Chapter 26: Vacation in Vegas: Day Two.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.
AN: Picks up at 12:16 am on day two. Bold italic words indicate a flashback. I had somebody ask me over private message why Connor and Jude didn't seem more affected by the shooting at Anchor Beach, and I decided to combine it with a request I received about a week ago, also by private message, that Connor have a scene with Brandon. So in this chapter we discover that Connor and Jude were affected by the shooting more than previously indicated.
Connor's POV (Like usual):
The second full day of our gallivant through Las Vegas had begun, and we just arrived at Hoover Dam. We pulled over at the side of the road in the middle of the dam and turned off our engines. I reached out and patted the dashboard of the Chevelle, smiling to myself. I could not believe that Jude had bought all of us new cars. I could not believe that he had spent a large chunk of his gambling earnings to buy me my dream car.
I got out of the car and walked up to Jude and wrapped him in a tight hug. I couldn't help but cry a little, and the gentle cry turned into small sobs as I pressed numerous kisses to his adorable face.
"How's he drive?" Jude asked me when I stopped drowning him in kisses.
I laughed happily.
"Like a fuckin dream." I said happily, "I still can't believe that it's actually mine! I mean look at it, it's fucking beautiful!"
I bounced on the balls of my feet from the giddiness. Jude laughed as Brandon and Jesus approached him and both looked a bit teary eyed as well as they gave him a hug. Jude set about taking as good of quality pictures as he could with little light. I walked up to him and wrapped my arm around his shoulder and pulled him close, resting my head against his shoulder.
"It's so peaceful here." He said.
"Yeah. It wouldn't be if we were here during the day." I said, "Too many cars driving over it."
"Yeah." He said.
"How do they like the cars?" I asked.
"Jesus actually kissed me on the cheek." Jude said, "So, he obviously likes it. Brandon was crying like you were, so he likes it."
"How did I get so lucky?" I asked him, "What did I do to deserve you?"
"You were you." He said simply, "You treated me like I was special when none of the other kids did. I couldn't help but fall for you."
"Déjà vu. I feel like we've had this conversation before." I said.
"We probably have. But it never gets old to hear it." He said.
"OH SHIT!"
We turned to the commotion to see Brandon pressing a number into his phone while Jesus laughed.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We never called moms when we got here." Jesus said through his laughing.
Jude's face contorted in laughter.
Brandon pressed the button to activate speakerphone.
"Brandon Foster. Why are you calling us in the middle of the night?" Stef's voice asked from the other end of the phone, sounding less than pleased.
"We forgot to call you guys when we got here." He said sheepishly, "Sorry."
"S'okay. We're all watching a movie anyway." She said, "Say hi to the boys everybody!"
A cacophony of various shouts screamed from the phone, causing all of us to wince.
"So where are you guys at right now?" Callie's voice asked.
"Hoover Dam. At 12:20 in the morning." Jude answered, "We've been driving around for a few hours."
"Why?" Lena's voice asked.
"Uhh. Ha. You're sitting down right?" Jesus asked.
"Yeeees. Why? What did you guys do?" Mariana's voice asked.
"It's more what I did, or more what I won." Jude said, the smirk clear in his voice.
"Huh?" Lena asked.
"Jude won a hundred thirty five thousand dollars at the casino." I said, "And he bought us all new cars."
Absolute silence followed that.
"You're joking right?" Lena asked.
"Nope. Not even a little bit." Brandon said, "Trust me, we're still a little bit in shock."
"That was very... generous of you, sweetie." Stef said to Jude, her voice thick with shock, "What did he get you guys?"
"He bought me a Mustang GT. In cherry red." Brandon said, "It's just like the one I used to have pictures of on my phone."
"He got me a Charger. Black. Thing is a beauty." Jesus said.
"He got me a Chevelle." I said, "It's my dream car. It's blue and it has white stripes."
"What did he buy?" Callie asked.
"I got an old Aston Martin Rapide." Jude said, "It's a 2010. Got it for $35,000."
