#and am a sucker for all things mcflint related

[aces-and-angels]

She means it as a comfort. But all I hear is that he only loved me before I was actually me. Once I became myself… I was no longer perfect to him.

brb sobbing 😭😭😭

Father and Son

Characters: Lincoln Aquino (main focus), Matthias McQuoid, Silvia McQuoid, Abel Flint Word Count: 5394 Warnings: Emotionally abusive parenting, trauma A/N: For ILAW Day 2, favorite characters, this favorite character being Lincoln Aquino (previously McQuoid). I was planning on doing some more with this fic, but I never got around to it and figured I may as well post what I have. Fun fact, this fic was actually written to explore Lincoln and Matthias's relationship in the past, and inspired the chapter 15 flashback scene! Tagging: @ila-appreciationweek

Hearty laughter echoes throughout the polished dining hall. A chandelier glitters overhead and classy orchestral music plays from a nearby stereo. And the dinner table is occupied by good food, good drink, and four people. A father, a mother, a son, and a friend.

“I love this boy!” Matthias says, his voice booming across the table as he claps Abel on the back. 

Abel smiles sheepishly and scratches behind his ear. “It’s just a historical theory.”

“One that most people don’t even understand when studying it in graduate school,” Matthias says. “You’re an intelligent boy, Abel. Never be ashamed of that.”

“Thank you, I’ll try.”

Abel practically glows as he takes another bite of the pork adobo Silvia prepared for dinner. But across from the table, Lincoln slouches in his seat, looking anything but pleased.

Matthias and Abel don’t seem to notice, but the crease of Silvia’s brow as she looks over at her son shows that she does. She always notices him, even when no one else does.

“So,” Matthias says as he pours himself another glass of wine. “Tell me, Abel. How are your classes going? I trust that you’re making sure Lincoln isn’t getting into much trouble.”

Lincoln rolls his eyes and Silvia, noticing his reaction, shakes her head disapprovingly at her husband. “Matthias.”

“It was a joke,” he says with a chuckle. Silvia looks back at him, unamused, and Abel clears his throat awkwardly.

“Well, uh, yeah, classes are going well,” he says, glancing over at Lincoln. Lincoln just glares down at his plate. Whatever good mood that had once been present is gone, replaced by an uncomfortable tension. “By the way, Mrs. McQuoid, the food is amazing.”

Silvia smiles warmly at Abel. “Thank you, dear. I appreciate that.”

Without warning, Lincoln abruptly stands. “Yeah. Thanks for the food, mom. I’m going upstairs.”

“Oh, I’ll finish then too—“ Abel starts, but Lincoln shakes his head.

“There’s no need to rush, Abel. I’ll be in my room.”

Matthias frowns as he watches his son leave. But really, he only has himself to blame.

***

My mother claims there was a time when my father believed I was perfect. When my tiny baby feet and quiet coos were his pride and joy.

She claims he used to say, “That’s my boy. That’s my beautiful boy who I love.”

She means it as a comfort. But all I hear is that he only loved me before I was actually me. Once I became myself…

I was no longer perfect to him.

***

Ten years ago

Lincoln’s short legs struggled to keep up after his father as he followed him through the forest. At seven years old, he had already seen more and experienced more than many grown men. And tonight, he was going to see more. To do more.

He was finally going to make his father proud.

“We’re almost there, Lincoln,” Matthias said. “We’re almost there.”

Nervous anticipation fluttered in Lincoln’s gut. Today was the day he’d been looking forward to for years. It was the day he was finally going to get a power of his own, just like his father.

They reached a small clearing in the woods and Matthias stopped. A stream ran alongside the clearing and the grass was littered with wildflowers and tree branches.

Matthias turned to Lincoln with a warm smile. “We’re here. Are you ready?”

Lincoln nodded. “I’m ready. What do I do?”

“Don’t worry, son. I’ll show you.” Matthias knelt in front of Lincoln and took his hand. His fingers were long and slender compared to Lincoln’s tiny stubby ones. He pulled a pocket knife from his shirt pocket and flicked out the blade. “Now, this will hurt a little bit, Lincoln. Can you be strong for me?”

Lincoln nodded. “I can be strong.”

Matthias pressed the tip of the knife into Lincoln’s palm, just hard enough for the skin to split. Pain shot through Lincoln’s hand and he bit back a whimper.

Be strong like Dad, he told himself sternly.

Matthias pocketed his knife and patted the top of Lincoln’s hand. “Well done, son. Not a sound. I’m proud of you.”

