-Dominic’s POV-


    Beep…


    “He’s fallen into aa-”


    Beep…


    “But you said the operation was a sess!”


    Beep…


    “It was sir, but you have to understand that he had severe blood loss and until the transfer was given, the damage was already done.”


    Nick pulled on his hair and turned away in annoyance and anger. All I could do though was continue staring at ke’s unconscious figure.


    I hadn’t slept in the three days that it had taken for ke’s recovery to be stable. When they needed a blood transfusion, I didn’t hesitate to volunteer. Eating, drinking, the essentials had all been pushed into the back of my mind and all I could do was pray for ke’s safety.


    Beside me, Jake was sitting in a chair by ke’s bed with his head in his hands. He had also juste back from his recovery for his bullet wound. Thankfully, his wasn’t serious since I had already taken care of most of it, it just needed some anti-bacterial spray, re-stitching and time to heal.


    “I should have been there,” he whispered to himself.


    I knew that part of him felt like he was to me. No matter how much I told him it wasn’t his fault, as much as I told him that we’d do whatever we could to help ke, he didn’t believe me. It didn’t stop him from screaming for his brother when ke was rushed into surgery, it didn’t stop him from staying up with me, day and night until we heard something to do with ke’s condition.


    The rest of the guys were at home, either drinking or trying to pass the time less painfully as they waiting for words from Nick.


    Just as I had thought about this, Nick headed outside to go and call them. As he did, I thought about another issue that I knew I had to take care of so I started walking out of the room when,


    “D…?” I turned back at Jake’s weak call. His eyes were red and tired. His face demonstrated the suffering he was going through.


    “I’ll be back in a second, I just need to ask the nurse something,” I answer with a low voice. I probably didn’t look any better than him. My throat was dry and in pain but I forced myself to ignore it.


    “Come back soon,” he pleaded, a little desperately. He felt alone and was afraid of losing someone else again. I understood that perfectly and nodded back to him before leaving the room and walking around to the next corridor.


    “Excuse me,” I called out to the nurse who had just been in our room. Once she heard the call, she faced me with a small smile.


    “How can I help you?” she asked,


    “How much will the hospital bills be?” I went straight to the point. my patience waspletely depleted and I just needed an answer. Her eyes looked at me with pity and with that alone, I knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.


    “Since you don’t have any insurance, the full cost of the operation will be $150, 000 and there will also be extra costs depending on how long you’re going to keep Mr Lucifer at the hospital-”


    “As long as he wakes up!” I replied instantly which took her back a bit.


    “That may be another $1000-2000” she informed with a shaky voice. She had been scared of Nick and now I raised my voice too, making us seem horrible I’m sure.


    “Alright, I’ll be sure to pay the bill. Please send me an email with the full amount and I ask that you do not bring this subject up to any of the other people involved, is that clear?” I asked sternly,


    “But Ms-”


    “Please!” I begged a little louder and with hesitance, she nodded.


    With that sorted, I went back into ke’s room to see that Jake had fallen asleep already and since there was only one person allowed to stay, I put a nket -which had been left on the side of the room- on top of Jake before walking towards ke.


    I looked down at him one more time. This time I couldn’t hold it in.


    I broke down.


    I put both hands on my mouth, trying to keep it shut, trying to keep myself together but failing horribly. I had to get out of there. So, without making too much noise, I picked up my bag and ran out of the hospital, hand stationed on my mouth.


    -Nick’s POV (4 weekster)-


    “Has anyone heard anything from Dominic?” I asked theds, filling the silence that seemed to have made itselffortable in our schedules.


    Jason shook his head and Zack replied with, “Nope” but Jake hadn’t said anything. He looked as if he was in deep thought instead, unaware that I had even asked anything.


    “Jake?” I asked calmly, making him snap out of it.


    “Sorry -no, I haven’t for a couple of weeks.”


    Seeing him this way upset me. You could tell that he was broken and suffering deeply. He and ke had been inseparable since birth, losing their parents at a young age, they promised each other that they’d never leave the other. Of course, this was hard on him, I understood that. At the same time though, him not knowing where Dominic was was a little weird.


    After the incident, William had exined everything to us, about what was actually nned, about what happened, about how Jake was helping protect us. I felt like an idiot who kept messing up and even now wished I could turn back time to change what I believed was right but it was impossible and all I could do was learn for the future from here on.


    Arthur was staying with William now, trying to stay hidden from the leftover members of the Men of Mayhem. I told him he could stay with us but he refused, saying that he doesn’t want to put us in any more danger so I let him go. That way it benefited us both.


    I stood up after that and walked towards the nearest window while dialling a number on my phone. I looked up at the sunset as I put the phone to my ear but it didn’t ring. Instead what came through was a voice mail,


    “You’ve reached Dominic. Unfortunately, this number is unavable at the moment. Please try calling againter.” I let my hand drop for a second but decided not to give up.


    Instead, I called Xavier and waited for it to ring but just like Dominic’s phone, it went straight to voice mail, “Xavier here, I work from sunset to sunrise so if you’re hearing this, that’s why. Call me tomorrow or leave a message.-” I ended the call and went to sit back down.


