Fractured Bonds

"You don't just spit on my face, you know," he said. "Maintain your distance."

The other girls, except the one who had just entered, erupted into laughter at the boy's audacious assertiveness.

"You, y-..." The 19-year-old stuttered, taken aback, but the boy calmly ignored her and strode in with a confident smile.

His gaze swept the room, and when his eyes landed on Mandy, his grin broadened.

"I told you I usually get what I want," he whispered to himself.

The 19-year-old marched towards him, spun him around, and confronted him with a fiery gaze.

"You're so proud, aren't you? You have no respect whatsoever?" she asked.

But the boy remained nonchalant, rolling his eyes, folding his arms, and gazing back at her with an air of unconcern, which only fueled her irritation.

She raised her arm, ready to strike, but the other girls quickly intervened, their voices rising in unison.

"Leave him alone!" they chorused.

"Don't waste your energy on him, just go get us food already!" One of them added.

The 19-year-old's arm hovered, frozen in mid-air, her face twisted in frustration as she hesitated, torn between her desire to confront him and the urging of her friends.

She lowered her arm, but her finger remained pointed at the boy.

"Can't you see how he's behaving?" she asked.

One of the girls chuckled before responding, "Just leave the guy alone. If you beat him up, how's he going to do the work?"

The 19-year-old's hand dropped to her side, but her expression remained the same.

"But he was rude to me," she protested.

"Don't you think we should teach him a lesson?"

But before anyone could respond, the boy interrupted, his tone smug.

"Listen to your fellow girls already. I'll make sure Kelly knows about it if you lay a hand on me," he threatened.

With that, he turned back around and began walking towards the bed where Mandy was lying, but the 19-year-old was seething with rage.

She was fed up with his dismissive attitude and refusal to take her seriously, which only fueled her anger.

In a burst of fury, she strode towards him, spun him around, and threw a powerful punch at his face, catching the girl who accompanied him off guard and eliciting a shocked gasp.

Before the boy could regain his balance, the 19-year-old seized the moment and pounced.

She pushed him to the ground and unleashed a fierce flurry of punches, each one landing with precision and force.

"Argh! Argh!" The boy groaned, as his face was crushed under the 19-year-old's relentless assault.

The girls seated nearby erupted into a fit of laughter, their giggles and snickers echoing through the air as they watched the boy being pummeled.

One of them finally rose to her feet, her amusement seemingly worn off, and strode purposefully towards the duo.

She grasped the 19-year-old by the neck collar and began pulling her away from the boy, putting an end to the violent altercation.

"Leave me, leave me!" the 19-year-old yelled, as she struggled to free herself, but the other girl was just too strong.

She began dragging the 19-year-old towards the door, and as soon as they reached it, she gave her a forceful shove, sending her tumbling out.

"Hey!" the 19-year-old yelped, scrambling to her feet.

She attempted to regain entry, but the other girl pushed her away with a stern gaze, sending her stumbling backward to the ground once again with a resounding thud.

"Argh!" The 19-year-old exclaimed.

The other girl glared down at her, slightly annoyed.

"Listen, Mary, this isn't the time to unleash your anger. Control yourself," she said sternly.

Mary's eyes flashed with rage as she rose to her feet.

"Control myself?!" Mary thundered, her voice echoing down the hallway.

"Didn't you witness how that boy spoke to me?! Did you miss the way he disrespected me?!" she demanded.

"I'm sick of it!" she exclaimed, her hands planted on her hips.

The other girl attempted to dismiss Mary's outrage and started closing the door, but Mary was relentless, refusing to be silenced or shut out.

She kicked the door open with a forceful swing.

"I'm not done talking!" she yelled.

The other girl's eyebrow shot up, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face, as she asked, "Are you crazy?"

Mary took a deliberate step forward, her eyes flashing like fire.

"Listen, I've had enough of all of you," she spat.

"You all just treat me like a puppet, manipulating me to do your bidding, without any regard for my feelings or autonomy!" Mary exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" the other girl asked, confused.

"I'm talking about the fact that I'm not going to be your marionette anymore!" Mary shouted.

The second girl, still seated, was taken aback by Mary's outburst.

She rose from her seat and approached the pair, her eyes fixed intently on Mary.

"What do you mean?" she asked, as she drew closer.

Mary's determination only grew stronger, and she repeated, "I mean I'm not going to put up with it anymore!"

The second girl's eyes narrowed slightly as she reached the other girl's side.

"Why?" she asked.

Mary's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're asking me why? Isn't it obvious?!" she exclaimed.

The other girl frowned in response, while the second girl frowned even harder.

"You two only care about yourselves! If it were you who were treated that way, I'm sure you'd have stood up for yourselves and confronted that boy!"

"But whenever it's my sister or me, you tell us to let it go!"

The first girl's concern deepened, and she placed a soothing hand on Mary's shoulder, attempting to calm her down.

"Mary, calm down," she urged gently.

"That's not how it is. You're seeing things from your own perspective. It's because—"

Mary cut her off, her anger boiling over, by forcefully pulling her hand away. "Because what?" she demanded.