Lincoln nodded his head proudly. “I’m strong,” he said.

“Yes you are,” Matthias agreed as he got back to his feet. “Now Lincoln, repeat after me. From blood to earth, from shadow to dust, I pledge myself to the Power and the Power pledges itself to me.”

Lincoln took a shaky breath and with his high boy’s voice, repeated after his father. 

“Good,” Matthias said. “Now drip some of your blood into the river.”

Lincoln obediently held out his hand and dropped the blood into the river rushing by the clearing. And the moment his blood touched the water, something strange happened.

The river began to glow cyan; the current became faster. Misty blue tendrils reached out of the water, reaching toward Lincoln.

Nervous sweat trickled down Lincoln’s neck and he backed away from the tendrils. “Dad? What is this?”

“It’s alright, Lincoln!” Matthias said. His voice was laced with excitement as he watched. “The ritual is accepting your offering! Stand still and don’t move.”

It was hard to obey when all he wanted to do was run. The tendrils were terrifying and made him feel sick, but Lincoln forced himself to stand still.

I need to make him proud, Lincoln thought over and over again as the strange Power-fused tendrils wrapped around his body. I need to make him proud! 

His head began to spin and he felt dizzy. Every cell in his body told him to run, but he stayed rooted to the spot. He stayed until the tendrils drew back from him and dissipated once more back into the water.

He felt different. He felt strong, but weak. He felt enlightened, but confused. And when Matthias rushed to his side, pride glowing in his eyes as he said, “Now that’s my boy,” Lincoln couldn’t stop himself from collapsing to the ground from exhaustion.

When Lincoln awoke, it was beneath a wad of blankets on his bed. He sat up too quickly and his head immediately began to spin.

“Ouch,” he mumbled, pressing a hand up against his forehead. When his dizziness settled, he pushed the blankets aside and climbed out of bed. His hand ached and when he went to scratch it, he realized it was wrapped in a white cloth. And suddenly, everything came back to him. The forest, the ritual, the strange tendrils that rose up from the stream…

“That wasn’t actually a dream,” he whispered to himself. A grin split across his face and he ran for the door. He needed to find his father, to ask him what his power was—

But the moment he threw open the door, all he heard were raised voices.

“What do you think you’re doing with him?” Silvia yelled. Lincoln couldn’t see her, but he knew that voice. That was the voice she used when she was very, very angry, and she almost never used it. “He’s seven years old, Matthias. Seven years old! He doesn’t need to be dragged into this Power-obsessed world, not yet. And he’s obviously not ready! Look what happened to him! He’s been unconscious for almost an entire day now. Let him be a child.”

“I’m not going to apologize for giving him the life that I wish I’d had,” Matthias retorted. His voice was softer and smoother, but it was tight. He wasn’t happy either. “Lincoln has a potential I never had. He could someday be greater than me. He could be greater than any witch or Power wielder out there! Don’t you see? I’m doing this for him, Silvia. You should’ve seen how strong and brave he was. He wants this more than anything.”

Silvia sighed in frustration. “You really think this is what he wants? You think that’s what it is, and not that he’s desperate for his father’s approval? Anyone who truly knows you knows how much the Power means to you, Matthias. Your passion is part of what made me love you. But you can’t force that on other people. You can’t mold Lincoln into what you wish you’d been. You need to let him decide for himself who he is.”

Lincoln peeked out around the edge of his door frame and looked down the balcony to where his parents stood in the foyer. 

Matthias shook his head and turned away from Silvia. “I love you, my dear, but I suppose there are some things that even you will never understand.”

“I understand that if you keep trying to form Lincoln into a better version of yourself that you’re going to lose him forever. And when that happens, you won’t be able to say I didn’t tell you, because I’m telling you now.”

Without another word, Silvia turned her back on Matthias and climbed up the stairs. She stopped abruptly when she saw Lincoln standing in his bedroom doorway.

“Lincoln! Oh sweetie, you’re awake!” Silvia fell to her knees in front of him and swept Lincoln up into a warm, engulfing hug. She smelled like she always did, of lavender, citrus, and home. Lincoln hugged her back, because there was absolutely nothing better than hugs from his mother.

When she finally pulled away, Lincoln shot her a goofy grin. “Did you know that I have special powers now?” he said. “Dad got them for me!”

Silvia’s smile faded. “Yes. I heard. How do you feel about that?”

“Excited! Maybe I’ll be like Superman now. Or Dad! We could fight bad guys together I bet. You think Dad will be really proud of me?”

