Chapter 109 - Broken Bond

Chapter 109: Chapter 109 - Broken Bond

Standing over the threshold of the open door was an Indian cashier wearing a red polo shirt and carrying two full black trash bags in his hands.

He cast a nervous glance over the lot before making his way toward the large metal dumpsters and dumping the bags inside.

"Come on, guys... I tell you all yesterday, you keep the noise down. The customers complaining. They are going to call the police again."

Dex turned his head slowly with a fake smirk playing on his face. "Relax, bossman. We’re just hanging out peacefully. You know, enjoying our youth. Keep your shirt on, alright? Relax."

The cashier muttered an angry string of words under his breath. He then shook his head in defeat and hurried back inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

The delinquents surrounding erupted into loud, mocking laughter.

"Man, that guy is such a buzzkill! What if the cops come again?"

"Ha, let them! Cops won’t do shit. And if they show up, we’ll just run away and trash this store later tonight."

Dex turned back to Katherine, holding out the blunt once more. "Now... where were we, Kate? Go on, take a hit."

Katherine looked at the glowing tip, her hand rising to accept it again when–

Ting-a-ling~

The back door opened for a second time.

"Argh... " Dex let out an exasperated snort, rolling his eyes. "Seriously? That idiot again?"

He turned around to bark at the cashier – only to freeze.

Stepping into the loud, smoke-filled lot was a tall and handsome young man. He had soft brown hair, green eyes, and an air of confidence around him.

"She’s around here? Really?"

Vincent.

The lot fell quiet as the delinquents stared at the newcomer in confusion.

Two older guys stepped out from the group, blocking Vincent’s view with an aggressive look. "Hey, pal. Who the hell are you? You lost? This is our spot."

Vincent ignored their hostile postures and casually scanned the area past their shoulders. "I’m just looking for someone."

Two delinquent girls lounging on the hood of a nearby car sat up, their eyes lighting up as they took in Vincent’s handsome face. They walked over, giggling flirtatiously.

"Well, hello there~" one of them purred, twirling a strand of dyed hair.

"Who are you looking for when you could be hanging out with us?"

Vincent didn’t even spare them a glance and just continued casually scanning the lot.

Watching from the brick wall, Dex’s brow furrowed into an annoyed frown. He hated disturbances – especially ones that pulled attention away from him.

"Stay here, Kate. Let me go see what this guy wants."

Dex strided across the pavement with a cool, arrogant swagger. But as he approached closer, Vincent’s eyes finally locked onto Katherine standing near the dumpster.

In an instant, his serious searching expression melted away and lit up with pure happiness.

Dex opened his mouth, raising his hand to deliver a condescending greeting. "Hey, buddy–"

But Vincent walked straight past him without even acknowledging his existence.

"Wha–" Dex stopped dead in his tracks, his arm hanging awkwardly in mid-air. He clicked his tongue in pure irritation as several delinquents behind him let out muffled snickers.

Vincent stepped right in front of her, stopping about two feet away. He stared down at her, his green eyes intense and serious

Katherine, completely caught off guard by the strikingly handsome stranger, felt a sudden, involuntary blush rush to her cheeks. But she quickly put on a tough, unbothered front and scoffed. "What do you want? Didn’t you hear those guys? You lost or something?"

"...."

"... What? Got something to say–"

"Kathy!" Vincent’s serious face broke into a joyful grin.

"H-Huh–?!" Before she could react, he lunged forward and tackled her into an overwhelming bear-hug.

"KYAAA! GET OFF ME! HEEELP! A RANDOM FREAK IS ATTACKING ME! LET GO!"

"A random freak?!" Vincent pulled back immediately, looking genuinely hurt and offended. "Who’re you calling a random freak?! Look! It’s me!"

"I don’t know you, you weirdo–!"

She stopped. Her eyes caught his facial features – the shape of his nose, the shade of his hair, and those unmistakable, bright green eyes. The realisation hit her like a speeding freight train.

"Wait... You’re... V?"

And just like that, Vincent’s mood flipped back to euphoric happiness. He threw his arms around her again and lifted her straight off her feet, squeezing her tight while gushing over her like a proud big brother.

"YES, IT’S ME! And look at you! My little sister is so cute! I missed you so much, Kathy! Here, let me give you a chu-chu~!"

He began pressing big kisses onto her burning cheeks.

"ACK! NO! STOP IT!" Katherine squirmed violently, her face exploding into a shade of crimson.

"N-NO! V–! NNNN–!" She let out embarrassed whimpers and squeaks as she tried to fight off his smothering affection in front of the group of delinquents. "V, STOP! YOU’RE EMBARRASSING ME! LET GO!"

Thud.

A hand suddenly clamped down onto his shoulder from behind.

"You heard what the young lady said, pal," Dex’s voice cut through the squirming, dripping with cold authority. "Back off."

Vincent stopped kissing her cheek and slowly turned to look over his shoulder.

"Hah?" His eyes, which had just been filled with warm brotherly love, narrowed into a deadly stare.

His gaze flickered to the hand on his shoulder, then moved to the glowing blunt held in Dex’s other hand, and finally locked straight onto his face.

Dex’s smug smirk froze and his heart slammed against his ribs in a sudden surge of primal, unexplained terror as Vincent glared at him. His instincts screamed that he was standing in front of an apex predator. Instinctively, he took his hand off.

