Disclaimer: I don't own them except for the kids!
Out of Control, Part 13
Vaughn banged his head against the tile in his shower Saturday morning. He had tried to call Veronica throughout the night, but she wouldn't pick up her phone at all. He concentrated and tried to find out what she was feeling through his empathic abilities. It was a stretch because he wasn't quite as powerful as his father was and the distance from her house to his made it harder to pinpoint. But he was sure with the emotions she was feeling; they would be strong enough for him to pickup. When he did, they made him gasp. They were of intense anger, jealousy, and pain. He clenched his eyes shut as they rolled over him in dizzying waves. "By Allah, they're powerful. I did this to her, forgive me," he whispered as the water soon turned cold. He shut it off and quickly got dressed. He sat down at the table. He could feel the eyes of his siblings on him. Especially the censorious one his older sister was sending his way. "Its not polite to stare, Quat, so say whatever's on the tip of your tongue," he snapped as he lifted his eyes to look into her identically shaded eyes.
"It's just disgraceful over how you've conducted yourself over Veronica," Quatrina said in a cool tone.
"Quatrina…" Quatre sighed at her.
"How I conduct myself over her is my own business, so stay out of it," Vaughn snarled at her.
"You got in a fight over her with that guy that got her pregnant in the first place! She's going to have another man's child and you still uphold her honor!"
"Veronica is a lady."
"Not in any definition I've seen. Randy and her flaunt themselves like common street walkers."
"Leave Randy out of this! As for Veronica, she is a lady, no matter what you say. She may be a little loose, but it doesn't mean that she doesn't have other qualities that overshadow that part," Vaughn returned heatedly.
Quatrina wrinkled her nose with disgust. "And you defend her like a gallant knight. Well, that "lady" isn't a virgin to be rescued. She's just like…"
"Quatrina, that's enough!" Quatre finally snapped, his eyes resting on his daughter. "I won't have the two of you argue at the breakfast table. The both of you know better than that. He's made his choice and he's willing to stand by it. He's doing what he thinks is right. And while I don't approve of her being pregnant without marriage, she is going through a hard time right now. She needs all the support that each and every one of us can give her, so keep your opinions to yourself. I don't want you to start anymore trouble," he said in a stern voice.
"But…" Quatrina sputtered.
"You heard him, Quat, keep your big mouth shut," Vaughn hissed at her from across the table. "Say another word, I won't hesitate to tell Zach what you've been saying about his cousin and the family loyalty is deep between his family and hers. I don't need to tell you how he'd react over your statements," he threatened as he gave her a cold, nasty glare.
"Vaughn, that's enough," Quatre demanded as he laid his eyes on his son. He could feel the residual pain and anger washing through him, as well as the biting pain he could feel from Veronica. "I don't want anymore of this at the table. You will do no such thing, you hear me," he said as he narrowed his aquamarine eyes the tiniest bit.
Vaughn snapped his mouth shut and said nothing. He gave his sister another frosty look before spearing his fork through his waffles on his plate. "Hand me the syrup, would you, Mira?" he asked his younger sister, who sat on his left.
"Sure," Mira replied softly as she handed him the glass bottle. She gave him a sympathetic smile as she gazed at him. She saw the cool look leave his eyes and be replaced by a warm grateful one.
"Thank you," he said as he met her glowing aquamarine eyes. He passed her a brief smile. Unlike Quatrina, Mira was very open minded. She didn't give harsh criticism; she would just say what she thought in that honest polite manner of hers and be done with it. Mira was very much the opposite of Quatrina. He found it hard to eat though. The awesome pain he kept on feeling from Veronica made his stomach turn.
Quatre sighed as he observed his children. Damien hadn't said a word at all, but kept his mouth shut. He believed that his two sons already had words about Veronica the day before according to Reshid. He passed his wife a glance as she sat at the other end of the breakfast table, quietly sipping her coffee as she glanced through a magazine. She raised her eyes to his and gave him a soft smile before returning to her reading. He felt some of his own tensions leave him and he relaxed in his seat. He could always count on her to relieve him of worry with a simple smile. "You can talk, kids," he said as he opened his paper once again, but that was even interrupted by the appearance of Heero. He smiled at him. "And what brings you're here today, Heero?"
