𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 //𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝑭𝑭//

~𝟲𝟲~

I looked up at Felix again when he said that.

"Well... then I guess this is fine, right? We're not screwed."

Lee Know nodded at me, smiling tenderly. He gently tucked a hair behind my ear.

"Do you guys want me to be jealous? Or do you just not care about who sees you anymore?" Felix asked. I blushed, looking down and biting my lip. My head snapped up when I heard someone speaking outside the door. I could just make out the muffled words "lunch" and "girls".

"Guess we should head downstairs. I'll see you two down there," Felix said, opening the door and walking out.

"Can you manage getting down the stairs on your own or do I need to help you?" Lee Know asked.

"I'll manage."

I smiled up at him before walking out of my room and heading downstairs.

...

"Hi Ava, how nice to see you again," Geneviève said when she saw me. I smiled at her, but it felt forced. Then I saw Han with his arm around the shoulders of the girl from the hospital. My smile grew as I walked over to the pair.

"Glad to see you two found each other again," I said.

"Yeah. And now, I get to help her recover," Han said, smiling down at the girl.

"I don't think Han ever introduced us properly. I'm Ava," I said, reaching out my hand for the girl to shake.

"Oh, I'm Emily," she answered, smiling and shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Emily. Are you staying for lunch?"

"Yes. Han said I'm not leaving his sights again. But I don't mind at all. If it means I get a free meal and lots of warm hugs, I'm all for it."

"Great. And if you want to stay the night, you can sleep in my room with me, so you don't have to sleep on the couch or in one of the boys' rooms."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Chan called us into the kitchen, cutting off our conversation. There weren't enough chairs, so we had to improvise. I let Emily take my seat, instead swapping it for one of the bar stools that stood around the kitchen island. Geneviève ended up having to do the same, not seeming too happy about it. But when she realised she could squeeze in next to Lee Know, she seemed slightly more content, much to my own annoyance. But when I saw the look Lee Know gave me, I knew I had nothing to worry about.

"Emily, how did they end up taking you?" Chan asked after a bit of usual chatter. She seemed a bit hesitant at first, but I gently put my hand on her shoulder, and she eased up a bit.

"Well, I don't really know. I had just gotten to my apartment after being discharged from the hospital. I was just minding my business and unpacking when I felt a sharp pain in my neck. Then everything went black. The medic said they had drugged me, but he couldn't tell which drug it was because I didn't show any specific symptoms. He patched up some scrapes and told me I have to get blood drawn to figure out which drug they used."

As she spoke, I saw a bandage peeking out from under her shoulder-length hair. It sat on her neck, a small reminder of her encounter with the smuggling ring. Then it dawned on me that while Emily had just been in her apartment, Geneviève should have still been in witness protection.

"Wait, how did they catch you, Geneviève? Weren't you still in witness protection?" Han asked, as if he read my mind.

"Oh, I had gotten out of witness protection just the day before. They said there wasn't much they could do for me."