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Your Ghosts

Chapter 23: Addiction / Dependance

Summary:

Kevin withdraws from his medicine.

Alternate here:Here

Notes:

>>>>> warning <<<<<

Ok, so this chapter is about withdrawal and withdrawal symptoms. It might not be 100% accurate, but is based off of my own withdrawal from opiates (perscription, perscribed for too long). Morphine is quite a bit stronger and would likely have different/worse withdrawal so I amped it up a little (I, of course, did not die).

Also, character death (but it's not really. He survives it.)

I will seperate it from the parts for 'Special Training' with ********************

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Kevin slept on Carlos’ sofa that night. He had wanted to go back to the lighthouse but Carlos had refused to let him. Doug and Alicia guarded the door to make sure that Kevin hadn’t left.  He supposed it wasn’t the worst place to be trapped. Carlos had material over the windows to stop the light getting in while they slept and things to lie down on that were more comfortable than the sand. Carlos had gone to bed a while ago and he was left to sort himself out, get dressed, and take his medicine. No, that bottle was empty. So was that one. No. Nope. No…

 

His panic grew as he threw bottles and bottles to the side. He didn’t have a single drop left. Not even in the syringe. He hadn’t been able to go and get more and Doug refused to leave his post or get one of the other army members to go and get it. He had to wake Carlos up. It was the last thing he wanted to do but he had to!

 

“Carlos?” Kevin shook him, a bottle clutched in his hand, “Carlos, I need a scientist.” 

 

Carlos’ eyes fluttered open, stroking Kevin’s face in his half-awake state. It felt magical. His fingers were soft and gentle and it took everything in Kevin's hearts not to turn and kiss his hand.

 

“Cecil, I’m really tired. I want to, so bad, but maybe in the morning.” 

 

Kevin’s face flushed hot. He had to take a deep breath and calm himself before he spoke. 

 

“Delightful news, but I’m not Cecil, Carlos. I wish I was, trust me, but I am not. I'm Kevin. Remember? I need you to do something for me. I need you to be a scientist, ok?” 

 

This time Carlos had rubbed his eyes and sat up, slipping his glasses on. Before he could say anything else, Kevin had pushed the bottle into his hands and he was staring at it. It was small and had several piercings in the film on the top. Empty and made of pretty cheap plastic materials. 

 

Pete Frith. StrexCalm 10mg/ml. 2ml, Once per day. Do not take more than the recommended dose. Side Effects include;...

 

“Kevin, did you steal someone’s medicine? What’s StrexCalm?” His voice stayed calm, studying the side effects as he turned the bottle in his hand. They were relatively standard, apart from the addiction warning and instructions for employees suffering from addiction, which included the line ‘addiction will not be tolerated’

 

“No, it was in the waste facility. It’s the same as mine but I ran out.” Kevin explained quickly, looking around even though there was no chance that someone would be there, “I need you to make me some more. I can’t live without it. Quiet literally. I’ve come off it once before and oh.. well... I wasn't happy for quite a long time. Quite a long time. I can’t handle that again. No matter how positive I keep my attitude.” 

 

Carlos’ eyes narrowed at him and then at the bottle again. He noted the pricks in the top and then looked at Kevin’s arm. There were bruises. There were scars. The same scars he had noted the day before. He had thought they were older than that but it also occurred to him that they certainly were not nine years old. He couldn’t help but sigh and stand up, shrugging on his lab coat and a pair of slippers.

 

“I might not be able to make it exactly, but I should be able to make something similar. Do you know any of the ingredients? It would be a big, like BIG, help.” 

 

“I know all of them.” Kevin scratched his shoulder, his smile widening as he tilted his head. It took a moment’s thought to remember what he had been told. A memorized list with no meaning behind it, but it came back to him, “They are Serotonin, Endorphins, Dopamine, Oxytocin, Norepinephrine, and....” 

 

Kevin hesitated, feeling Carlos staring at him. The scientist looked impressed so far, rather than repulsed. Kevin wouldn’t let on that they were just long words he’d been trained to say. Kevin knew that the last ingredient would not yield the same respect that his current list had earned him. The last one was the one that would probably upset or disgust Carlos. 

