Mercy for Everyone but Me

Julian hit me hard. My vision darkened, followed by searing pain, before a wave of heat surged through my nose and trickled down my face.

My vision blurred completely. I could only sense him standing up, returning a while later to wipe my nose with a tissue.

His movements were rough. I was too drowsy to keep my eyes open, but when my head was turned to the side, I caught a glimpse of his panic-stricken expression and a large bloodstain on his shirt.

My face stung from all that wiping. I tugged at his arm, our gazes meeting briefly. He'd likely never seen anything like this before.

Seeing as he was still unable to stop the bleeding, Julian finally scrambled off the bed, pulled up his pants and fled.

I lay on the bed, feeling my life drain away along with my blood. But I didn't want to die like this. I still had things I needed to take care of. I still needed to see Adrian.

I struggled to my feet, crawling inch by inch off the bed when I couldn't walk any longer.

Thankfully, I'd looked up the common symptoms of leukemia and how to manage each of them over the past few days. I also happened to have some medication in my bag. All I could do at that moment was plug my nose with cotton balls and tilt my head back to stop the bleeding.

After sitting on the tiled floor for what felt like an eternity, I finally felt my dazed mind begin to clear.

I stood, made my way to the bathroom, and looked at myself in the mirror. The bleeding seemed to have stopped by now.

I heard a commotion outside, growing louder by the second. I didn't turn around until the bathroom door was yanked open violently.

I watched Sean's reflection in the mirror. He was breathing hard, his eyes bloodshot and filled with dark violence. He looked at me for a long time before reaching out as if to touch me. His hands trembled slightly.

I ducked away from him. I didn't have any energy left to argue anymore. Instead, I slid slowly down onto the floor.

Sean crouched down as well. As he drew closer to me, I mustered the last of my strength and slapped him across the face.

That slap released a lot of my pent-up fury. Sean's head had turned to the side from the blow. To my surprise, he merely frowned before speaking in a low, hoarse voice.

"Feel better? If not, we can continue this at the hospital."

That bastard.

I couldn't help but laugh, tilting my head upward until it bumped against the sink with a loud thud. I cursed under my breath.

Under his unreadable gaze, I asked, "What are you so worked up about? Are you afraid I'll get tainted again? Or perhaps…"

I paused deliberately, still smiling. "Have you fallen for me now? Is that why you're so worried?"

Sean didn't reply. He simply stared at me wordlessly. We were close enough that my reflection danced in his eyes.

His response was hardly important to me. I just wanted to annoy him.

Having accomplished that, I pushed myself up from the ground.

"A little nosebleed won't kill me," I said before opening the door. My back was turned toward him when I spat maliciously, "Good fucking riddance."

Living in hotels indefinitely wasn't a solution, so after two days of lying around in a daze, I rented an apartment in the city center. Land was scarce, and every inch cost a fortune. Even though Sean and I were sworn enemies, financially speaking, he'd never treated me poorly over the years.

Not wanting to borrow any money from anyone, I spent his with relish.

The night I moved in, I received a call from Jason Kennedy.

Without any preamble, he said calmly, "Oran Moore has been found."