Liv found it harder than she would’ve cared for to get through the crowd without being entirely detected. The pillars were a big help, but recrossing through the crowd without being noticed was a pain to be certain. What should’ve been thirty to forty seconds of walking from point A to point B turned into multiple minutes of sneaking past unsuspecting groups of people: whether they be around the myriad of snack tables, near the center, or just out on their own doing their own thing. It was frustrating as all hell, especially given the situation she was in. Every second was a second Anthony got further away, another second for the burning flame in her chest to burn brighter, stoked by the fan of her frustration. She, eventually, manages to reach the door, her eyes darting around as she slowly pushes it open, wincing as it creaks. Not giving it any time, she closes it behind her, a sigh of relief escaping her mouth. She managed to get past that hurdle a-ok.

  “What are you doing?” Her boss questions, Liv tuning back into their frequency. She hadn’t been listening for a few minutes, her boss still set on stealing Arla’s book for “reasons”.

  “I’m trackin’ Anthony. Wanna talk to ‘em.” She mutters to herself, her eyes darting side to side. In the hall, there's only left and right. He either went deeper into the hall while taking the bend, or he went to go take the stairs. It was a coin toss into another coin toss. That only served to further annoy her. He could’ve gone damn near anywhere in the building!

  “Truly? Did we not have an entire conversation on how it didn’t truly matter if he was or was not in the initiative?” Her boss questions. This question panders to the small, rational side of Liv’s subconscious; unfortunately, this side was squashed as soon as she saw Anthony here.

  “Just wanna talk.” She lies out loud, her teeth clenching as she considers her options. Which one should she even do? She didn’t even know where to start. If she went in the wrong direction, she could lose him for the rest of the night! She could just go to house in the morning, but that seemed so far away from now. She won’t be able to rest like this knowing something like this is unresolved…

  “I don’t believe that to be the case-,”

  “If you shut up,” Liv starts, her resolve hardening, “I’ll try ‘n convince that Arla girl to gimmie that book.”

  “You just want to speak to him.” It corrects itself, its chastising tone replaced by a pragmatic nonchalance; though, the small undercurrent of excitement was impossible to mask. “I believe in your diplomatic abilities. Good luck.”

  Liv rolls her eyes, turning to the left, walking further down the hall. If he wasn’t here, she would turn around and run down those stupid steps to see if he was thinking of leaving. It was still fairly early in the day, and Liv got the impression that he was fairly good with people– he was friends with everyone at the arcade, and he had all those conversations with the waiters when they went out to eat. She supposes it’s not the same, but he could’ve come to find her at least. She would’ve talked to him if had just asked.

  CRASH.

  Liv jumps as she comes around the bend, the sound of something crashing into the wall shaking the floors. She slips behind the bend, her heart thudding in her chest, her nerves light up like a tree. What the hell was that? Did someone punch the damn wall? Slowly, methodically, she peers over the edge, trying to get a peek at whatever produced the sound. Just over the bend, she catches a familiar flash of pink, her eyes sparking with recognition. She was dressed in a bright, neon green mini dress with heels that extended her height by multiple inches. Her face was dashed with glitter, belts hanging off her hips without serving their intended function. Liv was wondering where Kara was the whole night; turns out, she was right here! She seems to be breathing heavily, her leg propped up against something…

  “The hell is she doin’?” Liv wonders, her eyes squinting as she peeks a bit more of her head out. Kara seems to be digging her heel into something large. Some sort of pile? No, that's not right– it’s just a bit too misshapen to be a pile. It’s got clothing…. A person-?

  Liv’s squinting eyes shoot open, her heart freezing as the realization dawns on her. She can see it from over here, the familiar burgundy hair spilling out like water from a cup, draping across the floor in a runaway stream. He’s keeled over, clutching his stomach, trying his hardest to shield himself as Kara digs her heel further into his side.

  “Some fucking nerve you have…” Kara grounds out, her voice blazing with hatred. “The nerve you have to show up here. Who the hell do you think you are!?” She shouts, raising her foot up before slamming it back down, eliciting a loud groan of pain from her large victim.

