GHOUL

One absolutely trash king older brother - doesn’t mean to be shit, but also does nothing to not be shit. 

Took on the role of taking care of Asher when he was in his late teens, realizing that his junkie parents weren’t really going to do the job. He wasn’t mad about it at all, but he didn’t realize how much shit he’d miss out on while playing big brother that way

MADDISON CAMPBELL

It’s goin’ to be okay. Maddison can’t remember a time where she didn’t long to hear those words. As a child all she wanted after another one of her mother’s drunken drug induced episodes was to here that it was all going to be okay, and in the middle of drug bust gone wrong within the heart of Culiacán and perhaps even now in the midst of risking it all to stay within her the confines hometown. Nevertheless she had accepted that being comfortable with uncertainty was the only way to live and that in itself was okay. Green hues settled upon his as a small smile crossed her lips and she leant into his hand for the brief moment it ghosted her cheek. “Unless of course you’d rather sell me something?” She taunted, tone void of everything bar sarcasm as she moved beside the male to the edge of the dance floor. Dancing had never enticed her all that much, but it was an excuse to be close to the other that was something she dared not turn down. “As much as I’d love to take you up on that offer, I really don’t think this is the place for it. Still, I’ll take a raincheck on the off chance you land yourself in a cell again.” 

…

His green hues flare at her comment about selling her something, Asher refuses to let any of this touch her despite the fact she has probably been through more than he can imagine. “Not funny,” he breathlessly whispers as his eyes lift up to look somewhere other than her face for a few moments as his hand rests on her lower back, pulling her a little closer to him. He sways to the beat of the music as he lets himself fume in her comment, knowing he even go to the extent of breaking the fingers of any dealer who tries to sell her a baggie. Their history does not need to be repeated and even though he deals with the same thing their mothers couldn’t let go of for them, the white powder isn’t something that needs to touch them. “Deal,” he says as his lips slightly curl into a smile as his gaze drops back down towards her. “I’m sorry I have to work tonight, it’s not the date you deserve and I’ll make it up to you.”

FEW HOURS LATER

Asher follows one of his customers into the bathroom. He shoves his hand into the pocket of his jacket when the male begins to let out loose threats about giving him all of the packets he has in his pockets. “You want to try to rob me? You can’t be that stupid, Tony.” After he speaks, Tony pulls out a knife and inches closer to the Winston male, his tongue brushing along his lips as a low chuckle left his lips. “Tony, man…” Before he could do more, the lights flickers and suddenly the power goes out. He reaches to his back, grabbing the handle of his gun but the door pushes open and exposes the brunette. Tony grabs her by her hair and wraps his arm around her, putting the knife against her neck and in those few seconds Asher has his gun out with the safety off and his finger on the trigger. “Don’t be fucking stupid, Tony.” He mutters as the man begins to tell Asher he needs to give him all of the drugs or he takes her out. “I’ll pull the trigger before you can even blink,” he has no hesitation behind his voice and he’s sure Maddison is fully aware that he would do it. The door creaks open and his eyes don’t leave Maddison despite the calm voice that fills the bathroom — Kade. @kadewinstcn​

There’s very little that can draw him from his own drunken haze. The considerable amount of alcohol that had long since surpassed an ebbing warmth had left him slipping through the hours of the night with a certain ease that Kade very rarely ever felt. A reckless nature very rarely, if ever, stemmed from nothing and the reminder of all of that, lit up and celebrated under the guise of another great year gone has him nursing another double in his hands. It’s within a few passing moments that he looks up, beyond the amber glimmer of his glass, to see Asher following a man that he knows all too well, into the bathroom. It’s a wonder he hadn’t realized it before, and the swimming sensation within his skull begins to slow as pieces of everything he knows, fit together. His circles run wide, all those he knew from the streets of chicago well before anyone should have joined the depths of them, those he stood behind bars with - and now those that he sold weapons to on, and off the grid. There are many faces he remembers, even more than he wishes he didn’t - but Tony had always pushed the trope of unstable to a level that even Kade had yet to sink to. Finishing off the drink in his hand, he drops it back to the round wooden barrel that serves as a cocktail table when he sees something that sets something off inside his head. Maddison. propping open the door for but a fleeting moment before her smaller frame is yanked forward until she disappears beyond it. 