 

“And…?” Carlos pressed, smiling. Smiling God, he did not want to change that smile, “So far, so good. Difficult to make but I might be able to find a shrew and figure something out. It will probably take a few days. In the meantime you’ll likely start feeling low moods and possibly loneliness. A decreased sex drive, but that's not a big deal here.” 

 

Thanks for reminding me. The last one is... well… It's morphine.” Kevin looked away, bringing his legs up to his chest and smiling at the cupboard that was the other side of the room. He didn’t want to see Carlos’ reaction, especially if Carlos would make him specify what he meant. ‘Morphine’ could have been a variety of things. Most common in hospitals was diamorphine, what Kevin had, which would normally be used as a strong painkiller. Kevin knew this. Kevin knew that a lot of people got addicted to it, inside and outside of hospitals. The other form was hydromorphone, similar but not quite the same. Kevin knew less about that one. 

 

“I see.” Carlos had said. Kevin had closed his eyes to try and ignore the tone. It wasn’t judgemental, so to speak, at least not towards him, “Well, I don’t think that’s needed. I’m not sure if any of this is necessary, honestly. StrexCalm sounds more like brainwashing, considering what I know of Strex. If you’ve been on it for this long, though… it would be around eleven years I suppose? Or even longer still... I’d have to check the recording… then you’ll struggle without the hormones. Your brain would have stopped producing them for itself.” 

 

Kevin nodded. He hadn’t meant to nod, he just did. He started to feel sick and wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t taken his medicine or if it was nerves. He didn’t want Carlos to be judging him. He didn’t want Carlos to be mad at him. Everything inside him wanted to run away and go and find another bottle in the waste management facility and just stay with his beautiful feelings.

 

“Kevin, I’m not going to make you this. We’ll try to get your hormones back to normal, ok. Naturally.” 

 

He couldn’t reply. He couldn’t think of what he would need to do to be normal again. Could he get back to normal again? Would he still be him? He couldn’t think of what he would need to do to get through this, especially if his stomach was already starting to threaten to pull out of his abdomen. Then there was a blanket around his shoulders. Carlos’ special blanket. He had told Kevin not to touch it before and that Cecil had brought it to him before he was locked in the other world. Cecil had been so busy. Cecil was saving the town and he still had time to bring Carlos his comfort item. It made the feeling of it around Kevin’s shoulders even more important to him and he was very careful while pulling it close. 

 

“You’ll need this. Your thermoregulation is not going to work properly.” Carlos started, leaving to grab a thermometer and handing it to Kevin, “I don’t think you’ll die. That doesn’t happen here, but I might need to find something to keep you cool and look after you. The blanket will be fine for keeping you warm. If you’re going to be sick, please try to avoid my blanket. It's difficult to wash things here and it's the only one I have.” 

 

Kevin nodded, watching the man walking around. It made his heart hurt in such a pleasant way. 

 

*********************************************************************************

 

“I’ll need to come back to put the number in our system when you stop bleeding.” The scientist leant against Kevin’s desk. He had turned the cameras off when he had entered but it seemed like this was simply preference, it had scared Kevin beyond comparison. He had only been in training once and they had only let him out because he had agreed to let R&D poke him with sticks.  How long he’d been in there? He didn’t remember. He barely remembered that they had come while he was meant to be reading his lines. He had been reading them for hours and had only made a few mistakes, but they were enough for the shocks to send him to a mumble. Drool had escaped his mouth as he desperately tried to read. ‘Strex doesn’t make mistakes. Perfect StrexCorp. We value your happiness. Believe in a Smiling God.’ 

 

 “You seem nervous, Kevin.” 

 

“I’ve been in training and now I have another lab coat giving me a bar code like I'm a product.” He replied, although flinching at the thought of the shock he would get for speaking back to his new owners. He was a product. That’s all he was allowed to be these days. That was the game he had to play. The language he had to use. They had full control of him, if he didn't want to end up being tortured again.