Silvia brushed the hair out of Lincoln’s eyes. “I think that Dad will always be proud of you no matter what you do, honey. Powers or no powers, your daddy and I love you so much. You’re our perfect little boy, okay?”

“Oh. Okay!” Lincoln shrugged and then pushed past her to run downstairs. “Love you Mom I gotta talk to Dad!”

“Careful, Lincoln! You were just sick. Take it easy.”

“I will. Hey Dad!” Lincoln waved at Matthias who was still standing in the entryway. “Do I have powers now?”

Matthias shot Lincoln a crooked smile. “That’s my boy. And yes. Yes, you do. Once you’re feeling better, we’ll find out what they are, alright? But for now I need you to take it easy so you can feel better. And Lincoln? Know that I am so very proud of you.”

And those simple words made Lincoln’s heart swell.

***

The Present

Lincoln lies sprawled out on his bed as he stares at the lazily spinning fan above him. A family dinner shouldn’t have to be like this, he thinks. But every single goddamn word that man says seems like it’s specifically targeted at me, to make me feel like absolute shit.

It’s not an uncommon way for Lincoln to spend his evenings. Because Abel is over tonight, Lincoln has refrained from blasting angry metal music from his bedroom speakers, but the rest is typical: brooding in his room, thinking about how awful Matthias makes him feel, wishing he hadn’t ever gotten this stupid power in the first place.

Tap tap. Knuckles rapping against his door pull him out of his thoughts.

“Who is it?” Lincoln calls out, a bit more testily than he intended.

“Now is that any way to talk to your mother?”

“Sorry, Mom. Yeah, you can come in.”

The door creaks open and Silvia steps into the room. She looks more like Lincoln than Matthias does, with her warm brown skin and straight black hair. And she understands him more than Matthias does, too.

She crosses the room and pulls out Lincoln’s desk chair to take a seat. “So,” she starts with a cheeky smile, “your art teacher called me today.”

“What? Why?”

“She wanted to tell me how talented you are and she thinks you should submit some of your art to an Oregon state art show. She thinks you have a good chance of having your art accepted. That kind of thing looks good on college applications, you know.”

For a moment, excitement bubbles up inside of Lincoln. But almost as soon as it’s there, his excitement fizzles out.

“You know dad doesn’t give a damn about this art stuff. If it’s not about the Power it’s not important,” Lincoln says. He turns away from his mom to stare despondently at the Nirvana poster hanging above the foot of his bed.

“That’s simply not true, sweetie,” Silvia says. “Now, I know your father can get a little… one-track minded about the Power, but he and I will always support you no matter what you choose to do.”

Lincoln snorts. “You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

“Lincoln…”

“Dad barely has anything to say to me since I told him I refused to use my power anymore. And the way he talks to Abel makes it obvious he wishes I were like him. Not some screwup who can’t do anything useful with the Power and who gets Bs and Cs in school and whose greatest dream is to work at a tattoo shop.”

“Hey.” Silvia’s tone is serious and firm. “Don’t ever call yourself a screwup again, understood?” At Lincoln’s silence, Silvia repeats herself even more firmly. “Lincoln, do you understand?”

“Yeah,” Lincoln says quietly. “I understand.”

“You are not your father. You’re Lincoln McQuoid. And you’re the only person who can decide what path in life will make you happy. Maybe it’s true that Dad wishes you cared more about the things he’s passionate about, but regardless of any of that, he loves you Lincoln. And I do too.”

At Silvia’s words, Lincoln can’t help but smile. “You’re a pretty kickass mom. You know that, right?”

“Oh, I know.” Silvia reaches out and gives Lincoln’s shoulder a soft squeeze. “Where do you think you get your kickass-ness from?”

Lincoln laughs. “That’s so not a word. But to answer your question… I definitely get it from you.”

***

Ten years ago

“It’s not working,” Lincoln said miserably. “Maybe the ritual didn’t work. I don’t have any powers like Superman or Wonder Woman.”

They’d been working nonstop since the ritual and Lincoln missed an entire week of first grade, yet Lincoln’s power still hadn’t decided to reveal itself. Lincoln was starting to think he wasn’t strong enough after all, that somehow the fact that this wasn’t working was his fault.

They were standing behind the garage. Forests and trees expanded in all directions behind them and birds chirped overhead. The mansion rose high above the ground, its stony exterior seeming cold and foreboding today. The pool cleaner hummed nearby, and the home’s generators buzzed in the distance.

