Roxy Muñoz (sticksandrox) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-02-19 14:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | #october 2017, caden, caden x roxy, roxy |
Who: Caden and Roxy
When: Evening, Tuesday, October 3rd
Where: Home
Status: Complete
>Caden was not in the best of moods when he closed up the bar and headed home. He had let Aaron leave as soon as his closing duties were done, which was something of a relief, seeing as how the two brothers hadn’t spoken much after their argument - had it been an argument? - over Mila’s pregnancy. He considered calling Gavin on his way, but he had a feeling this was the kind of talk he and his older brother needed to have face to face. And frankly, it was probably better to give Aaron a day or two to come clean to Gavin himself before Caden stepped in. Gavin knew Mila was pregnant, apparently, but not who the dad was. Shit, how had they completely missed that? It wasn’t like Aaron was some kind of super ninja. He and Mila had been together almost a month and no one knew? Well, almost no one.
He parked his truck and pocketed the keys as he headed up the small walkway to the door. Generally he texted Roxy when he was on his way home, but he was too wired and irritated to be bothered with it tonight. The light was on so she was still awake. Probably watching one of her idiot shows. Caden sighed and unlocked the door to step inside.
Roxy was indeed home and awake and watching one of her ‘idiot’ shows. She was curled up on the couch with a soft blanket draped over her bare legs, idly scrolling through her phone while the commercials played. Her head lifted as she heard Caden’s truck in the driveway -- it was kind of impossible to miss, the trailer walls weren’t very thick -- and Roxy frowned softly. He hadn’t let her know he was on the way like he usually did. The part of Roxy that was always on alert for things like that started to give off alarm bells, making her heart beat faster in her chest. She picked up the remote to mute the television, very aware of how much Caden hated listening to women yelling at each other with fabricated drama. “Hey babe,” she greeted as he walked in. She sounded casual enough, but her brows were a bit tense.
"Hey," Caden said, sighing as he tossed his keys onto the counter before he shrugged out of his jacket. He hung it up and walked over to the kitchen to grab a beer from the refrigerator. A part of him wanted to drive over to Aaron's to try and talk some 'sense' into him, but Caden knew it wouldn't do any good. Best to let Gavin do it. Caden had a feeling he and Aaron would just end up throwing punches. "Found out some interesting news today," he said after popping open the beer to take a drink. "Did you know Mila was pregnant?"
Roxy watched him walk by and listened to the familiar sounds of Caden grabbing a beer. She stayed put on the couch, her nerves fluttering a bit when he spoke again. She’d anticipated this, a little bit at least, because she had to anticipate everything in her life, especially with Caden. Roxy just hadn’t quite worked out what would be best to say. “Yeah, she told me,” she answered after a beat. Better not to lie, he probably already knew. And if Caden knew, then Aaron knew, so everybody else would know soon too. Roxy already did not envy Mila having to deal with her parents about all this.
Caden had to appreciate that she didn't lie about it, though he supposed Roxy had no reason to lie about knowing that bit of information. She and Mila were friends, after all. "Did you know Aaron knocked her up?" Caden asked, leaning against the counter as he drank his beer. He honestly didn't know why he was still so surprised. Given Aaron's reputation, Caden should have been more shocked that Aaron didn't already have two or three kids running around town by now. Hell, it was probably a surprise that Gavin was the only Lucas child to have any kids at all. Especially given how their old man talked sometimes. But it didn't matter. All that mattered right now was the problem at hand.
Roxy muffled a sigh and turned the TV off. She pulled the blanket off of herself and stood up to walk into the kitchen as well, dressed just in her panties and a big t-shirt. She went to the fridge to pull out the bottle of wine in there she’d been working on over the past couple of days. “Yes, she told me that too,” she said, giving Caden a glance that was a little wary around the edges. She’d figured he would be pissed that she didn’t tell him immediately, but Mila had understandably asked her to keep her mouth shut, and that was her best friend. Roxy moved around Caden to get a glass down from the cabinet to fill it up.