He staggers forward, somewhere between dazed and determined as he pushes aside a few other partygoers that happen to step in his way, “Fuck off,” He states to another as they’re reaching for the bathroom door. The lowly growl in the cavern of his chest eats the unease in a single mouthful and as those around him mutter about the lights and the ethereal darkness that swallows everyone up, Kade pushes gently on the door until his eyes adjust and he’s stood in the room with them. “Am I interrupting something?” It’s cold, completely disassociated from the anger that burns within him - it’s all he’s ever been fueled by. Anger and guilt, and here in the dark, with his brother aiming down the sights of a gun, and a knife to Maddy’s throat, they collide and he can’t seem to tear his gaze from Asher. “Tony?” The faux realization falls with the curve of his own intoxication as he steps forward, a slight stagger in his step as if he were about to greet an old friend, “Tony! You’re missin’ out on the party favors my friend,” a lazy smile follows, languid and easy, because he’s worn it for so long, but it’s enough to convince as Tony’s arm loosens from Maddy just enough to gesture wildly to Asher, “Once he hands it all over, m’not missing out on shit..” Even with more alcohol than blood in his system, Kade sobers up almost immediately, the rush he feels as his elbow hammers down against the man’s temple and no doubt sends stars scintillating across his vision, is more than enough to spur him forward. A hand reaches for the blade - the edge slicing into his palm as Kade grabs Tony’s arm, drawing it away from Maddy and jamming the weapon deep, between two of his ribs. “That’s my fucking brother.” As if it’s not enough, the gun held beneath his jacket is drawn, muzzle pressed against the mans temple, even as blood oozes out through the wound, “Should have gone with the party favors..” He pulls the trigger, the sound drowned out almost instantly by the cheers of the crowd beyond, erupting as the lights flicker back to life, and Tony hits the floor with a deft thump. @maddisoncampbell​

Kade Winston understood fully, that forty eight hours in holding was but a blink in the eye of time. He knew that the cold concrete and the constant shuffle of footsteps past the cell eventually became little more than white noise and a solid place to land, instead of the menial jolt of hope that might bring someone familiar down the corridor. Already, he’d served time for the murder of Kelsey Hannigan, an innocent twelve year old girl who didn’t know what she was moving towards as she hit the curb of East 109th street and became witness to something that would inevitably make her a loose end. The brutal murder had been splashed across every news outlet, almost as vividly as her brain matter had hit the pavement and it was honestly anyones guess how he managed to steer clear of an arrest for so many years following. Yet, it all caught up to him - as he knew it would. After watching the years catch up to his parents, first his father and only more recently his mother, Kade knew the inevitable. He was born for pain and anguish, and the only way out was death itself, but he’d suffer first. He’d suffer endlessly.

The dim lighting that spills through the room is heavy, it holds a stale scent and the dust that doesn’t seem to want to settle in the air can be seen, floating in mid air as he gently pushes the door to his parents bedroom open. He remembers a time when it wasn’t like this, when recreational use was mild - though he remembers through broken, fragmented memories that he’s not even sure are real. Perhaps his imagination had given him something else to live with to bury the pain of being forgotten. His mother is spread out on her back across the covers, her arms are flailing to the faint sound of the radio as she clicks the lighter - once, twice..- holds it beneath the end of the small glass pipe, stained black from the open flame. “Mom,” his voice hasn’t raised above such a quiet octave in so long, he’s not even sure what it sounds like anymore. Still, she ignores him, sitting up, legs crossed beneath her in a gentle sway that somehow doesn’t match the tempo of the song playing. “Mom --- there’s no food and there’s another eviction notice on the door.” Returning from school that morning after his father had called the principal and demanded that he be sent home for a family emergency had already seen him in low spirits without seeing that bold red lettering stapled to the creaky, wooden door. The family emergency? There was nobody here to look after Asher, and that was his responsibility.

