Chapter 21: The Beginnings of Revenge
King looked on as Peter slept, snoring slightly. He never realized just how fragile a young boy could be, with his face swollen from punches and his ribs wrapped from pain. Julia sat outside, letting King have his moment with his stepson. She was good, he had to admit. She never was selfish, never demanding personal time with Peter. After all, she was his girlfriend. She let King have all the time he wanted, understanding 100 the situation at hand.
What worried her the most was the fact that she had no idea what King would do. She, like Peter, knew that King wasn't exactly in his best state of mind. He could try anything at any time, all in an attempt to get revenge against Marduk. Julia cared about Peter more than any other girl in the world, and she knew that the last thing he needed was to see his stepfather locked up behind bars.
Just then, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned to see King, looking at her with a fake smile on his face. "How is he?" she asked in honest concern. King decided to take a seat next to her before replying, "He is okay considering the circumstances. He's strong and you're lucky to be with him."
"You're lucky to have him as a son." Julia said, smiling at him with genuine kindness. Julia had a heart like no other. She cared for all, even those who made fun of her. She just wanted a better world for everybody, wishing the best for the world's greenery. Some would call her a 'tree hugger', but she would simply tell you that she was just being realistic.
"So… what are you going to do?" Julia asked, desperation almost leaking from her tongue. King stood up and cracked his knuckles. "Well now that Pete is asleep, I figured I'd go talk to Marduk…alone." He began to walk away from the hospital room when just then, Julia jumped grabbed his wrist. He turned around in shock, wondering what she was thinking. "Be careful…"she said. The two looked into each other's eyes, and that's when they both realized that there was something behind those eyes: desire.
They gripped each other's hands, looking deeper, looking for a way to calm and reassure one another. It was a good ten seconds before King looked away, dropping Julia's hand. "I will." He said. As King turned to leave, Julia looked to Peter's room, tears swelling up in her eyes. 'I'm sorry', she thought.
"And don't worry." Said King, catching Julia's attention once more. "I won't do anything to harm any of us." Julia smiled at his remark, cupping her mouth with both hands as he left the hospital wing.
Elsewhere, Jaime walked with Mina in the shadows, following King as he went to the bar area of the hotel. King knew just where to look, as Marduk was sitting there all smug and confident as he sipped down a beer. King sat down next to Marduk, unknown to the humongous beast. "I'll take a Corona please." King said. It was then that Marduk looked over to see King sitting there.
"Well, look who it is." Marduk said, breaking out into a soft laughter. King received his beer and began to gulp it down fiercely. "Hey, how's Peter doing?" Marduk taunted. With that, King put down his mug, having finished the beer. Out of nowhere, Marduk felt King's fist crash into his face, knocking him off his chair and sending him to the floor.
"I'll see you at the tournament." King said as he began to take his leave. Jaime and Mina walked up to Marduk once King was gone.
"And if you ever, EVER touch one of my friends again, you won't be around to make the same mistake twice." Said Jaime as Mina leaned against his arm protectively. The two began to leave, leaving Marduk to sit on the floor in embarrassment as the onlookers laughed at him.