guillotine

You could always tell the kids who had money at school, or those whose parents could afford to take them to Clacton for a week in a caravan at least. They turned up to the first week of school tanned, some little bit of tat clutched in their hand to show off to the rest of the class. Me and my dad found this shell on the beach in Majorca or ’this is the badge I got for being the best swimmer in the holiday park. Little trophies that just left him feeling like his nose was being rubbed in it. He hadn’t been the only kid whose parents hadn’t been able to afford to go away, but Linc woulda laid money on him being the only one in the class whose parents had spent those six weeks off their heads instead.

It wasn’t like he’d gotten a tan this time – he was always gonna be exactly how he’d been when he’d died, just on the wrong side of pasty – but maybe he’d been a little smug when they’d gotten back from Aruba. Who wouldn’t be? A tropical holiday with his dad, and more importantly with his girlfriend. Even Remzi hadn’t been able to wreck it. He’d sailed to Aruba on a super yacht, he’d laid on a beach, made his first sand castle. He’d really slept with Cassie for the first time. Those last two definitely marked him out as a baby vamp, but he didn’t give two shits. Baby or not, he had so much of what he’d desperately wanted for so long and that meant the world.

Music buzzed from his phone as he made his way back and forth between the store room and the downstairs bar, stocking up for later. This was his favourite time of day here. He didn’t have to watch his back around any narky customers, or around Hannya (with Lawrence free of her grip, he didn’t want to end up being her next toy). Nobody gave a shit if he had some cheesy eighties hair metal on, or that he sang along to it under his breath. Later on Hector would throw the doors open and the place would fill with people who’d probably prefer tunes from the 1580s to the garbage that had been produced in the 1980s.

Once the place opened he’d dial the happy down, acting like a good little busy bee until the place closed. Any sort of outward joy here was an invite to someone spoiling it, and honestly, he didn’t wanna rub Lawrence’s nose in it. Not all of them had come back from walking on air. Breaking things off with Hannya probably came with some deeply incised wounds and having to holiday with her on top of everything else had to leave those wounds stinging. Lawrence might be a dick on occasion, but he didn’t deserve any of that. Maybe he should have a word with his dad or Hector, get them to sit Lawrence down for a pep talk, the same as they’d given him. As corny as it’d seemed, it had really helped.

”An angel’s smile is what you sell, you promised me Heaven, then put me through Hell.” Linc broke off with a snort as he hefted another crate of beer bottles and headed out into the bar. They could’ve written the song about Hannya. Spotting Lawrence emerging into the bar as he walked out, Linc paused for just a heartbeat before he carried on behind the bar. ”My help? You’ve gotta be hard up,” he joked, grinning at Lawrence for a moment before he realised he was actually serious.

Like he’d been dunked in cold water (again), he frowned and set the crate aside. Tension bunched his shoulders as he propped himself against the other side of the bar. ”What’s up?” Lawrence didn’t wait long to spill the whole story out. It was a really big bloody ask. The only way it could’ve been worse was if he’d told him to ask Hector for a pint or two. They might’ve spent all that time in the prison world but he still would’ve bricked it a little.

Linc let out a long breath. He really was a baby vampire in the grand scheme of things, but he’d heard enough about the Mikaelsons – had seen enough of Elijah – to know that they didn’t just go around handing out favours. Especially for something this big. ”It is crazy,” he said honestly. ”I know what that’s like and it fuckin’ sucks, but do you honestly wanna wipe out all the good with the bad? What if things change with her tomorrow?” Without the memories, the good, the bad and the ugly, chances of things swerving back that way again were slim. Life wasn’t like one of those Hollywood movies where you automatically got a do over to get the happy ending that you should’ve had in the first place.

Tagged: LAWRENCE MURPHY * Word Count: 825

If there was one word he would’ve used to describe his parents it was selfish. Just how self-centred they were had only become clearer when Magnus had taken him in. He’d gone from parents whose only thoughts had ever been for themselves to a dad who would give everything to protect him – including breaking his best friend’s neck to stop him from tearing his heart out. If he’d been half as good a father to Edward III then it was no wonder he’d been such a decent King after the screw up his real dad had been (times had repeated themselves, even if it took 700 years for them to come around again).

Linc felt a twist of regret in his chest. When Magnus had first convinced Hector to take him on at the club he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to get friendly with his coworkers. Kit had been kinda intimidating and rarely ventured downstairs anyway. Lawrence was always around, but he hadn’t really gotten to know him before he’d gone and given him a bollocking for upsetting Cassie. Add what had happened with the London Eye and he’d reached a point where he hadn’t given a shit what was going on with Lawrence. Part of him would’ve probably believed that whatever crap was going on in his life he’d deserved, at least a little. In other words, he’d been taking right after them – being a selfish little shit. There was nothing like nearly dying for teaching you just how far your own head had been up your arse.

The apology that had spilled out in Aruba had been genuine. Lawrence hadn’t deserved the shit that had happened to him, or that he’d said to him. Being infected with the virus at the time had only been a partial excuse for it all. Their chat hadn’t turned the two of them into besties, but it should’ve been proof that he needed to get to know Lawrence a bit more – including the shit that had gone down with his girlfriend (former girlfriend). He winced at the realisation that what had happened with Hannya probably hadn’t helped any of it. Apparently he could though.