 

The man nodded, frowning. “This is the most productive way to do this, Kevin. Strex values productivity. If I can scan you and have all your data, I'm not wasting time searching a database. Anyway... How about we talk about something else? Let’s get to know each other.” 

 

Kevin scoffed, rolling his eyes and biting a nail. His hand was removed from his mouth in the most gentle action he had felt since Vanessa. It wasn’t difficult to hold that title. Normally when he bit his nails he would have them slapped from his mouth or worse, but this man was holding him gently. Almost lovingly. Unless Kevin was going crazy, the man was actually holding his hand. Stroking the back. Gently. Kind. Calm.

 

“I’ll ask them to go easy on you. I have sway.” 

 

“I noticed. You’re a spitting image of th-... the boss. Why doesn’t Lauren look like you two, you're siblings right? Doesn’t that ruin the ‘perfect’ aesthetic?” Kevin was referring to the man who had brought him back to his studio, sat him down and put a gun to his head while asking him who he belonged to. Kevin remembered that clearly. Too clearly. As if it was still happening. He remembered his tears and being yelled at to be quiet and smile. He remembered being told that he will work, work harder than he ever had before. He remembered the calm, smiling face of the man who was threatening his life and he remembered crying after he had left. Throwing up in his wastebasket. It was still sat there under his desk.

 

The man sighed, running fingers through his hair. It was the same style as Damien’s, but the grey was more of a streak than the large section that Damien’s took. He didn’t seem annoyed by the question, quite the opposite. It seemed to amuse him. He wasn’t laughing but that grin. It was stunning and God Kevin was losing his mind. He was actually attracted to one of the people actively ruining his life.

 

“Lauren looks more like my mother. She didn’t get the blessings that I got.” 

 

Kevin raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t disagree, the man was attractive, but it was a bit arrogant that he was just admitting it so readily. His eyes flicked to the gun under the jacket that was under his lab coat, tempted to go for it while he was distracted. He thought better of it after Diego had stepped away from Kevin, turning his chair to keep facing him.

 

“It would be nice to get some new equipment, I guess.” Kevin stated, poking his microphone and looking up with his best puppy-dog eyes. If he was about to be assaulted, he could at least make it for asking for something he actually wanted. He didn't have old equipment, quite the opposite, but that didn't mean there wasn't newer things still he could have.

 

There was a pause and Diego stared into his soul. He had the strongest brown eyes, even stronger than his father’s. Kevin had to bite his lip with his gums to stop himself from moving away from him. He was terrified but no punishment came. Diego simply nodded. 

 

“I’ll ask if it’s in the budget.” 

 

*************************************************

 

Carlos looked over the shivering mass that laid on his sofa. He had put a twinkie on the table that he’d found in Kevin’s bag. He wasn’t sure if Kevin would be able to eat and Carlos had been tempted to eat it himself but he couldn’t bring himself to take food from someone who looked like they were dying. 

 

“I’m dying.” A choked voice had told him from under the blanket. This wasn’t even the worst point and Carlos knew it would just continue to get worse over the next few days. He didn’t want to tell Kevin that but he also didn’t want to lead him on. The man had been weak yesterday, so it was a possibility that the only reason Kevin was still able to be a shivering mass was that the desert was repairing what was dying as it did. It might have been that the only thing keeping Kevin alive were these weird properties.

 

“That’s possible.” He agreed. Fortunately, Kevin just moaned in reply. He didn’t have the strength to understand the words being told to him. The shivers didn’t give him a second’s relief from the painful cold. His head threatens to explode under the pressure of itself. His throat burnt from the amount of times he’d thrown up and he could claw his skin off if he had a moment of not needing to hug himself to stay warm. 

 

“I looked through the recordings. You’ve been on this for at least eleven years but they put you on it on and off before that.” Carlos told him, but got no reply. There were just sobs. 

