Everyone was present in the same room. They were in Mateo and Faith’s room for a meeting. Mateo didn’t exclude anyone, he had everyone in the same room except for Benji, who was in his room – reading comic books while Noel was guarding his room. Mateo couldn’t trust anyone except for Noel at that point. It was a total scene of chaos. Mateo doesn’t know whom to trust and whom not to trust – except for those people in the room. He looked around the room. Kai was sitting in the armchair, looking back at his friend. Piper was standing beside Kai with her arms folded over her chest. Faith was standing beside him. Levi stood tall beside the door and Ethan stood right beside him. “What are we here for?” It was Piper who asked him. “I need all of your help,” Mateo didn’t hesitate in saying that. Everyone frowned and looked at each other. None of them were sure what he meant. It was very rare for Mateo to ask for help. Kai squinted his eyes and kept looking at Mateo wordlessly. He wanted his
Levi rolled his eyes as he entered his room, Ethan followed him with a big grin on his face, “You heard Mateo. Come on, give me the gun he was talking about.” Ethan asked. Levi clicked his tongue and turned to look at Ethan with a frown on his face. He was irritated with his boyfriend. “Ethan, this is not funny, okay? Can you stop acting so smug? Do you have any idea of the severity of this situation?” He asked. “We all are stuck here. We are unaware of our enemies. The next attack could take place any minute of the day. Please, be serious.” Levi sternly spoke. Ethan heaved a sigh and pursed his lips. He watches as Levi put his hand on his hip and strolls around the room. He was obviously stressed. Ethan decided to stop being annoying and walked to his boyfriend, “Levi.” He said and wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist from behind. Levi stopped walking and stiffly stood with his boyfriend clinging to him from behind. Ethan rested his cheek against Levi’s back, “I know you are stress
(Flashback) – The Day Mateo Almost DiedMateo and Kai were two teenagers, prone to achieving great lengths in life. If they weren’t involved in their families’ brutalities, Kai would have been an artist, or maybe a pianist and Mateo would have been an Astronomist. They grew up with the determination in their minds, that they would put an end to their family’s criminal legacy. For once, they wanted a peaceful and normal future, with wives and children in them. They wanted to stay away from their family business and wanted to start anew. This is probably when they happen to be best friends. They were the odd ones in their families.As kids, they knew that even their parents act and behave like friends, but both families hated each other and were prone to ending each other’s legacy. Aldo would often send Kai to spy on the Ricci family, and Mateo’s father would do the same, but because neither of them trusted one another’s children, they never let their secrets out in front of Mateo and K
Piper smirked as she watched Kai roll his eyes and dropped his hand from her face and stepped away, “If I will kill him now, it will start a new war. I am not an idiot, Piper.” He muttered. Piper inaudibly chuckled and put her gun back in her belt and crossed her legs. She shook her head. She knows Kai can be stubborn, but he means well. She is not going to be in his way and let him be mad at Mateo as he likes, but at the same time she wishes for him and Mateo to reconcile, but even when Kai says otherwise, he is lonely and he misses Mateo.She watched as he rubbed his temples. She sighed and got on her feet. Maybe it was time to stop teasing him. “Do you have a headache?” She asked as she gently pulled his hands away from his temples and replaced his with hers. Kai exhaled and slowly nodded his head. Piper softly smiled and rubbed his temples for him. “You need to rest a bit. Come on, come to bed. Maybe you should try to sleep. I know you haven’t been sleeping well.” She muttered bef
“Shit.” Noel cursed as soon as they heard the explosion. It doesn’t seem like that the explosion happened in the resort, but it was near. Ethan and Levi jumped on their feet and turned to look at the smoking clouding up to the sky. It was coming somewhere from outside the resort. Noel took his gun out and looked at Ethan and Levi, “Get inside. I will go and check what happened.” He said as he aimed toward the explosion. “I am coming alone. Ethan, you stay here.” Levi said, quickly retrieving his gun. “This is my time to shine. Why the fuck do you think you are going without me.” Ethan spoke making Noel turn to look at him. The sleep in Ethan’s eyes was long gone. His eyes now sparkled with a thirst for blood. It was the same look Noel saw in his eyes when he was merely a captive of Levi. They didn’t have time for any conversation as Levi nodded his head and the three ran towards the explosion with their guns in their hands. Levi led the group, following Noel, and Ethan was the last
Piper and Faith heard about Sam getting injured in the blast outside the resort, but before they react, they were startled by the gunshots. The two women gasped before they fell on the floor. Levi cursed and fell on his knees while Ethan and Noel hide behind the pillar. “What the fuck are they?!!” Ethan yelled over the thunder of gunshots in the air. Noel was unconsciously pressing his hand to Ethan’s chest – pushing him against the wall, protecting him from the bullets. Ethan looked at Levi to see him trying to cover Faith from the showering bullets as she lay on the floor.Ethan looked at Noel, who was blindly firing back at whoever was shooting at them. “Do I look like a weak bitch to you?” Ethan spat at Noel and removed his hand from his chest. “I can take care of this – you help them,” He bobbed his head toward Faith and Piper. Piper was refilling her gun with bullets while sitting on the floor – hiding behind the other pillar, while Faith mistakenly dropped her gun, so she could
