I was too overwhelmed by everything that just happened, and it was all just too much to take it in right this moment.
"Anyways, you and Brent are eliminated since it was considered a tie by Ren himself." So it was a draw between me and fucking jerk. That's pretty good.
"Then what happened to Brent after?"
"He was taken care of Lexi. The two of you needs to be sent to the hospital right away. He got a broken arm, and you lost a lot blood man. Keto's taking care of things for 'ya."
"Hm. It feels so unusual for Keto to be kind."
Ash laughed. "Hey! that only happens once in a while. Plus, the guy thinks of you as a good friend."
"…he does?" That's news to me.
"Yeah. Consider it as a privilege. That guy never had anyone to call as a friend before."
"Huh, what about you? Weren't you guys close?"
"Don't mistake us like that. We're nothing more than colleagues." So that's how they are. I really thought they were besties or something. If it's like that for them, then is it the same for the others here? Feels weird. They're in the same gang and yet they're not even friends.
Out of nowhere, Keto appeared again. "The ambulance is here!"
"And the bandages?"
"Shit! Just let the fuckin' nurse take care of that stuff."
"Alright." Ash turns to me and smiled. "See 'ya later, pretty boy."
Ugh… that nickname.
"Yeah." Then some people came in the room and finally took me to the ambulance. It took a while for me to get back home, and I'm sure as heck that Lyde's worrying about me right now.
'Sorry Lyde, things got out of hand.'
___
Lyde's pov
The clock's ticking…
"Where the hell are you right now, Lynn?" I sent another voice message to my sister, and even after waiting for a few minutes I got no response. It was already late in the evening, why isn't she coming home yet!?
"Lynn, where's your brother right now? It's past 10 o'clock already."
"I think he's going to sleep at a friend's house tonight." I told gramps, that's the only excuse I could think of.
Of course, I had to pretend as her right now. My sister never stays out late unlike me. But the situation has changed. "Hmm, that boy… always sleeping at other places. Lyde must be sleeping with his boyfriend."
"Gramps! Lyde's not gay!!"
"We're not sure about that, he never brought home a girl before."
"Gramps!!" Where the hell did he even get that idea?! I'm not gay!
"Right. Lyde will have the leftovers if he ever decides to come home at a late hour. I'll be sleeping in my room now." As grandpa left, I waited a little longer for that sister of mine to come home.
But with each hour passing, it only gets me more agitated. Isn't she enjoying my life too much?
Though this could also mean that she's hiding a lot of things from me… really big things.
I noticed that these past few days, she did had a lot of new stuff. That's not unusual for any teenager, but those things were quite expensive. And as far as I know, we're can't afford to buy such things. Well, anyone can buy things like those if they saved enough money for it.
I'm starting to have doubts, but I wanted to put my trust in her. She's my sister after all… but it's so difficult to do so, when I can tell that she's not telling me things I should know.
Then I heard the sound of door opening.
She got back at 2 am.
Lynn only faced down as she tried to make her way to upstairs, so I blocked her path. "Where have you been?!" I asked, throwing away the damn wig off my head.
"...I'm tired. Get out of my way."
"Look at me, Lynn. Tell me. Where. Have. You. Been. To!?" I grabbed her on the collar and pulled her close, but I was instantly terrified as I saw her face.
The anger dwelling inside me faded into grave concern.
"W-What happened to you?! Who did this!?" Seeing her in this state reminds me of the time I got beaten by Jeiro. It was painful, and I can still remember how awful the pain was. Does she feel the same as I did before?
"...the gang had an urgent meeting. A gang reformation. The boss opened up a new position, the fourth leader. And I became a candidate, so I had to compete, and—"
"Compete for a competition!? Lynn! We're trying to get out of the gang! Not to make deeper connections with those thugs! Why the hell are you trying to compete for that position!? Do you not even plan to return my own life anymore!?" Hearing what she said made me burst immediately.
Realizing what I just said...
Shit.
I probably spoke too soon.
She sighed and shook her head. "No... I didn't want to compete. I was chosen by the boss himself. Even if I said I didn't want to fight, he'd beat me to death if I don't follow his order..."
"...o-oh... is that so..." I shouldn't have said those things earlier. "I-I'm sorry I said those things. I didn't mean to—"
Then Lynn surprised me by aggresively grabbing my collar too, and gave such scornful look. "Who even said I want to steal your life?... I'm living as you right now to fix your fucking problems for you..."