Sophia was standing right in front of the door, arms crossed, blocking the way like she had all the ti in the world. Shaved head, sa scar cutting down from her eyebrow past her eye, sa expression that told you she wasn’t in the mood for anything.
And yeah. I rembered exactly why.
I had elbowed her in the ribs at the mall. She definitely rembered too.
I walked toward her anyway, slowing down just a bit as I got closer. Took a breath, straightened up slightly.
"H-hey, Sophia," I said. "What’s up?"
"Evan?" lvin whispered behind . "Who’s that?"
"Not now," I muttered under my breath.
Sophia didn’t move.
"You here to cause more problems, Marlowe?" she asked. "Or are you here to apologize?"
"I thought I already—"
She moved.
Fast.
Her elbow drove straight into my ribs before I could even react properly. The impact knocked the air out of instantly. I stumbled back, one hand hitting the floor as I bent forward, trying to catch my breath.
"Shit..." I groaned, pushing myself up slowly. My ribs were throbbing. "Okay... yeah. That’s fair."
I leaned against the wall, pressing my palm against the spot she hit.
"You should seriously consider boxing," I said, forcing a small laugh. "You’ve got the technique down."
She didn’t even blink.
"Soph?" a voice called from behind her.
I looked up and saw Isabella walking toward us from the stage. The narrow hallway made it a bit cramped, especially with lvin standing behind like a statue.
He froze.
His eyes went wide, and he gave her a small, awkward wave.
"H-hi..."
She glanced at him.
Just a quick look. Enough to recognize him.
And then her expression tightened. Not full disgust, but close enough. A brief grimace before she walked past him without saying anything and stopped next to Sophia.
lvin’s hand slowly dropped. His shoulders slumped, and he stared at the ground like he wished it would just swallow him.
Yeah... that hurt.
I let out a quiet breath and straightened up a bit more.
"Everything good?" Isabella asked, looking between us.
"Yeah," I said. "We’re just leaving."
Sophia nodded. "Goodbye, then, Marlowe."
Sophia shifted slightly but didn’t block the door anymore.
"Wait," Isabella said, looking at more closely. "Marlowe? You’re the guy who helped Emilia, right?"
I shrugged.
"I didn’t do it alone," I said, nodding slightly toward lvin. "He was there too."
She looked at him again, clearly confused.
"lvin? I don’t rember hearing about him."
"He was... he was driving," I said smoothly. "We needed a quick way out. So guys were chasing us."
lvin grabbed my sleeve and tugged it slightly, leaning in.
"I don’t even have a license," he whispered.
I ignored him.
"He got us out of there fast," I added. "Could’ve been worse without him."
Isabella studied him for a second, then gave a small nod, like she wasn’t fully convinced but didn’t care enough to question it.
"Alright," she said. "Well... thanks, I guess."
"Yeah," I said. "No problem."
"You should co by at night soti," she said. "I’ll get you a drink. My favorite."
"I’ll think about it," I replied.
I could feel lvin behind , completely deflated. That invitation clearly wasn’t ant for him. I turned slightly and gestured with my head.
"Co on, lvin," I said. "We still need to deal with your car."
"Y-yeah," he said quickly. "My car..."
We both knew that was bullshit, but he played along.
I gave a short nod to Sophia and Isabella, then pushed the door open and stepped outside. The air hit imdiately. Heavy, damp, the kind that sticks to your skin before the rain even starts.
I looked up at the sky. Dark clouds. Thick ones. Rain was coming, and not the light kind.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and started walking down the street, lvin trailing behind quietly.
After a few seconds, he spoke. "She hates ," he muttered.
I didn’t answer right away. I just kept walking, eyes forward.
"Not hates," I said finally. "But yeah... you’re not exactly on her radar."
"That’s worse," he said.
I let out a small breath through my nose.
"Look," I said, glancing at him. "If you actually want a shot, we’re gonna have to fix a lot of things. Starting with how you present yourself. And how you talk."
He nodded quickly.
"I’ll do anything," he said.
"Careful with that," I muttered. "People regret saying that."
We walked a bit more in silence.
The first drop of rain hit the pavent.
Then another.
"Man," I said, tilting my head slightly as the rain started picking up. "I really hate this city."
══════════════════
ON A ROLL COMPLETED
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CASH OUT OR SAVE IT?
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CURRENT SC: 175
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⟁ ⟁ ⟁
Well, I had completed that quest, but I still needed to help lvin. Honestly, the guy was hopeless, but I had to at least try, right? Besides, it felt good being depended on. lvin looked at like I was so kind of casanova after "getting it" with Nala. In reality, though, I had no idea how to help him. Part of was just hoping he’d forget about it altogether—realize how dumb it was to ask for my help with Iseballa...
I exhaled through my nose as I stirred my mocha. Ivy wanted to et, and here I was, sitting in the coffee shop right across from their apartnt. She knew Delilah was pregnant... but there was no way she knew I was the father, right?
Then again... why would she want to et ?
At this point, I couldn’t lie, I was low-key fearing for my life.
"Man... that punch hurt..."
I rubbed the spot where Sophia had hit , then rolled my shoulder. The café was mostly empty—the weather had gone to shit. Rain poured relentlessly outside, people rushing for cover, so ducking into the shop hoping it would pass. Five minutes ago, everything had been calm.
Now it was this.
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