” he murmured, then let the subject drop. If Roxy ended up dragging Caden to the altar someday, good for her, but Aaron would be surprised. He would show up, of course, and stand up beside his brother if they planned for a wedding party and all. He’d just never witnessed Roxy and Caden do much but make each other miserable, so Aaron wasn’t sure how it would work out. Of course, Roxy had never tried to kill Caden while possessed by some otherworldly force, so who was he to judge? He finished up the cigarette he’d taken and just looked out the window as they drove, figuring it was time to shut his mouth.
They drove in silence for a bit, for which Caden was thankful. He just didn't want to talk about weddings and marriage. Not right now, anyway. It made him feel restless and fidgety and he was already tense from having to check on their father's body. As they neared the woods, Caden pulled off the side of the road to drive down by Sweetbriar Bridge, away from the main road so his truck wouldn't be seen. Parking the truck, Caden turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. "Have you talked to Gav lately?" Caden had seen him at the bar here and there but Gavin tended to disappear into his office unless they were really busy and needed the help.
Aaron sat up a bit straighter as they arrived where they were going, doing his best to ignore the uncomfortable churning in his stomach. He didn’t want to do this. Maybe if he’d been alone, it would’ve been better. Even if he had to do all the manual labor himself, he would at least be free to cry and mourn and hate what he was doing out loud. Aaron never felt free to emote much around Caden, and he tried to avoid it when he could. It was a weakness. He hadn’t been able to help it for a long time after what had happened to Mila, and he suspected his brother respected him even less for all that. Aaron glanced over and shook his head a bit. “Not like, about anything. Seen him at the bar, said hello, that’s about it. Why?”
"Just wondering." Caden slipped out of the truck to grab the shovels from the back of the truck. He was really hoping they wouldn't have to use them, but who the hell knew what they would see now that the ground was soft and thawed. "I'm not sure how he's doing. Not sure he talks much to anyone these days." Caden came around the back of the truck to hand one of the shovels to Aaron. "Are you going to tell him about Mila?" He was pretty sure Gavin would let it be the same way Caden planned to, but with Jasper gone, there was the possibility that Gavin might be happy about it... or maybe it would make everything worse.
He got out and closed the truck door, accepting the shovel as Caden handed it over. Aaron felt like he’d failed Gavin somehow, like he ought to have been able to be there for him more, but every time he tried, it seemed to fall flat. Amelia was looking after him as much as she could, and Gavin was still seeing Charlie as far as Aaron knew. He felt unnecessary. Plus there was enough going on with Mila and Adrian and all that. “He doesn’t talk to me either,” he said quietly, tapping the spade of the shovel against the ground a couple of times. “I don’t know. Maybe not for a while. I dunno if he’ll get pissed about it again, and I can’t really tell him to fuck off right now.” Aaron knew he could, he just didn’t want to fight with his oldest brother while he was grieving. Aaron also worried that something about Joseph would come out of his mouth, and he hoped today would put that to bed better too.
There was only so much they could do for each other and Gavin tended to withdraw from everyone when he was suffering. Hell, Caden did that too, which was probably why he wasn't pushing Gavin to talk about... well, anything. "You and Mila are in a different place now," Caden said as he began to lead Aaron back into the woods, shovel in hand. "She's got a better job now, you've got a bigger place. I think he probably learned his lesson after the first time." Caden glanced up to the sky, searching for any sign of darkening clouds over the tops of the trees. Checking on a decomposing body was bad enough, he definitely didn't want to do it in the rain. "But yeah, maybe wait a few more weeks before you tell him. Mom'll be happy though, I'm pretty sure."
Withdrawing was a family tradition, Aaron had done plenty of that himself while he’d been suffering. He’d done some things around the house for Gavin, but he doubted much emotional support would be welcomed. Aaron just hoped that Gavin was allowing Amelia and Charlie to help him in that regard. Women seemed much better at that sort of shit anyway. Aaron resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the observation about his and Mila’s financial situation. She could’ve gotten that job with D’Onofrio after the first pregnancy too -- back then his brothers kept making it sound like they would be destitute forever. But that was all water under the bridge now. Aaron wasn’t going to hear any crap about it again, so he was glad Caden wasn’t trying to dish any out. He smiled at the mental image of their mom holding his baby though. “Bet she will, yeah,” he said, walking along with his brother and still smiling. “Been a while since there’s been a new grandbaby in the family. Maybe it’ll ... y’know, help her move on.” He made a vague gesture forward with his shovel.