 

At one point he caught Kevin’s face for a moment and even now, when his whole body was forcing itself against him, Kevin was smiling. It was unnerving and Carlos had to go and work on something else to keep himself from being disturbed by the memory of what he’d been told, what he had had to listen to again, what he imagined was the even worse truth than the clinical nonsense and corroded memory. He was no psychiatrist, but he knew it took a lot to break someone down so badly.

 

**************************************

 

“Who did this to you, Kevin?” Diego demanded, growling as he stared at the blood that had soaked through Kevin’s shirt. He seemed genuinely upset about the idea that someone had cut Kevin. Kevin couldn’t understand why. He was Strex. Strex loved cutting at him. Logic would follow that Diego liked to see him cut. He had stopped trying to count the scars as they came. He was being fixed, right? They wanted to fix him. How long had he been with Diego? This couldn’t be the first time he had seen Lauren fixing him. This couldn't be the first time that Diego had seen Kevin rearranged. 

 

“Lauren, did. Who else?” Kevin told him, flicking a cigarette into his mouth and sparking it. He coughed. He hadn’t smoked before the incident. He was only smoking now because it gave him an excuse to talk to Diego that Lauren couldn’t argue with. She loved to have something extra to keep him under her thumb. Smoking was something that kept him coming back, right? Especially when Strex supplied the cigarettes.

 

Diego’s eyes shot downwards, lighting his own cigarette and taking a deep breath. Kevin couldn’t tell if he was angry or just watching the embers grow. 

 

“I’m not going to let her think she can just walk over you.” He said, getting a small laugh from Kevin. It wasn’t an argument in the least bit, but he knew that Lauren could do as she pleased,  “What? I’m serious! When dad’s not here, I’m in charge. She’ll do as I say!” 

 

“No, no.” Kevin waved his hand, taking another drag and choking on the smoke. Lauren had already threatened him enough times to not want to mess with her. She liked fixing him. He had a lot of flaws to fix. “Don’t do that. They’ll send me back to training. I can handle Lauren. I can't handle all those doctors and nurses and routines.” 

 

The two sat on the wooden bench table as they smoked. There wasn’t really much to say after that so they just enjoyed each other’s silence. At one point, Diego had pulled him closer. He was examining his hair for any damage from the shampoo they were using. He said that it was a special one that they were testing for some nefarious purpose that he didn’t need to disclose to Kevin. That was the excuse, at least. 

 

**************************************

 

What was touching him? Why was it in his face? Why was it so cold? 

 

He could barely see but focused on Vanessa and Vanessa Too. They were taking his hands. It was so nice. They pulled him from the floor and he watched as he stood. His three eyes looked back in fear, seeming to wince as he stood up. It wasn’t pain that made the other wince, he was wincing at what he saw and Kevin knew it. He knelt down to himself again, stroking his own face. 

 

“Thank you,” He whispered, standing again, “You carried me for so long.” 

 

“What do you mean?” His words were barely there, sunken and falling from his slack mouth. He felt again just like he used to feel after reading his lines. What lines? What script? His head was throbbing and salvia leaked from his mouth in a white foam.  

 

“I’m going to go with Vanessa now. I hope you find someone too.” 

 

Kevin’s heart raced even more than it already was. It pounded against his rib cage, threatening to break through or burst on the sharp bones. “No. Vanessa. Please.” 

 

“It’s OK, I’ll stay here too.” She assured him, stroking his hair, “Kevin deserves rest.” 

 

“I am Kevin!” He argued, trying to stand but falling and smacking his head against the ridgid floor. Everything was spinning.

 

“Goodbye, Kevin.” He said, closing two of his three eyes. The other stayed on him and slowly blinked as he faded away. 

 

It felt like forever until Carlos was holding him, making sure he was fine. He was talking but Kevin couldn’t listen. He had tried to grasp it as much as possible but he could barely even open his eyes. It had taken some time for him to even realise that Carlos was holding him upside down. Foam dripped from his mouth. Then nothing. 