  Liv’s blood runs cold, her pupils shaking as she watches. She felt a freezing feeling seep into her bones, a blizzard swirling in her body. It didn’t quite quench the strange form of anger she felt at Anthony– instead, they mixed into a strange storm of emotion in Liv’s gut. This wasn’t a playful jest like with Donovan and Charlotte, and it certainly wasn’t like the sibling dynamic she saw between Arla and Florence; no, this was something different. This “argument”, if you could even call it that, was something born of pure malice, of pure hatred.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll go-.” Anthony starts, trying to push himself up on shaky hands– shaky hands that quickly pull back as the pointy end of a heel stabs into them, causing him to draw back into himself with a yelp.

  Kara seethes with barely contained hate, her heel returning to dig into his side. “You said I wouldn’t see your face ever again, that you were done in the initiative. Was that just another one of your lies?”

  “I didn't have a choice-!” Anthony tries to start, his voice cutting off as the tip of Kara’s foot slams into his nose. Liv’s already tense body shudders as an audible, wet squelch sounds out, just barely audible above the music playing just a few rooms away. It’s one that’s all too familiar, an injury she inflicted on someone today; unfortunately, Anthony doesn’t seem to be laughing it off.

  "Bullshit." She growls, glaring down at him with unrestrained hatred. "We both know you're not telling the truth, so spit. It. Out."

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Anthony has no response to that. It wouldn't save him to defend his case either way.

  “Fine then, don't tell me. I told you what would happen anyway.” Kara says, her hands shaking as she raises her foot, bringing it back down over and over like a gavel. The sharp end draws blood from his pudgy body, his white dress shirt staining a deeper red with each swing of her foot.

  Her foot continues to rain its own form of justice on Anthony’s prone form. It was unbearable watching one of her first friends getting pummeled on the floor like he was nothing. She couldn’t stand to watch this. With her resolve hardening, Liv slips from behind the wall, approaching as Kara raises her foot once more. Just as it’s about to crash back down, Liv pushes her foot out, redirecting the kick out of the way.

  Kara stumbles a step, temporarily thrown off balance. She throws her hands out, balancing herself last moment. She whips her head around to the source, her eyes ablaze with fury– a fury that is quenched when she sees just who kicked her.

  “L-Liv?” She questions, slowly taking a step back from Anthony. Her eyes glance down at the body on the floor, her lips working quickly as her hands raise in a defensive gesture. “Ok. I know this, like, looks reeeaally bad, but I swear I can explain.”

  From her better vantage, Liv steals a glance at Anthony, trying to assess the damage he’s taken. His nose is bent at an odd angle, leaking a steady stream of blood. His eyes are open, and he seems to recognize her despite his injuries.

  “Seems like yer beatin’ on someone.” Liv says, her cold eyes flashing up to meet Kara’s. “A pal of mine, no less.”

  “Your pal?” Kara shrieks, her eyes darting between Anthony and Liv. “You’re friends with him!? But he’s the worst! He…” She starts, her eyes locking with Anthony, the disgust clear in her voice. “He’s the one I told you about, the moron who ruined everything! He ruined my life! He’s self centered, an ego maniac, and a liar! He's, like, the worst!"

  Liv blinks, looking back down at him, searching for conformation. The shame on his face, the look of utter defeat on his features tells her all she needs to know. Kara, at least, was telling the truth on his part in her past. That frustrated her a bit for sure, but it wasn't the biggest issue at a moment.

  "Aight." Liv says. "Still not lettin' ya do that."

  Kara sputters, her face flushing as she gestures to him wildly, as if it were the most obvious thing on earth. “H-he literally ruined my life! He’s, like, the worst person ever!"

  Liv stares at Kara, her body positioned between Anthony and his attacker. Morally, she was technically in the right. If he had broken this supposed promise while also "ruining her life", she did have some moral ground to stand on. She garnered some sympathy from Liv; however, sympathy was just that. Sympathy. Kara was a friend, a good friend– but she wouldn't allow her to kill another one of her friends despite her frustrations with him.

