The Undoing Of Villains | ✓

twenty

(a/n: heyyo! back with another update, tysm for reaching the goal YET again <3<3<3 i was in stockholm over the weekend hence the non-immediate update as i did not bring my laptop, but i'm back ;) chapter dedicated to emoteen_ for reminding me xd)

twenty

"I CAN'T."

I withheld the urge to answer with something sarcastic, but chose instead to go the simple way, one Sawyer usually appreciated - a straightforward truth. It couldn't backfire on me now, anyway, since he'd already found my pack. Hearing my response, Sawyer's face darkened further, the dark surrounding him seemingly infusing his angry expression with more fury. It frightened me the slightest bit, sending skitters of fear down my spine. My hand, hanging by my side, clenched and unclenched as the nervousness threatened to consume me.

We were caught in a stare-off, the noises from the streets below loud enough to fill the background but muted a way which made the lack of conversation noticeable. He was more than angry, having reached a level of fury I'd hitherto never been a witness of. And here we were, and all it took to push him over this edge was uncovering my pack.

In order to stop nervously fidgeting, I crossed my arms above my chest and furrowed my brows:

"How'd you find it?"

"Tracked your phone." said Sawyer, and the bitter taste of being after wise hit my conscience, "Found it here, awfully close to the river, don't you think?"

I couldn't defend myself from my own brother, and him directing the full force of his interrogation my way did more than a little damage to my defenses. Instead of answering him, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and cocked a brow.

"Well, Sawyer? You found me. What about it?"

"Charlie - you don't understand." He stalked towards me, each step slow and menacing, anger turning his sentences short and low, "- there's more at stake here than you realize."

I titled my chin up, meeting his gaze confidently. He was moving closer now, and I could see him visibly attempting to restrain himself from physically grabbing me to shake some sense into me.

"I think you'd be surprised, brother dear, of how much I have the situation under control. Perhaps you would like to enlighten your family member of how you know of this?"

"That's confidential." He bristled, leaning back, displeasure tugging at his expression, temporarily clouding the furious darkness he'd been blanketed in the past minutes.

"A little hypocritical of you, wouldn't you agree?" I responded, staring him down evenly as he breathed heavily, " - demanding answers of me when you're unwilling to provide any of your own."

Sawyer drew a hand over his forehead, sighing: "Charlie, that is work. I don't run around in spandex, throwing myself off of buildings."

"I didn't throw myself off of a building - " I started, but when his eyes turned into slits I realized perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to point out the technical errors in his statements.

"So you were responsible for the skyscraper incident as well?"

I raised a brow: "That's confidential."

"You don't understand I'm coming from a place of worry." He struggled to get the words out from the anger coating him, his posture visibly tense - upset. His brain was hard at work attempting to formulate the words he wanted to communicate, but I could see him struggling to match the version of me he'd grown up with with the more confident, part-time superhero in front of him. The clashing versions were far from identical, and I could see him attempting to both be an employee and a big brother at the same time, the dual sides battling for who would get the preferential treatment. It seemed neither was winning, as he remained silent for a while.