Vaughn cringed inwardly as he felt Prussian blue eyes light on him for a second before flickering back to his father's.
"Its about your son, my daughter, and Maxwell's girl," Heero replied as his eyes wandered back over to Vaughn, who was pushing the food around on his plate. "Don't worry, Vaughn, I'm the least of your worries right now. You're going to have to contend with an angry God of Death for what you did with his daughter."
Vaughn paled. "You told him?"
"What I found out, yes, I told him. He did deserve to know," Heero said as he set a level look on him.
Quatre's eyes bounced between Heero and his son. "Why don't we take this to the other room so we can talk about this in private," he said as he pushed out his chair.
Heero and Vaughn followed him to the massive study. Once ensconced in the chocolate leather chairs in the room, Vaughn slid even further down in his.
"So, what did Vaughn and Randy do that's causing Duo to be angry/" Quatre asked as he leaned over the back of his chair.
"Your son had his hands all over Randy. To be more specific, he was making out with her when they were teenagers," Heero said in a calm tone. "I thought you should know this because it made my daughter very upset. She came home in tears yesterday because he," he said as he nodded in Vaughn's direction, " was in a compromising position with Randy. Veronica and her had some words as well."
Quatre arched a brow at his son, who looked guilty as anything. "Is this true, Vaughn?"
"Yes," Vaughn replied faintly as he met his father's stare. "But it never meant anything. It was just innocent kissing, I swear."
"Innocent kissing wouldn't have sent my daughter home in tears and furious with you," Heero pointed out in a hard voice as his eyes narrowed at the young Winner's explanation. "More went on then you're letting anyone know."
"We were all around fifteen. Randy and I decided to practice kissing. A few harmless kisses and that was it, nothing more than that."
Quatre's brows drew in slightly over his eyes. "Did you know the consequences of what you two were doing if you had been caught?"
"Yeah, but we weren't. Bobby caught us once, but he never said anything until recently. He wanted to get back at me for telling him to stay away from Veronica. That's how she found out. Randy and Vic had this out already."
"There's things you're leaving out, Winner. That doesn't completely explain why Veronica is more upset than I've ever seen her," Heero said shortly.
"I got into a fight with him yesterday. I got beat up a little and I followed Chris Maxwell back to his parents' house so Randy could patch me up. I was being picky about Randy's bedside manner so she was sitting on my chest. I wasn't wearing a shirt and Veronica saw us that way and jumped to conclusions," Vaughn explained miserably as he raked his hands through his hair. "I tried calling, but Victoria kept on telling me to take a leap and then Veronica just wouldn't answer."
"Vaughn, with the way that girl feels about you, you let yourself get into situation like this! You knew better! You've always known how Randy and Veronica are like when it comes to guys," Quatre said in a sharp voice.
"I didn't mean to! You think I wanted to be caught with Randy straddling my chest? No, I didn't think she would take it the way she did, but she also heard what I was saying to Randy too."
"And what did you say, that my daughter overheard?" Heero asked.
"I said couldn't she just kiss it and make it feel better and her response was that she would be indulging in my fantasy life, so I told her that I like that fantasy life. We were just teasing each other!"
"You've been fantasizing about Maxwell's daughter and professing feelings for Veronica at the same time?" Heero asked in a furious tone.
"I didn't mean it! Yes, I've fantasized about Randy! Yes, I've had a crush on her! But I've also had a crush on your daughter at the same time! That was the whole reason for the kissing lessons!" Vaughn said as he shot out of his seat and pressed his back against the wall, as far from Heero as he could get. The anger radiating off of him was palpable.
"I can't believe this," Quatre said as he pinned a glare on his youngest son. "You let this get out of hand and now, the one girl you care about the most is at home in tears because you couldn't control yourself. I knew something was going on between you and Randy as kids, but I dismissed it as just being adolescents. You're on the verge of throwing everything you wanted because of your careless words to Randy."