    I was being paranoid. They’ve gone street fighting, of course, they won’t be replying.


    I staid sitting while my fingers fidgeted and I looked around in hopes to distract myself. This went on for a bit until- “Alright, I’ve had enough,” I looked towards Jason, confused, and he came up to me before grabbing my hand and pulling me up. “I can’t handle fidgeting. Let’s go to the bar and check if she’s there -which she will be- and then we’lle back.” He nned and then turned around to Jake who seemed zoned out again.


    “Youing, Jake?” Jason asked him with a softer voice, probably wanting Jake to get out of the house since he rarely did anymore. Jake looked up at us and shook his head negatively.


    We then looked at Zack who had also watched Jake’s answer. “I’ll stay with Jake, you guys go,” We hesitated but left soon after.


    —


    By the time we reached the bar, the sun was gone and darkness loomed over us. Jason and I walked towards the entrance of the building which should have been easy to get into yet when we were about to step inside, the guard stopped us.


    “Nicks Secter?” he asked,


    “Yes?”


    After hearing my reply he blocked the entrancepletely, “I’m under strict orders of my boss not to let you in at any costs. I’d like to ask you to leave.”


    “But I-!” I was about to start but Jason pulled me back as I struggled against him slightly.


    “Nick! We can’t cause a scene here. Let’s go, we’ll just call Xavier again,” I growled at the guard but turned to leave anyway. Just as I did I was stopped again except this time by a phone call. In hopes that it was Dominic, I picked up without looking at the caller ID but it wasn’t Dominic’s voice through the line, it was Jake’s.


    “I’m sorry Nick, there’s something I have to tell you.”


    -Xavier’s POV-


    “Dominic, I won’t let you keep fucking yourself over like this! You have to eat properly damn it!” I shouted at her, reminding her every day now, and yet nothing seemed to change.


    “You worry unnecessarily Xavier, I keep telling you I’m fine,” she started saying in disagreement with a rough voice as she lifted her energy drink, ready to down it but I grabbed her wrist and forced her to look me in the eye instead. I was desperate. I needed her to change this new routine of hers or else she’d kill herself before ke woke up. I needed her to see that.


    And yes, this had started ever since ke went into aa. She had been fighting night and day in order to gain enough money for his hospital bills. She stuck to eating the bare minimum of a sandwich a day and the rest of her diet consisted of energy drink and pills or protein shakes but only if I forced that on her. If she wasn’t fighting she probably wouldn’t eat at all.


    I knew how much ke meant to her but this wasn’t worth that. Her health had to be her top priority.


    Yet at the same time, I didn’t have the gut to call Nick and tell him about her state in order to help change it. It wasn’t because I was afraid of Nick. Not at all. I hadn’t told him because of Dominic.


    When she told me four weeks ago, that she had to do this to rece the guilt she had and that I ‘couldn’t tell a soul’ about what she was doing, I couldn’t go against her. I understood from just her facial expression that ke’sa was haunting her, that the fault was all hers and she had to do whatever she could to repay him. This seemed minor inparison to his suffering. I understood but I didn’t agree. I respected her desperation though. That was one reason.


    She even made our boss ban Nick from entering at any point in the day so he doesn’t see her condition. She was serious.


    Seeing that also made me worry about what she would start doing behind my back if I started going against her too. As much as I hated this, I didn’t want her doing it alone. That was my main second reason.


    “I’ve… finally got enough money saved up to pay the bill,” She said, slightly breathless and then flinched a little before holding her chest in either difort or pain. I sat next to her quickly and sighed, trying to think about what to do.


    I reached towards a water bottle that was next to me and switched Dominic’s energy drink with it. “Hey!”


    “If you’re going to fight in this bar then you’re going to do it the way I want you to from now on. Not only do you fight here, but you also work at the gym and I cannot afford you to lose yourself now.” She looked at the water bottle with disgust so I shot her a look which told her that I was serious and she replied back with wide eyes.


    Just when she was about to start drinking the water, she groaned out loud and bent forward which alerted me.


    “Demon? Hey, you okay?” I asked in panic while supporting her up but she seemed to not be able to reply. She grabbed onto my hand and squeezed it hard.


    “I-it hurts Xavier- help m-me, please.” My legs shook slightly seeing her in this state but I stayed strong and stood up, ready to help.


    Another wave of pain must have gone through her because she groaned again which was my sign to make a move.


    As I decided to pick her up, I felt Dominic suddenly going limp in my arms. I looked down at her panicked, “Demon?” I called, shaking her a little but her eyes closed and she slowly fell unconscious. “Shit.”


    -Nick’s POV-


    “What?”


    “I know I should have told you! But when I overheard her talking to the nurse she said she didn’t want any of us to know and I just felt like I should respect that…” Jake looked down in what looked like shame after exining the whole situation to me.