All of these sounds, all of these sights, were a distraction to Lincoln’s young mind. Anxiety weighed down on him. He was never going to get this to work, was he?

Beside him, Matthias ran a frustrated hand over his face. “Don’t compare yourself to those childish superheroes, Lincoln. You’ll be far greater than them.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Let’s try this one more time.” Matthias squatted in front of Lincoln so they were the same height. “We don’t know what you can do yet, but the Power obviously blessed you with something. So I need you to focus.”

“I’ve been focusing.”

“Well obviously not hard enough!” Matthias’s voice was suddenly rough and his mask of patience shattered to reveal swirling anger beneath it. Lincoln flinched back a step, but almost as soon as it was there, his father’s anger was gone. Matthias sighed and reached out, taking Lincoln’s hand. “I’m sorry, son. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way. But I know you can do this, alright? I know you can.”

Lincoln nodded warily, but his little hands trembled ever so slightly with uneasiness.

Matthias ruffled Lincoln’s hair. “Close your eyes. Feel the warmth of the air. Listen to the sounds surrounding you. Focus inward. Try to feel the Power deep within you. I know it’s there, Lincoln. You just have to find it.”

So Lincoln did as he was told. He closed his eyes… he focused on the warm sun beating down on him… he focused on the sounds of birds chirping and tree leaves rustling and the pool cleaner whirring… and then he tried to feel whatever power was hidden somewhere inside him. He thought about how he felt hungry, because he was supposed to have eaten lunch an hour ago but Matthias had been so focused on the Power that he seemed to have forgotten about it. He thought about how his toes felt hot and stuffy inside the socks and tennis shoes he was wearing. 

He thought about how he wished he could find his power already so that he could stop doing this and go watch some cartoons. And then he thought about how guilty he was that he was thinking that instead of focusing, like his father had told him to.

Lincoln squeezed his eyes shut tighter and ground his teeth together. Focus… he told himself. Focus…

And he did focus. He focused for so long that he lost track of time. He focused until all he could think about was how loud his stomach grumbled. Finally, he felt a hand on top of his head.

“Alright, that’s enough, Lincoln,” Matthias said. His voice was thick with disappointment.

Lincoln looked up at him hopefully. “Did it work?”

Matthias shook his head with a frown, and Lincoln’s heart sank. “Don’t worry,” Matthias said. “We’ll try something else. I won’t give up on you.”

In that moment, the words were a comfort to Lincoln. He hadn’t failed his father, not completely. But within a few years, those words would come to mean something else to Lincoln.

I won’t give up on you is what his father had said. I won’t give up on me is what he’d meant.

A few hours later, Lincoln was splashing about in the pool while Silvia reclined on one of the poolside armchairs.

“Look at what I can do, Mom!” Lincoln yelled before giving a rather unimpressive attempt at an underwater backflip.

Nonetheless, Silvia smiled and clapped when Lincoln’s head popped up out of the water. “That was wonderful, sweetheart!”

Lincoln grinned from ear to ear and began to backstroke across the pool. As he swam, the door to the pool yard swung open and Matthias stepped out onto the deck. Silvia’s smile faded and she looked away from him.

“You’re rewarding him with pool time?” Matthias asked as he took the chair beside Silvia.

“Yes. He’s having a great time. Can’t you see?” Silvia gestured at Lincoln who had reached the opposite wall. His excitement dimmed when his eyes landed on Matthias.

“Hi Dad,” he said with an uncertain wave.

Matthias nodded at him in acknowledgement. “Hello, son.” He turned back to Silvia. “He still hasn’t gotten in touch with the Power. I know it’s there, Silvia.”

“You’ve kept him out of school for a week, Matthias. I know you love the Power, and I know you’re passionate about it, but there’s more to life than this! He needs to go to school. He needs to learn and to make friends. I’m not against him learning to use the Power but if that becomes more important than everything else in his life? If that weakens your relationship with him? Then yes, I’ll be opposed to it.”

Lincoln was pretending to not listen as he threw a water-soaked squishy ball up into the air over and over again, but he was. That was the thing about parents. For some reason they always thought that whenever they talked about adult things, kids wouldn’t hear it. But Lincoln always heard, and he always listened.

“This is the most important thing in my life,” Matthias said. “It should be the most important thing in all our lives, Silvia. You may not fully understand now, but someday, I promise you that you will, my love.”

“Will I?”

“Yes. You know what my dream is. For the three of us to always be together. And I promise, that’s what I’m going to make happen.” He stood and leaned down to kiss Silvia on the top of her head. “I love you and Lincoln with my entire being.”