"Maybe." Caden tried to check in with his mom when he could and so far she had seemed all right. She certainly didn't look as small and frail as she had when their dad was alive. Of course, Bridget Lucas thought her husband went missing like Jasper had. Everyone believed that, but for Roxy and Mila since they had been told the truth. Caden wanted it to stay that way. They walked in silence for a while until Caden began to recognize the area. Anyone else would have been lost, but it had been easy to remember where they buried Joseph's corpse. Burying the body had been burned into his memory. The area itself didn't look too terrible but as Caden neared the spot, he could see some of the tarp they had rolled him up in was sticking out of the ground. Cursing softly, Caden rubbed his hand over his forehead. "We gotta dig a bit deeper."
Nobody was really missing Joseph, Aaron knew that. He certainly didn’t. He hadn’t wanted his dad to die like that, of course, but Aaron wasn’t sad that he was gone. Bridget likely wasn’t either, but there was still the matter of her thinking that both of her grandchildren were missing now. They’d never told her that Amelia had come back different, and Aaron didn’t think that Gavin planned to do that. With Jasper missing too ... well, it was a lot for one family to bear. Aaron pushed all thoughts of the rest of the family away as they walked up on the spot, the blue tarp showing through the dirt and leaves. His jaw clenched and his brow furrowed and he swallowed thickly. This was going to be unpleasant. “C’mon, let’s get him up then,” he muttered, moving forward to find the best spot to start digging up their father’s remains.
Caden dug into his jacket pocket and tugged out two face masks, offering one to Aaron. "Might help cover up some of the smell," he muttered. Maybe the tarp would mask all of that. Maybe not. Caden wasn't sure he had ever smelled a corpse before. He should have watched some of those forensic shows on television. Then he might know something about how to do this. He and Aaron got to digging, careful not to disturb the body in the tarp too much. The smell was ghastly but he managed to push through until he and Aaron had dug several feet deeper into the soft ground. When he got home he was going to boil himself in the damn bathtub. It was a couple of hours later by the time they finished and started walking back towards his truck. Caden tossed his shovel into the back, fully planning on getting rid of it when he got home. "Hopefully that's the last we'll ever have to deal with him," he muttered, more to himself than Aaron.
The mask might have filtered out some of the smell, but not enough to make much of a difference. Aaron didn’t know much about body decomposition, but he knew their dad wasn’t just bones inside that tarp like they’d hoped. It was hard work, and he threw up once, but he was glad to get it done as they pounded down the dirt with the backs of their shovels. Aaron hesitated before walking away, feeling like maybe he ought to say something, but he didn’t know what to say. It was an awful but fitting end to a man who’d been plenty fucking awful himself. In the end he’d just turned and silently followed Caden back to the truck. Along the way he told himself that they’d done this for Gavin. Gavin who didn’t need to know that his son had turned into a cold-blooded murderer before he’d disappeared. It was for Gav and Jasper, not Joseph. Aaron tossed his shovel in next to Caden’s and scrubbed his palms against the sides of his jeans. He kind of felt like crying, but he swallowed it back. “I need a fuckin’ drink,” he said. “You?”
Caden didn't feel any tears burning behind his eyes. But he definitely felt the urge to throw up and the acidity of it burned in his throat. "Yeah, a drink sounds good," Caden said, his voice hoarse as he threw open the door to his truck. "Maybe a couple drinks. You wanna go out to Cherries?" He cocked a brow at Aaron. "Just for the drinks, not the girls." There weren't many bars in Point Pleasant and he had no desire to visit any of them at the moment. Nor did he want to go home, or to Aaron's shiny new house. He just wanted to get out of this place for a while. At Cherries they could drink without being disturbed or recognized and if some half-naked girl tried to get them to pay for a lap dance, Caden could tell her to fuck off. Easy.
