Why was I so blind? I couldn't see how bad it hurt him every single time someone mentioned his father. I couldn't see how much Tyril's name killed him. I also couldn't see that maybe telling him about Mal was the right thing to do.

I'm going to fix it now.

"So, you met Mal, am I correct?" Felix says from the driver's seat. I nod.
"You guys knew, but you never told us. Why?"

Bianca lets out a low chuckle.
"We wanted to. Zane didn't agree" we all look at each other. "I guess he didn't want to because he valued your feelings too much" Felix turns the car towards the restaurant Mal took Rina to.

"God, is she going to be okay? I never knew Mal was...." My heart shudders just thinking about it. Zane didn't deserve any of that. He was just a kid.

Bianca sighs, resting her head against the window.
"Zane isn't going to rest until he finds Fredrick. But according to every single record, he's dead. I don't know why he doesn't understand"

Felix exhales loud enough for everyone to hear.
"The things he's gone through...I don't think anyone in his place would understand. Try putting yourself in his shoes"

I can't explain how much it hurt me when I saw those scars. The welt marks crushed my heart when I touched them. He seemed so torn. So tired. So shattered. I hated seeing him like that.

As for his father, I have never felt this level of disgust for anyone. His mom sounded like such an incredible soul. He was twelve, for fucks sake. He was just a kid. No one deserves to go through that.

It makes sense now. Why he's so closed off, why he never lets anyone near, why he's so close to Felix.

I glance over at him. His expression seems neutral. He turns the wheel towards the parking lot of the restaurant. Soon enough, he looks at me.

He cocks an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"I know I'm hot. Zane is gonna kill you, though. Plus, we're here" he gestures towards the restaurant. I roll my eyes.

The three of us get out of the car, walking towards the restaurant. Felix pulls his gun out, and so does Bianca. Her eyes land on mine and she winks. My heart flutters.

Does she think I'm cool?

"Ashtray, stay back. We'll get your friend" Felix slowly walks in through the front door, hiding his gun when he notices the hundreds of people inside.

"What? No! I'm not staying here while y'all fight for your life!" I throw my hands in the air. Bianca rolls her eyes and walks over to me, pulling something out of her pocket.

I look down at her palm. It's a gun.

Felix rushes over to my side and pulls on Bianca's arm.
"Are you insane? She's not trained in this stuff. Zane is going to murder you" she exhales loudly, as if she's tired of his shit, and places the gun in my palm.

"Keep this with you and stay here. If anything happens, don't be scared to shoot. This is just for your self-defence, so don't go around shooting at random things" after handing me the gun, she walks off. It's so heavy. Definitely heavier than I thought. It's also terribly cold.

Felix runs after her, saying something like
"You're fucking insane, Bianca"

So. I have to stay here and wait. Everything in me begs me to go after them. To drag Rina away from Mal and to never show her his face again, but I know better.

Okay, I don't know better.

I follow.

If there was an Olympics of dumbness, I would definitely take the prize.

I push open the door to the restaurant, and am immediately met with the sight of hundreds of people. The entire ceiling is illuminated, the golden lamps giving it a yellowish glow.

I stuff the gun in my pocket, the weight pulling it down and almost tearing it. Making my way through the tables, I finally find a stairway. I look around to make sure no one noticed me. Everyone seems like they're in their own little world, catching up with friends or having a date with their partners. No one even looks twice at me.

I walk upstairs and move over to the balcony. It seems to have a few tables, too. Though, they look a little more private and fancy as compared to those downstairs.

"So, how is everything at college? Getting into any trouble?" I hear Mal's voice and I stop dead in my tracks, craning my head to look at their table.

Rina laughs "Well, everything great. Besides-"

Everything seems to go quiet. I can't see them right now, but I guess Felix and Bianca are there.
"Felix, put the gun down"

I move towards the balcony door and peek inside. Mal is held at gunpoint by Bianca, and I have flashbacks.

"Felix, stop it!" Rina shouts. The rest of the balcony seems empty, so I decide to step out. When he notices me, I see the same look of disappointment that he gave me when I stuffed myself in the car boot.

"You can't follow one order, can you?" Bianca grits her teeth, holding the gun to Mal's temple. Rina runs towards me, shaking me back and forth.
"Trea, tell them to stop! They're going to-" a look of realisation hits her face.
"You're with them, aren't you?"