KADE WINSTON

Never, had Kade ever anticipated that this would be a place that he’d find himself in. That the nonchalant abyss that engulfed him would void any emotion he might have once held in regards to the life he’d left his brother to. Truthfully, he’d sought out any and all relief for that guilt long before now, and surely, pieces of it existed within the ravenous highs and complex, volatile lows that followed. Pieces that he couldn’t dig deep enough to find anymore. There was nothing he could do to change that now - nothing he could do to fix the things that either of them had undoubtedly done for one another. The only thing that Kade could offer were the ten years of life that existed in somewhat normalcy. It was certainly more than he’d ever had. He wanted to tell Asher that it was a waste of breath - of energy, because he’d never be anything other than exactly what he was - that he didn’t intend to be better. Existence was all he could manage, and if that kept him alive, so be it. It not, he had no qualms with it anymore. “I am like her, Asher.” He spoke roughly, heavy lidded hues casting upwards to his brother. “Give up. You didn’t do her any good, and you’re not going to do any good here either. Quit wasting your fucking breath.” If any time that Asher might occupy with Kade could be put to better use, then perhaps there still existed the same hope that Asher could live something more than this. That he could leave all of this behind, and find something that wasn’t damped by guilt or obligation. Though it wasn’t shocking in the least, the muscle in Kade’s jaw worked over and over again as Asher told him about the night he’d buried their mother. A night that Kade had been high out of his mind, mourning a woman that’d never shown him an ounce of love and hadn’t given him ten years to guide him in a different direction. “I am next,” No matter what happened, of that he had absolutely no doubt. His penchant for the reckless, the dangerous and foolhardy made it almost inevitable. A head first dive into something more justifiable than his stint in prison for stealing the life of a twelve year old girl. “The sooner you learn to live with that, the easier it’ll be.” 

…

In that moment, Asher realized if it hadn’t been for Maddison through his childhood that the hole he would have dug for himself would have been similar to the one Kade made for himself. Each night at his parents house, observing the two adults in his life get as high as the could and not even care what the consequences would have been. How did every single person in his family get that trait to disconnect and stop caring about him? If Kade hadn’t been responsible for taking care of him would the two of them still be standing here in a cell together? How had it been so easy for Kade to turn his back on him? After losing Maddison, the youngest Winston had gotten a taste of what it was like to not have a single person in his life care about him. Confessing what had actually happened to him that night and not even a blink came from his older brother. Instead all Kade could do was give him the same fucking speech he did every single time the two of them were breathing the same air. Turning his head to look away from Kade, clenching his jaw a little. Standing there in silence, the male repeated his brother’s words in his mind. Maybe this time he could take a page out of his brother’s book. He turned around and walked over to the bars, leaning against it. “I want my phone call. Now.” When the officer came into light, Piper had been standing next to him. “Right in time, Winston. Your lawyer paid your bill.” He kept his back to Kade, moving out of the cell. “Great,” he said, walking with them and away from his brother, not listening to whatever the officer was telling his older brother.

…

Blue hues focused on the metal bars, practically begging Piper or Axel to come around the corner at any moment to get him the fuck out of this little cell. His tongue brushed along his lower lip as he tilted his head down to look at his lap as he stretched his legs out, leaning back against the wall. He didn’t say anything. Instead the young Winston male let the silence fill the four walls as he thought over his brother’s words. It had him thinking about all of the times he found his mother passed out in the bathtub, on the couch, in her bed. All the time he had to be the one to bring her back and call the paramedics to finish the job. Each painful memory and the thought that Kade had thought about his life the same way. Had it been his fault? Would Kade have taken the same path as their parents if he didn’t have to take care of him for ten years? All those Christmases, Easters, Thanksgivings. All those stupid little holidays and for the first ten years of his life somehow Kade had provided the things he had to in order to give the little boy he once was hope in the world. Those three days out of the year were magic for Asher and to hear that Kade didn’t care about his life. Dropping his hands from his chest, the male glanced down towards his hands, thinking about the night he had brutally murdered a few thugs that had come for him to get to Kade. He curled his fingers into the palm of his hand as he lifted his eyes slowly back up to the bars, knowing the two of them were the only ones in this little cell. “It matters to me,” his voice was so soft, the fact the words had even left his mouth in the first place was a shock. “Your life.” He clarified. “You think I want you to end up like her?” He shook his head, standing up from the bench. “You want to lay there and tell me I’m smarter than that when you have no idea what I’ve done.” He knelt down by Kade, putting his hands on his knees. “You want to know how fucking messed up I am? The night I buried her I was approached by a few unhappy dealers or whatever the fuck you’re involved in… Askin’ me if I’m Kade Winston’s little brother and if I can deliver a message to him. That message? They beat the shit out of me, Kade. Their mistake? Telling me that you were next. Try to guess where they are now, brother.” His gaze ice cold as he kept his attention solely on the other man. “Six feet under. That’s how much your stupid fuckin’ life means to me.” His voice low enough for only Kade to him.

