CRIME AS A FRIEND

"Look, I only want to know what happened out of curiosity. If you aren't comfortable revealing them, just tell me and I will leave," Erika concluded. She had lied about not feeling any sort of pity for Viper but the real truth was, she truly felt pity for him. But only a little since she didn't know the full story yet.

"I see," Viper hummed. "For a second, I thought you already have feelings for me," he joked, his earlier faltered grin climbing back to settle on his lips once again. When Erika glared at him, he coughed and then cleared his throat. "When I said it was all my fault, I meant I wasn't able to protect them," he explained.

Erika paused for a second before she asked, "What do you mean?"

Viper released a tired sigh, resting the back of his head on the wall before he continued,

"It happened some time ago when I wasn't who

I was today. When I didn't go by the name, Viper…."

**