Kaz smiled softly up at Vaughn. He noticed that he seemed confused as to where to put the box, and he looked around the room for a moment. “Uh…I would probably just tuck that in the corner of the closet or something. I’d write your name on it though because I tend to forget whose stuff is what.”
“Yeah, good idea,” Vaughn said with a nod. Kaz seemed to have forgotten about him showing him what was inside as well. Maybe that was for the best. He looked around, eventually finding a small permanent marker. He wrote his name in messy cursive on the lid of the shoe box.
“Hey, um. Can I still ask what’s in it, or do you still not wanna show me?” Kaz asked, sitting up so he could rest his chin in his hands while he looked up at Vaughn
Luka broke the kiss, his heart fluttering. Flutter. My heart fluttered. Ha. Flutter is a funny word. Words are pretty funny. Watermelon is a funny word. "Do you like watermelons?" He asked, warmth spreading throughout his body from Axel's grip.
"Uh, yeah. Watermelons are great," Axel nodded, his head tilting to the side curiously at the absurdity of the question. "Why do you ask?"
Vaughn stoped moving, looking over his shoulder at Kaz. “Oh, er, it’s nothing important. Just some old things… But I guess I could show you,” He said slowly, sitting down on the edge of the bed with the shoebox in his lap.
Kaz scooted over a little so that Vaughn could sit down next to him. “You don’t have to show me if it makes you uncomfortable, babe. I was just curious,” he assured him
“No, it’s okay. You know about the incident, so I might as well show you,” Vaughn murmured. He opened the shoebox, setting the lid aside. Inside were mostly photos, some showing Vaughn grinning brightly as a younger boy. Others were of a small toddler, a girl with brown, extremely curly hair. Some also had a man that looked like an older version of Vaughn, and a middle aged, happy looking woman with hair like the toddlers.
“Is that your family?” Kaz asked softly, leaning over a little so he could see the photos a little better. They all seemed so happy in the pictures. He couldn’t help the small smile that worked its way across his face of Vaughn smiling in the pictures
Vaughn nodded slowly, smiling very faintly. He took out a few small stacks of photos, the stacks being held together by rubber bands. He set them down in between them in case Kaz wanted to look at them. Next, he took out what seemed to be a small, soft, light pink cloth. He smiled a bit more, running his fingers along the material. “This was my sister’s.”
Kaz smiled softly at the fabric. He used to keep pieces of his old life from Germany. He still had his mother's old scarf tucked safely into a small box beneath his bed, as well as a piece of one of the bricks from his old house. "It's…It's lovely," he murmured, a hand reaching out to run his fingertips along the very edge of the cloth
"My thoughts sort of trailed towards watermelons. I don't know why. I guess I'm sort of scrambled." Luka chuckled, his stomach twisting onto itself. I said something wrong. Crap.
Vaughn bit his lower lip softly and nodded slowly. “They didn’t let me keep much, after the incident. Said it was all evidence of a murder scene, and they needed to keep it all. But I managed to convince them to let me keep a few things,” he explained slowly. He didn’t like saying ‘private investigators’ or anything like that, so he hoped Kaz could assume what he meant by ‘they’. He took out the two final items in the box: A beautiful diamond ring and what looked like a child drawn picture that had ‘My family’ written at the top in messy writing. “The ring was my mom’s, her wedding ring. And the drawing was something Adeline did,” he said, forcing himself to use his sister’s name, despite how much it hurt. He turned the paper over to show her name written on the back in fading pencil, and then pulled up his sleeve to show the tattoo on his forearm. The name and the tattoo looked the exact same, hinting that this was the paper he used to get the tattoo in the first place.
Thorn laughed and looked out to the moonlit parking lot. She sat on the bed next to Lana, "You got shorthanded with that. Then again I think all windows go to parking lots."
"True. Hospitals aren't exactly known for being picturesque," Lana said with a smile.