“Ah, as fierce as remembered you, Puppet. Dante kept you at bay. You were a good boy then, a crazy one, but still a good one. Now, look at you, pointing a gun at me.” Felix’s words burned through Ethan, who bared his teeth. “Dante knew how to handle a boy like you, Levi doesn’t have what Dante had.” Felix chuckled and sighed dramatically before he got on his feet. He glanced at Benji over the bed, “But, that doesn’t mean I miss that bastard.” Felix smirked, “I am glad he died. He was impossible to deal with, you should know that better than me. You dealt with that asshole on a more personal level,” Felix slyly spoke, while glancing Ethan up and down. Ethan has been through a lot in his life. He met a lot of jerks, but Felix has always topped that list. Felix never put his hand on Ethan nor did he ever try to take advantage of him, not at least physically. But there has always been something very unsettling about this fellow that fret Ethan. He often told Dante not to trust Felix, to
Noel was softly groaning in pain. He was trying hard to stay awake, but Faith and Levi could see that they were slowly losing consciousness. Levi was driving the jeep with his gun resting on his lap, while Faith sat on the back with Noel’s head on her lap. She also had a gun in her hand. They have gotten very close to the village, and they haven’t run into more trouble. They did meet a few of the guards along the way, but they were all Mateo and Kai’s men. They asked Levi if he needed their help, but Levi declined. He doesn’t trust anyone now. They could be with enemies. It would be better if they didn’t come with him. “How is he doing?” Levi asked, glancing through the rearview mirror at Faith. Noel’s blood had already spread through the seat. She was holding a towel against the bullet wound, which was now soaked in his blood. Her hands were covered with it as well, and there was a little bit of it on her shirt. She gulped worriedly and met his eyes through the mirror, “Not good,”
A good day came months after. The people of the village finally got their freedom. When that happened, week-long celebrations were held at the village, and all of them were invited, especially, Faith, Mateo, and Kai. It was a joyous occasion. Even when everyone was dreading back where they all spend the worst days of their lives, of course, they went anyway. Hesitant at first, everyone had a great time. Faith had never seen the people of the village have such a festive spirit. It was truly a beautiful week. Faith spends most of her time with her grandmother, Kami, and his family. Benji didn’t want to go with them, but when Kami asked – he couldn’t say no. Lora (Kami’s sister) was there to welcome everyone. Everyone could see how excited Benji got when he saw her. Piper and Kai exchanged a knowing glance. Benji has a crush on Lora. He had it since he came here for the first time. After he returned to the city, he kept in contact with her in one way or another. Faith was happy to see
(One Year Later)Even today when Faith closes her eyes and thinks about her recent past, she can’t truly process it. She can’t believe that so much changed in the past couple of years. From losing her entire family to almost getting killed to find a new family – a new purpose – everything in her life was nothing less than a lesson – a brutal and painful lesson. Currently, she was sitting in a meeting along with Kai and Mateo – but they weren’t the only ones there. The three of them were hosts, while the other distant members of the Ricci and Bianchi clan, a few mafia leaders, and a couple of correspondents from the village were in the room. The debate was on – whether the village/island should be given its independence or not.Faith was sitting in between Kai and Mateo. She averted her gaze to the other side of the room where Kami sat along with a few young faces representing the village. Faith could tell that the young boy was nervous. She shoots him an assuring smile. Kami smiled ba
Kai didn’t say anything in return. He just impassively stared at Mateo before they were interrupted by Faith and Piper’s loud laughter. Both looked at the girls to find that Ethan had managed to pull Levi into the pool. He grabbed Levi’s ankle and pulled him in, making the water splash around and the girls laugh. Mateo heaved a sigh and shook his head as he watched his friend emerge from under the water, not looking much impressed. Noel was standing behind Levi when Ethan pulled him in, he was now watching them two. Ethan laughed and splashed some water towards him with his hand, “What are you doing up there loser? Get in!” Noel shook his head, “No, and you need to come out too.” He looks at all of them, “You all do. It is chilly and the water is cold,” he added. “It is not that cold,” Piper replied. It was because Kai switch on the heater to warm up the water, but that’s mean it was okay to be in a pool on a chilly night under the sky. Just at that moment, Piper sneezed. That was i
