Healing Hearts

37 || failure

Mateo ⋆｡°✩

The man on top of me keeps punching and kicking every exposed part of my body with relentless anger.

I desperately try to shield myself, raising my arms to protect my head from the blows.

Despite the searing pain and the constant barrage of strikes, i somehow manage to steady myself and regain my balance. My breathing is ragged, each breath coming in short, painful gasps.

My eyes lock with his across the chaotic scene. His gaze is piercing, filled with an insatiable hunger and a desperate need for this fight to end.

He wants the money he believes he's entitled to, no matter the cost.

In stark contrast, my eyes are filled with nothing but concern and dread.

The plan has failed.

My father's figure appears in my line of sight, and i see him moving away from the area. His shoulders are slightly dropped, and his head is shaking ever so slightly.

The disappointment plastered on his face hits me like a ton of bricks. This realization—that everything we worked for has come to this—crashes over me with overwhelming force.

We fucking failed.

I press my back against the railing behind me, the cold metal biting into my skin, as the sound of sirens grows louder.

The loudness of blaring alarms and the panicked shouts of people create a deafening, annoying noise.

The room is filled with a flurry of movement as everyone tries to escape, escaping from the scene in every direction.

They are desperate to avoid being caught in such a dire situation.

My vision begins to blur, and tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but i fight to hold them back. I steady myself, focusing intently on my opponent.

He is momentarily distracted by the crowd moving, and i could easily take the opportunity to hit him, but before i can move, he runs toward the exit door.

The entrance to the room is now filled with police officers. They move through the chaos with purpose, their guns drawn and their voices rising above the noise, trying to order.

Yet, during the confusion, their commands are lost, and the crowd remains loud and chaotic.

I collapse to the ground, my legs no longer able to support my weight.

My vision is clouded by pain, and i clutch at the shirt that covers my wounds.

Slowly, i lift it, revealing multiple purple bruises and a wound that's bleeding profusely.

"Wait, Emmalyn," i whisper to myself, gathering every last bit of strength i have to open my eyes again.

I attempt to sit upright, but the effort is nearly too much to bear. My surroundings are a mess; the room is filled with chaos, and i feel utterly powerless to change anything.

As i look around, i spot Elias.

He is being held and beaten by three men who are significantly larger and older than us.