Kaz nodded, eyes flicking from the picture to Vaughn’s tattoo. “I…” he began, not sure what he wanted to say. “I’m sure they were amazing. Except for your dad, we both know I would drag his ass up from the grave just to jam a power line down his throat,” he muttered, a small, bitter laugh escaping him at the mention of Vaughn’s father. He hated the man, hated him for what he had done to Vaughn and his family. Some days he wondered if he could have found a way to meet Vaughn sooner, just so that he could have gotten rid of his father before he could have hurt anyone
From the grave? Kaz thought Vaughn’s dad was dead. “He’s.. My dad isn’t dead, Kaz. He’s stuck in some prison back in my hometown, but he’s not dead,” he explained softly. Jack Finley had been so close to getting the death sentencing, but he had one hell of a good lawyer that changed the hearing. He remembered having to speak as a witness, having to stand up at a podium as a young boy, shaking as his dad stared him down with a heavy gaze. Just remembering that experience made him tense up.
"My thoughts sort of trailed towards watermelons. I don't know why. I guess I'm sort of scrambled." Luka chuckled, his stomach twisting onto itself. I said something wrong. Crap.
"No, no, it's okay. I like watermelons." Axel explained quickly, a bright smile spreading across his face as he leaned against Luka. "I wish I could get out of this wheelchair," He mumbled as he glanced towards the chair he was sitting in. Axel probably could, but it would be difficult for him to stand up on his own.
Kaz tilted his head in confusion. “I…I heard he was dead,” he mumbled, though a sadistic, barely noticeable glint was beginning to work its way into his eyes. Find him, Kaz. Find him, string him up in that prison. Gut him, watch the life drain from his eyes before finding the ones who let him live, his mind hissed, and for once, he almost agreed with it
“No, not dead. There were rumors that he was dead, that he got the death sentencing or that he was killed by other prisoners. But no, he’s still alive,” Vaughn said, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. He was completely positive that his dad wasn’t dead. When he was staying at the hospital, he had gotten a letter. A letter from his dad. He didn’t even bother reading it.
Kaz took a deep breath, a finger twitching with the urge to strangle something. He may have gotten good at repressing his anger, but Vaughn’s father was one of the few things that never failed to make him want to break something. “Don’t ever tell me where he is, or I can’t promise I won’t find him and kill him myself,” he finally said, jaw clenching subconsciously as his mind continued to whisper with dangerous ideas
Vaughn didn’t trust himself to speak, so he nodded instead. The wrong thing might come out if he opened his mouth. Of course he knew what prison his father was in. He also knew that the lawyer was still fighting to get his father bail because ‘Vaughn was just a kid, who knows how much he could have lied or how much his brain could have made up.’ The idea that he was accused of lying about the whole thing was sickening to him. The worst part was that he knew there were friends of his dad who would pay the bail to get him out of prison.
“But would you maybe tell me who his lawyer is?” Kaz asked softly, indulging his anger as Kaon cackled in his brain. He knew how horrible they were if they had let Vaughn’s dad live. That was something he couldn’t force himself to forgive. He was nice, but he wasn’t that nice
Vaughn chewed softly at his lower lip as he considered telling Kaz. The lawyer was just doing their job… “Lincoln Parker,” he answered in a quiet tone. Lincoln was a good lawyer, one of the best in his hometown. No wonder his dad would bet bail soon.
Kaon went wild in Kaz's mind at the name, causing the corner of Kaz's lip to twitch. Come on, Kaz, you know what to do. Find him, tear his heart out and use it to paint his walls. Tell them not to give Mr. Finley bail, make sure they don't. It's been a long time since we've gone out, why not use this as an opportunity? his mind sneered, and if he wasn't scared of making Vaughn mad, he just might
Vaughn noticed the look in Kaz’s eyes, and it caused anxiety to pang in his chest. “I know what you’re thinking… It won’t help anything,” he said, voice quiet. He shifted a bit where he sat, glancing down at the stacks of photos.
Thorn laughed and looked out to the moonlit parking lot. She sat on the bed next to Lana, "You got shorthanded with that. Then again I think all windows go to parking lots."
"True. Hospitals aren't exactly known for being picturesque," Lana said with a smile.
Thorn smiled back, "They really aren't. Same with hotels."