Under the harassment of Eric, Bryce couldn't do much due to his present state. The damned bastard kept on trampling on the wound of his like he always did with many others. For him, it did little to no change at all, only reafirming the anger he bore. He never wanted to serve a prick like that but the medical bill for Lily gave him no choice. He couldn't afford to lose her, she was the only one that ever cared about his existence. For her, he would even venture straight to hell to be with her. As of the moment, the final obstacle between he and her was this particular pretentous dickhead named Eric. Everytime their eyes met, Bryce only wanted to gorge them out of his dirt face. Every strand of his moustache was irritating to him.
"Speechless huh? How does it feel to once again taste reality on your mouth? Let me give you a makeover... with my shoes." Eric laughed while enjoyingly mocking the blonde struggling with the pain inflicted on him.
The bastard continously stomped on his face, obviously having no regards for people. Even so, he did not expect to be double crossed. He though as long as he proved his use, he could keep his position and secure more and more financial gains for the sake of his beloved caretaker. Life was never fair, he should've seen the day someone would mop the floor with his face.
Yet, something in him repeatedly reminded him that he didn't deserve all that, not when he didn't know why. To him, equality was something that had never existed. His life experience proved it well. Every time he was mistreated, he would swear to return the favor ten folds. He did not care about the nonexistent justice of this world. It all only mattered if it was fair.
Shifting his attention back to the sensation of something rudelessly pressing on the face that his caretaker treated so well, Bryce casted a furious glance at his dastardy opressor. Eric however paid such attitude no heed, seeing that he was the one with the uppear hand at the moment. It was clearly a slowburn torture Eric intended to give his former subordinate that he deemed a threat to his seat.
Bryce realized that he wasn't just attacked with a taser but also sedated without him knowing. He should've known that Eric would plan as far as he could for the sake of delivering torment to those daring to oppose him. That was something they had in common, but Bryce refused to be equals with an asshole of a gang leader. In absolutely no wait would the two of them ever be partners in crime, not in the literal sense at least.
"I'm getting bored of this now. Let's go to the next stage then." Eric took out his phone and called his men. "I've prepared something... very special for you. Bet you'll be shocked."
Those words stired anxiety in Bryce's mind. He wondered how far this freaking had to go for his sickening satisfaction. Nonetheless, he muse prioritize getting out of this situation somehow. A weak body wouldn't be able to do much but there were things to be done, including teaching Eric how to kiss mother earth properly.
Bryce hit his own wound with a fist, urging his nervous system to fully function once more. Seeing that, Eric tried to stop him but he used another flashbang and crawled away while the bastard was stunned. Bryce hid himself away in a bush. That was the second time the boss received negative ocular harm.
After a while, he could look again. Irritated, he stood up and yelled at his phone.
"Hurry up and bring the stuff! My former I.T boy deserved a good parting gift."
Meanwhile, he tore a piece of his shirt to temporarily treat the wound. The wound created by the small knife earlier wasn't fatal but it sure was painful as hell, enough for wake his nerves even. This time he planned to take out the boss for real but not before knowing what gift he had prepared.
As if on cue, a man came out of the metal door along with a group of four more henchmen carrying a coffin with their arms. It might look weird but anything would work if it could hide the contents inside safely without raising suspicion. However, this clearly wasn't the case for Eric.
The dastardy boss approached at the man put the coffin down in front of him. Touching gently on it, he showed a creepy smile as he looked around.
"I'm glad you decided to stick around so that I could seize the opportunity to show you this." He spoke with hidden malicious intents.
Bryce chose to remain in hiding, though his anxiety did not die down. It clearly wasn't a simple curiosity, but Eric's challenging tone has sucessfully put him on edge. The most concerning part was that it felt the same as when he felt anxious after learning th at Miss Lily had gone severely ill. The panic was slowly and deliberately eating away his rationality. He just couldn't fathom why until...
"Did you know? Two weeks ago we visisted someone in a hospital while doing charity." Eric began his retelling.
