Andreus and Yuri met in the hallway early in the morning. One of them had just come out of the bedroom, the other having just gotten back home.
They eyed each other warily, both of them unable to forget the last time they had spoken and nearly came to blows.
" You look like you haven't been sleeping. " Andreus said finally.
Yuri relaxed slightly. He hadn't wanted a repeat of their altercation any more than Andreus seemed to.
" I haven't been taking my meds. The last time I did... " His lips twisted. " You know what happened. "
" But nothing happened. "
He shook his head. " Something could have... "
" And that's why you're torturing both of you? " Andreus shook his head. " I learned from Helios you've extended your leave and you've made the same request for Kathy. So what's the plan now, Yuri? You'll lock each other here and just let yourselves die slowly at how miserable your lives have become? "
Yuri didn't answer.
" Look, I know I'm the last person that should give you advice. "
His tone was both stiff and weary.
" But you know what they say. People from the outside see more, and right now all I'm seeing is that you, not Kathy. YOU are the one causing both of you pain. You're letting the shit in your past color how you look at her, brother. I hope you realize I'm telling the truth before it's too late. "
Yuri leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as he heard Andreus slam the door behind him.
God. Damn. It.
It had been two weeks since the incident at the beach and another week since he had decided to forbid Kathy from leaving the headquarters, not even for her backing classes, while he tried to figure out what to do.
Problem was, no matter how much time passed, he couldn't seem to make any decision.
His heart only wanted to love Kathy, but his mind told him he was making the same mistake again.
Pushing himself off the wall, he made his way into the private kitchen, thinking he would find Kathy working on a breakfast bento, but it was empty. Frowning, he went back to their suite, but she wasn't there either.
Shit!
His blood ran cold.
What if she had left? What if she had jumped to her death? Anything could have happened to her.
Anything.
He skipped the elevator and tore through the stairs, knowing he would get to the lobby faster that way. He headed straight to the common room, knowing he would find everyone there. He would tell them Kathy was missing, and they would make a plan.
But when he reached the doorway, he froze, his plans crumbling, because she was there.
Kathy.
And all her bentos.
Fifty bentos.
One for each biker making up the Alcolyte, and seeing how intricate the art was, he knew she had probably worked on them the entire night.
Their eyes met and everyone in the hall fell silent.
Her face was beautiful and composed, her slender, graceful body still as a statue.
But her eyes.
God, her eyes.
How they pleaded with him.
Every bento was a plea from her heart.
Please look at me again. Please talk to me again. Please love me again.
He strode forward and, cupping her face, he kissed her hard, but his voice was hoarse and uneven as he whispered. " I love you. " He realized now that would never change.
Kathy didn't answer, but she didn't have to. The tears seeping into their kiss, the way her fingers desperately curled against his chest and the way her body fitted against his, wanting to be one with him.
They said it better than the words itself.
She loved him.
It was perfect after that.
They looked at each other, talked to each other like they used to. They held hands under the table. They smiled. Or at least he did with his lips, and she did with her violet eyes.
She presented him with a special bento made especially for him. " Because you are the man I will always love. " She had told him quietly.
She opened it.
Yuri stared. " It's quite...green. " For once, his impressive vocabulary and beautiful manners both failed him.
Mung beans. Bitter gourd. Green pepper. Pickles.
Too. Damn. Green.
" Andreus told me you love vegetables, and these are your favorites. " Kathy explained.
" I see. " God damn Andreus Fin Economou. No wonder the other man had been almost nice to him this morning. Ignoring the half-pitying, half-amused looks from his friends. Yuri forced himself to eat.
" Oh, wow. Brother! " Hallie was fascinated. " Your face matches the color of your bento. "
Yuri almost threw up but managed to swallow it back.
Kathy peered up at him. " You do look... "
" I'm okay, sweetheart. " He said immediately. If she said the G-word, he might end up puking after all.
It was perfect.
Or almost perfect.
Until Kathy excused herself to go to the toilet and not long after, they heard the screams.
Kathy!
Everyone ran towards the sound, but Yuri was ahead of all of them.
The first thing he saw was Kathy standing outside the toilet, pale-faced and breathing hard, and in front of her was Lily Anne Smith.
" She tried to kill me! " Lily was screaming.
He paid her no attention, cupping Kathy's face and demanding. " Are you fine? "
Kathy nodded, but her eyer were wild.
" She tried to kill me! Can't you hear what I'm saying?! " Lily said.
He was going to fire the bitch! Yuri thought coldly. Turning to face the volunteer which is Lily Anne, he started to tell her that when he saw the marks on her neck. The words died.