Faith and Piper were wasted. If having one drink after another wasn’t enough, they were now drinking straight out of the bottle. “We should go swimming,” Faith slurred a suggestion to which Piper enthusiastically nodded her head, agreeing to it. Before anyone could stop them, an equally drunk Ethan got on his feet and threw his fist in the air, “Hell yeah! Let’s go!!” he yelled out and hooted. Everyone else was so concerned about Faith and Piper that they didn’t even notice just how much Ethan was drinking. These three were completely wasted. Noel was slightly tipsy. Where else, Levi, Mateo, and Kai only had a single drink so they weren’t drunk at all. They decided to stay sober to keep an eye on girls, and well – now Ethan as well. “Excellent,” Levi muttered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He moved to Ethan, who was swinging from one side to another with a bottle of one of the most expensive whiskeys in his hand. Kai glanced at the bottle in his hand. He didn’t
Faith was in her room, changing with there was a knock on her door. Her room was now filled with done and undone boxes. She will be moving out tomorrow and there is so much left to do. But currently, she wasn’t focused on it. She is certain that she will be able to pack before the movers arrive. She was concerned about the dinner party they were having tonight. Faith had already invited everyone and now she was changing for the night. By the knock on the door, she was certain that Mateo has arrived. She quickly picked up the clothes she threw on the floor and put them on the bed before she spoke, “Yes?” The door opened and indeed it was Mateo. He looked good. Fresh and well-rested. It took everyone over a month to get over what happened on the island. The exhaustion and trauma (for some) didn’t leave for days. Mateo was looking like he did when Faith first met him. The difference between then and now is that then he had a hard scowl on his face, and now he was smiling. Then he threw
“Are you all packed up?” Piper asked Faith who came to her room to visit. Faith looked at Piper and smiled. “Yes, almost. Just a few things are remaining to be packed,” she replied. In two days, Faith is moving in with Mateo. For the past week, she has been very busy. She didn’t realize how comfortable she has gotten at Kai’s place, that now that she was winding everything up here, she feels sad to be leaving. When she started packing, she was excited. For her, moving in with Mateo is like a new chapter of her life, but as she proceeded, she realized how uncomfortable yet relieving it is to end this brief, daunting, and challenging chapter of her life. Piper was sitting on the bed, reading, when Faith knocked on her door. She exhaled and smiled broadly at her, “So, are you excited?” She asked. Faith chuckled and sat on the bed beside her, “I am.” She nodded her head, “But I am also nervous. There are so many ifs and buts in my head that I can hardly sleep at night,” she replied hon
“Thank you,” Piper hugged and thanked Faith, before she looked at Mateo, “Thank you both of you. I don’t know what would have happened if it wasn’t for you two. I would have been living on the streets,” she added. “Hey!” “What the hell?” Levi and Kai spoke at the same time. Piper pulled her eyebrows together and looked at both of them. Kai was frowning while Levi stepped forward, “What do you mean you would have been on the streets? Are you kidding me? I would have never let you be on street. Damn, I thought you thought of me as a friend, but boy was I wrong.” Levi scoffed. Where Kai just watched her dumbfounded. She softly chuckled at Levi. “Oh, I would have never bothered you. You already got your hands full,” she told him bobbing her head towards Benji’s room. The door of Benji’s room was open and inside everyone can see Benji and Ethan playing video games. They were so engrossed by what they were playing that they didn’t even notice the people outside looking at them. Ethan and
Kai squinted his eyes. When he was coming out of Piper’s room, he did not expect Faith, Mateo, and Benji right outside – watching him walk out of the room. Their curious gazes made him feel like he was sneaking out of her room after a one-night stand. Mateo was shamelessly smirking at him. Faith was curiously watching him, and Benji had his eyes narrowed at him. Kai cleared his throat and ignored Mateo’s comment and Faith’s question. He was about to tell them that they shouldn’t be so nosy when the doorbell rang. Faith and Mateo pulled their eyebrows together and looked at each other, “Who is here so early in the morning?” She muttered and watched as one of the helpers opened the door. It was Levi and Ethan. “What are you two doing here so early?” Mateo asked with his eyebrows knitted together. Levi didn’t look good. He looked like he didn’t sleep all night. Ethan looked tired as well, but not as exhausted as Levi. Levi glared at Ethan at Mateo’s question. Levi heaved a sigh. His sh
Kai has been inside Piper’s room for an hour. He was now sitting on the floor while she was sitting on the floor as well but she sat by the window. She was watching outside the window while her knees pressed to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. While her eyes were fixed outside, Kai’s eyes were fixed on her. They have been talking for the last hour. No yelling or name was calling. There were no accusations, nor did they completely patch up – they were just talking, which was due for some time now. They fight. They have had sex. They have done everything, but they never get the chance to sit and just talk about themselves. About their insecurities, about their feelings, about everything they bring to each other. Piper last put forward a very interesting point, “Aren’t we toxic for each other? There is just too much we don’t agree on.” She had muttered. Her point was quite simple. She told him that even if Jeremy hadn’t attacked her or anyone else, and even if he was just try