41

They knocked on the door, and I stared breathlessly, not knowing if it was the twins or someone from Lily’s group. Carefully, Matias stepped back, but the door was thrown open with a bang, and Kenji and Shin stormed into the apartment, both wearing hoodies and hats that hid their white hair.

"Okay, alright, calm down," Matias said, stopping between the kitchen and the bedroom.

"Go to hell, you bastard! Where’s our Ryuuji?" Kenji moved quickly, throwing himself against Matias and pinning him to the wall.

"Ryuuji!" Shin ran toward me, his eyes wide. "What..." He stopped, assessing my face. "What happened?" he asked, shocked.

Kenji continued ranting with threats and insults, while Matias forced himself to stay silent, knowing everything could spiral even further out of control.

"Kenji, stop!" I shouted, trying to raise my voice. He kept going, and I ignored Shin, who was looking at my injuries with concern. "Kenji!" I screamed, forcing him to stop. "Let him go, now!"

Reluctantly, Kenji pulled back, releasing Matias. He moved closer to his brother and cursed when he saw the damage to my face. "Did you do this?" Kenji demanded.

"Three of Lily’s people got me, he had no choice," I responded, struggling, not recognizing the sound of my own voice. "He had to," I repeated, and a tense silence filled the room as the twins stared at Matias at the same time. "I need a doctor... a doctor, now," I tried to say in pain.

"His clothes are in the first drawer," Matias informed, pointing to the wooden dresser.

The twins remained frozen, staring at him as if he had said the worst thing in the world. I murmured a warning, and Kenji moved to find a shirt, while Shin carefully surveyed the messy room, knowing he’d find my things scattered around.

"Help me," Kenji asked his brother.

They carefully helped me put on a sleeveless shirt, and Matias watched us restlessly. I could feel his gaze burning my back.

"Can you walk?" Shin asked, pulling me upright.

A groan escaped my lips, and Kenji wrapped his arm around my waist, draping my arm over his shoulders.

"I can..." Matias stepped forward.

"Don’t come any closer," Shin sharply stopped him. "I think you’ve done enough, now stay far away," he ordered coldly. It didn’t surprise me—how else should they act after what they had just discovered?

"I’ll be fine," I assured, catching his dark gaze.

"Let’s go," Kenji said, leading me through the apartment with ease. With every step, my head throbbed, and I felt more and more dizzy. Shin followed us, and I groaned when both of them stopped near the door, their eyes on the white jacket hanging on the wall next to the black one with the embroidered flower.

"Grab it," Kenji commanded, and Shin picked it up before we left the apartment.

I tried to look back at the boy following us down the empty corridor.

"Slow down," I murmured, stumbling on my own feet, but Kenji lifted me and continued walking effortlessly.

"Matias?" I called as we entered the mirrored elevator.

"I’m here."

His hoarse voice pulled a weak smile from me, but before he could enter the elevator, Shin stopped him.

"Don’t even think about it."

Matias clenched his fist tightly, the doors closed, and I heard the muffled sound of my breath and smelled the strong scent of Kenji’s cologne as he embraced me.

"He just needs to know I’ll be fine," I said slowly, but both of them stayed silent, refusing to listen. "You can ignore it, you can hate it, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s my boyfriend," I reminded them, feeling the irritation radiating from their bodies.

Kenji breathed through his mouth, and Shin ground his teeth hard, his gaze darkening. The elevator doors opened to reveal a panting Matias.

"His phone," he warned, showing the device.

Shin grabbed it and, with a quick movement, punched Matias in the face.

"Shin," I chastised, but Kenji just dragged me away, and with blurry vision, I saw Shin pushing him against the wall.

Matias didn’t fight back.

My friend placed me in the backseat of the car, and the cold night air brushed against my warm skin as I breathed deeply the fresh, clean air. The door closed with a soft click, and through the closed window, I saw Shin leaving the building. The brothers got into the car just as Matias was approaching.

"Call me when it’s over," he asked, leaning against the window. "It’ll be okay," he repeated, placing his palm on the glass.

I smiled, feeling my heart flutter at his worried gaze.

"Just say you’ll miss me," I joked, placing my hand over his.

He didn’t smile as I hoped, and Kenji sped off without warning. Still with his hand on the glass, I watched Matias stand at the edge of the sidewalk. When he disappeared from view, I looked at my friends in the front seat.

"Faster," Shin whispered to his brother.

"It’s not that bad," I commented, lying down on the seat, feeling more and more exhausted and nauseous.

"Don’t sleep," Kenji ordered with concern.

"Ryuuji, don’t sleep," Shin reached back from the front seat and shook me.

"I won’t..." I mumbled, consumed by the night. As if from a distance, I heard some muffled noises and felt the car shake, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t open my eyes.

I don’t want to feel pain anymore.