I tuck my bottom lip in my mouth and nod.

"Mal is better than any of these people" she points at Felix and Bianca, who roll their eyes.
Then, she turns to me, her eyes pleading.
"Please, they're going to kill him" I clear my throat.
"He deserves it"

Mal looks at Rina almost sadly, then he's dragged out. She turns to me, her eyes full of tears.
"You aren't the girl that I knew. You aren't the girl that had late-night coffee breaks and deep discussions with me. You aren't my best friend" she shakes her head.

My heart hurts. Rina is, and will always be one of the most important people in my life, and seeing her like this hurt my soul.
"Rina, you need to understand that-" I put a hand on her shoulder, but she brushes it off.

"I swear to God if anything happens to him-" her voice cracks as her eyes look at me desperately.
"Please, Trea, please. Stop them. They're going to-"

I clutch her arms, pulling her into a hug. She resists at first, but then melts into the embrace. God knows I needed that.

"I'll explain everything. For now, we gotta go"

The car stops in front of a large building. I take a look around. It's got a large water fountain in front of it. The gardener needs a raise for sure. The lush green grass is perfectly trimmed along with the trees that line up along the pathway.

The building itself is grey and white, it's large are windows covered with blue curtains from the inside. We step out of the car, a gun of both sides of Mal's head. I point a gun at the back of his head to look cool.

"Give me that" Felix snatches the gun out of my hand.
"Hey! That's mine!" He sneers "Not anymore, Ashtray"

Rina walks beside me, her head down. She didn't want to believe it. I wouldn't either if I was in her shoes, but when she heard Mal confess it himself, I felt the shattering of her heart. Quietly holding onto her arm, I pull her towards the building.

The entrance is large as well. When we enter, the first thing I notice is the high ceilings and the lights that almost entirely cover the corners of the ceiling. It gives it a business-iy look.

"I'll take care of him. Y'all go to Zane's office to tell him" Felix hauls him into an elevator.

Bianca, Rina and I make our way towards his office. I don't know where it is, so Bianca leads us. I take the moment to look around the place. It definitely looks like a place where sketchy stuff is plotted.

A few people are moving in and out of the rooms with files in their hands, some, in very fancy outfits, walk out of the entrance. Probably off to a mission. We get into the elevator and Bianca presses the button to the thirteenth floor. It look like the floors go all the way to twenty-two.

Sugar daddy.

Stop it.

"Why is this place so fancy?" Rina speaks for the first time. I look at her and smile, she returns it. Bianca laughs a little at the question.
"It's the main base. Of course, it's gonna be fancy. All of our special equipments and gears are here. It's also highly protected, so no invasions"

We both nod together. Bianca slides a card over some kind of sensor and it opens the door right in front of us.

She is definitely the coolest person I know.

We walk into a massive room with large windows all along the walls. The view is absolutely breathtaking. In the middle lay a table, and behind it that one person.

"How are you still alive? I thought you had fractures!" I throw my hands in the air, he looks up at me and then back at his laptop. Idiot.

"Boss, we've got Mal" Bianca says, taking a seat on one of the many couches in the corner.

I spot something else.
A bean bag.

Hoping on it, I let it sway me from side to side. Rina jumps on one right next to me, and soon the entire room erupts in chaos of giggles.

"Astraea, Rina, stop" Bianca tells us, staring at me in particular.

I hear Zane sigh.
"Where is he?" Bianca tears her gaze away from me and focuses on him.
"Felix took him to the cellar" he nods in approval.

"Don't you need crutches to walk?" I point at his legs. He raises a brow.
"My legs aren't broken"

"Right. Your arms and ribs are. And you're here working your ass off. Makes perfect sense!" I clap my hands together and stand up from the bean bag, walking over to him.

"Why are your offices so boring? I'm telling you I can fix them by adding posters, signs and paintings! If you allow me to, that is" he watches me as I point towards every single spot I'm going to put a poster on.

"Whatever"

A/N

The way he lets her do whatever she wants 🤰🤰🤰

But also, Rina is such a pure soul and I know I'm the writer but I feel bad for her, okay🥺

Anyway, be sure to vote, comment and tell me what you think!

-Author.