Aaron sure as hell didn’t want to go to the Porch, and he almost never went to Dragonfly, so Cherries it was. It was only afternoon, so Aaron knew the girls wouldn’t be pushing too hard for tips yet, and the two of them could probably do some shots in peace. Aaron definitely didn’t want any tits in his face right then, so he wouldn’t hesitate to tell them to fuck off either. In a nicer way than Caden, likely, but still. He nodded as he went around to the passenger side to climb in. He really wanted to wash his hands and face. Aaron slouched down in the seat and pulled the collar of his shirt up to wipe at his face, feeling heavy and sad and still a little queasy.
Caden was glad Aaron didn't protest. He was perfectly fine with driving in silence. Drinking in silence. He might not have been as emotional as Aaron, but he felt the heavy weight in his chest. His mind was a jumble of thoughts, none of which made him feel any better about this situation. It felt like he was harboring too many crushing secrets. Keeping their father's death and Jasper's involvement from Gavin, keeping his own involvement in Mila's first miscarriage from Aaron. It was amusing in a cold and biting way that these horrible things had been done with good intentions. Supposedly. Caden lit a cigarette before offering one to Aaron again. With any luck, this would be the end of it. He never wanted to drive out to this place again.
The drive to Cherries was a quiet one, and as Aaron predicted, the strip club was pretty empty of customers at this time of day. The music was still loud and thumping near the stage, a bored-looking girl wiggling her hips with one hand on the pole watched the two of them find a seat more toward the back. They had a few shots, waved away a couple of strippers who wandered over to see if they wanted a lapdance, and then Aaron switched to nursing a beer while Caden got more hard liquor. He was feeling buzzed but not in a very fun way, the world just more unsteady and the pain in his heart heavier. Aaron thought this was maybe a perfect tribute to Joseph Lucas -- end up drunk and miserable, just like he almost always was. Aaron pulled his idle gaze away from the dancer’s tits on the stage and looked at his brother. “I always thought Dad’s funeral would turn more dramatic,” he said. They hadn’t talked much so far, but Caden was the only person to share this burden with him, and now that he was half-drunk he wanted to talk about it. “Like ... arguments and fights and shit.”
While Caden didn't want any of the girls on his lap, or even touching him, he didn't mind watching them. It had more to do with just needing somewhere to look while his thoughts ran away from him than finding any of them remotely desirable. The liquor was helping him feel numb, which was, of course, the goal. When Aaron spoke, Caden blinked and looked over at his brother. "If anyone ever finds out what happened, there'll be plenty of all that," he muttered. Caden took another drink before shrugging. "I just imagined it bein' a... relief. For everyone, even mom. Nobody would go to his funeral but us anyway, and what would we fight about? I'd think it'd turn into a party."
‘What would we fight about’ seemed like a funny question to Aaron. They found shit to fight about in the strangest places, and having a funeral for their father would surely stir up a bunch of old emotions in all of them, he’d always thought. Maybe he was wrong, though. Hell, maybe they would all get along better without Joseph in the world, poisoning everything around them. “Maybe you’re right,” he murmured, lifting his beer for another sip. Aaron was quiet for a moment, gazing at the dancers without really seeing them. “If any of us was gonna kill him, I wouldn’t’a put Jasper on top of the list. I would’a guessed it’d be you.” He smirked very faintly and glanced over at Caden again.
Caden wasn't terribly surprised by that admission. He knew he had a temper. He knew he could be violent. He was maybe more like their father than Aaron and Gavin were and that wasn't something he was proud of. It was in his blood no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. Being kind of drunk now, it was easy for Caden to accept it for what it was. "Yeah, me too," he muttered before swallowing down the rest of his drink and then looking around for their waitress so he could order another. "Jasper wasn't actin' like himself though. He wasn't... Jasper. I should've been the one to kill him though." Not that it mattered anymore. Jasper was gone too. Probably dead, like his grandpa. Caden motioned to his empty glass when he caught eyes with their waitress and when he was satisfied she'd drink him another, Caden slumped back against his chair, his eyes back on the dancer. "I think I was gonna kill someone once. That's how this happened." He lifted the hand missing two fingers. He couldn't remember it, but he knew enough now to understand what could have happened.