"How?" Mariana asked, "Those thing cost like $200,000 when they were new."
"Well, it's not new anymore." Jude explained, "It was made in 2010. It's 2019 now. Cars depreciate a lot over a near decade."
"That is true." Mariana responded.
"How much money do you guys have left."
"Twenty grand. But I wouldn't worry about it." Jude said evilly.
"Why?" Callie asked.
"I'm going back to the casino after I get up and around tomorrow." He said laughing, "It'll be a lot more by the end of tomorrow."
I could hear Callie and Mariana laughing on the other end of the phone.
"All right well, we're gonna get going." Brandon said, "We're gonna head back to the hotel. Might stop for breakfast first."
"All right, well be good. Don't get into too much trouble." Stef said.
"Okay bye." Jude said.
One loud BYE was heard from the other end of the phone as Brandon hung up.
"Alright, let's go." Brandon said.
We raced back to our cars and raced back towards Vegas
It was 4:00 am before we finally got back to into Vegas. We decided that we were gonna stop at a restaurant and eat breakfast before we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. As we all sat down in the booth of the diner we stopped at, I raised my glass.
"I want to propose a toast."
Everybody raised their glasses.
"To Jude." I said, "The best man that I've ever know. The most generous. The most kind. The greatest."
"Here here." Jesus and Brandon said clinking their glasses to mine, nearly causing me to spill my Coca Cola all over the table.
Jude blushed and took a sip of his coffee.
"SO." Jesus said loudly, "What is everybody's plans for tomorrow?"
We all rolled are eyes in unison.
"Casino." Jude said simply, "I wonder how much I have to win before they cut me off."
"I don't know." Jesus said, "As long as you're not counting cards, and winning fair and square, you should be fine. You AREN'T counting cards are you?"
"Of course not!" Jude said, looking scandalized, "Do you know the kind of math you have to do in your head to be able to count cards properly? Far beyond my abysmal mathematical skills."
He ran his hand through his shoulder length hair, an irritated look on his face.
"Sorry, didn't mean anything by it, dude." Jesus said, "I was thinking about joining you so I could watch you clean people out."
"Don't call me dude." Jude deadpanned irritably.
"Okay. Let's not argue." I interjected, "Tomorrow, I am gonna drive around in the Chevelle, maybe drive out to Nipton and Cottonwood Cove and take pictures for Jeremy while Jude conquers the world."
"You mind if I come with you?" Brandon asked, "I wouldn't mind going for a ride in the Chevelle."
"Fine by me." I said, "But right now, I wanna go back to the hotel and sleep. It's been a hell of a day. Jude and I've both been up for something like 20 hours."
"Seriously?" Jesus asked.
"We got up at like, 8:00 yesterday morning, and it's 4:15 in the morning now, so yeah. Twenty hours."
As if to prove my point, Jude yawned.
"Yeah," He said, "Let's go back to the hotel. I'm so tired, if it wasn't for this coffee keeping me awake, I probably wouldn't even drive."
We all wolfed down our breakfasts and headed back to the Bellagio. Jude and I entered our room and stripped down to our boxers and crawled into bed. He snuggled up to me, and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"G'night Connor." He said.
"G'night Jude." I said.
We were both asleep within seconds.
I awoke to a knock on my door. I could see the sun shining through the blinds, and the clock said it was 4:45 in the evening. I stretched as I extricated myself from the bundle of blankets, and rose from the bed. It was at this point I noticed that Jude was not in the bed with me. I put on my bath robe and noticed a small slip of paper on the bedside table. I picked it up and read it.
"Connor," The note said, "Got up at noon. Didn't want to wake you. Went down to the casino with Jesus to conquer the world. See you when you and Brandon get back from Nipton and Cottonwood Cove. Love, Jude."
I snickered as I went to let Brandon into the room.
I opened the door, and he stood there, his hand raised to knock again.