 

Carlos had kept holding him, realising that his hypothesis was correct. Kevin’s heart rate was fading and then raising as he held his wrist. He would blink in and out of consciousness. His body relaxed and then spasmed and then trembled and then relaxed. Carlos could only whisper comforting words to him. He could only lie and pretend Kevin was right when he managed a ‘Vanessa’ or ‘Diego’. He could only stroke the man’s hair as he died over and over again.

 

************************************

 

Diego hummed, kissing Kevin’s head as they shared a cigarette. Kevin had spent almost the whole of the afternoon in Diego’s lab helping with some very important experiments and out in the smoking area talking. Kevin had mentioned how horrible Strex was and Diego had defended it, spewing progergada laced with small amounts of the truth to try and convert Kevin. He didn’t much want the man to go back into the training facility because it was outside of his research area. Kevin just wanted to hear him talk passionately, he didn’t want to return either. Diego always spoke so passionately about science and about the company. Kevin found it odd sometimes just how much Diego enjoyed it in fact. Earlier they had been looking over the accounts for R&D together and Diego had become so flustered. They had been filling out the same form, one that needed sending in duplicate, and Kevin had simply put his hand on Diego's to check on him but the result of doing so... well, Kevin certainly hadn't expected.

 

Kevin scratched the back of his neck at one point, where Diego had put a spot of a new medicine they were testing. It was an obvious failure as it had caused a rather severe burn to appear and he had had to wash Kevin immediately. It had been adorable how he had panicked and rushed Kevin to the decontamination shower even before Kevin had felt anything.

 

“I still don’t get why you’re with Strex.” Kevin hummed, passing the cigarette back up to Diego. 

 

“I told you, I can’t just walk in and take it off my dad.” He sighed, keeping hold of it but letting Kevin take a drag from between his fingers, “It’s not like I don’t run the place most of the time.” 

 

“Then why are you worried? Just don’t let Lauren send me back.” His yellow eyes met Diego’s browns and the man frowned. 

 

“It’s not me that signs off on that, Kevin.” He looked at the smaller man with obvious concern, taking his glasses off and cleaning them to avoid the eye contact, “I’m trying my best. While I still run the Desert Bluff’s branch of Strex, I’ll keep you safe.” 

 

Kevin sighed, pressing into his chest. He only moved to put out their smoke in the ashtray and then returned to the comfortable position that he had enjoyed so much. Part of him wondered if this was all just another Strex ploy to get him to break easier. These fears were dispelled by Diego’s hand on his check, moving Kevin’s face to look up at him. It was forceful but gentle. Kevin had come to love the way he did that.

 

“I’ll protect you.” 

 

********************************************************

 

“Any better?” The words seemed to wobble through his ears, growing and fading. They were loud then quiet and over and over and over and over…

 

“Kevin? Can you hear me?” His vision was spinning whether he had his eyes open or closed. His skin itched. Insects crawled beneath the thick layer of skin. He couldn’t get them out. He tried but Carlos held his hands away from himself. It itched so badly. He couldn’t focus on anything else. Just the itching. 

 

Then he threw up again. 

 

He had nothing in his stomach, so a sour white foam formed and dripped from his lips as his body flopped from one side to the other as Carlos tried to move him. He could barely tell what was going on but the taste was horrid. It burnt his tongue and throat as he brought more up. He was so hot. So very hot. He was so cold. So very cold. His clothes hurt his skin. His hair hurt his head. 

 

Then the cold wetness. It went down and then back up. Over Carlos. Then a pause. Then the cold wetness. It went down and then back up. Over Carlos. Then a pause. 

 

“Ok, that’s not working. We’ll save it for later...” Carlos’ voice was like a fever dream and each time his hands left the hard grip it had on Kevin’s wrists, Kevin’s hands would go to his face or arms to pull the skin away. If he could just get it off would it stop itching?

 

“The Smiling God is coming for me, Carlos.” He had gasped, rocking backwards to relax on the chair, letting Carlos bind his hands to stop him trying to peel his skin off.

 

“It’s OK, Kevin.” The man whispered, stroking his hair to comfort him, despite the discomfort it made him feel against his hand.

 

*********************************************

 

“Abigail Palmer-Carling - An accident when handling machinery incorrectly.”