Aaron supposed that was a good point, Jasper hadn’t been himself. Maybe if this hadn’t happened, Caden would have done the honors eventually. Or the old man would’ve just drank himself to death, like he seemed determined to. Aaron wasn’t even sure which would’ve been the saddest way to go. It made him tired to think about it. He was tempted to order another beer as Caden ordered another drink for himself, but considering how his brother was putting them away, Aaron knew he ought to drive, so he just kept nursing the one he had. He raised his eyebrow and then frowned at Caden, glancing between his mangled hand and his face. “Wait ... what? You said that was an accident. Who were you gonna kill?”
"Dunno. I don't remember much about it." Caden wiggled the fingers that remained and dropped his hand back into his lap. Fucking witches. They thought it was their place to mess with people's lives. They all belonged on fire, if you asked him. Caden wished he could remember the details of that night. All he could recall now were vague images and what Gavin had told him. "Guess I was goin' to get rid of a witch. But then her husband came home." Caden smiled, though there was no humor in the gesture. He realized in a hazy, drunk sort of way that might have made him sound like a psychopath without context but even with how drunk he was, he couldn't explain it all to Aaron. That would be Bad News. "She was a bitch... she's done bad things."
Aaron’s blue eyes got more and more squinty as Caden talked. He didn’t remember much about having part of his body torn off? That seemed weird, for starters, even if he’d been shitfaced when it had happened. Aaron wondered vaguely if more than alcohol had been involved -- because going to ‘get rid of’ a witch sounded like a fucking dumbass idea, and there wasn’t much on earth that made Caden straight up stupid, in Aaron’s experience. “We’ve all done bad things,” Aaron muttered, his tone a bit skeptical. “What the hell did she do to you, then? And how fucked up were you to think you could go face her down on your own? Every witch I ever met ... shit.” He chuckled and shook his head. “I wouldn’t wanna tangle with them alone. Who the fuck knows what they can do.” They could steal fingers, apparently, if that was what had really happened to Caden’s hand.
Caden's laugh caught in his throat. Yes, they had all done bad things. But he doubted Aaron had done anything half as bad as what he and Gavin had done. The waitress arrived with his drink and Caden took a long gulp from the glass before returning his gaze to the dancer. Was it the same one as before? He couldn't remember. Sometimes they all looked the same to him. "She didn't do anything to me. She did something to someone else. I was tryin' to fix it... I think. Probably. I don't know, man. I can't remember the details. I think they fucked with my head." He gestured with his glass. "They can do a lot of bad shit. They oughta all be killed."
It all sounded so vague and weird to Aaron, he both wanted to ask for details and not at the same time. Part of him was a little indignant that he’d obviously been left out of something major, but he hadn’t been talking to his brothers about Adrian or Westin either, so he guessed that was hypocritical. Everyone was entitled to their secrets. He had to wonder who the ‘someone else’ was though ... Roxy? Gavin? Who else did Caden give a shit about? “I dunno if I’d go that far,” Aaron muttered, giving an uncomfortable glance around. There were apparently so many witches in this town, he didn’t want to risk one of them overhearing Caden talking shit. “A couple of ‘em helped us out with Mila, kinda. At least like, told me what was going on with her, even if they couldn’t fix it.”
Had he known that? Caden's brows furrowed together in thoughtful confusion as he studied Aaron. "Who?" He wasn't stupid enough to think D'Onofrio and his woman were the only witches in town and if he hadn't been drinking, he'd probably be able to think of more. But he really hated the idea of those two people going anywhere near his brother. Caden was only semi-aware of how hypocritical that was, considering what they'd paid Reagan Kelly to do, but that was also in the best interest of their brother. It had just been a mistake.
Since Caden obviously had this hatred of witches that Aaron hadn’t known about, he probably should have kept it all to himself, but he was a little drunk too and this was the most they’d talked in a while. He didn’t think for a second that the D’Onofrios were behind his brother’s missing fingers. Aaron shrugged a shoulder, not super comfortable with the memory. That had been an awful time. “Caius D’Onofrio and his wife Reagan,” he said. “He talked to ... whatever was inside of Mila. Before she disappeared. It wasn’t super helpful, but it did help me like ... know that it wasn’t just her going crazy, you know?”
