Supernova||Book 1 [Wattys 2024]

Episode 16.4- The Finale

"Look at me." Ryder's face was tense. Landon didn't move.

"Look....at....me." Ryder forced his words out.

Landon sucked in his bottom lip and forced himself to look at Ryder.

"Tell me again." Ryder's eyes were misty with unshed tears.

After a sharp inhale, Landon squared his shoulders and looked at Ryder. "I said.." he swallowed hard. "I never want to see you again. Leave! Get out!"

The first tear finally slid down Ryder's cheeks while Landon tried to maintain his composure. "You and I are from different worlds. We could never be together. It was foolish of me to try." he turned his face away.

"So that's it?" Ryder asked

Refusing to face Ryder, Landon nodded. His voice was barely a whisper. "That's it."

He dared not turn around, lest he lose his steely resolve.Landon stayed with his back turned until he heard Ryder's retreating footsteps. It was only when he was alone that his legs gave way and the tears he'd held in his chest burst.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy as they watched this heartbreaking scene.

Jorah was sure he'd even heard a few sniffles. As for himself, he was particularly transfixed, transported back to the day he filmed this scene.

Even after the cameras had stopped rolling, he'd been unable to stop himself from crying. He had never experienced a moment like that before, to be that vulnerable before others.

Nine had been there to comfort him and allowed him to cry. He was still comforting him even now. Jorah and Nine glanced at each other and smiled.

This was the end. They were at the viewing event for the final episode of The Protector. The venue was at capacity. The streets outside were lined with fans.

Leading up to the event, Jorah had been more than a little nervous. The controversy of the mall incident had quieted down, eclipsed by the excitement of the finale.

Security around the stars was visibly tighter, the barriers were placed further away from the place where the stars would walk so, their arrival and subsequent entrance had gone without incident.

Now they were seated in the viewing hall watching the final episode. The attendees for the event were both stars and fans who'd won tickets to the event through a special raffle.

After their shared smile, the two went back to watching the events on the screen unfold.

"You can kill me if you want!" The bloodied Landon spat a mouthful of blood in the dirt.

Dirty and bloody on his knees in an old abandoned warehouse, Landon's eyes were fierce and stubborn.

"You're acting so brave," his captor sneered. "Are you that confident because your bodyguard will save you?"

A smirk pulled on Landon's lips "What's there for me not to be confident about with a motherfucker like you?"

Landon's face was met with a swift and loud slap across the face. The audience gasped as Landon fell over with his limbs bound.

Landon's captor grabbed his chin between two fingers "Let's see how tough you are when we're done with you."

When Landon spat in that face, he was slapped again and again. His body fell sideways onto the dusty ground and he was kicked in the stomach by the angry man.

"Ughh.." Landon groaned as he curledl his body in the fetal position.

"Get him up!" The man barked orders to his minions as he cleaned the bloody spittle from his face with disgust.