A reluctant smile pulled at Silvia’s lips. “I know you do. And I love you too.”

“Then you’ll trust me to do what’s best for us?”

Silvia looked up at Matthias in consideration. After a long moment, she nodded. “I trust you, Matthias.”

Matthias smiled at her in relief, and then turned to Lincoln in the pool. “Lincoln?”

Lincoln immediately dropped the ball into the water and looked over at his father.

“Would you mind getting dressed and coming with me? I want to try one more thing with you to awaken the Power. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take a break from it, alright?”

“You don’t have to do this,” Silvia cut in. “But if you want to, then you should.”

Lincoln looked between his parents and then finally nodded. “Okay. I’ll go with Dad. I want to have powers anyway.”

Matthias grinned. “Perfect. Now hurry and get cleaned up.”

Soon, Lincoln was dressed in pajamas and sitting cross-legged on the dirt ground beside the stream that he’d dropped his blood into in return for power. Matthias was sitting beside him, seemingly unbothered by the way his expensive custom-made suit pants were getting dirtied and stained from the ground.

“So… now what do I do? The same thing as before?” Lincoln asked.

Matthias shook his head. “No, Lincoln. We’re going to try something else. It’s something that some… old friends of mine used to do when their power wasn’t awakening the way it was supposed to.”

“Okay.”

“It’s going to be a little uncomfortable, and it might hurt a little bit. But I promise you that you’ll be okay and this is all just so you can have the best, alright?”

Lincoln’s stomach twisted with nervousness. “It might hurt? Like when I had to cut open my hand?”

“Not exactly,” Matthias said. “It’s more in your head. Maybe you’ll feel some pressure there. Do you trust me?”

Lincoln immediately nodded. “Of course I do.”

“Good,” Matthias said with a warm smile. “Now do what I usually have you do. I’m going to provide some outside assistance.”

So Lincoln did as he was told. He did what he always tried to do—sense the Power inside him. He closed his eyes and focused on the world around him, he tried to become one with it. And as he did, a strange feeling crept into the base of his skull. At first it was nothing more than a distant pressure, but after a few moments the feeling began to spread from his head to his fingers to the very tips of his toes.

Lincoln groaned as the pressure spread, becoming more and more uncomfortable. Perhaps this was the Power? He cracked one eye open to see his father kneeling across from him, an ancient-looking book open in his lap as a light glowing light emanated from his fingers.

“What—what’s that?” Lincoln asked, his voice shrill with fear.

Matthias’s gaze jerked up from the book and his eyes narrowed. “Don’t think about me! Focus on what you’re supposed to be doing.”

“But it hurts, Dad. It hurts!”

“I told you that it would hurt,” Matthias snapped impatiently. “You told me you could handle it. Can you handle it?”

Lincoln sniffled and wiped at his watering eyes. “I… I think so.”

“Good. Because I know you can do this, and I’m not letting up until you have your power.”

Lincoln closed his eyes again, trying his best to ignore the painful pressure that was spreading through his entire body. He tried to focus on the power—whatever that even meant—so he could make his father proud. That was all he wanted… wasn’t it?

“AHHH!” Pain shot through him and he fell forward, his elbows digging into the dirt. His breath was ragged and labored. It felt like his entire body was compressing, like his arms and legs were being ripped apart.

“It’s all in your head, Lincoln,” came Matthias’s voice. “I know it hurts, but you can pull through! People have gone through this dozens of times before and it always makes them stronger.”

“I can’t…” Lincoln whimpered as tears squeezed from his eyes.

“Yes you can! I know you can.”

All Lincoln wanted was to go home, to curl up in bed, for his mother to hold him and tell him everything was alright. He wanted his father to stop doing whatever he was doing, to leave him alone. But as the fragmented thoughts started to float around his head, a new sensation awoke within him.

It was something that buzzed warm and strong in his core. The new feeling seemed to chase away the pain until Lincoln felt like he was floating. Lincoln sat up slowly. He held his hands up in front of himself and cautiously placed one hand against a rock that was resting in the dirt beside him.

The moment his hand made contact with the rock, something strange happened. It was like a million different intersecting stories were all making their way into his mind all at once. There was so much information, so much history, it was too much for his child’s mind to handle. The rock slipped from Lincoln’s hand and his hands flew to his head, gripping on either side as he screamed as if that could force the pain away.

