#wmwio

Vince: he never gets anxious, rarely ever anticipates anything anymore. butterflies in your stomach can be hard to feel when you accept bad news as your norm, and strife and misfortune seem to rule your existence. but in this moment, as he waits for vanessa to come bounding out of the house with his prospective child in tow, he grips the steering wheel tight and sighs and jiggles his foot impatiently. maybe it’s the confusion of it all that’s got him so uneasy, the fact that he’s not sure what news he’s hoping for—that he’s rocky’s father, or that he isn’t. the sight of them makes him sit up a little straighter on instinct, always wanting to seem in control and relaxed and like nothing ever gets to him. dark hues do a final scan of his interior for blunt ashes and weed crumbs, not wanting to give vanessa anymore reason to believe he was an unfit parent. “hey little man” he greets the toddler first, can’t help it, can’t stop looking at him with all his wild hair, and vanessa’s eyes, and what he starting to think is his nose. and once he’s all situated and vanessa slides into her spot in the passenger’s seat her says hello to her too, but softer, more confidential, the way adults talk. calloused fingers shift the car into gear, and they’re off. no turning back now.

Vanessa: "and if you're good and still the whole time, i'll take you to Cold Stone and you can get /whatever/ you want. even sprinkles," vanessa grinned, getting the boy into his shoes. vanessa wasn't too sure how she felt about everything going on. her head had been spinning around this topic for weeks that now it just felt like a relief to finally know. vanessa wouldn't be in the dark regarding her own secrets finally. there were pros and cons to vince being rocky's father. they'd be under the gang's protection for life, tiny would be an amazing uncle, vince made steady money, and vince would do his best to actually be a father and not end up like his own; but at the same time the gang would be obviously still around, vince's impulses were sometimes violent, and the biggest one for vanessa was none of the pros had to do with her. she wanted to be with whoever rocky's father was longterm. she didn't want him dealing with stepfathers or her to forever be considered someone's baby mama drama. the second she heard the knock, rocky took off to the door, thankfully waiting to open it for his mother. "vince!" rocky greeted. vanessa allowed rocky to follow vince to the car, giving her time to set the car seat up and in her surprise see the car actually clean for once. "hey vince," she replied meeting his tone. if she wasn't ready before, she sure was now. "ready?" she asked, hoping he was in the slightest as nervous as she was.

Vince: “as I’m ever gonna be” he remarks with eyes trained on the road and music dialed up just slightly. “oh, I forgot—“ he points toward the glove compartment in front of where vanessa sits. “little girls were selling some girl guide cookies on the way over here, said I’d get some for the little man but only if you say he can have em’” she is, after all, his mother. despite however much she denies it, tries to cast it out, or who the father is. they approach a stoplight, slight squeak of his brakes reminding him to get those checked. a car with dark tinted windows pulls up to the passenger’s side, starts revving the engine, and at first he thinks they want to race. he chuckles and nods to vanessa at his side as if to say, not with his “girl” in the car. but they’re unrelenting, and starting to aggravate him, so he rolls down the window to shout, “chill!”but when the driver in the other car follows suit and he gets a glimpse of a familiar set of eyes he freezes. “oh fuck no”

Vanessa: vanessa was shockingly surprised to see the offering vince had brought. she grabbed them from him, offering a genuine smile before looking over the ingredients. the boy in the back was already whining 'please' before vanessa was able to open the box. "you only get two now, okay bud?" she spoke softly. vanessa was so wrapped in making sure rocky was good and not making a mess, she didn't even notice the revving around her. it wasn't until vine shouted out her window that she got worried. "vince...." her voice lingered, the fright apparent in her point. she didn't know right now who she was more scared about, but she knew she'd sacrifice herself before anything happened to rocky. "fuck no, what? vincent maurice bell, do /not/ do what i think you're about to."

Vince: the next few moments go by in slow motion. he reaches for the gun tucked underneath his seat but by the time he can the driver of the black camaro has a barrel pointed toward vanessa, and the only thing more menacing than his finger on the trigger is the gold-toothed grin he wears. “get out the car, alla you get out the car!” he barks, and vince can’t think anything besides why this had to happen today. when things weren’t necessarily good but at the very least supposed to be about family. slow motion turns into think fast, and he shares a glance with vanessa that says to do what he says. trust him, even now when he deserves it the least. he says nothing about rocky, just prays he stays quiet as a mouse in the back and doesn’t witness anything foul. he gets out of the car, but not without tucking his pistol into his back pocket. the thug, who vince knows in the streets as o-dawg, chuckles triumphantly. and another goon hops out the back seat to inspect, “sexy ass” he comments to vanessa under his breath, eyes her in a way that violates. there’s a car approaching, signaling the beginning of the end, but it’s when he starts nearing the backseat, and o-dawg is too busy talking his shit that vince shoots at the man in the driver’s seat, wounding his shoulder. just in time for goon #2 to fling the backdoor open and find baby rocky. desperate, he grabs the baby and stuffs himself back into the camaro. “drive, drive” is all they can hear and before vince can fire off enough bullets they speed off in spite of the red light. and maybe he is his kid, because the rush of devotion he feels in this moment puts him back in the driver’s seat. “let’s go!” he tells vanessa, who is undoubtedly traumatized from what she’s just seen, but vince doesn’t have time for fear, knowing right now seconds were crucial to whether rocky comes out alive. “we’re on they ass” he says, putting petal to the medal.

Vanessa: and just like that vanessa was back to that small child looking to vince for answers as she moved slowly out of the car. vanessa kept her eyes on vince, away from rocky to make sure that they didn't bother looking towards the back. anything to keep them focused on vince and vanesa and not her baby in the back. her hands were shaking as one of the men circled her, catching the way his eyes lingered on her for far longer than she normally would want. it took everything in her to hold back her spit-fire tongue and just let it all happen. vanessa nods to vince, trying to listen as they do and follow his movements. he'll figure it out. he'll keep the same, he promised. that is when the world crashes in and gun shots run through her head. vanessa doesn't think twice and runs to the backseat but is stopped by the other guy who already has rocky. "nessa! nessa!" the little boy screams as he's pulled into the other car. "rocky! rocky! let him out! let him out!" vanessa's banging on the door as it quickly speeds from under her. her vision is blurred by her own tears as the car continues to zoom past them. vanessa jumps into the passenger side door, "you promised! you fucking promised!" vanessa screams as the car takes off. her heart was pounding at a million miles a minute as it felt like the distance between their car and vince's only grew. that attachment that she thought she'd never feel for rocky was growing and that mother instinct of fight or flight was trying to kick in. all the walls and coldness she had worked so hard on completely broke at the idea of losing rocky.

Vince: he’s doing his best to race down the road after them, bobbing and weaving between cars, little beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. “fuck vanessa, do you think i planned this!” he counters frustrated and trying to focus, because the distance between the two cars is growing no matter how much he floors it, pushing his mercury to speeds it’s never reached before. but he can’t catch them. they’re too far gone, and he realizes when the black camaro turns onto the expressway and they’re stuck behind two cars at a red light that this chase is futile. “fuck!” he exclaims, punching the steering wheel. “im sorry v, i’m so sorry” words he isn’t sure he’s ever uttered before in his life, perhaps he knew all along to save them for a moment like this. the deep and dying breath of their chance at a family.

Vanessa: Vanessa's body froze over for a moment. It felt as if everything emotion she had ever held back was finally hitting her and Vanessa couldn't stop herself from completely falling a part. She just stared at the red light before a ball of tears came down her face. The flood gates had opened as she curved into herself. She could hear his sorries as she lifted her head up for a moment, her head falling into his lap as her tears continued to fall.