PAYBACK

A harsh sound bounced off the walls of the gym, accompanied with Elliot's harsh breathes.

Rage sat in his dark eyes as he kept punching the bag, imagining Atlas' face on it.

Shawn walked in with a glass of juice, sipping on it calmly as he watched Elliot. Elliot glanced at Shawn before he went back to bullying the punching bag.

Sweat dripped from his face, rolling down his neck and disappearing into the white shirt he had on. His black blazer and tie were thrown on the floor, insulting the money they cost.

His hair stuck to his face, drenched in sweat as he lets out an annoyed grunt.

" Good day, eh." Shawn says, giving Elliot a bright smile.

" Go play with mud, will ya?" Elliot snaps.

His ring tone blares out at the moment, saving Shawn from a long lecture. Elliot glares at Shawn, picking up his phone which was also lying on the ground like trash.

" What!?" He screams loudly, probably scaring the person on the other side.

" Then kill him. You know what, kill all of them. . . I don't give a fuck! Luca, I'll skin you alive if I don't get my money so you better get to work." Elliot growls.

" Is the contract signed? Fuck! Okay . . . Listen, shoot him. The contract won't be valid if one of the party is dead. I want him dead or you will be." Elliot snaps, throwing his phone on the floor again.

" It looks like you're angry." Shawn says, irritating him.

" I don't like Atlas." Elliot huffs, sitting on the floor beside his things.

" Why is that?" Shawn says, knowing damn well what Elliot's problem was.

" Hades tore the toy I brought for Sage so I bought it again but yesterday when I went to give it to her, she already had a new toy. Atlas gave it to her. I feel like it's happening all over again." Elliot sighs, snatching the glass from Shawn.

He gulps all the juice down in one go, earning a dirty scowl from Shawn.

" What's happening all over again?" Shawn questions.

" Enrique confessed his love for her before me and I kept silent because I didn't want to hurt her. Later, Hades got her before I had the chance to confess. And I again kept silent because I didn't want to put her in guilt. I don't want her to be with me out of guilt or anything but love." Elliot mumbles, sounding like a little child who can't have what he wants the most.

" Atlas isn't like that." Shawn shrugs.

" I've made my decision." Elliot says.

" What?"

" I'll shoot him, problem solved." He says, pulling out the gun from his waist band.

" No! Elliot." Shawn snaps, slapping the back of Elliot's head.

" He loves Sage. You can see it in his eyes!" Elliot whines, convincing Shawn to let him kill Atlas.

" Lemme shoot him once, please." He whines.

" No! Atlas is not in love with Sage." Shawn says, placing his hand on Elliot's shoulder.

" He is!"

" He isn't."

" He is."

" He isn't."

" He is."

" He isn't, because he loves me." Shawn screams.

Elliot sat stunned for a moment as he keeps staring at Shawn with wide eyes.

" I love him too. We're a couple." Shawn sighs.

" You're gay?" Elliot says, with a little giggle.

" I'm a bi." Shawn snaps.

" You changed your name too!" Elliot exaggeratingly cries.

" No, I mean bisexuality." Shawn sighs, explaining it to Elliot.

" Okay, so Atlas is your boyfriend and he isn't interested in my girl?" Elliot asks, trying to reassure his heart.

" Your girl, huh?" Shawn teases him before nodding.

" Yes, he treats Sage like his little sister."

" Damn, and here I was burning the world down because of it." Elliot bites his lips.

" Elli, don't tell anyone about it yet. There's already a lot going around and i want to come out to everyone once things are better." Shawn says, as Elliot smiles, patting his shoulder.

" I promise." Elloot says, finally taking a breathe in peace.

" Why don't you just confess to Sage so you don't have to worry about it all the time?" Shawn questions.

" I want her to fall in love with me first. She never fell in love with anyone, at a young age she was told that Enrique is the one and she grew up thinking that. Then she was betrothed to Hades, again told that he is the one. I want her heart to tell her that I'm the one for her, not anyone else." Elliot says, winning Shawn's heart right there.

" I'm so proud of you, Elli." He says, embracing Elliot into a comforting hug.

Both of them break apart when a loud scream tears up the silent atmosphere.

" SAGE!" They gasp, racing out of the room.

Elliot and Shawn kicked open the door of Shawn's room, marching in to see Sage screaming in agony.

" What's wrong with her?" Shawn screams at Atlas.

" She was sleeping, then she woke up and begun screaming." Sabrina who was standing near the bed says.

" It's a PTSD attack." Atlas says, stepping away from Sage.

