Before they could come up with a real plan, however, a car engine revved, and Flix looked over just in time to see it zoom forward at full speed.
Jett was on his ass on the ground on the other side of it, staring wide-eyed as it sped off, heading straight for Russ.
At first, Flix thought Bowser was trying to save him, but when the car didn’t slow, it became apparent that’s not at all what he intended.
Flix might have figured Russ’s actions didn’t warrant a death sentence, but apparently, Bowser didn’t agree.
Knowing it was too late to prevent the collision from happening, Flix did the only thing he could think of, twisting himself in front of Ani. He covered his eyes with a hand andheld him still, both of them flinching when, a moment later, tires squealed, followed by a crash and a heavy thud.
Chapter 28:
Ani felt numb as he sat on the couch in Flix’s living room, only partially listening to what was being said around him. They’d come straight here after Russ’s…accident, and he’d gone straight to the couch. No one had tried getting him to engage in any sort of conversation as of yet, giving him the space he needed to sort through his thoughts.
If only it was that simple.
He knew what he should be feeling. Despite everything, at the end of the day, Russ was his brother. A decent person would be grieving, or at the very least, feeling a modicum of sadness right now, but he…He just felt empty.
Maybe it was because he’d already been through all of this before, he wasn’t sure. Three years ago, when he’d thought Russ had died, he’d been upset about the loss. They hadn’t been close, but he’d convinced himself otherwise, creating a whole fake perspective about their life together and what it’d been like. Only focusing on the good in his grief, he’d allowed himself to forget all about the bad.
But things were different this time.
Russ had known full well that Ani thought he and Flix were together. He’d made comments about it before which had led him to believe it was the truth. He’d also lied and made itout to seem like he was the one providing for Ani all those years, when in fact it’d been the Brumal member all along.
“How’s Bowser?” Flix’s voice caught his attention, but only mildly, and Ani listened as he spoke with Jett, who’d come with them to the house.
Madden had remained behind to deal with the ambulance and the officers, as well as to wait for Berga and Kazimir. The three of them would take care of the situation and ensure that the rest of their names were left off of any reports made. Bowser wouldn’t be so lucky.
“You were on the damn highway,” Baikal, who’d arrived and had been waiting outside when they’d gotten there, frustratedly said. “Plenty of people saw him run straight into Russ. There are too many witnesses to cover this story up.”
“He’s not one of us,” Flix replied. “And no one was holding a gun to his head when he chose to get into that hovercar. What I meant was, how are his injuries?”
“Chaiya says he’s in surgery now,” Jett answered. “The doctors mentioned he’d lost a lot of blood, and there was severe damage to a couple of organs, but they’ll try their best to save him.”
“Thanks for getting involved,” Flix said. “Sorry about all of this.”
“It’s no problem,” he insisted. “Madden called in a favor.”
Aneski stopped listening, their chatter fading into the background as he propped his elbows on his knees and rubbed his palms together. His life had been one violent event after the other as of late, and it felt like just when he thought he’d finally be able to catch his breath, something else happened.
Never in a million years would he have guessed that Bowser was involved with his brother the way he was. But more than that, Bowser had always come off like a levelheaded person to Ani. Not the type that was easily manipulated, yet somehow,he’d fallen for Russ’s lies even when they’d been so obviously an illusion.
He was probably feeling pretty stupid right now. Or, hewould, once he woke up.
If he woke up.
Russ had landed two shots on Bowser from what Ani could tell before Flix had shoved him onto the back of the bike he’d ridden there and taken off. Bowser had been bleeding from the side and from just below his right shoulder.
His brother had opened fire with little care who he hit, and even after, when he had to have seen Bowser fall, he’d kept it up. Even if he hadn’t felt romantic feelings toward Bowser, they’d been friends for years…Ani couldn’t imagine doing anything like that to Rexton.
“Gannon is being held at the Bunker,” Baikal said then. “We can keep him there as long as you need.”
“I’ll figure it out.” Flix sighed. “Thanks.”
“Fortunately, there was no one else on the quad when the rest of the Shepards attacked. Other students heard the commotion, but no one saw anything, and no innocent bystanders were harmed.”
“You think I should let him go?”
“I think you should allow Berga to use him as a test subject,” Baikal corrected. “But it isn’t my call, and I understand it’s a bit more…complicated for you.”