 

Kevin had choked reading it, remembering Samantha Reed’s face as she ‘worked’ on making Abigail into one of those disgusting robots. Abigail wasn’t the one that handled machinery incorrectly. Samantha's hand slipped and a saw went into Kevin’s sister’s brain. At least Dr Reed had told Kevin that her hand had slipped. The video looked a lot more intentional but Kevin was too scared to argue. 

 

“Janet Palmer-Carling - Ethically handled” 

 

Kevin had almost thrown up at the wording. They hadn’t told him what they had done to Janet but he could imagine. Strex wouldn’t keep someone around who couldn’t be a worker. Who they couldn't figure out how to fix. They had replaced her legs and spine but the psychological issues, they were too much for Strex to care to deal with. Strex had killed her in cold blood and he knew it. 

 

“Stephen Carling - Ethically handled” 

 

Defending Janet. Kevin knew he would have been. Kevin felt bad that he, himself, was not. He felt bad that Strex’s brutal methods had killed his brother-in-law but had not managed to kill him. He felt bad for feeling that way. 

 

“Vane-...” 

 

He stopped at her name. They had written it as Vanessa Palmer . They had done this on purpose. Strex didn’t make mistakes. They would be listening. They didn’t want to hear tears. They wanted to hear that they had broken him. That he was theirs.

 

“Vanessa Gris.” 

 

Daniel was holding up a sign telling him to correct himself. He pointed at it as Kevin had continued. He had even come into the studio to hold it in front of Kevin, staring him straight in his tear-filled eyes.

 

“The most beautiful woman I have ever met. Brutally handled. No one reported today was dealt with ethically. Do not be fooled. We are still Desert Bluffs! We can still fight this!" 

 

His broadcast was cut at some point during the statement. He didn’t know when. 

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Daniel demanded, grabbing Kevin by his collar, pulling him up and over the desk. He barely reacted to being pulled to his feet, other than grabbing his new microphone to stop it falling to the floor. Daniel was stronger than him. Kevin knew that all too well. Struggling never made it easier.

 

“What are you doing?” Kevin hissed, glaring back, “Strex doesn’t make mistakes and we didn’t get a chance to marry. You know that. I’m wearing the ring, for goodness sake, Daniel.” 

 

“I thought you would see it as more respectful than denying you that again.” Daniel argued, getting a laugh and a shake of the head from Kevin. He relaxed enough to let Kevin roll back from his toes to his feet again, letting him put his microphone safely out of the way. He had not expected Kevin’s fist to hit his face but had certainly enjoyed the reaction to Kevin’s hand compressing against his face. The opposite of what Kevin had hoped. 

 

“You really have forgotten what it’s like to be human.” 

 

“Enough.” The two were stopped by Diego. Daniel dropped Kevin, standing tall and giving Kevin a look of victory which was quickly wiped from his face.

 

"I was just try-..." 

 

"You don't touch him again. I don't know what Lauren said you were allowed to do, but I deal with Kevin." 

 

"But sir, he didn't read what he should have. He should be going back to training."

 

"He should be given appropriate lines."

 

There was a short silence before Daniel retreated.

 

"I just thought it would be better for the company. I'm sorry, sir, you know best."

 

“Well, Daniel, that’s why I’m your boss and you’re more a robot than a man.” 

 

Diego’s voice was strong and settling as Kevin rocked back into his chair, smiling at the entire incident. He was glad that he could smile at this without feeling forced to do so. He had felt so forced to smile recently, it was nice to have a genuine one on his face.

 

“Mr. Strex, I believe your father is my boss, not-...” 

 

“I outrank you.” Diego interrupted, grabbing Daniel’s collar and pulling him close. Kevin was slightly jealous. Would he have to annoy Diego for such treatment or would asking be enough? “You don’t put those things on the news report from now on or I will make you scrap metal.” 

 

Daniel didn't argue, letting the man drop him before taking his leave.

 

“Well, you shouldn’t have to talk about Vanessa again.” Diego told him, moving around behind him and wrapping Kevin in his arms, “We can leave that in the past, now.” 