" Stay back, it will trigger her more." He says, grabbing Elliot's arm to stop him.

" What's happening?" The door bangs loudly against the wall as Jared, Josephine and Enrique ran in.

" Everyone please be quiet." Atlas says, slowly placing his hand on Sage's back.

She hugs a pillow, screaming her lungs out. She throws her head back, crying loudly as if someone was hurting her really badly.

" Pl-lease . . . Please. It hurts." She sobs, hiding her face in the pillows.

" Sage, it's okay. It's okay, calm . . . Calm down." Atlas whispers, gently rubbing her arm.

" It hurts, please." She sobs, looking up at them.

Her eyes were red in pain, filled with heavy tears as she looks at them in fear. At that moment, it felt like she was scared of all of them. She couldn't recognise any of them, instead she saw her monsters standing near her.

" Please! It hurts! Brother . . . save me. Save me, Shawn. Brother!" Sage cries, crawling into the far corner of the bed.

Tears ran down Shawn's cheeks as he helplessly stood there watching her fight her battle alone. She must have called for him at that moment too but he wasn't there to protect her, and that alone killed him.

She looks at Atlas with wide eyes before her sobs slowly die down.

" F-fine. Take it, b-but . . . Don't hurt me." She whispers, opening her legs for him.

Others watched in horror as Sage opened her legs, her hands fell flat on the bed as she closed her eyes, looking to the side in a submissive manner. She was submitting to avoid getting hurt.

Her muffled sobs sounded in the room, everyone could see she was trying her best to be quiet. They would've hurt her more if she made any noise.

" Sage," Atlas sighs, touching her hand when she begins crying more.

At last, with no option left Atlas pulls out a tiny bottle and an injection packet from his bag. He fills it up with the sedative before looking down at her with pity.

Sage's gaze fell on the syringe in Atlas' hand, her sobs got louder but at the same time, she forwarded her arm to him.

Atlas felt himself heavy with guilt as he pumped the drug into her body. She winced, trying to stop her sobs before she slowly falls asleep.

Atlas sighs, looking back at the others. Elliot and Shawn stood beside each other, tears running down their cheeks as they both shook in anger.

" We wanted to inflict emotions in her, this is why her brain had to shut them off. I won't lie, but this is happen often now since she is gaining her senses and memory and each day, it will get worse as she slowly picks up her memories." Atlas says, with a sigh.

" It's all my fault. Willow would be so disappointed in me," Jared falls on his knees, crying at his daughter's condition.

" She definitely will be," Shawn growls, shooting his father a dirty look.

" Could you be a little sympathetic at this moment?" Sabrina sobs, glaring at Shawn.

" No!" Shawn growls, stomping out of the room.

Elliot's body shook in anger, wrath and revenge running into his veins as he stormed out of the room too.

Jared and Sabrina held each other, sobbing in pain. Josephine sat near Sage, softly crying. Enrique leaned against the wall, just staring at Sage.

Atlas stood up, disposing the syringe before he walked out. Elliot and Shawn were sitting on the window sill, whispering to each other.

" What are you two doing?" Atlas says, surprising them.

" Nothing." Shawn snaps.

" She will be fine. Stop punishing yourself for this," Atlas says, cupping Shawn's face.

" No! She was willing to get raped because she knew those monsters would do more damage if she denied. She forwarded her arm to you when she saw the syringe in your hand. SHE THINKS IT'S NORMAL TO GET DRUGS PUMPED INTO HER BODY. I promised mumma that I would protect Sage. I'm the worst brother!" Shawn cries, breaking down infront of them.

Elliot looks away, his heart hurting like bitch. It felt like a thorn was stuck on his heart, every heartbeat pained.

" You're the best brother anyone can ask for. You're the best human too. But you can't control everything that happens around you, love." Atlas says, as Shawn hugs him.

Atlas caresses his hair, comforting him as Shawn cries his heart.

" She will be better soon," Atlas lies, trying to comfort Shawn when he knew well that Sage's condition will get worse from now.

Elliot stands up walking away from them. Atlas sits on the sill with Shawn, rubbing his back gently.

They sat in silence, staring at the pouring rain outside when Elliot walks back. He shares a look with Shawn before nodding.

" It's done." Elliot mutters.

" What's done?" Atlas questions.

Shawn and Elliot shared a look, their expressions getting dark with an evil plan in their mind.

" Please tell me you aren't going to do something wrong. You guys are better than that." Atlas says, which they both disregard.

" It's payback time."

^-^