Try Me

Sixteen

A warning

Yong threw off his shirt, wincing as he stretched his torso to look in the mirror at the damage Julian had done to his body. Blisters and red patches were littered all over his chest and he found himself clenching his teeth, wishing he could drive a bullet into the woman's skull once and for all. But then again, Yong could never really hurt Julian. Not only was she his boss but she made him the man he was today, she was a large steping stone in the path that provided him the power and the wealth that he currently possessed and so a part of him would always be indebted to her.

He fell back on the bed, lying there alone in his room, mind occupied with numerous thoughts as the wounds on his torso stung with every movement. He groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. He had always been a level-headed individual, always knew what he was doing, what he was thinking. And most importantly, when the time called for it, he always knew what needed to be done. He was always in control. However, from the moment he first looked into Ezra's eyes, he found his body and mind in conflict, suddenly and unexpicably unwilling to do the one thing he had always done with ease. He found every decison and action related to her spiralling out of control. He was overwhelmed; from Julian's relentlessness to his inability to simply do the job and get rid of Ezra like he was supposed, he wanted to go back to that day and just change every decision and step he took since then. He would've closed his eyes and shot her, ignoring the screams of hesitation within his mind. All of this stress would have been evaded. He wasn't willing to understand why, or let alone admit Ezra had gotten under his skin. That her existence had weasled its way into his head and found a permanent residence there. It was like she had performed some sort of witchcraft on him, in a desperate attempt to save herself that night she must have cast a spell on him, and he was finding himself powerless to resist it.

He sat back up and examined his burns again when suddenly, he heard a faint knock on his door. He quickly pulled down his shirt, wincing at the friction as he tried to cover the burns but before he knew it Jude was already standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" Yong asked, trying to hide the strain in his voice.

Jude's usually stoic expression was replaced with that of concern. He reached over and slapped Yong's hands aside, lifting up his shirt gently. Yong didn't say anything, instead looking away, almost in shame, and Jude could see the physical pain he had been ignoring for the past few hours.

"You need to get rid of her, Mason." Jude said, his voice filled with frustration. "She's not worth any of this. Literally just do what you need to do, do what Julian wants. It's never been an issue before, why her? Why now?"

Yong didn't respond at first, lost in his own thoughts. Of course he knew Jude was right, but suddenly the thought of killing someone made him uneasy and simply put, he didn't want to. It was easier to just keep her by his side like this and he was also sure one day she'd appreciate him for it as well.

"I'm not going to," He finally said, his voice heavy with defiance. "I don't want to. And besides, why should she die? It's not like she did something wrong." Jude broke out in laughter, sobering up when he realised Yong wasn't laughing with him.

"You're joking right? When have you ever had regard for human life or fairness. We've killed countless men who just happened to be working for the wrong guy, they didn't do anything wrong either but you had no issues shooting them then. Don't fucking act like a saint now. Just admit it, it's not that you don't want to, it's because you can't."

"Fine! I can't ok! For whatever reason I can't bring myself to kill her, the thought of it makes me sick." Yong raised his hands in frustration before running them through his hair.

"Why not? She's just a girl!" Jude shot back at him, his voice rising slightly.

"Don't you think I know that?" Yong yelled back.

Jude groaned his annoyance and frustration growing. He really couldn't understand why Yong was allowing himself to get carried away by someone like Ezra. Don't get him wrong, he felt bad for the girl and he agreed with Yong when he said that he didn't think Ezra did anything deserving of this. But at the end of the day Julian wanted her gone and Jude knew better than to defy that tempest. Besides, keeping Ezra was already creating enough tension between them as friends and he would always place his friendship and love for these boys above anything else. He wouldn't allow something like what happened with Noah to happen again. Innocent or not, she was still a stranger to him, she wasn't worth the pain and suffering she was causing everyone. However, Jude knew also that Yong was a stubborn person who was steadfast and wouldn't let go of something, or someone, so easily.

"Mason, please," Jude said, his voice pleading. "You're hurting yourself over someone who doesn't care about you. She hates you, she despises the very ground you walk on. She wouldn't hesitate to put a knife through your chest if the opportunity presents itself. You do realise that right?"

Yong laughed solemnly before shrugging. "I'm doing this for her own good, whether she loves or hates me for it, I don't really care."

Jude reached over and lifted Yong's shirt, pointing to his burns. "This happened because of her and God knows what Julian will do when she finds out you've been lying to her." He said before dropping the shirt. "You need to let her go, or at least release her, let her go back to her life and let fate decide what happens to her. "

Yong didn't respond, lost in his own thoughts. Jude sighed, giving up. This was why he hated getting involved in other people's affairs, his advice was never heeded anyway so why bother.

"Noa-" Yong's head snapped up towards him, eyes narrowed into a deadly glare.

"Don't you dare mention his name." He seethed and Jude groaned, throwing his head back in frustration.

"You don't even know what I'm about to say! Noa-"

"I said don't!" His voice was loud, shutting Jude up immediately. The latter raised his hands in surrender and walked back towards the door.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He mumbled before leaving the room.

A/N: Sorry for the late update, just been a little demotivated since no one is reading this lol. If you are, please comment and lmk what you think. Enjoy! Please don't forget to vote !