At least she had turned the television off. He couldn't stand those shows she watched, and he wasn't in the mood for the distraction, even muted. Caden watched her, though he didn't move from where he was. Instead, he reached over to take the bottle of wine out of her hand, holding it as he took another sip of his beer. "You didn't think it was important enough to tell me?" He honestly didn't give a shit if Mila was Roxy's best friend. Caden was her boyfriend, and Aaron was his brother. This affected his family. They shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other for any reason.
She hadn’t expected him to take it, so the bottle slipped out of her hand easily enough. Roxy looked surprised for an instant and then annoyed, giving him a purse-lipped look. She set the glass down and braced one hand against the counter, the other settling on her cocked hip. “She hadn’t even told Aaron yet when she told me,” she said. “She asked me not to say anything. What, you’re supposed to know before he does?” Granted, Roxy had followed up with Mila through text and seen her since then, so she knew how Aaron had taken it and everything, but maybe she could smudge that timeline a little.
"Why the fuck not," Caden said, setting the wine bottle on the counter sharply. He really hated it when she got that attitude with him, like he was annoying her, especially when she was the one keeping things from him. "You fuckin' knew before he did, so what the fuck does it matter if you tell me before she tells him? Or fuck, even after? I found out tonight, from Aaron. You're gonna tell me Mila didn't tell you how Aaron took the news? She didn't tell you when she was going to tell him? You two fuckin' talk about everything. Don't fucking lie to me, like you were doing her some big favor. Why didn't you tell me?"
“I didn’t tell you because she asked me not to say anything to anyone,” she repeated. “Because they didn’t know what they were going to do yet, and by the time she told me how it went, it had been a couple days, and then you and I have been working and busy and there hasn’t been a good time to tell you, Caden. It’s not some grand conspiracy to keep you in the dark.” Since Caden put it down and Roxy really needed something to do with her hands, she grabbed the wine bottle back and moved out of his reach with it to fill her glass up. “Besides, it’s not my news. They should get to announce it how they want, or not at all.”
"Right." Caden pushed away from the counter. "Thanks, Rox. Always good to know where your priorities are." He shook his head and started for their bedroom. He wasn't even sure he was ready to call it a night, but changing and going out for a bit might be a good way to blow off some steam. He was pissed off. At his brother, and Roxy and the whole lot of them for being so goddamn stupid. He had a feeling the only person who would be able to commiserate with him would be Gavin, but even then Caden didn't feel like calling him. Besides, Gavin was usually too uptight to actually let loose and relax anyway, and Caden didn't want to be talking about kids anymore, even unborn ones.
Well wasn’t that a grand surprise, Caden Lucas walking away from an argument. It was probably better than the alternative, if Roxy was being honest, but it was still fucking annoying. He would probably leave now and come home more drunk and not in any better of a mood. Well maybe she would leave too and just not be home when he got back. That would show him. It wouldn’t, but it was satisfying to think about sometimes. “Mila’s more family to me than your stupid fucking brother,” she grumbled. “You keep making sure of that.” She headed back toward the couch to continue her peaceful evening alone, in spite of the dark cloud Caden had brought in with him.
Caden paused at the entrance to the hall and looked back at Roxy, who was taking her wine back with her to the couch. He sighed and rubbed his thumb along the bridge of his nose for a moment before chuckling. "Oh, right... 'cause you need a ring on your finger to be family with someone. Are you fucking kidding me, Roxy. Aaron's fucked and you're going to whine about that shit again. I'm getting really tired of hearing it. If you wanna make Mila your priority over me, that's fucking fine. I'm not going to let you try and use not being married as an excuse for being a bitch."