The alcohol on his tongue suddenly tasted rancid and his fingers tightened around his glass. He lowered it and reached over to grip a fistful of Aaron's sleeve. "They're both fucking crazy, Aaron. Don't go anywhere fuckin' near them. Mila either." That was more for selfish reasons because he sure as hell didn't need those witches telling Mila what they had done. Then again, Reagan hadn't known it had been Mila they paid her to hurt, right? Just... someone. The thought helped him relax a little, but not a lot. "Stay away from 'em." Maybe Mila had been possessed by something, but Caden still hadn't forgiven her for nearly killing Aaron. It blew his mind that everyone else had already seemed to.
Aaron’s brow furrowed as he stared at his brother in the dim light. His memory wasn’t always the best, but he knew that Caden’s ‘accident’ had happened before Mila had gone missing. Pretty much everyone in town knew the Lucas brothers on sight -- hell, Aaron had gone to high school with Caius. So they’d hurt his brother for whatever reason, fucked with his head, and then showed up to help Aaron at Gavin’s request? “They’re the ones ...?” he asked, even though he didn’t really need to. Why had Caden wanted to kill Reagan? And of course now the plan was to ask them for help with Adrian’s problem ... fuck. “Mila works for D’Onofrio now,” he reminded Caden. “His dad, at least, but he’s in the same office. I haven’t heard about any beef with us or anything ... You think she’s like, in danger there?”
Caden had either forgotten about Mila working for Anthony D'Onofrio, or he had not been listening all that much when Aaron told him. Whatever the case may be, he didn't like it. But he also knew he could tell Aaron to have Mila quit and Mila could say no. Despite everything, he had learned his lesson and he didn't want to mess in Mila's life anymore. "You haven't heard about any beef, because there is none... not anymore. Gavin said things are square, so... things are square. But I still think they're dangerous." Maybe Gavin had been right and D'Onofrio was leaving things be. As long as they all kept their distance from each other, maybe there would be nothing to worry about. It still killed him to listen to his older brother. Every now and then he had to fight back the fiery urge to drive over to that house in Black Cove and leave some blood behind. Caden leaned back in his chair and rubbed his free hand over his face. He was suddenly so fucking tired. "I shouldn't be talkin' to you about any of this."
So Gavin was involved too, then. The left-out feeling that bubbled up in Aaron was a bit exaggerated from the alcohol, and the last thing Caden said made it worse. “Why not?” he asked, sounding a bit indignant. “I can help with more shit than you think, and you know I can keep a fucking secret.” Aaron guessed it was fair that his brothers had some stuff going on he didn’t know about, because he had stuff they didn’t know about too, but it was always annoying to be treated like the pesky little brother all over again as a grown-ass man. Aaron drained the last of his beer and put the bottle down, then gave Caden a nudge in the shoulder. “Whatever. Come on, let’s go. Gimme your keys, you’re way more drunk than me.”
"Let me finish my drink!" Caden pushed Aaron back, though not with any real malice or force. "Fuck, man. And please don't whine about being left out, okay? If me and Gavin don't include you, it's only 'cause we're trying to protect you." Did that come out right? His words sounded a little slurred in his ears, but he was sure Aaron understood what he meant. Caden knocked back the rest of his fresh drink, barely tasting it before he leaned over to set the empty glass down. "Okay, now we can go. You okay to drive?"
Aaron understood him just fine and rolled his eyes a bit as Caden downed the rest of his drink. He wondered what Caden and Gavin would think of him driving out to the middle of the woods to some crazy laboratory-prison to rescue a man everyone thought was dead but was really an unwilling monster. What they would think of Westin, who had called on him personally to do it. Aaron didn’t need protecting, especially not from his dumbass brothers. He bit back an unkind comment about still having all of his damn fingers and waited until Caden was done. “Yeah, I’m okay to drive,” he said as he stood up. Aaron pulled some cash out of his wallet to throw down as a tip, then started for the door.