"I'll be ready in five minutes, you can wait inside if you want." I said to him. He nodded as I grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to get dressed. Five minutes later I emerged dressed in a tight white tank top and blue basketball shorts. I placed my baseball hat on my head, and grabbed my sunglasses.
"Casual today?" Brandon joked.
"Yeah, forecast yesterday said it was supposed to be in the eighties today." I answered, "You ready?"
"Yep. Let's go."
Five minutes later, we stood outside the hotel waiting for the valet to return with the Chevelle.
"So how long of a drive is it to get to Nipton anyway?" Brandon asked.
"I think it's about an hour from here to Nipton." I said, "About another forty minutes from Nipton to Cottonwood Cove."
The valet pulled up in front us in the Chevelle. He handed me the keys and Brandon and I got in the car.
"So have you named it yet?" He asked.
"What, the car?" I asked, and he nodded, "No, not yet, why? Have you already named yours."
"Yep. So have Jesus and Jude." He said as I started the engine and pulled out onto the Strip.
"What are you calling yours?" I asked.
"Bullet." He said, "You know, like the Steve McQueen movie?"
"Oh, yeah I remember."
"Jesus is calling his Diablo." He continued, "Because according to him, it's demonic, in a good way."
"Okaaay?" I said, laughing as I pulled onto the highway, "And Jude?"
"He called his Bond. For obvious reasons."
I laughed at that. I should have seen that coming.
Conversation lulled and dissipated, and I turned on some music to listen to, to pass the time. It was silent until we pulled off into Primm for food.
"Hey can I talk to you about something?" He asked, as we sat eating in the parking lot of the McDonalds.
"Yeah sure. What is it?" I responded.
"How have you and Jude been doing?" He asked, "Since, you know... the shooting at Anchor Beach."
I couldn't stop the images that flashed through my mind.
BOOM.
Screams...
"Attention staff and students, the school is now in lockdown. We have multiple armed intruders in the building. Code red. The police have been notified."
Gun to my head.
"Any last words?"
"I SAID,DO IT!YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"I love you so much."
"I love you too, Connor."
"KEEP RUNNING, JUDE!"
"RUN FOR THAT ROOM!"
Glass shattering... sirens... screaming... crying... gunfire.
"CONNOR!"
I jerked back to reality as I felt something shake me. Brandon was sitting sideways in his seat, his hands on my shoulders, staring at me with wide eyes.
I realized that I was shaking. I shook my head to clear the thoughts and tried desperately to calm myself down.
"I'm okay. Just give me a minute." I panted.
"Flashback?" He asked.
"Yeah." I said, finally getting my breathing back under control, "Jude still has nightmares about it sometimes. He carries his gun with him everywhere he goes. He has it locked in the safe in the hotel room. The only reason he doesn't have it with him right now is because he's in a casino."
"How close was it?" Brandon asked, and at my wince he backtracked, "Sorry, never mind."
"No, it's fine." I said, sighing, "I need to talk about it. Jude and I already agreed that when we get back we were gonna have Stef, Lena and Dad make us an appointment with a therapist. We both need to talk about it."
"The first day we went back to school, Jude and I were scared to death to even go back inside." I said, still crying softly after I had calmed down slightly, "The whole time we're inside, it takes all of our self control not to start crying. Jude and I avoid that bathroom that I almost died in at all costs. Everywhere we go while we're there, he holds my hand in a death grip."
I braced myself and began to tell the story.
"I was on my way to the bathroom." I said shakily, "I heard the gunshot, and somebody hit the floor. I found out later that it was just a little kid. A fifth grader on his way back to class from the principal's office. He died. He was only 11 years old, Brandon. He had his whole life ahead of him. Middle school, high school, graduation, college, a spouse, a family and kids of his own. Now... all of that's gone, and so is he."
A tear leaked down my face.
"If I had left for the bathroom even ten second sooner," I said, "It would have been me. Jude would have been lost me. He'd be broken, shattered."
I shuttered and took a deep breath, trying to hold back tears.
