Wild Boys

Chapter Twenty-Four

a/n: hellooo!!!! i know, i know, this was a super long wait. but i'm sure you guys understand especially with a pandemic going on. for you guys who stayed and are still waiting for an update, thank you sooo much for the patience!

~*~

Even as the youngest child, Iris never experienced being coddled and cared for contrary to the media portrayal of how usually the youngest were the favorites. Being raised in such an authoritarian family meant there was no room for warmth, no room for emotions, or no room for showing of familial love. But with Ian, despite their upbringing, it was clear that they loved him. He always got new clothes, whereas hers were just hand-me-downs that her older brother grew out of. She didn't mind even though it got in the way of her training as they were usually too big for her. They treated him special by giving him more room for leeways; he always got off easy whenever he made a mistake whereas Iris suffered a longer time being in that room, or purposely starving her for a meal or two. Sometimes a whole day. Days, even. But however cruel her parents may seem, Ian was a good brother. Mischievous, but good. Sneaking her a snack whenever she got punished as much as he could, being a spotter for her whenever she played with Owen, staying with her even just outside the room she got locked in. So when the accident happened, Iris lost the only family who ever loved her because ever since then, Ian had changed. She didn't know him any longer. Or maybe that had been a part of her brother all along, they just didn't know him at all.

"So you were made to believe that your family came here," Ares confirmed.

Iris nodded. Any memory from that night was bound to darken her mood. Currently she was telling her account of what happened to her, and she dread every moment. Ares was patient and quiet as he listened and asked questions, occasionally jotting down notes.

"You've no choice but to continue here," He said without any emotion. "The board sees you as an asset now, and very indispensable. They offer their sincerest apologies for what happened."

Iris didn't expect anything. Men with power, especially those sitting at the top of Visco, just lived in their own bubble. They just didn't care about anything that doesn't have any connection with making them more money. When Ares was done, he bade her to rest well, as did everyone else who came to visit her. But something about the way Ares spoke to her bothered her; he felt cold, much like how he was when they first met. Iris just shrugged it off at the end of the day. What happened at Visco was bound to affect everyone else in various ways. Needless to say her recovery period was boring.

On her fourth day of recovery, she waited for the sunrise on the rooftop of their dorm. She sat on a wooden bench, surrounded by a small garden that Dom cared for. An occasional breeze would surround her with the aroma of earth and fragrant flowers, and Iris was so at peace, clad in her pajamas and cardigan. It wasn't like her morning run from atop a hill where she could see the whole town of Klio getting slowly bathed in sunlight, but it had some semblance to her routine, and that was good enough for her for now.

~*~

I knew it, he thought.

Ares found her dozing by the rooftop's garden bench, her cardigan tightly wrapped over her shoulders. Surrounded by varying hues of green, pink, and yellow, Iris looked at home. At peace. He almost felt it himself, almost quieting down the noise that's always been in his mind ever since that night. But then he sees the bandage on her head, the bruises that were yet to turn yellow, the scrapes on her skin and it was more than enough to shatter the brief but wanted silence in his mind.

He wanted to open his mouth and wake her. He found out he didn't have the strength for that. So he just found himself a seat, a gust of chilly wind muffling his hair for a few seconds. All of a sudden a sweeping tiredness took hold of his entire body that he couldn't help but settle in his seat. His eyes closed for a few seconds and next thing he knew, he found Iris already awake and leaning on a trellis stand, her back to him. A rush of adrenaline coursed through his body as he sat upright.