    I wasn’t mad at him, I couldn’t be, I was too shocked to feel anger. “But $150, 000 is a fuck ton of money… She would have to work all day and night,” I mumbled and Jake, unfortunately, nodded at my words.


    “I know,” he replied, “I went to check up on her two weeks ago because I had a bad feeling about her overworking like that and I was right. I could tell that she wasn’t eating or sleeping properly-”


    as he continued, a wave of sadness held my body in a suffocating grip but I didn’t have the time to let it settle in because my phone started ringing.


    I looked at the caller ID and my body tensed when I saw Xavier’s name sh across my screen.


    “Xavier?”


    As Xavier started talking to me, my teeth unconsciously gritted together and my hand swam through my hair, tugging from time to time. When he was done, I hung up and got ready to leave with the other guys who had also been listening in behind me.


    I swung my door open, prepared to start rushing towards my car but instead, I was forced on my doorstep by a group of men in uniform.


    -Dominic’s POV-


    In the past few weeks, all I could think about was how much I owed my life to ke for not only saving me from the bullet but also supporting me, loving me, and giving so much to me. His time, his love, his care. He gave it all to me and I had never thanked him.


    I didn’t know what I would do if I were to never be able to see him wake up and be able to tell him all this. I didn’t want to think about the possibilities where things went wrong so I consumed my time with things like fighting and the gym.


    Not even sleep left me alone as all I would see would be his face as his chest was shot, the way his body stood frozen before copsing, his eyes shutting. Nightmare after nightmare. When awake, if I wasn’t physically doing anything, I’d overthink and imagine him never opening his eyes ever again.


    I gave up on sleeping, only doing so when my vision started to go blurry and for four hours at most.


    I hadpletely lost my appetite ever since that day too, forcing myself to eat at least once a day to keep some of my muscle mass but even then that was a struggle. Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten about my medication too and now I was faced with the consequences. Unconscious. Unknowing of the time or ce.


    “D?”


    I suddenly heard in my dark world. A voice I hadn’t heard in a while.


    “D, wake up!”


    It was an echo at first but then it started getting clearer.


    Slowly, I opened my eyes to be greeted with the sun’s rays. I squinted before looking around to realise I was in a familiar hospital room. Wasn’t it ke’s room?


    “You’re finally awake.”


    My eyes widened and I looked to the side slowly, to the left where ke’s bed was. He was there. Awake.


    I chuckled for a moment. The chuckle turned into augh before slowly theugh came down into a smile as I looked back into his beautiful eyes. My soul felt as if it had experienced a miracle by seeing them again, felt light. “I could say the same for you,” I replied, making him grin back at me.


    “I love you.” We both expressed in unison causing us to chuckle together.


    “The nurse told me what you’ve been doing. Thank you for taking care of me, even if it meant not taking care of yourself.”


    I smiled, “Thank you for saving my life, even if it meant nearly losing your own.” Beginning my long list of things to thank him for.


    “It’s alright, I knew my girlfriend would take care of me!”Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    Ourughs were interrupted by a knock on the door which ripped us out of our little moment. We watched as the door opened and my smile turned into a straight line as two policemen walked into the room.


    “The two individuals have been identified as ke Lucifer and Dominic Secter, Skulls and Bones gang member and street fighter.” One said into a mic, “You are both under arrest along with the rest of the gang-”


    The rest of his voice was drowned out when ke and I looked at each other again. We both knew this was going to happen eventually and instead of being worried or scared, I was actually very rxed and ke seemed to be feeling the same thing.


    “See you when we’re released?”


    “Hell yeah.”


    -The End-


    It’s been a long long journey but my story is finallyplete. This was a story that has been and will always be very close to my heart.


    As my readers, who all mean a lot to me and I really appreciate you all wholeheartedly, I want to know what you think. I’m always reading through myments or if you want something more private my Instagram is: y_siddiqui_


    I’d love to see you there and hope to continue having your support, whether that’s on here or Instagram.


    For now though, I’m going to head off.


    I love you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.


    From myself and everyone in this story:


    Goodbye.


    I turned on my chair and faced the guys who were sat around the room, casually having fun as if they didn’t live one of the most messed up lives.


    “I’m finally done!” I announced, making them all look at me with smiles and grins growing on their faces.


    “Congrats!”


    I nodded back at their celebrations.


    “Also thank you to the guys who wrote those chapters, it made the story way better.” Iplimented, fully genuine and somewhat at an empty peace now.


    “No problem, love,” ke replied from next to me, his arm circling around my waist into a side hug which I epted happily.


    “I personally think, if I wrote some chapters, the book would be a worldwide bestseller!” Zack eximed causing us all tough.


    Suddenly a notification sound came from my phone which caught my attention.


    -Xavier: Come down here Demon, you’re on in an hour.


    I grinned again and grabbed my bag, “well, I gotta go, a street fighter’s night begins now. I’ll see you guyster?” I asked and got nods around the room.


    “Make sure you’re notte for the meeting with the rest of the gang tomorrow,” Nick reminded and I gave him a two-finger salute as I left to indicate I got it.


    With that, I walked out of the door, ready for my next fight.