"All I could think of doing was running." I said, "I ran and hid in the handicapped stall of the bathroom near the chemistry class I'd just came from. I was in there, cowering in the corner, praying to god that me and the others would be alright, and one of the shooters came in. He kicked open all the other stalls. Then he kicked open mine. He put the pistol right between my eyes."
Brandon exhaled a deep breath.
"Christ. It's a wonder you're still alive." He said, concerned. He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
This is one of the reasons that Brandon is my favorite of Jude's brothers. He always treated me like his own little brother as much as he did Jude.
I smiled at him slightly.
"I have Jude to thank for that." I said, softly, "He saved my life."
Brandon quirked an eyebrow.
"Jude came in just as he was about to pull the trigger." I explained, "He told me later, after it was all over and we were back at your house, that he grabbed his chemistry textbook and ran out of the classroom looking for me when the first shot went off. Thought it was me. He almost ran right into the main pack of shooters. Ended up hiding inside one of the huge garbage cans as they went past. He waited until the one person went into my bathroom and the rest split off before following him in. Tackled him when he was pulling the trigger. Bullet missed my head by about a centimeter."
Brandon looked horrified.
"I was so relieved. To see Jude." I said, "Hugged him. Kissed him. Then we called my dad, and you guys were all there. We knew, Jude and I, that there was a decent chance that we wouldn't make it out alive. We wanted you guys to know that we loved you, and we knew it might be our last chance."
I wiped the tears away and continued.
"The prick had three guns on him." I continued, "Jude and I grabbed them, and loaded them. The one Jude was using was Beretta. An old M9. Mine was a newer model of the Glock that I have at home. We told each other 'I love you', and we went out into the hallway. Only made it a couple dozen steps before we were being shot at. Jude fired back. He wasn't even aiming. He was panicking, firing blindly around the corner. We ran for it. I could see them right behind us, so I fired blindly back at them. We ended up escaping through a window in a classroom after we shot it out. We found Stef and Lena, and then the shooters poured out of the school and shot into the crowd. Jude and I both panicked again and fired back. Stef and the SWAT team joined in. The shooters retreated into the school. All but one. The ringleader... our friend Jeremy's uncle."
"Seriously?" He asked, astonished at the last part, "Jeremy's uncle was leading them?"
"Jeremy was the main target." I said, my voice thick with the effort of holding back a panic attack, "Anyway, he came at me. The gun I had was empty. I thought I was about to die. Imagine my immense surprise when my estranged, formerly homophobic grandfather appears, practically from thin fucking air, and shoots him in the middle of the face from thirty feet away. He hugged us both, made sure we were okay, explained why he was in San Diego, and apologized for being a homophobic prick. The SWAT team went in, cleared the school. None of the shooters would surrender, they all killed themselves. Afterwards, Stef escorted Lena, Jude and I inside to get our things and then take us home. She wouldn't even let us go into the classroom. She said that inside, it was something the two of us should never have to see. Jude and I went down to the police station the next day to give our statements. We found out that a couple of our shots didn't miss."
Brandon gasped softly.
"You mean?" He asked.
"Yeah." I said, "Jude and I... we... we killed two of them."
I exhaled a shaky breath.
"They had the memorial service two days later on the beach next to the school. They unveiled the memorial." I said, no longer able to hold the tears back, "This shiny white obelisk on the beach, with the names and ages of all twenty people killed. Jude and I went for the ceremony."
I barely maintained my composure as the memory of the ceremony replayed itself in front of my eyes.
"Jude and I hung back afterwards." I said through my tears, "Read the names. Since Anchor Beach is kindergarten through twelfth grade, there were people of all ages listed. The oldest person was our old algebra teacher. He was seventy two. Died shielding his students as they escaped out a window. The oldest student was this kid named Blake. He used to bully Jude for his nail polish. Died in the library, by diving in front of a bullet to save his little brother. The youngest person killed..."
I choked out a sob.