Never, had Kade ever anticipated that this would be a place that he’d find himself in. That the nonchalant abyss that engulfed him would void any emotion he might have once held in regards to the life he’d left his brother to. Truthfully, he’d sought out any and all relief for that guilt long before now, and surely, pieces of it existed within the ravenous highs and complex, volatile lows that followed. Pieces that he couldn’t dig deep enough to find anymore. There was nothing he could do to change that now - nothing he could do to fix the things that either of them had undoubtedly done for one another. The only thing that Kade could offer were the ten years of life that existed in somewhat normalcy. It was certainly more than he’d ever had. He wanted to tell Asher that it was a waste of breath - of energy, because he’d never be anything other than exactly what he was - that he didn’t intend to be better. Existence was all he could manage, and if that kept him alive, so be it. It not, he had no qualms with it anymore. “I am like her, Asher.” He spoke roughly, heavy lidded hues casting upwards to his brother. “Give up. You didn’t do her any good, and you’re not going to do any good here either. Quit wasting your fucking breath.” If any time that Asher might occupy with Kade could be put to better use, then perhaps there still existed the same hope that Asher could live something more than this. That he could leave all of this behind, and find something that wasn’t damped by guilt or obligation. Though it wasn’t shocking in the least, the muscle in Kade’s jaw worked over and over again as Asher told him about the night he’d buried their mother. A night that Kade had been high out of his mind, mourning a woman that’d never shown him an ounce of love and hadn’t given him ten years to guide him in a different direction. “I am next,” No matter what happened, of that he had absolutely no doubt. His penchant for the reckless, the dangerous and foolhardy made it almost inevitable. A head first dive into something more justifiable than his stint in prison for stealing the life of a twelve year old girl. “The sooner you learn to live with that, the easier it’ll be.” 

Blue hues raised up to look out the cell, pressing his lips into a thin line as the expression on his features remained unreadable. His head tilted back to rest against the wall behind him as his legs extended out, tapping his hands against his lap. He brushed his tongue along his lower lip, glancing over in the direction of his older brother when he made the comment about being in the cell next to him. His tongue rolled along the front of his teeth as his jaw clenched at the comment about being a dickhead. His mind shifted to the conversation he had with the officers earlier about him being a suspect in the bombing at LITE which he could easily say he wasn’t because he hadn’t been but it also dawned on him that not in the few minutes the two brothers had been forced into the same room did either of them ask what the other had done. “It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it?” He breathed, the vulnerability of his words causing his voice to crack slightly. He cleared his throat as he slid down slightly to lean his upper back against the wall as his eyes focused on the area in front of the cells. “I have done… so much to keep you alive and all you do is sit there and act like I’m doin’ it to prove I’m better than you.” He scoffed. “You don’t know a fuckin’ thing about me. Quit fuckin’ actin’ like you do.”

where: old town ale house

who: @kadewinstcn​

“Uhm,” Lucia paused settling in her seat to get more comfortable, although it was feeling like comfortability was not a state she could find easily. Ever since that night, she couldn’t shake the unease that rested against her bones carrying it becoming a harder task each day. She turned to Kade, a fellow Syndicate who shared her worries and even better, a friend. “So was this a drinks only situation cause I’m pretty sure I shell out for food or something too…” her tone was teasing but she could eat.

