Wicked Ones {bxb}

{Chapter 29 : Thunder}

Kailan had always reacted this way to storms. But from what Vincent could remember, he was doing better before he left. He could hold himself up in the face of thunder.

Vinny sighed at the sight of him—someone he'd always thought to be so strong, irrationally cowering from a force that wouldn't harm a hair on his head. He frowned and shifted closer.

Reaching for Kailan's wrists, he gradually guided his hands down from his ears. "You stopped taking your anxiety meds, didn't you?" he whispered over the sound of trembling windowpanes.

"I can't afford them." Kailan's voice was quiet, as if he were embarrassed at the mention of it. He pressed a palm to his forehead, avoiding Vinny's gaze as his fingers slid up to sift through his hair. He didn't want to talk to him, not after what he said earlier. And despite that, it was still a comfort knowing he was there.

"I ran out a couple weeks ago and I don't have insurance." His parents had been so kind to even take him off of theirs, as if they weren't clear enough that he was no longer part of the family.

"I could have helped," Vinny began, but he knew it was a moot point. Kailan would never take his money. Not if he'd sewn it to the skin of his hand.

Though the thunder screamed outside their window, silence still seemed to stick to the air like a bad taste. They were safe in their bastion of blankets, shut out from the blinding flash of the storm; but even with nothing else in the world to focus his eyes on, Kailan wouldn't so much as give him a glance. And Vincent couldn't blame him.

"Did you go after them?" he whispered, rubbing earnestly at the side of his neck. "Those guys."

Kailan scoffed to himself, "No, it was the wrong guy. Scared him shitless, actually."

The whole day felt confusing, but he wasn't too keen on reminiscing about it. Especially as a flash of lightning lit up the room, and the thunder sounded again. Kailan brought his hands to his eyes, leaning back against the wall and respiring with a shaky breath. "Kinda sucks, actually. I was really hoping I could go off and get myself killed. Not like you care, anyway." His tone was unforgiving, but hurt all the same. He kept his eyes withheld; he didn't want to see Vincent's expression.

"I didn't mean that." Vinny shook his head. "You know that, Kai. You know I didn't mean that." He reached toward him, but paused in hesitance and retracted.

Instead, his hands came up to rub at his face, his eyes falling to the faint pattern in the bed sheets. The last thing he wanted was for Kailan to get hurt. The last thing he wanted was to see him dying again. Bleeding out for the third time.

"Sorry," he muttered into his palms. Everything he'd said at that moment was a lie. He cared. He cared so much it nearly killed him tonight.

Kailan responded with a sigh and lowered his hands. "Think before you speak, will you?" Hs voice still edged with a tinge of anger, but it was bit softer as he watched the downcast in Vinny's eyes. "I think I'd be more forgiving if this storm went away," he said, flinching at the next thunderous resound.

"We've been in worse situations," Vinny reminded him, shifting over to lay back against the bed. His arms crossed under his head, and he looked to Kailan with a grin. "Remember those summer storms when we were twelve? Hit when we were camping out in the treehouse. I was afraid the winds were going to knock us on our asses, but you—you didn't give a shit about that. You were fearless with that stuff."

"I guess I have my moments," Kailan murmured, scratched at his head. As far as fearless moments went, this wasn't one of them. But, pulling his hair out of his face, Kailan watched Vinny from where he laid. It was dark beneath the blankets, but Vinny's grin showed brightly. Over the past three years, he'd nearly forgotten what this comfort was like. He dropped his gaze with a smirk.