light tw: mention of abuse

Ghost frowned when he noticed Gavin flinch away from Johnny's touch, fear flashing across his face for just a moment. This was something he had never seen from the Brit before. Box Friend must've really done a number on him.

"Are you ok?" Ghost asked. Gavin swiftly snapped himself from his trance and nodded.

"I'm fine. I just want this thing gone."

"And we can make it go, but we need you to be honest first. I can tell there's more to the story than you're telling us."

"So?"

"So we need you to tell us more. Why are you so hesitant?"

The man didn't respond to this, instead staring at him with a contemplative frown on his face. His eyes flickered between his face and Johnny's. He was rigid with discomfort.

"... it's personal, ok?" Gavin muttered. The two were surprised by the softness of his voice.

"Oh. Would you be more comfortable talking about it with just Johnny?"

"I don't think so. I really don't like talking about it."

Ghost nodded slowly, glancing at Johnny. After a moment his partner's eyes suddenly grew huge with realization.

"Oh my. Would you excuse us for a moment, Gavin?"

The man didn't give his brother any time to respond, gently guiding Ghost out to the living room. As soon as the criminal was out of earshot they began to talk.

"What's going on?" Ghost asked.

"I think I know what memories Box Friend used against Gavin. There's a reason he's so sensitive right now."

"What is it?"

"Did-... did I ever tell you about our father, Sir?"

Ghost thought for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he realized that the Brit had never even mentioned the man before. This wasn't a good sign.

"No."

"Ah, alright. W-well you see, when-... when... goodness, Gavin was right. This is hard to talk about." Johnny sighed. Ghost took him over to the couch, having him sit. He joined him, holding his hand just like he did in the car.

"It's ok, Johnny. Take your time."

Johnny nodded, and after a minute he finally spoke.

"... our father was quite abusive. He would belittle us, hit us, anything to ensure he had control at all times. And for some reason, Gavin got it the worst. Father used to take him to the basement for hours at a time. We never knew exactly what went on down there, but we knew it must've been violent. Gavin was always hurt when he came back, but some days were worse than others. W-We all knew it was happening but we were too scared to do anything."

Ghost's heart sank deeper with every sentence. He had no clue about any of this. The man's voice was shaking by the end. Making sure to be gentle, he hugged his partner. Johnny firmly held him back.

"That's so fucked, Johnny. I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

The two leaned back just a bit, continuing to hold one another close.

"I just feel so bad for Gavin. If that thing is making him relive those terrible memories then we need to figure something out as soon as possible."

They fully pulled away when they heard the floorboards creak. Looking up, they saw Gavin standing in the entrance of the hallway. His face was heavy with what seemed like a mix between exhaustion and what Ghost now understood to be a deep, emotional pain.

"What're you two talking about out here?" he questioned. The two exchanged a quick glance.

"We're just talking about Box Friend. We need to figure out a way to keep that thing out of your head." Ghost told him. Gavin scoffed, lowering himself into the worn armchair in the corner.

"I couldn't agree more. I'm open to anything."

"Anything?"

"Yeah. Anything to get this thing away from me."

Ghost felt terrible for him, especially knowing what he did now. Gavin's behavior made so much sense. The general lack of empathy, the dislike of physical touch, everything. They had to figure out something fast, for the Brits sake especially. Ghost knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Box Friend's games.

"... this is going to be hard." he mumbled after a minute. Gavin frowned.

"What do you mean 'hard'?"

"Because as far as I knew Box Friend is still locked up in our containment units."

"And?"

"And the fact that he's able to get into your head means that there must be a breach somewhere. The question is where."

"Can't you just check the unit?"

"It's not that easy. Entitles like this can sometimes escape containment without physically going anywhere. Think of it like projection."

"So how do we stop it?"

"That's the question. Apparently trapping his physical form isn't enough. We need to trap his soul too." Ghost sighed. Gavin nodded slowly.

"Makes sense, I guess. ... it has a soul?" he questioned. Ghost shrugged.

"Yeah, or at least something similar."

The room went quiet, the heaviness of the situation beginning to weigh on them. Ghost just didn't know what to do. This was an incredibly delicate situation, and he wasn't exactly the most delicate person. Both him and Johnny knew that it would be best for them to spend a night or two there, just to monitor the situation. Thankfully, Gavin agreed. The two went to Jimmy's room, beginning to set up shop. They had a lot of work to do.