 

“Thank you,” Kevin breathed, putting his head on Diego's chest. It had been a hell of a broadcast. The whole broadcast was an obituary. It seemed odd for Strex to want to highlight the people they had killed but once he had started reading what they wanted to say about the people, his stomach had turned. He just wanted to forget about it now, "So... What does it take for a radio host to have a scientist grab his collar, then?"

 

*******************************

Were things always this bright? 

 

“Carlos?” Kevin whimpered, rubbing his head and sitting up. His shirt was covered in… he didn’t even know what. Carlos was in the chair opposite, sleeping deeply. He was snoring and looked absolutely adorable. Kevin couldn’t help but swoon.

 

Kevin stood and carefully took himself to the bathroom, cleaning himself up as best he could with a stone. Those clothes would have to be given more attention when he could stand for longer but for now he focused on his own body. Once he was sure he had got most of it off his skin, he took one of Carlos’ shirts, of which he only had a few here, enough for both of them to change. He made a note to try and find them some new clothes before taking Carlos’ blanket to him and tucking him in on the chair. 

 

He considered calling Cecil but decided against it, at least for now. His eyes were still heavy and he needed to just relax. The cactus sofa was mainly comfortable, the fur that lined it may have been slightly itchy but at least it was warm and soft. 

 

*********************************

 

“Hey, Daniel.” Kevin smiled on the way into the studio, waving to the man. He did not wave back and Kevin immediately felt something was wrong. Daniel always waved back to him, even if he also always seemed annoyed by it.

 

He put a hand on his studio door, Lauren’s hand pressing down on his shoulder as he did. His breath hitched. He knew her hand all too well and she was wearing Vanessa’s perfume. There was only one reason she would be doing something that she knew would reduce his productivity so substantially. Only one reason to give him such awful flashbacks. Hair… his window… the way her face changed… that noise...

 

“Oh, Lauren. So nice to see you again. It’s been a while” He smiled, tilting his head and trying to act as ‘Strex approved’ as he could, “I thought you were going to be more in management. I didn’t expect you to come all the way down here to see me.” 

 

“Oh, I am, Kevin.” She replied in her happily terrifying voice, “But when my staff and my team leaders are having inappropriate relationships, I need to step in and make sure that they don’t get to do that. I notice that you have a habit of having inappropriate workplace relationships, wouldn’t you say?” 

 

He tensed, eyes fixed on hers. He knew exactly what she meant but Diego was his manager. He wasn’t just some team leader that Lauren had hired so why was she acting like she controlled him. He probably had more say in the company than she ever had and he certainly showed off more wealth than she did. He would buy gorgeous cologne, she stole perfume. He would wear Rolex, Lauren rarely had a watch on her. Gold chains to an empty neck. Tailored suits to whatever Lauren wanted to call that dress.

 

“So we transferred the problem back to head office and I will be taking his place now.” 

 

“You’re not a scientist.” Kevin noted, letting his smile drop. He didn’t care much about how she would react any more. This was personal, anyway, wasn’t it Lauren? It didn’t matter if he smiled or frowned or scowled at her, she was gunning for him. She wanted to make his life hell specifically. She wanted to ruin him, regardless of how productive or unproductive it would make him. She was just evil.

 

“I don’t need to be. Diego will be sending me his research and our teams here will be preparing what we need. It’s more important that any relationships that might bloom in the office are handled appropriately. I will make sure that is what happens.” Lauren turned, looking towards the, now always vacant, break room and then over to Daniel’s door. Kevin followed her eyes and then went to speak. He was furious. Was she implying that she was allowed to love and he wasn’t? His mouth opened but she quickly cut in, “Oh, and Kevin…” 

 

He bit his lip, pressing back against his door. Whatever she was about to do to him, he was ready. He had stood in the way of her before and he was still alive! He was injured. He was in pain constantly but he was alive!

 

“... We’ll see you after training. Have fun.”

Notes:

Is this our first chapter with Diego? OH~