"Get off me!"
Fan Wu'Jiu roared as the Abyss members seized his arms. Bi'An was slumped in the rickety wooden chair. Blood stained his white uniform as it dripped from his head. They'd decided to interrogate him first since Wu'Jiu refused to speak, only cursing at them. However, Bi'An didn't seem to be willing to speak either. He'd remained silent even as they pointed a gun at him.
"I'd rather die than reveal what I promised to never."
One of the Abyss men, furious and drained on patience, smashed a bottle on his head, immediately knocking the executive unconscious. Wu'Jiu had tugged at his restraints when he saw that, snapping the ropes and lunging at the man. Now he was thrown into an empty room.
"You'll stay here for a good few days while we ask your other friends now, buddy. I hope we can have your answer by then."
The metal door swung shut and locked, leaving Wu'Jiu inside. Worry was eating away inside him as he thought of what would happen to Bi'An. Leaning against the dirty, grimy walls, he swore to himself. Even if he could die, he too, would never tell them anything. He slammed a fist against the wall and let out an angry yell.
--------------------------------------------
The same time Wu'Jiu's fist landed on the concrete surface, Rosalee slammed her hand on the tabletop, startling the nurses nearby. Still, Aesop didn't stir. They were back in the room now, surrounding a small table. Jack winced at the loud noise and looked over at the unconscious body. Andrej sighed.
"That traitor! How dare he!"
"Rosa-"
"Damien Andrej Carl don't you dare think about telling me to calm down!"
Jack raised an eyebrow hearing Andrej's full name, but didn't ask. Rosalee continued raging on, babbling in French now. Andrej went over to Aesop and took his son's pale hand in his own. Rosa finally calmed down after almost throwing her purse at Jack and joined her husband.
"I agree with you Rosa... Freddy Riley needs to pay for his actions, and so does the Abyss."
"Tuez-les tous, ces criminels de bas niveau."
Andrej chuckled. He stared at his son for a while.
"I should've stayed instead..."
He gasped softly when he felt Aesop's hand squeeze his. Rosa was launched into another French frenzy again as Jack pinched himself. Aesop's eyes slowly opened as he groggily stared around the room. His eyes stopped on Jack, then moved to his parents'.
"P-pa..? Ma? Jack..?"
Rosa was already crying, nodding her head as she pulled her son's head closer to her. Aesop grimaced at the sudden movement and he peeled away from her. He looked around then suddenly sat up. Ignoring the splitting pain in his head, he looked at Jack.
"Where's Eli?! Jack where-"
"Aesop calm-"
"NO! Where is he Jack where is he?!"
He struggled to get up, but was pushed down by Jack. He tried to push Jack away, panicking now. His father gently put an arm on Aesop's chest. Aesop leaned back down on the bed, but his eyes were still wandering around wildly. Jack sighed and shot Andrej a look. Rosa gripped her son's shoulder tightly as Aesop shook his head.
"No... No way... You're lying Jack you're lying!"
"Aesop-"
"Please tell me this is just a joke... Please..."
He sank into the bed, tears pooling in his already red and tired eyes. He did nothing to stop them from spilling out of his eyes as Rosa fumbled in her purse for a tissue. Andrej was just as confused.
"We will hold a proper ceremony for his parting but Aesop-"
"You don't understand!"
He turned to his side, not bothered about the pain that was coming from his bandaged abdomen. He didn't want to face the reality that Eli was gone, he simply couldn't. Vaguely he heard the door click shut. Beyond the hospital blinds, he saw the sun setting. He wanted to cry out loud, but he seemed too tired to. He'd barely stayed awake for a few hours, maybe not even one, but he already seemed to be ready to go back to sleep.
While he drifted back into the hands of darkness, Jack was outside in the corridor. He was explaining things to his parents once again. He silently hoped his mother wouldn't launch into another French frenzy or he would knock himself out with the block of a computer at the reception desk.
"So um, recently Aesop has developed a rather, close relationship, with Eli. And uh, I hope you don't take this in a bad way but they are involved in a romantic relationship."
"R-romantic?"
"Basically they're dating. They never announced it but I'm sure it's pretty obvious to almost everyone. Eli's also um... Been to Aesop's house a few times by now I think."
"So they're together now..?"
"Yes."
Rosa stared into space for a moment. Andrej didn't seem to be fazed at all.
"If it makes him happy, I don't really mind."
"But Andrej! That means our son is-"
"Rosa. We discuss this back at home. Not now."
The atmosphere became tense for a moment as the three stood in silence. Jack broke it first.
"It's getting pretty late now. I'll be staying here with Aesop so you don't have to worry."
Andrej nodded and smoothed out his suit.
"We best get going then. Let's go Rosa."
His wife nodded, but went back inside the room to get one last glance of her son before they left. Andrej turned to Jack, and much to the executive's surprise, the male bowed.
"Thank you for protecting my son."
Jack felt a pang of guilt, but he remained silent. If it hadn't been for Eli, Aesop would have been dead in place of him.
"Alright, let's go."
Rosa came out of the room. She took Andrej's arm and they walked down the hallway to the elevator. Jack went back in the room with a sigh. Aesop was asleep, chest rising and falling slowly. He adjusted the sheets a little before settling on the chair beside the bed. He was also quite tired and fell asleep soon with no problem at all.
