cataclysm

“I’d hardly call you and your brothers adversaries. There was hardly any fight at all when it came to running you all out of town like the sad, pathetic, dogs you are.”

Be careful, be bitchy, same thing. She lightly rubbed at her forehead at the mention of wrinkles but pretended she was simply scratching her head. Rude.

“Dogs are pretty fucking great, Scar. Loyal. But, I guess you don’t really know anything about loyalty.” The Cohens were bred to be selfish. In Henry’s eyes, the lot of them only really looked out for themselves, rather than each other. “Our bite’s worse than our bark. Better make sure to watch your back. I doubt your brother will watch it for you.”

Oh. Oh! She was staring at Henry’s ass. She couldn’t help if it was a good ass, though. Winny felt her cheeks burn slightly, but she recovered rather quickly. She was still a little weary about the Kings being back. It felt incredibly conflicting, but at the end of the day … she’d missed her friend. “Hi Mr. King. Yes, fun night. … Totally unrelated question, but have you been doing squats, or something?”

     “Fuck up their shit. Throw wrenches wherever we can. I’m reconnecting with some old people, see who’s willing to budge. All hands on deck, we’re gonna need ‘em.”

“Yeah, cause Trevor’s a fucking psycho. Bet he treats his family like shit. Hard to stay loyal to a piece of garbage like that.”

“I’m… only a little sorry for hitting you. I still think you kinda deserve it, jerk.”

“How are your brothers? Dia?” 

There was a sigh of relief as Winny’s tone shifted. She was still upset, but he could tell she was starting to warm back up him. “We’re all better now that we’re home. Especially after Jerry died, it’s nice to be back. Dia’s even looking into some commercial properties.” Henry paused, not wanting to go into the anger all three of the brothers held deep within them. Henry knew there was resentment within him towards not only the Cohens, but towards Zach for refusing to fight and towards himself for not trying harder to convince him to stay. Shit hit the fan without them around and the people they cared about, the people who trusted them, got hurt.

“Hell yeah, brother. Just tell me what you need from me and I’ll get it done.”

“I fucking knew you guys would turn up eventually.”

Henry smiled at Christian’s comment; his faith in his brothers was strong. A friend they could always count on. “Doing great now that we’re back. Can’t fucking wait to put the Cohens in their place.”

“They died for our right to party,” he said, thrusting his fist in the air. “Tell me ‘bout your plans,” Henry added, nudging her shoulder. “What’s the vibe gonna be?”

     “How’s it been anyway? Bein’ back?”

     “Who else am I gonna hang out with anyway?”

“I’m still mad, but… I worried about how you were doing while you were gone.”

Henry knew there was no winning this conversation. They fucked up. Never should’ve left. Should’ve stood their ground and fought for their found family. He knew there wasn’t anything he could say to make things better. He couldn’t turn back time and convince Zach not to run. 

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” was all he could bring himself to say. A lot has changed since they left LA. Winny was quite literally sleeping with the enemy. It made things more complicated than they needed to be. Would she really stand by him throughout this war? Having Winny caught in the crossfire was a nightmare. 

Henry was stunned to say the least. “You’re...wow, okay.” There was a lot Henry wanted to say. He definitely didn’t have a right to judge, but he couldn’t help but think what happened between them behind closed doors. Trevor was a power hungry monster and Winny was naive with a heart of gold. It was a recipe for disaster. Though, Winny was always good at finding ways to survive. 

“I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into,” he said, concerned for her more than anything. 

     “Want help settin’ the shit up?”

“I could use a hand building some Ikea furniture if you’re up for it,” he said with a shrug. His apartment was barebones, empty. It’d be nice to get it feeling more like home again.

Henry laughed at Shay’s determination to kick Scarlett Cohen’s ass. Truthfully, he felt the same. Anyone with the name Cohen just made Henry’s blood boil. Henry’s hand almost started to shake thinking of what he’d do to Trevor if he got his hands on him. Though, despite how much he may want to, acting rash and impulsively would make things more difficult. Like always, Henry would divert to Zach, his knowledge and strategy, before he makes a move. Big brother knows best. “The way I can’t wait to run them out of town the way they did us,” he said. Though, if he were honest, Henry’d prefer they end up at the bottom of the Pacific rather than running rampant somewhere else.

An arch of an eyebrow was was the only response Christian could give at first after hearing the familiar voice. Who would have thought of all places, a record store would be the first time where he’d see one of the King brothers.

“I know, right? The music selection has been ass ever since you guys left..”

When he turned his head and saw the man who replied to his statement, Henry beamed. The brothers left behind some people who were undoubtedly loyal and Christian Ford was one of them. “I know, LA is severely lacking without our influence.” Henry smiled wide and embraced his friend in a bear hug. “Dude, how the hell are ya?” he asked, not expecting to run into anyone he knew at this run down record store. Though, this was a coincidence he could appreciate.