location:game stalls, navy pier

date:october 30th

status:closed to @kadewinstcn​​

There was an odd sensation that stirred within the pit of her stomach, and uneasiness that she hadn’t felt since she had been rendered a stranger in a whole new country many years ago. The three amigo’s had been enjoying themselves, just like old times when Asher had taken his leave toward the bathroom and never returned. While she was acutely aware of his job she knew better than to believe he had failed to return because he was off selling or worse. It wasn’t like him to disappear, after all that was much more her speed than that of the other two. And with no response to her text messages nor Brielle’s the duo had briefly split to cover more ground. “For someone that used to claim he was good at so many things, you’re a lousy shot.“ While it wasn’t necessarily true, it was all she needed to gain the attention of the older Winston male from where he stood before the stall. “We need to talk.” She remarked, turning to face her back to the vendor as she lowered her tone. “Have you seen your brother tonight?”

ON THE STREET October 30th w/ @kadewinstcn​

Camille walked down the street, holding the box of doughnuts in her hands. She had been on her way to drop off a little snack for the officers in the station even though she was off the raven-haired woman’s mind was constantly thinking about the cases she had and the recent one was what the hell happened on labor day. There was no hardcore evidence but it was mostly the rumors that people were feeding off of but the woman had never been someone who listened to rumors… It was the facts that she lived off of. She turned around the corner, bumping into someone and dropping the doughnuts on the ground. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

The smell of freshly made doughnuts didn’t slip past him, even as they fell from the brown paper bag that once rested safely in Cami’s hands. Her apology was useless - the entire run in was completely his fault. The small scuffle with one of his friends had sent him stumbling in the wrong direction after tripping over a whole ass child. His deep timbre laugh settled as he straightened, his hand settling against her shoulder, “Ease up, you don’t know your own damn strength, Cami.” He cooed, winking down at her, his beer bottle resting against his chest now. “You always waste good doughnuts like that?”

THE POLICE STATION October 31st w/ @kadewinstcn​

Tapping his foot against the cement flooring in the jail cell, his eyes focused on the door. As his hands were behind his back and locked together with hand cuffs, the one person he shouldn’t have been surprised to walk past was none other than his brother and after his own lovely conversation a part of him had to wonder what the fuck Kade got himself into this time. His eyes glued on the empty space for God knows how long until his brother and the cop appeared in front of it. “Too bad your one phone call will be sharing this cell with you tonight, Winston.” Asher’s tongue brushed along his lower lip as his eyes remained on his brother. If his questioning had been about the night of the bombing and being seen on CCTV footage because of gang activity. Was his brother’s arrest gang related or did he stick his toes too far in the white powder again? He waited until the officer walked away before he spoke. “So… Care to tell me what the fuck I need to get you out of now?”

With his most recent release less than a year prior, Kade didn’t think too much into being dragged away from the carnival. Too little happened in this city without something inevitably pointing to him. Regardless, it certainly had never stopped him from being willing to dirty his hands far more than some. What he hadn’t quite expected, was to be questioned about the stabbing of the Vronsky kid - he knew that nobody had seen him, so beyond constantly pleading the fifth until he had could speak to one of the syndicate lawyers, he’d done little but stew over what a fucking complication this could become. As he was shoved into the cell with his younger brother, Kade made an effort to keep his eyes focused elsewhere. The seething disappointment wasn’t something that he needed right now, and even as Asher spoke, he fought the urge to bite back.. which, failed.. miserably. “And how exactly do you think you’re going to get me out of anything while you’re sitting right here next to me, baby brother?” Once he’d slid down to the floor, he kicked his feet up as naturally as if he’d been here every day since. “Your holier than thou attitude doesn’t work while you’re in cuffs too, dickhead.”

It was safe to say that Violet had never been in a situation that mirrored this one, not even in the slightest. Her vision was hazy at best, the darkness that enveloped the club only partially helped with the phones that were being pulled out to create some light. Her ears awaited for another —Explosion? Bomb? She wasn’t even sure she had the words to explain and instead shrugged in a helpless way. “I’m not sure..” she trailed head twisting around to try to take in their surroundings. It looked like parts of the club had fallen apart and it made her nervous that the roof was not too far behind. Some other collapse made her jump in her stance reaching for Kade instinctively but quickly letting go when she felt what she assumed to be blood. “You’re hurt?”

Absolutely fucking peachy. I’ve peaked, clearly.