Caden stood, rubbing both hands over his face before he set off after Aaron. Flinging one around around his brother's shoulders, Caden dipped his other hand into his pocket and fished out his keys to give Aaron. "'m sorry our dad's dead," Caden said, more as an afterthought than anything else, but in a way, it was true. He was sorry their dad was dead, mostly because he was sorry Joseph Lucas had never gotten his head out of his ass. And he was sorry their dad had been a shithead, and abusive and terrible. And he was especially sorry their shithead father had made Jasper a murderer. Reaching his hand up, he mussed up the back of Aaron's hair. "You'll be a much better dad than he was. You know that, right?"
He didn’t expect to hear either of those things come out of Caden’s mouth, and it showed on his face for a brief moment. He took the keys from his brother as they stepped outside into the cooler air. Aaron was aware that ‘better than Joseph Lucas’ was a low fucking bar to set for fatherhood, but he was glad to hear that Caden thought he could do better. Aaron wished he’d said that back when Mila was pregnant the first time, but better late than never, he guessed. He let them get several paces away from the strip club door, then turned and caught Caden in a firm hug, not giving him much choice in the matter. “That’s all I wanna be,” he mumbled near his brother’s ear. “I’m sorry about him too, and everything he put you through, right up to the end.”
The hug took Caden by surprise and he was probably a little too drunk for his reflexes to instinctively push Aaron away. His arms hung loosely by his side for a moment before one came up to pat Aaron on the back. Caden had never wanted to hear apologies about their dad, unless it was coming from their dad himself, but even then Caden was pretty sure he'd tell the old man to fuck off. Not that Joseph had ever been sorry about anything, and now he never would be. His throat felt thick and dry so all he managed to do was say, "Yeah." in response. Vulnerabilities made him feel weak and uncomfortable, but the drunken haze recognized that it was nice to be hugged by someone who wasn't Roxy, though he enjoyed those too. Maybe he could coax one out of her when he got home.
Aaron knew that Caden wasn’t going to fall sobbing into his arms in some movie-like catharsis or anything. The pat on the back was about what he expected, and at least it wasn’t a shove. He knew he was the least traumatized of the three Lucas brothers and that was mostly because of Gavin and Caden taking the brunt of Joseph’s wrath. It had fucked them up royally, and Aaron hated that. If he could’ve fixed them, healed them, he would have ... but that was up to them to do for themselves. All he could do now was be grateful and love them as much as they would accept. And if that involved hugging his intoxicated brother in the middle of a strip club parking lot because Caden wouldn’t allow it sober, that’s just how it was. Aaron squeezed him tighter and kissed him quickly on the temple. “Thank you,” he murmured, meaning for so much more than just the vote of confidence. “I love you.” Not expecting to ever hear that back, Aaron thumped Caden’s spine a couple times and let him go to turn back toward the truck. “Come on, let’s get your drunk ass home.”
Caden hadn't expected the hug and he definitely hadn't expected Aaron to say he loved him. It was a strange feeling and even drunk, those walls struggled to rise. But he just didn't have it in him to be a dick about it in order to make himself feel less vulnerable, or whatever it was. He murmured another slurred "Yeah" and followed Aaron to the truck. He did love his family, at least as much as he could. Caden was well aware of how fucked up they all were, some more so than others. But he at least hoped his siblings knew he'd always have their backs, no matter how many fights they got into. Caden managed to climb into the passenger side of the truck before he set his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. "You can take my truck home if you need to. I'll get it later."
Part of not being like their dad was going to come from being more loving, and Aaron wanted to extend that to more of his family than just his own kid. He knew they would probably never be a doting affectionate bunch, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t slip it in there now and then. Hopefully his brothers knew he had their backs, but he wanted them to know he loved them too. Maybe now that Joseph was gone for good, they could start healing more as a family, like the thorn in their souls had finally been pulled out. Or maybe that was too optimistic, he didn’t know. Aaron settled into the driver’s seat and started the truck up, glancing over at Caden with a small smile. “Okay,” was all he said as he pulled out of the parking lot and started toward Seaview. He would get Caden delivered home safely, then go home to his woman and snuggle the shit out of her.