Liam

"Class dismissed. See you guys tomorrow." The bell rang for the last time of the day. Everyone stood up from their seats as they wished the teacher goodbye.

"Argh! Finally!" Sho stretched her arms, yawning for the nth time. "My muscles feel sore. I just want to collapse on my bed."

"Who told you to play like crazy during free period?" Yuna remarked as he packed his bag. "Was winning that volleyball match that important?"

"That girl was literally making fun of my volleyball skills. I had to show her that she was messing with the wrong person."

"Then stop complaining about your sore muscles." Yuna rolled his eyes as he stood up with his bag.

"Rude." Sho took her bag as she turned towards me. "Liam? Aren't you going to pack your bag?"

"Huh?" I looked down at the scattered books on my table. "Uh—Sorry—I was lost in—" I tried to quickly pack my bag, but one of my textbooks fell down with a thud.

I glanced up as everyone's eyes were on me. They just stood in their place, stopping everything that they were doing earlier.

"Nothing great is going on. Just mind your business." I rudely remarked as I stashed the remaining books in my bag.

"Hey, take it easy." Sho picked up the fallen textbook as she held my hand. I licked my lips as I felt my heart calming down.

What is wrong with me? Is it because of my memory loss that I lost control of my emotions?

"I'm sorry." I looked down as I took the textbook from her. I kept it in my bag as I closed it shut.

"It's okay. I understand." She removed her hand from mine as she turned towards Yuna. "You brought your bicycle, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Give Liam a ride."

"N-No! It's okay." I stuttered.

"I insist."

"You didn't have to give me a ride back home." I held Yuna's shirt as he rode on the gravel path.

"It's okay."

"But still, I must be a bother for you. You know, always troubling you and asking for your help."

He remained silent for a while. I looked around, gazing at the sun setting behind the mountains. A group of crows flew against the golden red sky, slowly disappearing from our view. The sunset always looked beautiful in Peony Mir. The sun dissolving in the sea is a sight worth watching.

"You aren't a bother to me, Liam." I glanced at Yuna as he looked ahead. "You were always there for me and I'll always be there for you." Yuna's ears slowly turned red.

"You're blushing." I chuckled as his cheeks flushed red.

"N-No, I am not!"

"You are! You're like a tomato!"

"I-It must be the lighting."

"No, it's not!"

"Ha-ha!"

Yuna stopped in front of my house. The sun had already set, the blue-sky shimmering with the stars. "Thanks for the ride." I smiled at him as he looked away.

He pouted. "It wasn't that much. I can always give you a ride." His eyes lingered on the ground.

I reached my hands out and pulled him in a hug. I felt Yuna stiffen against me before calming down. He was a few centimetres taller than me. I looked up at him, his neck, cheek and ear already crimson red.

"Thanks for everything, Yuna."

Yuna

Darkness engulfed the streets, spots of light casted by the streetlights. Howls of dogs could be heard from a few metres away. I held my bicycle, the sound of the chains moving and of my feet clearly audible. Life might be filled with happy moments. But that doesn't mean that darkness never lingers around.

"Get out! Don't you ever show that ugly face of yours to me!"

"Shut up, bitch! You don't talk down to me!"

The sound of glass breaking was heard, preceding the sound of painful wails.

"Leave me! Somebody help!" A woman screamed as a couple of people came out of their house. "This man will kill me! Argh!" They all stood in their place, contemplating whether to help or not.

"Yuna!"

My hands felt cold, the grip on my bicycle loosening a bit. I gulped the suffocating lump in my throat as I continued walking.

"Help!"

A piece of vase flew out of the window as it crashed on the wall beside me. I threw my bicycle on the road as I dashed towards the house. Upon reaching, I tried opening the door. Shit, it's locked. More painful wails were heard.

Fuck, think something.

My eyes fell on the light coming from the window. I quickly went to the window, gripping on the handle tightly as I opened it. I quickly jumped through it as I was welcomed by a horrifying scene.

A woman laid on the floor, blood gushing from her head. Other cuts and bruises were visible all over her body. A huge man towered over her figure, holding a broken beer bottle in his hand. He laughed, his words slurring, as he continued to hit the woman.