"The youngest p-person k-killed, was an eight and a half y-year old b-boy. H-h-his n-name was Andy Baxter." I sobbed, "He died saving his best friend in the gym. I read off his name, and I just c-collapsed into J-Jude's arms and s-s-started sc-screaming."
Brandon couldn't stop his own tears when I said that.
"We knew that kid." I said, crying softly, "That's the little kid that Jude and I used to babysit back in sophomore and junior year. He was a little kid. He was like six or seven when we babysat him. Me and Jude both just fell to p-pieces when we read his name.. He was s-such a s-sweet kid, B-Brandon. H-he was s-so smart. Kind. He wanted be a firefighter. He wanted to h-h-help people when he grew up. He looked up to us. All of us. Wanted to be like us when he grew up. One time, he told us that he wanted to grow up and have somebody special, like I have Jude. And n-n-now, none of that'll e-ever h-happen."
Brandon wrapped me in a tight hug as I broke down.
"H-h-how c-can p-p-people be so fucking CRUEL!?" I sobbed, "WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT? That kid never did ANYTHING to deserve what happened to him, AND THEY FUCKING KILLED HIM!"
I punched the dashboard of the car in anger and sadness, before Brandon pulled me back into a hug.
"That could have been us." I sobbed, "It could have been J-Jude. I have n-n-nightmares about that all the time now. About Jude having been in that b-bathroom instead of me, and me not making it in time. And I never wake up without seeing his body. All the blood. His eyes s-s-s-staring back at me, c-cold, un-unseeing, l-lifeless..."
I gasped out a sob and sobbed into Brandon's shoulder. I sobbed for a good twenty minutes.
"People called our group heroes, you know? For fighting back. For helping others." I cried.
"Twenty people died that day." I cried, "S-s-sixteen students and four t-teachers. And thirteen of them, d-d-died d-def-defending others. Jude and I f-fought to s-s-save our own lives, and we were running away. Those people died... to save others, and they didn't hesitate. And that is... is... it's god dammed m-magnificent, that's what it is. Those kids, those teachers, they deserve metals. They should've been buried with military honors and twenty one g-gun s-salute."
I cried for another twenty minutes, before I finally was able to take several calming breaths, and dried my eyes.
"Feel better?" Brandon asked.
"Y-yeah. A little. Feels good to get all that off my chest." I said, my voice hoarse, "You wanna head back to the hotel? I'm not feeling up to much else today."
"Fine by me." He said, "I'm a bit shaken myself."
We sat in silence for a few moments.
"Besides, I want to see Jude." I said, "He's been gambling since noon. We left the hotel at about five o'clock, and it's six thirty now. It'll be about an hour before we get back into Vegas. He'll have been gambling for seven and a half hours straight."
"I can only imagine the fortune he has amassed." Brandon deadpanned.
No sooner had he said that than my phone rang.
It was Jude.
I answered it.
"Hey Jude." I said into the phone.
I heard laughter in the background noise on the other end of the call, that I immediately recognized as Jesus.
"Hey, when are you guys coming back?" Jude asked.
"On our way back now." I said, "Why the hell is Jesus dying from laughter? I can hear him in the background."
"Oh, it's not just Jesus." Jude said, "I've got a crowd of people around the table watching the game."
"How much have you won?" I asked.
"Hahaha, quite a bit." Jude snickered evilly.
"How much is 'quite a bit'?" I asked.
Jude laughed on the other end of the phone.
"Do you remember how we talked about moving in together when we graduate high school?" He asked mischievously.
"Yeah. Where is this going?" I asked, my eyes widening as I comprehend what he is about to say.
"We're going house shopping when we get home." Jude said, his voice alight with mirth.
AN#2: Okay. So, this was a hard chapter to write. I cried harder than Connor did. I sobbed so hard I nearly made myself sick. Also, yes, I do realize that the mood changes rather abruptly at the end of the chapter, but I think it works.
As usual, please leave a review, keep reading, and hope you enjoy the story.