According to Eric's sudden story telling, he and a few of his men visited a local hospital two weeks prior to Bryce's escapade. His charity was clearly a lie, he had bribed the security to be able to safely collect debts from some of his clients treated in the very same place. Anyway, during their act, Eric found a room with a patient that seemingly had just woken up from a slumber.
"Thanks to one of my partners in crime, I learned that she was acquainted with someone whom I knew so much. The woman didn't look well, her condition didn't seem to improve much." Rubbing his chin, Eric continued.
Bryce was struggling with the anxiety in him. He must calm down in order to act carefully, yet it refused to ease. He wanted to prevent himself from believing whom the thought Eric was referring to. Perhaps the longevity of his untreated wound had taken a toll on him. Were he to succumb to his worries, his mind would be on the verge of shattering itself. In order to avoid that, he must seek for a glimmer of chance to take Eric down.
"I introduced myself and so did she. She looked happy when I call myself a friend of her sunshine." He grinned. "As a good friend, I told her about all her good time we had. You know what happened next? Haha, her face deliberately went pale."
"!"
Upon hearing that part, he felt like wanting to tear off the bastard's face with his digits regardless if the words he uttered held some truth in them or not. Bryce found himself growing even more unease. He had never panicked so much in his mind, even more than the very first day he worked under a criminal organization.
Guessing that the blonde was in panic unseen to him, Eric chuckled and went on with his traumatizing retelation. Bastard was dead serious about wanting to draw out the despair of his opressed victim to accumulate a sickening sense of mental entertainment.
"At first, she repeatedly shook her head. But as I went on with my speech, she started screaming. My men had to shut her up."
"..."
"In the end, the truth finally sank into to her fragile mind... and the poor Lily had lost her will to live."
Right on cue, every cell of Bryce's very self started screaming. The boiling insecurity in him has broken free of restraints, morphed into an overwhelming fury. He stood up, dashing forward with murder intend.
"You should've seen her face-"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!"
Bryce ran on his feet and countered the assaulting men swiftly by throwing knives at them. Few men surrounded their boss to protect him. Bryce went on with the offense and threw a grenade forward. The man barely managed to get away from the deadly range but were all blown away by sheer impact.
He noticed the coffin and opened it. As wishful as a human could be, the truth in front of his eyes was undeniably real. He saw the familiar of the figure he always knew but it had gone pale from the lack of life. His beloved caretaker - Lily had truly gone from this world. He bent down his body, hugging her lifeless corpse as he screamed with the top of his lungs. No matter how much he prayed, the warm color of skin never came back, her eyelids stayed shut. His face etched with despair, with tears for the topping.
Seeing that, the despicable Eric laughed maniacally. He clearly was on the peak of estacy when the blonde lad suffered from the impactful demise of his only family. Once again, the sky did not shred a tear. His cries overwhelmed and other sounds from reaching to his ears.
"As much as I enjoy this, all things will come to an end. It's time we part... forever." Eric grinned, signaling his men to attack.
With his anger reaching the peak, he dashed off at his former boss. He ran as fast as possible, dodging most of the bullets. His focus was all on Eric, he wanted to peal off his face, mutilate him and throw his remainings into a shredder.
But of course, Eric would not let him have .it. He took out a shot gun and knocked the lad backward with the impact of the deployed bullets. He felt on the ground unable to gather more strength to move, he still held on to the bitter hatred. Wanting to ensure that this would be the final time both of them ever meet, the boss himself shot the lad once more then walked away as he told his men to deal with the corpse.
With a brief moment before finally entering the endless slumber. an He looked at the back of the man whom he resented even more after being taken away his sole reason of living. When he lost more blood due to the fatal shot, the pain slowly when away. He could no longer move a muscle. His blood stained the janitor outfit, he started sensing the lukewarm embrace of death. Glaring at Eric once last time, he weakly made an oath.
"If karma won't come for you... I will."
He slowly closed his eyelids, hoping to be able to meet Lily in the afterlife.
'Miss Lily, I'm coming for you and say sorry as much as you want."