As Austin threw the insensible man at the wall, the door of the next apartment creaked open. Now came out a young man about Austin's age, yawning, and rubbing at his head, half-asleep.
"Hey, morning… What's all this commotion—" he started casually, only to stop mid-sentence when his eyes landed on the unconscious, bloodied man slumped against the wall. His gaze darted to Austin, who stood nonchalantly. The man froze, his eyes widening in shock and confusion.
"Austin, is this your doing?" he asked, still working to keep his voice flat, but the frustration merely made his smile curious. "Can't you ever go a single day without stirring up trouble?" His tone was laced with exasperation, as if this was the first of many times he was in such a situation.
"Pests," Austin replied matter-of-factly, wiping his hands. "They've been bothering me since early morning. So, I dealt with it."
The young man sighed deeply, shaking his head. "Looks like it's up to me to take out the trash today," he muttered under his breath. He bent down, grabbed the unconscious man by the collar with surprising ease, and began dragging him down the hall as if he weighed nothing.
Meanwhile, Julie had been viewing the entire scene in silent awe from her door. She stood there frozen in shock as her body quivered with the possibility of attempting to grasp what was happening. Her wide eyes darted between the bloodied man before her, Austin's matter-of-fact calm, and the man dragging the body away so carelessly. She had never imagined that witnessing the all composure next door guy would be like this.
Austin turned to Julie, his voice breaking the silence. "Ah, Ms. Julie," he said casually, as if they were having a normal morning conversation. His words snapped her out of daze; however, she could not stop shaking.
"W-What… What is going on here?" Julie stammered in her voice, which was trembling with fear.
Austin raised an eyebrow at her reaction, then shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry about. That idiot won't cause any trouble again. But," he added, his expression growing more serious, "don't tell Billy about this, alright?"
Julie nodded instinctively, her fear overriding any thoughts of questioning him further. "I… I won't say anything," she managed to whisper, her voice barely audible.
"Good," Austin said with a faint smile, just as his flat door swung open. Billy stepped out, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Honestly? Austin! Where did you sneak off to? This hangover's killing me," Billy said groggily, his voice carrying the remnants of sleep.
Billy was tall, about six feet, slim but toned. His tousled black hair had a wild, just-woke-up look, and his striking blue eyes stood out vividly, half-hidden under his half-closed lids. He wears an digital smart watch on his left hand.
"Just helping Miss Julie with a small matter, Billy. I'll be back in a moment," Austin replied, his tone casual and calm.
Julie said she had seen the sharp difference between Austin's earlier tone and the one he was using now; as if night and day it wasn't escaping him.
Billy shrugged in confusion but replied, "Alright just get back soon and make some coffee, will you?" With that he turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him.
Just as Austin turned to leave, Julie suddenly called out after him, "A-Austin!" Her voice still shuddered with a good dose of fear. She stopped him with her words: "Thanks for taking care of him," she stammered. Her voice was faint with a warble of uncertainty. "But. my ex-boyfriend. he is into a gang. So. be careful, please."
Austin paused, his eyes narrowing slightly before he bestowed on her a reassuring smile. "That's not much of a problem," he replied coolly.
"Maybe not for you, Austin," came a voice from behind them. It was that young guy, walking back from outside, dusting off his hands. "But it is my problem," he said pointedly, his tone heavy with irritation.
Julie noticed guy's nonchalant attitude, as if he'd just dropped the unconscious man somewhere. Austin's face twisted slightly in annoyance, and frustration was plain in his expression.
"Why'd you return so quickly, Celeb Winters?" Austin muttered gruffly, voice full of exasperation.
"Seriously? Can't you go a single day without getting into trouble, Austin?" Celeb asked, walking up to him with an exasperated look.
Austin shrugged languidly. "I just shut him up before Billy wake up, he is just annoying pest," he said mockingly.
Celeb leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low, chiding whisper. "Emily Everhart sent me here so she can catch you when you get into the troubles, Austin. Everywhere I look, you're causing some sort of mess every day and giving her chance to strike," he said, his words sharp.
Julie couldn't hear everything they were saying, but she felt the tension between the two.
Austin sneered. His voice was low, but laced with sarcasm. "If you're so bothered, why bother covering up my incidents instead of reporting them to Emily? What's the deal, Mr. Loyal Spy?"
The celeb stepped back, amused by Austin's defiance. "Oh, I'm only covering for you because I've taken an interest in you. Otherwise, trust me, I wouldn't be cleaning up your messes." He playfully winked and started off in the direction of his flat, saying goodbye and disappearing inside with a shut door.
Inside, Billy was standing in front of the mirror with his shirt off. A lean yet muscular frame was what happened years of training and discipline. However, he had several scars on his torso; the most prominent was a long one on his abdomen - a grim reminder of an incident 20 months ago during a robbery gone wrong.
Looking into the mirror, he catches his gaze on a small scar on his temple; it was from the same night. That day, which he hardly ever recalled, came alive in his mind—a blur of nights of killings and their survival. He turned the faucet on, splashing water all over his face to wash away the frightening images.
He closed his eyes and tried to remember the face of the woman who had saved him. Her features are hazy, but one recurrent thought is that she is an angel.
Billy was stepping out from the bathroom with his hair damp and slightly flushed face. He could smell freshly brewed coffee as he entered the kitchen.
Austin stood at the counter, pouring two mugs of coffee. He didn't say a word as he handed one to Billy, took a sip of his own, and set it down.
"Thanks," said Billy, taking the mug and sitting at the table.
Austin stood against the counter, drinking his coffee offhand. "By the way, we've got plans this evening. Evelyn and Annie want to meet up," he said, looking over at Billy.
Billy raised an eyebrow. "Evelyn and Annie? What's the occasion?"