STATIC → newt , tmr [EDITING ; VERY SLOW UPDATES]

chapter vii

― ➶ ―

Tiago flinched as Jorge landed another punch to Marcus' jaw. Violence wasn't something Tiago could easily deal with. Jorge knew that, yet he had decided that torturing Marcus for information was the easiest way to find the right Arm. Tiago had tuned out most of the aggressive conversation the two men were having; it reminded him too much of his childhood. Memories he would rather leave buried were beginning to come to the forefront of his mind, and it was the last thing Tiago wanted.

When Jorge threw another punch, Tiago finally cried out, "Stop it!" It made all the heads in the room turn to him. He let out a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. From where he was sitting behind Jorge, Newt frowned at Tiago.

"Look, clearly he's not gonna talk," Tiago muttered, a quick justification for his outburst, his hand shaking where it rested in his hair. "Just ... stop hitting him. Please." Jorge seemed to remember then how badly Tiago responded to violence. He backed away from Marcus slightly. Marcus spit a mixture of saliva and blood onto the floor beside the chair he was tied to.

"What do you want us to do, then? If we don't find the Right Arm―"

"He clearly has no idea where they are!" Tiago yelled. "And even if he does, hitting him isn't gonna make him tell you. If he really doesn't want you to know, he won't say anything." He paused. "Trust me, I know."

Jorge grimaced. He despised Tiago's childhood as much as Tiago himself did.

"Can you two stop yelling?"

Both men turned their heads to the sofa, where Brenda had been sleeping but was now sitting upright. Tiago, who was resting against the sofa, immediately launched himself at her, throwing his arms around her in a tight hug. He felt Brenda chuckle as she hugged him back, burying her face in his hair.

"I thought you were dead," Tiago muttered, quiet enough so only she could hear.

"I'm not, I'm fine," Brenda murmured back. "Thomas saved my ass from Cranks, thank god. I don't think I would've made it by myself." She pulled away from the hug, glancing around briefly before locking eyes with Tiago again. "Where is Thomas?"

Tiago gestured behind him, to a mattress where Thomas was resting. Brenda breathed a sigh of relief.

"I lost him, in that ... party," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. Tiago ran his own hand through her short hair. "I shouldn't have left him, but we drank some―it was some weird shit."

"Yeah," Tiago breathed out. He pushed himself up onto the sofa beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "We know. He told us."