Cracking a joke with Lawrence about him apparently being hard up if he was coming to him went down like a bit of a lead balloon. Linc’s brows drew together, concern prickling through him as he studied Lawrence. He was the last person who could’ve called himself an expert on relationships – he’d only ever had the one – but he knew plenty about holding on to hope, especially when it was slippery. ”It’s been six months, not six hundred years.” He didn’t know for sure if Penny was supernatural, but if she was there was a good chance they could go centuries before they patched it up. ”Me and Cassie ended up just friends for months before we got together. I wouldn’t start givin’ up hope yet.” But Lawrence obviously only saw the broken bits of his relationship, not the chance that they’d one day be forged back together into something stronger than they’d ever had.

Linc’s gaze darted over Lawrence’s shoulder, looking towards the door. It would’ve been amazing timing if Hector or his dad appeared now. They’d probably both have an entirely encyclopaedia of good advice, none of which he could pull out of his own tiny pool of experience. He swallowed hard and looked back at Lawrence. He hadn’t been the only one battered by life lately, but he’d thought Lawrence would struggle back onto his feet before he did. ”Sounds like a huge step to take, one you might not be able to come back from if you start changin’ your mind later.” Only there wouldn’t be anything of her left in his head to change things for him later, would there? ”I’m sorry you’re goin’ through this shit,” Linc muttered. ”I’m not sayin’ he’ll be able to sort it all out, but, you know, maybe you should talk to Magnus. He’s old fashioned, but honestly, he’s pretty savvy about this stuff most of the time.” Except for when it came to his opinion about Cassie. Surely that was more about her dating his son than his opinions on women in general though.

Tagged: LAWRENCE MURPHY * Word Count: 711

Friends had seemed a safe point to start from after he’d lost control, but even as he’d agreed to it Linc had known he didn’t want to be just friends with Cassie. They’d been friends (alright, ones who’d kissed ten minutes after they’d met), but that stage hadn’t lasted too long. He’d liked her immediately and that first kiss in the store room had screamed that Cassie had felt the same. It had been inevitable that they’d dash forward through all the stages in between friendship, having the hots for one another and falling in love. Magnus had wrung his hands over it (still was at times), but it was good for him and even when he’d been scared his feelings would push him to do something stupid, he’d wanted it so badly.

With the same choice dangled in front of Lawrence would he take it? Neither him or Penny were the puppy love sort – they were both probably way too old for that – but surely both of them still had hearts soft enough to have felt the love for one another if it was there. Lawrence’s dose of it was big enough that he could practically see the cracks in his barely beating heart. Penny had hurt him and with his heart stinging, he couldn’t see that there was a chance to come at their relationship again from another angle. It was sad in a way, nobody ought to be alone, especially when it could be for centuries. You only had to look at Hector and Magnus to see what spending centuries mourning the woman you loved did to you (although maybe sleeping with a thousand women during all those years wasn’t something Lawrence would bitch about too much).

He really needed one of them here, with exactly one relationship under his belt, he couldn’t play the expert. Linc shrugged as Lawrence pointed out it had been different with him and Cassie. ”Did she hate you though?” he asked. That probably didn’t matter half as much as the fact that Tobi was in Penny’s bed. His gaze darted towards the staircase like Tobi would come dancing in, wearing one of those sequined shirts to rub Lawrence’s nose in it. Lawrence and Tobi didn’t seem like they’d have appealed to the same woman, but there was no accounting for taste. ”Being an asshole once doesn’t excuse havin’ another bloke in your bed,” Linc puffed. ”Maybe he was just a rebound, some way of tryin’ to deny how she really feels about you.” It seemed like so much more than just a single no. Penny had given the impression of moving on and from the sounds of things, Lawrence had appeared at her door just in time to see it.

Once Elijah had done his mind scrambling compulsion trick, Lawrence wouldn’t remember any of it. Good and bad all wiped out. The thought twisted his stomach, leaving him reaching for a bottle of beer for Lawrence, just to do something that would let him ignore the feeling. If he’d thought it was a possibility he might’ve done the same thing in those desperate days after Cassie’s rejection had left him … hurting people. ”You won’t, but they will. What are you gonna do if Penny comes around a month for now, sayin’ she’s made a mistake and she wants to be with you?” Not having a clue who she was would make that beyond awkward. Wiping the whole lot out with a few words just seemed like making a hole for all the shit to pile up in when it started creeping back in. In the end it would be impossible to ignore.

”You know she’ll take you out of it,” Linc muttered, nodding as it all fell into place. He’d seen Lawrence’s sister around here. She might’ve been tiny, but looked like the sort who’d be happy to try and knock sense, literally, into her big brother. ”Magnus is gonna ask about it all when I ask him for his blood. I’m gonna have to tell him somethin’ about it. What do you want me to say when he asks?” Maybe if he told Magnus just how badly Penny had broken Lawrence’s heart, he might get it. He’d been through his own heartbreak, albeit with a woman who’d forced him into a relationship with her in the first place. The love on Magnus’ part had been real and he might just have been desperate enough at times after to have considered doing the same.

Tagged: LAWRENCE MURPHY * Word Count: 754