My body felt hot. It was burning my own skin. I lunged on the man, taking hold of the vase beside me, as I struck him down with it. The man yelped in pain before dropping unconscious on the floor. I hope he isn't dead.

My attention went to the woman. I hurried to her side as I rested her head on my lap. "Miss? Can you hear me?"

The woman kept quiet. The anxiety was building up inside of me. I started to shake her.

"Miss, if you can hear me, move your finger." I looked down at her hands as I saw her index finger moving. "Thank god."

I covered my face in relief as I felt the salty tears dripping down from my cheek. "Thank god you are fine." I quickly wiped my tears as I pulled my phone out.

"Hello? Is this the ambulance?"

"The patient is in a stable condition now. She lost a lot of blood but luckily, we were able to save her. She'll wake up in a few hours." I bowed to the doctor as he walked away.

I felt my legs shaking as I fell back into the chair. I felt the tears build up. I covered my face as I broke down. My lips quivered, my hands shaking as I cried my heart out.

The horrifying scene replayed in my mind. The broken beer bottles. The broken frames. Splatters of blood. And lastly, her . . .

"Yuna!" I quickly wiped my tears, sniffling as I looked at the person.

"Emma . . ."

"Are you okay?! I just heard what had happened and—Is that blood?!" She held my hand, erupting a yelp from my lips. "Shit, your hand is bleeding and it is on your face as well. Come, I'll treat your cut."

Emma applied the liquid on my cut as I hissed in pain. "Sorry. I'll be careful." She blew on my cut as she continued to dab on it. "So, what happened?"

"I was just passing by when I heard the woman argue with a man. I thought it would be one of those common fights couples have but then I heard something break. The woman began to shout for help and . . ."

" . . . You went in and saved her?"

"Yeah . . ." She threw the used cotton in the dustbin and covered my wound with a new one. "Your cut looks deep, as if you held a sharp piece of glass." She wrapped the cotton bandage around my hand.

"I threw a vase on the man to knock him out. I might have gotten the cut from there." I heard Emma sigh as she cut the bandage and tied it neatly.

"It isn't that deep for a stitch, but you'll have to be a bit careful with that hand."

"I will."

She pulled out a wet napkin as she rubbed it on my face. "You have dried blood stains on your face and clothes." I looked down and saw the huge blood stain on my shirt.

"Any tips on cleaning blood stains?" She threw the used napkin in the dustbin.

"Just give me your shirt. I'll wash it and hand it to you by tomorrow. You don't have school tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect, now remove it." She stood up from her chair as she moved the curtains. I slowly removed my shirt, leaving me half naked in front of her. "Wow."

"What?" I handed her my bloodied shirt as she gave me a blue T-shirt.

"Your body, like, do you work out?"

"I play basketball." I slipped the T-shirt on as Emma nodded her head. She kept my shirt in a polyethene and kept it in her bag. I looked down as I fiddled my fingers. "Can I visit the woman later?"

Emma looked at her paperwork and sighed. "I'll ask Dr. Rhein. But for now, you can't."

"I understand." I hopped from the bed as I took my bag. My eyes fell on one of the files. "Is that Liam's?"

"Yeah, you know, just glancing through them." She gazed at the file silently.

"He was your first patient after all."

"But he was a pain in the ass." Emma chuckled before turning serious. "Liam is going through a lot and being the stubborn guy he is, he won't speak up." I stayed silent as Emma continued. "We humans are all like this. Rather than showing to the others that we are going through pain, we rather suffer in it and die."

Emma stacked her files neatly before turning towards me. "Promise me that you'll always be there for Liam. He might not notice it now, but later in future, the pain will slowly eat him up."

"Don't worry, I'll be there for him." I flashed her a smile as I walked out of the room. I closed the door shut as I rested my back against it.

'Promise me that you'll always be there for Liam.'

No need to tell me. I'll be there for him no matter what.

I started walking my way out of the hospital, staring down at the white shining tiles. The smell of hospitals is something that I am too familiar with. During the time Liam was going through rehab, I made frequent visits to the hospital.

It always smells like—

I quickly looked up, my eyes meeting with a pair of familiar ones. My mouth slowly gaped open.

"Hey, Yuna."