Darkness in the Neon Lights (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 47

"What's up with you," Panda asks as I hand him the clipboard with today's schedule.

I raise an eyebrow and just ask, "What do you mean?"

"You've seemed different these last few weeks. More... Happy and bouncy."

I instantly bite my cheek. It's been three weeks since Jon and I got back together, but we're more or less trying to get used to dating again. He's still really uncomfortable when it comes to my age, but we're trying to move past it. However, because of the fact that we are still working on getting used to this, we haven't told anyone about us yet. That hasn't stopped me from being a little happier recently. Though, now I'm starting to think that's a bad thing.

"Well... I'm happy because... Uh... Because of my birthday! I mean, it's only a few weeks away!"

"Oh right! It's going to be your birthday next month! The year is moving by so quickly already." Panda then smiles at me before he asks, "So, have you been thinking about my offer?"

"Of-of course," I lie. Well, I guess half lie. I was thinking about it, until Jon and I got back together. After I got so happy, it completely slipped my mind.

"So you know what you want to do, right?"

"Uh... Yeah. I know what I'm going to do. I guess I'm still just a bit nervous, but at the same time, excited."

Panda then stands up and pats my shoulder. "You'll be fine, Evan. No matter what you decide."

I laugh nervously before I walk over and sit down in his chair. He then takes the clipboard and walks out, leaving me to go over the paperwork again. Letting out a sigh, I pull out some of the files on his computer and start going over the numbers, which quickly gets boring. It has been the same thing, pretty much daily, and all of the money seems to check out. But then there's something that catches my eye. There's an invoice opened under the file I'm looking over, which confuses me. I click over and scan the invoice, and see that it's for some lawyers.

I raise an eyebrow and start looking into what it was for. Were we getting sued? For how much? We have a good amount saved up after paying off the bills, but not a whole lot.

When my eyes scan over the court and the cost for the lawyer, my jaw drops and I almost yell out in shock and confusion. Family court!? What the hell is Panda doing in family court!? And wait, how much is this guy changing!? Where the hell did he get the money to pay this guy!?

I start looking more into the files contacted to this invoice, looking for something similar, and my jaw practically stays on the ground as I see that there were payments for this same lawyer for the same court going back to November. All taking place right after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving... That was right after... And right around the time...

The lightbulb suddenly bashes me in the head, and I know that I need to make my next move fast. Pulling out my phone, I take a few pictures of the screen and close out of everything, except for what I had originally opened for the money. I quickly put my phone back in my pocket and start putting in the numbers for everything. After a few minutes, Panda finally comes back and starts pours us both some drinks.

I hang out with him for about an hour or two before I quickly make up a lie, saying, "Hey, I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a little bit."

I then walk out and run down the stairs and go backstage, where I see just the person I needed to talk to. Since I made the schedule, I knew he would be back here, fixing himself up before he went on stage. "Hey Moo, I need to talk to you."

Brock looks over to me before he swings his body around to face me. "Okay, what's up?"

I then pull out my phone and pull up the pictures I took off of Panda's computer. "Well... Your daughter... Was she eight, now?"

His eyes instantly widen and his jaw drops. "Yeah; how did you know that?"

"And your ex-wife," I continue, ignoring his question. "Was her name Lauren?"

"Evan, how the hell do you know any of this?"

"I'll take that as a yes too." I then sigh and hand my phone to him, showing him the court papers and bills paid for by Panda. Brock looks them over and shakes his head as he just stares at everything.

"Why is Panda paying a lawyer to take your wife to court over your daughter?"

"Evan-"

"I want the truth. No more lies. Please."

He and I then lock eyes and just stare at each other for a few seconds. He then sighs and says, "You're right... You deserve to know the truth."

I quickly grab one of the chairs from one of the other vanities and pull it in front of Brock, sitting down and waiting for him to tell me what's going on. He takes another deep breath and sighs before he then starts. "Everyone knows that I started doing this because of my daughter, and everyone knows that I want to get her back into my life. That includes you... And Anthony.
After my overdose, it was a wakeup call to me. I knew that if I stayed here, I would be dead long before I got my daughter back. I decided while I was in my bed, that I was going to get clean and I was going to get the hell out of here...Then Panda went to talk to me.
He told me that this overdose was going to be on my record, and my ex's lawyers would do anything to get their hands on it. And... And if they got it, they would use it against me to keep my daughter away from me. He told me that this was going to ruin everything I've been working so hard for... Then, he offered to help me.
He gave me the number to his lawyer and told me that he would cover the cost for him to build a case for me and get started on taking Lauren to court. I had to start going to rehab however and would have to pay for the actual court case itself.
I've seen what this lawyer has done... I know with him, even with me still being here, he could help me get my daughter back. Not only that, but my rehab is getting taken care of by Panda. I'm able to look for another job and I have a chance to get out of here. But... But everything was for a cost."

"What do you mean?"

"He and I made a deal... I'm so sorry, Evan."

"Wait, what do you mean? You're not making any sense right now. What deal did you guys make?"

He looks away from me before he says, "The deal was that he would help me get on a better life path and get me my daughter back, and in return... In return, I had to try to convince you to stay here."

"Wait, what?"

He looks back to me and locks eyes with me. "Ever since you and Jonathan started dating, you changed. You wanted to go back to school, you started taking days off, stopped covering for everyone whenever they wanted to be lazy. We all saw it, especially Panda. He saw that you were always on your phone, but he couldn't tell what you were doing. He saw that you started drifting away from the club, and he didn't want to lose you. So, he used me to try to get you to stay. Whenever I had the chance, I had to either talk up the club or talk down a life out of this hell hole. I hated it, but I had to try to convince you to stay."

I stare at him, shocked and not wanting to believe any of this. However, "So that's why you told me to take the offer a couple weeks ago."

He nods. "I'm sorry. I really want you to get the hell out of this shit... but... but my daughter."

"Don't worry about it," I tell him as I shake my head. I then take a deep breath and say, "I'll think about this as well while I think about if I'm going to stay or not."

"Wait, you still don't know?"

I stand up and grab the chair, pushing it back to the vanity it came from. "Actually, no. I know what I'm going to do. In fact, I've known what I was going to do for a while."

"Really? So, what are you going to do?"

I then smile at him as I start to walk out of the area. "You'll see."