“Lincoln? Lincoln!” Matthias tossed the book aside and knelt in front of his son. “What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“No no no no no…” Lincoln repeated over and over again. It was too much, it was far too much…

Matthias wrapped Lincoln up in his arms and held him close against his chest. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into Lincoln’s hair. “I shouldn’t have pushed you. I’m sorry.”

When Lincoln’s head was clear and he could finally speak, he pulled out of his father’s embrace. “I think it worked,” he said softly.

Matthias’s eyes widened. “Your power awoke?”

“Yeah, but…” Lincoln’s lips tugged downward and once more he felt like he was on the brink of tears. “It hurts, Dad. It hurts so much.”

“What hurts?”

“Seeing everything. It hurts.”

Matthias’s eyebrows lifted. “Seeing… everything?”

Lincoln nodded solemnly. “When I touch things, I can see where they’ve been. I can see what they’ve seen. But they see too much. I can’t do it, Dad, I can’t.”

“I understand,” Matthias said, but something dangerous sparkled in his eyes. “So you can see the histories of objects by touching them? That’s the gift the Power gave you?”

Lincoln gave an uneasy shrug. “I guess?”

“Then it would appear that you are blessed after. Yes, you are very blessed indeed.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re going to master this power, Lincoln,” Matthias said. “You’re going to learn what makes this family so special.”

Lincoln’s stomach tightened with fear and he suddenly felt sick. “But I told you. It hurt. It was too much. I don’t want to do that ever again.”

“You say that now, my boy, but once you get through the worst of it, I promise you that it’ll be worth it. A gift from the Power is a rare thing. You must be grateful for it.”

Lincoln nodded, but he wasn’t so certain. And as his father held his hand and walked him back to the car, Lincoln felt unsure. Unsure that he was grateful for this power, unsure that he wanted to strengthen it, and unsure that his father was right.

***

After that day, some things were forever changed.

“Do you trust me?” he had asked. In that moment, I truthfully answered yes. He was my father, the man I looked up to more than anyone, the person I wanted to become. Of course I trusted him.

But after that day, that trust was gone.

For good.

***

The Present

A few minutes after Silvia leaves, Abel joins Lincoln inside his room. He takes the seat at Lincoln’s desk, which is littered with pens and piles of papers covered in artsy designs.

“Hey, Linc,” Abel says.

“Hi.”

Silence blankest the room, the only sound the soft whirring of the fan overhead. After a long moment, Abel finally speaks. “So. That was an interesting dinner, I guess.”

“Sure,” Lincoln says.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can do whatever you want, Abel.”

“Okay.” Abel leans back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling as he contemplates his next words. “I know you’ve had… issues with your dad. I mean, it’s obvious and I’ve known for a long time. But the thing is, I don’t know why.”

“Because he’s an asshole, man.”

Abel chuckles. “I mean, I’ve gotten that much. But like, don’t hate me for saying it, but every time I talk to him he seems really nice.” Lincoln’s eyes narrow and he throws Abel a glance verging on furious. Abel quickly adds, “Not that I think he’s a nice guy! I’m just saying, I obviously don’t see the same side of him that you do.”

Lincoln lets out a humorless laugh. “I’ll say.”

“Look, Linc. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. But in case you do ever feel like you need to talk to someone about anything… you know I’m here, right?”

A small smile pulls at Lincoln’s lips. “Yeah. I know. It’s just, my dad and I don’t get along. We haven’t for years. He wants me to be someone I’m not, and he can’t accept that I’m not that person. So when I see him treating you like a son…”

“Oh god…” Abel says, his brow furrowed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“I know you didn’t. I’m not mad at you.”

“What exactly did he do?”

Lincoln sighs and turns to look at the posters on his wall. “It’s complicated and weird. But all you need to know is that I hate that man, and I have good reason to.”

“Okay. I believe you. So do—”

“Abel,” Lincoln interrupts. “Can we talk about something else? I’d rather not have that bastard on my mind right now, you know?”

Abel nods. “Okay, yeah. No problem. Let’s talk about something else. Um, are you excited for the senior prank this weekend?”

A grin stretches across Lincoln’s face. “Hell yeah I am. Your idea for turning the entire school into a beach party was pretty genius.”

“I just got it online, but thanks for saying so anyway.”

“Now the real question is if you think Avery will be impressed by all of your preparations,” Lincoln says with a smirk, and Abel’s face flushes pink.

“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do.”

“I don’t!”

“Do too.”

“Okay, maybe I do know a little bit.”

Lincoln sits up, grateful to have something else to think about, even if it’s just for a moment. “Then we’d better knock this thing out of the park.”