  "If you wanna get to 'em, yer gonna have to fight me." Liv responds, shifting into a guarded position. "And I promise yer goin' to regret it if it comes to that."

  Kara stands with unabashed rage and animosity, an emotion now directed at the pair instead of just Anthony. Perhaps if it were just one of them in a different place, she would spring to fight; however, she knew her limits. This arena favored Liv heavily with its narrow halls, and it could very well be a two on one. She would also be dead or destitute if anyone else found out about this. With a seething breath, she walks away, her hands clenched at her sides.

  “That went poorly.” Her boss comments, causing a flicker of annoyance to cascade through Liv’s system.

  “I tried my best,” Liv starts, her tone laced with a hint of annoyance. Liv didn’t like seeing Kara so angry, and she certainly didn’t want to lose a friend over this entire situation. While not wrong about the situation being ideal, she didn’t really want to hear about her performance, “but I ain’t good at this stuff. I don’t like watchin’ my friends gettin’ hurt.”

  “Admirable, if ultimately pointless.” Her boss says. “Though, that does punch a hole in our plans.”

  “Our?” Liv questions, her eyebrows furrowing. What was it talking about? She didn’t really have a plan for the near future at the current moment.

  “Well, I was hoping that Kara girl would be a part of your team. She seems to be quite the potent support, especially with that powerful Loong of hers.” Her boss comments, it’s voice weirdly invested as it continues, “but I don’t believe she’ll be all too thrilled being on your team given the current circumstance.”

  “I ‘spose…” Liv mutters mentally, her gauntleted fingers brushing Anthony’s bangs up, looking at his bloodied face. His battered, lidded eyes look back at her, his mouth trying to form syllables that just couldn’t escape. His cheek was already swelling from repeated trauma, red staining his teeth. From her new vantage, she could see that his lip was busted open as well, crimson blood leaking from the wound, dribbling down to his chin. She winces sympathetically, remembering the injuries she used to incur when she was a miner. Not every wound could be cured by her boss, especially if the day had been especially dangerous. With a sigh, she stood, throwing Anthony onto her shoulder.

  “Aight, I’m takin’ you to get help.” She says, adjusting her hold on him. It was a bit hard given his relative size compared to her, but she managed to make it work, her feet clicking against the floor as she made her way down the hall. Every jostle elicits a grunt of pain from her large friend, further eliciting a wince from Liv as she tries to stabilize him. She had a vague idea of where the medical floor was from here, but it would be more trial and error than either of them would like.

  As she walks up the stairs, the lively music that enchanted her so fading into the background, she’s left with the simple hum of the building itself, left with the company of Anthony and her boss. The white noise fueled silence is almost deafening, only interrupted by her own footsteps and the occasional grunt of pain from Anthony. After a minute or two, the silence is broken by a single question.

  “Are you… Mad at me?” Anthony questions, his voice slurring just a bit as it exits his mouth.

  “Ya ask that question a lot.” Liv half says, half chuckles, a small smile finding its way to her face as she continues their shared trek up.

  Anthony remains silent for a moment before speaking once more. “Whatever she told you is true. I did that, all of it.” His voice breaks, a shake in his already slurred speech.

  The shocking honesty in his voice, the anguish in his tone takes Liv aback, her steps pausing as she stops to consider. She knew that he had done it by the look on his face when she stopped the beating, but hearing from his mouth made it feel just a bit more real. Still…

  “I ‘spose I have somethin’ in here that ain’t happy with you,” Liv starts, her free hand coming to splay across her heart, “but that ain’t enough to stay mad at ya. I dunno the whole story, and I don’t wanna. The Anthony I know ain't an egomaniac, and the Anthony I know wouldn't run away 'n get me killed. Who cared 'bout some past Anthony I'on even know?”

  Anthony doesn’t respond, silence overtaking the two as Liv continues up the stairs. Liv can feel that bubbling heat beneath her skin, that infernal feeling, slowly fading into nothing. Still, she speeds up her steps. Anthony was in a lot of pain, and she really didn’t want more blood on her shoulder.