The Bound Collision

Chapter 50

FOURTH'S POV:-

"Ace?"

The moment I called out to him, I saw Ace look up from the small sofa in the corner. Relief washed over me so intensely it almost made me dizzy. He was here. Safe. My heart felt like it could finally beat properly again, the weight of dread lifting from my chest as I took in the sight of him sitting there, his small figure so familiar, so precious to me.

For a brief moment, I half-expected Ace to jump up, call me "Pookie" like he always does, and run into my arms, wrapping himself around me with his usual warmth.

But he didn't move.

His eyes lit up when he saw me, a tiny spark in their depths, but his body stayed still.

That small detail made my heart ache.

I crossed the room quickly, my legs protesting every step, but I didn't care. I dropped down to his level, wrapping my arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. "Are you okay?" I asked, my voice soft but urgent, pressing a kiss into his hair. His silence made me feel something was off, but I couldn't let go of him.

"I'm so sorry, Ace," I whispered, feeling a lump forming in my throat. "I couldn't save you... I couldn't—" The words caught in my chest as I held him closer, but then I forced myself to say, "But we're safe now, okay? I promise you, nothing like that is ever going to happen again. I'll make sure of it."

I kissed his hair again, my lips lingering there for a moment, trying to pour all my love and guilt into that one touch. "Let's go see your brother, okay? He might be waiting for us," I said, trying to inject some hope into my voice. I needed Ace to believe it too.

But before I could pull away, I felt him tense slightly, his small voice cutting through the silence.

"Is he dead?"

The words hit me like a punch, and for a second, I didn't understand. But then it clicked. Virote. He was talking about Virote.

I pulled back slightly, loosening my hold on him, and searched his face. His expression was blank, too blank for a child. My chest tightened as I nodded, my voice low and steady,

"He is."

Ace was silent. He looked down at his hands, and in that moment, my heart shattered a little more. He shouldn't have been the one to pull that trigger. This wasn't supposed to happen.

I wanted to ask him so many questions—how he found the gun, how he managed to get away from Sarocha—but this wasn't the time. I could see the way he was staring at his hands, as if trying to process what he had done, as if the weight of it all was finally settling in.

"He... he was t-trying t-to hurt you-" Ace stuttered, his voice small and shaky.

I tightened my hold on his hand, trying to ground him, trying to ground myself. "I know," I whispered. "I know, buddy"

"I....I k-killed someone...I-", his voice lower that a whisper, but before I could strongly protest his thought his voice trembled again, barely holding back tears. "Am I... am I a monster? I killed him... I killed—"

"Ace, Ace, baby, look at me," I said, my tone more urgent, more firm than before.

Monster? 

What?

My blood ran cold at the thought.

How could he think that about himself? 

He was just a child—a child forced into something no one should ever have to endure.