"Dammit, dad, I didn't know she was in the room. I didn't know she would hear them! And I didn't think she would completely flip over them! Randy of course didn't help by opening her mouth and snapping back at Ver, but I tried to explain myself. She wasn't willing to listen. Don't you think I can't feel what she is? I barely slept last night because of it! I can barely even eat because her feelings, doubled with mine, make me want to be sick!" Vaughn exclaimed, defensive. "I'm trying to tell her that I'm sorry, but she won't let me!"
Heero stood up and went over to the young Winner. He stared into the glittering amethyst eyes in front of him. "You will apologize to my daughter, but on my timetable, not yours. I want you to leave her alone and let her get over this. I don't want you near her. She's had enough to deal with and I don't want her anymore upset than she already is. I know that Duo will make Randy apologize if she knows what's good for her, but you are the real culprit in this. Veronica cares about you a lot and you hurt her."
"I know I did," Vaughn said, his voice wracked with pain. "Don't think that I can't feel it. I hate myself for hurting her, but it was never my intention to do so. I care about her more than you know and I would do anything to take this back."
"You do that, but until I say so, you stay away from her," Heero warned in a cold voice. He narrowed his eyes even more. "And you can feel all the pain she's in because of your carelessness for good measure." He glanced at Quatre out of the corner of his eye. "I believe my business is done here. I'll see you later," he said curtly as he nodded his head once. He impaled Vaughn with a glare and left the room. He let himself out of the house. He took a deep breath as he stood on the carved granite steps. He felt some weight drift off his shoulders. He got just retribution for his child. It made him smile a little that he had been able to do something for her. "I just hope it's enough for my little girl," he sighed as he climbed into his SUV and started home.
The clock ticked in the silent room. Vaughn could feel the eyes of his father on him and an icy chill was still racing through him from the death glare from Heero. He felt wretched.
"I don't think I have to say what I think," Quatre said, finally.
"No, I can tell," Vaughn replied as he flicked a glance up at his father. "You're mad."
"You have no idea."
"I have a very good idea, trust me."
"What the hell were you thinking, fooling around with Maxwell's daughter? You know how he reacts to guys and her?"
"I know that! It was Randy's idea. I never thought I would be haunted by this six years later! It was kissing!"
"It was still something! There are always repercussions for your actions! Didn't I tell you that you should always think of the consequences before you act, Vaughn!"
"Yes, but I didn't think there would be any harm in it! I didn't expect Veronica to flip out about it! I thought she understood when her and Randy talked about it!"
"You should've talked to her about it! Now, she's at home in pain, great enough that I can feel it, all because of your actions! You're going to lose her because you got caught in a compromising situation! Plus, Heero is ticked beyond belief because you hurt his little girl!"
"I KNOW THAT! I CAN FEEL THAT TOO! I'M SORRY!"
"DON'T YELL AT ME, VAUGHN!"
"I'm sorry, but you're yelling at me after I've said I was sorry! I don't know what more I can do? I didn't want to hurt her! I do care too much about her to ever do that, but how can I tell her when I'm not allowed to talk to her?" Vaughn whispered as he shoved his hands through his hair in defeat. "I'm so, so sorry, but that's all I can say right now."
Quatre raked an agitated hand through his own hair. "I know you're sorry, I just can't believe that you did something like this. Didn't I teach you better?"
"Yes, you did, but I follow my heart and my feelings, no matter what if it was right or not. And don't go thinking you were a bad father, because you're not. I chose my path; I can only be guided by what you've taught me. You taught me well, but I this was the path that I took," Vaughn said, with his head bowed.
A sigh escaped Quatre's lips. "That is very true." He shook his head. "Go back and finish breakfast. Then think of what you're going to do now."
"Sure," Vaughn said his tone thin and tired. He left the study, his feelings and his heart twisted into tight knots. He closed his eyes briefly. "Veronica, forgive me," he whispered again.
A/N: How did you like that chapter? I'm making things miserable, aren't I? More should be coming soon, so stay tuned! XOXO!!