"Retrograde amnesia? Really?"
Devyn continued to his dressing mirror where he plugged in the hair drier, ignoring him.
"That's the big idea you'll hide behind when shit starts blowing up in your face?" Ash stared out the window while lighting a cigar. "That was unpredictable, I should say."
"My bedroom is sacred." Devyn started the drier. "Even I don't smoke in here."
Half turning, Ash looked at his friend. Then he smiled, "That must be the case then. I was wondering why I don't see an ash-tray in here."
Ash moved to stand behind Devyn, lowering his head so that his face was reflected next to his. "You're still a handsome devil, aren't you?"
Devyn locked eyes with Ash's reflection. "You spent your night here."
Ash lifted his brow. "And don't you just sound like a goddamn mother."
"She's still a small kid, Traceigh." Devyn sighed. "Having a boy in bed every night is a bad habit."
Tilting his head and huffing, Ash said. "Now you sound like a father. Who the fuck are you Devyn?" He raised his hand to suck from his cigar.
"Next time you sneak in here I'm going to find you." Devyn informed, styling his hair with a brush. "With her. Now we both know she won't like that. We both know she'll blame you for her embarrassment."
"There comes the heartless baby Rhys Grier I know, where have you been hiding him?" Ash straightened and reached for a cookie on the tray which he dipped into the glass of milk before consuming it.
"I mean it. If you had a sister..."
"If I had a sister, I wouldn't be harboring alternate thoughts for her." Ash said after pushing the bits of cookies to the side of his mouth. "And if I had a sister, I would do any fucking shit to make sure she gets the justice she deserves and screw every punk that is potentially hazardous to her."
Ash swallowed before continuing. "But I don't have a sister and you won't understand because you're that other guy that destroyed a guy's sister's brother and replaced him in every facet of life apart from the emotional and intelligence aspect."
"Traceigh that was..." Devyn started.
"Hey," Ash suddenly turned back to Devyn. "These cookies are wholly delicious. What brand are they?" he reached for another cookie which he dipped into the milk and stuffed whole into his mouth.
"What happened to Devyn Kaniesky was unfortunate, Traceigh, I know." Devyn went on unperturbed by the way Ash's eyes were closed, face turned upwards as he appeared to savor every bit of his favorite milky cookies.
"But it was bound to happen. And it happened, no one can do anything about it anymore." Devyn got to his feet. "Devyn Kaniesky was nothing but a bastard for making impulsive decisions without taking his little sister into consideration."
He turned to Ash's reflection. "In more ways than one, what happened to him serves him well. He didn't deserve to be her brother, neither did she deserve trash like him."
"Your act of taking your stance like some divine power and deciding who deserves who and who deserves trash accentuates the salt in my cookies." Ash opened his eyes and grabbed the collars of Devyn's shirt, slamming him against the wall next to his dressing mirror.
Devyn stared back defiantly.
Ash observed his face. The resemblance was remarkable, but Ash had seen them together and he would always be able to tell Devyn Kaniesky from Rhys Grier. The two unrelated people form his pack who for some reason had always been able to smoothly switch identities to their advantages.
Or perhaps to Devyn Kaniesky's disadvantage, as the ability had obviously ended with his disappearance as well as the disappearance of one of the ruthless criminals' character, Rhys Grier.
Ruthless criminal all thanks to Ash's input, and one which Ash had come to babysit before an unrelated and unsuspecting soul is wrecked. A soul that happened to be Ash's everything.
The whole turn of events was uncanny, at least to Ash, but he wouldn't exchange it for anything.
"You don't deserve her more than he did." Ash told him. "He was a bastard and you're an evil that shouldn't have been. He was my boy, you're my trash and she's my girl; I'll decide who should be in her life. No, no, on second thoughts, I'll decide who's deserving of life."
Devyn laughed, even though his laughter came out strained. "You don't own me anymore. That hurts your pride and I feel sorry for it. But you're already hurt and you lost me. Moreover, you're holding on to Addison because you long for innocence."
Ash narrowed his eyes. "Innocence."
"You're far gone, Traceigh. Innocence will never find you, you taint everything you touch. That girl will lose her innocence in your presence. It's a lost cause." Devyn smirked.
Ash's eyebrows furrowed. Pulling Devyn from the wall, he slammed him against it with skull crushing force until he saw his eyes water.
"Your words mean nothing, because it's not innocence I want. I want you. Your everything." Ash rested his forehead against Devyn's. "But not so fast, I like to get my spoils with my time, in ways I consider just."
"Fuck off. And I promise you, the next time I discover you in Addison's room, I'll blow the whistle on you."
Locking his jaws so hard that it hurt, Ash flung Devyn's form against his dressing mirror after which it rolled to the ground.
Ash brought his face in front of the mirror and watched his reflection on several hundred pieces which it was broken into. He smoothed his hair, checked his hands for any damage and sighed in satisfaction when he found none.
He then walked back to the table where he took a handful of cookies and the glass of milk which he raised to Devyn who was rolled up on the floor. "Thanks for the cookies, Rhys." He winked and casually strolled out of the room.