Someone had tried to strangle Lily, and those marks were practically same shape as Kathy's fingers.
Kathy whitened when Yuri faced her again. " I did not doing anything to her. "
Yuri said between bloodless lips. " Stop lying Kathryn Ice! How do you think those marks got to her?! A ghost fucking did it! Huh?! Is that what you want me to believe now!? The same ghost that wrote the message on the mirror, the same ghost that whispered Madame's name in your ear?! Tell me! " Yuri shouted to Kathy.
" That's enough, Yuri. Could you please calm down. " Hallie said.
" Shut up, Hallie! " Yuri said.
While the other side, Lily smiled a little watching Yuri yelled at Kathy in front of us. It's my revenge time, bitch! You will pay what you've did to me! Lily thought when she smiled.
Kathy jerked. " B-But Yuri... " Her voice caught, and she looked like a child that had been slapped by the person she trusted the most. " You know I don't lie, Yuri. "
" You're lying right now. " Yuri heard himself about.
The strain and agony of all the nights he had lain sleepless, thinking about them and seeing no future, finally got to him, and he could no longer keep everything bottled inside him.
Unable to bear the pain in Kathy's face, Hallie rushed to Kathy, protesting shakily and stop crying. " Stop it, Yuri!", " Oh, God. Kathy. " Hallie hugged Kathy to make her calm but it didn't stop.
" This has nothing to do with you, Hallie! " Yuri snapped.
His eyes swung back to Kathy, and a shudder racked her body at the fury in his gaze.
Yuri saw Kathy's lips start to move in her usual feverish chant, and his temper snapped. He started shaking her shoulders. " Stop that! "
But her lips continued to move, and every movement was like a slap against his face, telling him that he loved her so much he had failed to realize she wasn't just insane but a murderess, too.
" I said stop it, Kathryn! " Yuri shook her harder. " Just admit that you lied! "
" But I didn't lied, Yuri. Please believe me. "
" This goddamn moment, you're lying to me! You told me you wouldn't hurt me, remember? You promised me you wouldn't do anything that would cause me pain! But do you think seeing you like this now, seeing what you did to Lily! Don't you know that's hurting me? "
Kathy's world started to spin.
She had...promised him that, hadn't she?
But she had caused him pain?
So she had...lied?
Even when she didn't do anything to Lily, she had still...lied?
She stared sightlessly at Yuri.
She could no longer see anything.
She was back in the dark.
She was alone.
She feel the pain.
Her mind shut down.
Hallie and Aria screamed.
Yuri caught Kathy just before her head hit the floor. Terror seized him as he felt for her pulse, and he only allowed himself to breathe when he felt it beating, faint but steady.
" Is she okay? " Helios demanded as he rose to his feet with Kathy still in his arms.
" You are too much, Yuri. I hope you will not regret this of what you did to Kathy. Remember, you are the one who caused the pain to both of you. " Andreus, said.
Yuri didn't answered what Andreus said. He nodded to Helios. " You don't need to call an ambulance. I'll get a doctor I know. He's on standby. " And as he said the words, he knew then that he had made his decision. He brought Kathy to her room, and after asking Kellion and Aria to look after her, he left the room and placed a call to Dr. Simon Corba.
" Bring your team. "
Dr. Corba tried to keep the excitement out of his voice as he answered. " They will be there in half an hour, Mr. Athanas. "
The doctor was true to his word. His team arrived in a black nondescript van, and three men in white uniforms came out. A voice inside Yuri's head told him everything was moving too fast, and he was making decisions too quickly, but he forced himself to ignore it.
Hallie paled as she listened to the conversation between her brother and the medical attendants. When he turned towards the stairs, she hurried to him, asking brokenly. " Yuri, are you sure about this? You will regret what you have done. Think about it again, please. Don't do this to Kathy. "
" Yes, its for her own good. " His voice was hard, and he no longer sounded like the brother she knew and loved. He is different now.
Yuri led the team upstairs but asked them to stay in the hallway.
" I'll speak with her first. "
" Of course, sir. "
Entering his suite, he thanked Kellion and Aria and asked for a private moment with his fianceé.
Nodding, Kellion slanted a warning look at Aria when he sensed she was about to protest. But then they came out and when Aria saw the medical team waiting, she spun around to face of Kellion, her eyes blazing.
" Over my dead body! "
" Aria! " His voice was grim. " It's not your choice to make. "
" But... Arggh!!!! You will regret this Athanas! I swear! "
" Let's go. You know that. " Kellion said.
Unable to say another word without breaking down, she walked away furiously.