"I've had enough of you people, especially you, Deka!" she exclaimed, her finger pointed accusingly at her.

"What did I do?" Deka asked, her voice gentle and her eyes wide with hurt.

"You're asking me what you did?! Are you for real?!" Mary exclaimed. But Deka just looked confused.

Mary's hand dropped to her side.

"You sent my sister to delete a CCTV footage, a dangerous task that could get her into serious trouble!" she accused.

"What if she doesn't make it back?! Huh?!" she demanded.

Deka reached out to calm Mary, but Mary stepped back, avoiding her touch.

"Don't touch me," she warned.

"Mary, you're not making sense. Calm down," the second girl intervened, trying to reason with her, but Mary's anger was uncontainable.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she yelled.

"When my sister returns, we're done. We're quitting and leaving you two to yourselves!" Mary exclaimed.

"We can't keep taking on dangerous jobs while you sit back and enjoy yourself all the time!" she declared.

"Mary, don't talk like that," Deka said. "It's not like I'd do that, but—"

"But what?" Mary Interrupted.

Then, she pulled out the money that had been given to her for food and threw it at Deka's chest.

"I'm leaving!" she yelled.

With that, she turned around and began walking away, her back to Deka and the second girl.

"Mary! Mary!" Deka yelled, taking a step forward as if to chase after her, but the second girl grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"Leave her," the second girl said calmly, but Deka pulled her arm away forcefully, her eyes fixed intently on Mary's retreating figure.

She hastily began walking after Mary, her long legs eating up the distance.

However, when Mary noticed Deka approaching, she began running, her feet pounding the ground, desperate to evade the impending confrontation.

She didn't want to have anything to do with both of them again.

But Deka, on the other hand, couldn't simply let Mary go. She had grown fond of Mary, regarding her as the younger sister she never had, despite Mary's stubborn streak.

Deka felt an overwhelming need to make amends and win Mary back over, to restore their fractured bond and reunite the team.

Meanwhile, the second girl stood with her hands on her hips, frustrated.

She hadn't anticipated the situation would spiral out of control like this, and now that two of her colleagues had stormed off, she was at a loss for what to do next.

With a sigh, she turned to face the girl who was tending to the boy's injured nose on a worn, brown couch.

"You guys should keep an eye on her," she said, gesturing to Mandy on the bed.

"I'll be right back," she added.

The girl looked up from her task, met her gaze, and nodded. "We will."

The second girl nodded in response and then set off to find her colleagues, leaving the girl to tend to the boy's injury.

The girl returned her focus to the task at hand, carefully helping the boy apply a bandage to his nose.

As he winced in pain, she offered a sympathetic apology.

"Sorry," she said, her eyes filled with concern.

But the boy's expression twisted into bitterness as he spoke.

"That stupid fool thinks she can just go around beating anyone who slightly upsets her?"

"I hope something similar happens to her too," he cursed.

The girl's eyes widened in disapproval as she put away the first aid equipment.

"You shouldn't say that," she admonished gently, but the boy's frown deepened, his expression darkening like a storm cloud.

"Don't tell me what to say, Faustina," he snapped.

"Remember, you're lucky to be living under my roof, so keep your silly words to yourself. Or I'll tell my brother."

Faustina's eyes widened in fear, and she stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, I won't say anything like that again."

The boy's smirked as he seemed to revel in her distress. "Good," he said.

Then, he stood up and began to approach Mandy with a slow, deliberate pace, his eyes fixed intensely on her.

"I just can't wait to have a taste," he said.

Faustina frowned, concerned. "You have to be patient," she cautioned.

But the boy's expression turned angry, and he paused mid-step, before slowly turning to face her.

"You should learn to be quiet," he growled.

"Or you know what would happen."

Faustina's eyes widened, and she gulped hard before nodding submissively.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Fool," the boy muttered, before turning back to Mandy with a renewed smile.

He approached her slowly, his gaze fixed on her half-exposed body.

As he sat down beside her on the bed, his eyes never left her closed ones.

Then, he leaned down closer to her, his face mere inches from hers.

His fingers began tracing gentle caresses on her skin as he whispered. "I just can't wait."

With a grin, he pulled back, stood up, and moved away from her.

Faustina watched the entire scene unfold, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Mandy. She knew this wasn't right, but she felt compelled to go along with it.

Just then, the boy turned to her and said, "I have to go get ready, so you stay and watch her."

"But we were told to watch her together," she pointed out.

The boy's expression darkened.

"Are you mad?" he asked.

Faustina quickly covered her mouth, apologetic.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled.

The boy huffed and stormed towards the door.

As soon as he reached it, he turned to Faustina with a scowl.

"You'll hear from my brother tonight," he threatened.

Faustina's eyes widened in fear, and she exclaimed apologetically,

"Please no Gabriel!"

"You can't change my mind now. You've been too annoying, and you'll pay," he sneered.

With that, he pulled the slightly ajar door open, stepped out, and slammed it shut behind him.

Faustina, on the other hand, began to sob uncontrollably. The thought of what was to come was too much for her to handle.