Song of the Firebird

Sixteen

A/N: This chapter contains strong language and depictions of violence that my be upsetting for some readers.

With a financially independent girlfriend, he could never ask for more. She helped him pay his bills, went to parties with him, teased and made out in a variety of interesting locations– he was all happy. The other women who dated him before only for his looks, lifestyle and sex, utterly failed to see the human in him, except for her. She was different and he could not stop thinking about her. Even though he cheated on her without any knowledge of her discovering his motives, she read the signs, picked up fights and stayed back.She always came back to him. He had never been proud to have landed with such a woman. At times, the guilt of taking advantage of her innocence would choke him. It takes a day or two, before he assured himself that he would put an end to his charade. How wrong he was, when it often did.

It did not take eons, like he presumed, to lose the woman who was by his imperfections for eternity to a stranger who was stronger than him, must also say, way smarter than him.

He badly wanted to linger to see the aftermath of his actions at her store, but that threat alone made him cower with a fear for life.

'Touch her again, your shadow will be the only thing that remains in this world.'

He ran for his life, literally, from a threat with enough convincing proof.

Ryder was beyond pissed. For being a right hand man to one of the most deadliest drug lords, he was beyond enraged. If he did not take that threat seriously, there were high chances that he might end up in an ER. He looked at his wrists that wouldn't stop hitting the wall on his fuming mind's behalf. A minute drop of red flashed at him. That tiny drop scorched his pride and cost him his girlfriend.

Groaning, Ryder looked over to the other people who shared the smoking cabin with him. For him, everybody looked the same. They had the same arms, same eyes and even had the same face as that stranger.

What the f*ck.

'AAAAAARRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

A bunch of faces stared at him – some snickered and some pitied. He grabbed his face and closed his eyes. Unable to take in the scene that unfolded before him, he slumped on his knees and began shaking violently.

Minutes passed as his tantrums began to settle down. He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times. The crowd seemed unfazed, not minding to even emit a response. That made him put up a big neon 'pathetic one' sign above his head.

Without sparing a glance at his audience, Ryder exited the place. Courtesy of the last drag from his cigarette, a reminder popped up in his mind about the pending task for that day. A delivery was scheduled that afternoon. After the eventful encounter, he decided not to bring his personal failures at his current job that could win him a penthouse apartment in the city centre. Moreover, his mind, at that moment, prioritized money over a potential partner. He checked his watch and planned the quickest route to the rendezvous point. He was pretty sure that his boss would not be pleased about his lack of punctuality.

Moving closer to his car in the parking lot, Ryder rechecked his goods. He just had to hop and drop.

Owing to the nature of his job, he had to memorize the alleys in the city and sometimes, the stinky bars with doors camouflaged as walls and graffiti. He was glad that they only had audio codes that could pass as locks. He fled past the speed limits and reached the destination in no time.

Ryder parked his car near the canal and walked along the road towards the third alley to his left. He looked around for any sign of his fellow mates. When he found none in his radar, he unlocked his phone and checked for the time and place of delivery, again. The details were accurate. He wondered what was taking them so long. He moved to the farthest window frame and reached for a cigarette from his jeans pocket. His other hand fiddled with the lighter a couple of times before he opened the cap and lighted his smoke.