Inside the room, Yuri slowly approached Kathy.
She didn't look like the suffering Madonna now.
She only looked...lifeless.
" Kathy? "
She didn't turn, only facing the window with blank violet eyes. Her lips no longer moved. She was perfectly still.
He sat beside her on the bed. " Kathy, I know you can hear me. "
She still didn't turn to face him. " I want you to know that what I'm about to do is because I love you. "
" Liar. " She whispered.
" Kathy... "
" I know you don't love me, I'm just fool myself that you love me the way I love you. You know me, I didn't lie to you, but you shouted at me in front of them. I'm too much in pain. I feel like I'm a killer. I didn't do anything, but you don't believe me. " Her tears ran to her face.
He didn't answered. He changed the topic. He swallowed hard. " I need to send you away with Dr. Corba. "
Her head snapped to him.
Yuri forced himself to meet her gaze. " He's the only doctor who can help you right now. He will make you... Okay. "
Her lips slowly parted.
" No! Let me go back to Greece! But I will not go with that doctor! I want to go home! "
And then she was releasing a blood-curling scream like he had just stabbed her.
" NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! "
She tried to scramble off the bed, and he automatically held her down, against at how she was reacting. " Listen, Kathy. It's going to be alright. They're outside, waiting for you, but I will be with you. "
" Noo!!!!! How can I trust you, Yuri? You are such a liar! I hate you! "
And this time, Kathy seemed to have inhuman power, managing to push him away.
He saw her heading towards the windows, and he realized then that she was so intent on escaping the medics that she wouldn't even risk leaving through the door.
" NOOOOOOO!!!! " It was his turn to shout just as she managed to unlock his window.
He caught her before she jumped, and she went wild as he pulled her off the ledge.
The door burst open, and the medics immediately pried Kathy away from him.
" No!!! Please, let me go. I want to go home!!! " She was crying, howling, and fighting them off like her life depended on it.
" No! No! No! "
The sound made him sick to his stomach, and Yuri instinctively reached out to Kathy when one of the medics blocked his path. " Sir, I'm afraid it's best if you don't approach her right now. We can't have the patient think that she can do whatever she wants just because she cried. If you love her, sir, you must be firm. "
The words hit him in the raw.
Kathy's desolate gaze found his.
Yuri slowly let his arm fell back to his side.
The light died in her eyes.
The last teardrops fell.
And she became still.
" You don't loved me, Yuri. " Kathy whispered. " You hurt me so much. "
The medics put her in a strait-jacket even when she was no longer struggling.
Her words left him ashen.
" Kathy... "
" You lied. I hate you. "
The pair of medics took her away, and the third one clapped a hand over his shoulder. " Don't listen to her, sir. " He advised.
" They know what to say to make you feel guilty. They've... " His voice faltered when he saw the deadliest pair of blue eyes staring at him. He quickly withdrew his hand and hurried away. He had a bad feeling that if they didn't leave soon, all the careful planning with the doctor would only land them in jail.
Yuri remained frozen in his spot.
One. Two. Three. He found himself counting the seconds, and every second made it harder for him to breathe.
He could still hear her voice, he thought dully.
Sixty-Three. Sixty-Four. Sixty-Five.
He didn't think he would ever forget the sound she had made when she realized he wasn't going to stop the medics from taking her away.
One Twenty-Three. One Twenty-Four. One Twenty-Five.
Yuri sank to his knees.
One Eighty-Nine. One Ninety. One Ninety-One.
" Yuri. " It was Leo Blaze Arlotta, panting, and Yuri had only to hear that voice to know.
He just fucking knew.
Oh, God!
What had he done?!
Shoving past Leo, Yuri raced down the stairs and sprinted to the parking lot. Then he was firing down the road on his bike, his heart thundering against his chest.
Every damn second counted.
He caught up with the van just as it was a few meters away from the exit gates. But the van suddenly went into full throttle as if its driver was aware Yuri was after them.
One second to scan his surroundings, and he knew what to do.
Another second, and he positioned his beast then he let it fly.
Wheels screeched as the driver of the van tried to avoid the huge-ass motorcycle in front of it. He swerved to the right, forgetting there was a row of metal barriers on that side, and the van crashed into them with a loud bang.
Yuri was already running as soon as the van swerved, and he reached the back doors as soon as the van hit the barriers.
He pried the doors open and saw Kathy on the floor, her hands and feet tied, she cried silently, her lips bleeding and I saw her legs lots of blood and next to her was Dr. Simon Corba, hurriedly trying to pull his panty down.
Yuri went berserk.