“Oh I’m being a bitch?” Roxy asked, her eyebrows lifting at him sarcastically. She laughed a little. “Oh okay, sure. I’m not the one all mad and stomping around that I wasn’t the first to know something that has nothing to do with me. I did not say that Mila was my priority over you, because obviously she isn’t, since my dumb ass is still here.” She gestured around them with her wine glass. “Aaron’s not fucked. Aaron’s lucky to be with her at all, and that he didn’t knock up some random bitch who would take him for every penny he has. That would have fucked him. Mila is a godsend to that boy.” She stayed standing by the couch, but took a swallow of wine to punctuate that point.
Caden smirked and leaned his arm against the wall, amused now as he watched his girlfriend. "Oh, thank you for gracing me with your presence, Rox. Didn't know you're bein' here with me was such a hardship for you. And you're pretty fucking dumb if you think Mila can't, or wouldn't, hurt Aaron. He's a fucking mess. You think he's ever been faithful to a girlfriend? The second he steps out, she's going to take him for everything he has because that's what fucking women do. She's a waitress... a waitress who is about to have a kid. They're not going to live on that kind of salary. This relationship is barely a relationship and now they're throwing a kid into it. It's fucking doomed."
God, that smirk was infuriating. And Caden acting like he knew Mila as more than a passing acquaintance. He barely ever talked to her except to dole out orders at the bar, as far as Roxy had ever heard. Roxy rolled her eyes skyward and shook her head. “You don’t know her, don’t pretend like you do,” she said. “She’s not like that. She’s been all heart-eyes for that idiot since they were kids. If he cheated on her? I bet you five hundred bucks she would take him back. More than once. Especially with a baby. And you know what? You’re welcome, Caden. Because this presence?” Roxy gestured at herself, giving a little roll of her hips and tossing some hair over her shoulder. “Is fucking amazing. And since you know so much ‘what fucking women do,’ you oughta know you’re lucky too.”
Caden had known Mila long before Roxy did, and no, they weren't friends, but he didn't need to pry into the woman's life to know how Aaron could be. That was the issue here more than anything else. "Oh, that's good to know," Caden said with a laugh. "You're gonna tell me Aaron's lucky to have a woman like Mila, then you're gonna tell me she'd put up with his cheating. How's that good for him again?" He ran a hand over his face and sighed, already tired of fighting. He just wanted a drink or ten, and to relax. Why couldn't he just get that at home? "And, Rox, I know you're fuckin' amazing, okay? But you go out of your way to make sure I know how fucking lucky I am that your dumb ass is still here, which makes me feel like I'm a piece of shit and you wanna make sure I know it. I'm too tired to have two fucking arguments tonight so can we just pick one?"
He was entirely missing the point, which was that Mila was patient and forgiving and wouldn’t give up on Aaron right away. Roxy had been around long enough to know how he was with girlfriends, but maybe having a baby involved would change things. Maybe he would straighten up and fly right this time. But if he didn’t? Mila wasn’t going to burn all his stuff or scratch his eyes out or try to get all his money. Caden couldn’t see that, of course, and Roxy was likewise tired of trying to get him to. It would play out how it would play out no matter what they thought anyway. It placated her just a bit to hear that she was fucking amazing, but the whole night still felt sour. “How ‘bout none? I vote for zero arguments,” she suggested, biting her tongue on everything else that wanted to spill out. She lifted her glass to him and took another sip, then flopped down onto the couch to curl her feet under her again. Caden could go away. He’d started it anyway, as usual.
"Fair enough," Caden said. "You go ahead and enjoy your wine and reality tv." Honestly, sometimes he wondered what the point was of any of this. Living with a woman was enough of a pain, but at least he didn't have to worry about kids the way Aaron did now. Caden left Roxy on the couch and went to their room to change. It didn't take terribly long, and Caden grabbed his jacket on the way to the door. He didn't bother telling her not to wait up. He honestly didn't care if she did or not. There was probably a whole marathon of those trashy shows on, so she would be entertained for hours. That was okay. He could entertain himself for hours too.