Vincent turned his entire body around and asked. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"H-Ha. *Gulp* Isn’t it polite to introduce yourself first before demanding it of others?"

"I’m her brother."

"Dex. And I’m her friend." Dex faintly smirked as he regained a fraction of his swagger back.

"... Funny. I don’t remember my sister being friends with a crowd like this."

"Well, there’s a lot of things you don’t know about her... Vincent, the no-good brother."

Looking between the two of them, Katherine felt the air grow thick with lethal tension. Terrified that a fight was about to break out, she quickly grabbed Vincent’s sleeve and pulled him back.

"V, stop. It’s fine. Stop looking like you’re about to pick a fight."

Vincent pointed a finger directly at the blunt in Dex’s hand. "What the hell do you think you’re doing smoking that shit around my sister?"

"What’s the problem? She was just about to join in. Isn’t that right, Kate?"

"What...?" Vincent slowly turned his head back toward Katherine. "Is that true, Kathy?"

Katherine flinched as if she had been struck. Unable to deny the accusation, she looked down at her sneakers with guilt.

"Hahaha. See?"

Furious yet fiercely protective, Vincent took Katherine firmly by her wrist. "We’re going home. Now."

"W-What? No– V!"

Dex stepped in his way, placing his hand back on Vincent’s shoulder. "Hold on there. She’s not going anywhere with you. Can’t you see she doesn’t want to go?"

The background music from the speaker suddenly cut out and a silence fell over the lot as every delinquent watched the confrontation.

Slap!

Vincent swatted Dex’s hand off his shoulder. "Yes, she is. You guys are clearly the wrong scene – hanging out behind a store, smoking weed, and troubling others."

Katherine suddenly broke free and stepped right between them, shoving her hands violently against Vincent’s chest.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?! THESE ARE MY FRIENDS!"

"Friends? Kathy... these people are a bad influence."

"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!"

The dam broke. Years of pent-up bitterness, isolation, and resentment exploded out of the fifteen-year-old girl in a torrent of furious screams.

"You think you know what’s best for me?! You were NEVER around! For two years, you sat locked in your room, ignoring Dad, ignoring me, acting like we didn’t even exist! You didn’t give a damn about anyone but yourself!"

"K-Kathy?"

"And what about Hannah?! You get rejected by her and what did you do?! You ran away! Was all your stupid studying just so you could feel good enough for a girl who didn’t even want you in the end?!"

Vincent felt as though a blade had been shoved into his chest.

He looked at her with hurt in his eyes and his hands trembling slightly as his heart shattered into pieces. "Kathy... I’m sorry. I was... I was wrapped up in my own head. I’m sorry. I’ll be a better brother from now on. I promise."

"I DON’T WANT YOUR PROMISE! IT’S TOO LATE FOR ANY OF THAT!"

The surrounding delinquents erupted into condescending, and mocking laughter.

"Pfft! Look at Mr. Big Brother! Is he gonna cry?"

"What a fucking loser!"

"Ran away over a girl! Gahaha!"

Hearing their laughter, Vincent’s sorrow vanished, replaced by an expression of dead-seriousness. He looked Katherine straight in the eye.

"We’re going home. Now. Before I tell Dada– Dad what you’re up to."

"You think I’m scared of him? I DON’T CARE ABOUT DAD! AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU!"

In a blind impulse of rebellion, Katherine snatched the blunt straight out of Dex’s hand and raised it toward her lips–

SMACK!

Vincent smacked the blunt straight out of her grip. The roll-up hit the asphalt, and before anyone could react, he brought his boot down and crushed it into ruins against the ground.

Katherine stared at her stinging hand and the crushed blunt beneath his boot.

Tears spilled over her cheeks. She glared up at Vincent with a look of pure hatred and screamed at the top of her lungs:

"I HATE YOU!"

She shoved past his shoulder with all her weight and broke into a full-speed sprint out of the lot, running toward home.

"Kathy! Wait!"

Vincent turned to chase after her – but Dex immediately stepped squarely into his path.

"Hold on a second, pal... Tell me. What are you gonna do about the roll-up you just wasted?"

Vincent didn’t even look at Dex’s face. He extended his arm and casually shoved him away.

THUD–CRASH!!!!!!

He crashed into the mound of black trash bags the cashier had just brought out, bursting two bags open and covering his leather jacket in all types of filth.

"EURGH! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Without turning back, Vincent sprinted out of the lot at full speed to chase after his crying sister.

The surrounding delinquents all erupted into uncontrollable snickers at the sight of their leader covered in literal garbage. Dex glared at them with nuclear rage and they instantly shut their mouths, restarted the Bluetooth speaker, and scrambled back to whatever they were doing or talking about.

Hauling himself out of the trash, he wiped off the filth and stared down the path Vincent ran down with vengeful malice burning in his eyes.

"Vincent fucking Winters..."

.....

Meanwhile, Vincent sprinted down the neighborhood sidewalk, calling her name out. "Kathy! Stop! Please!"

To his surprise, Katherine was running at an incredible speed.

’So fast!’

She soon reached their house first, threw the front door open, and tore past Dusty without saying a word. She then sprinted up the stairs, slammed her bedroom door shut, and locked it with an echoing click.

Vincent burst through the front door seconds later, also ignoring Dusty – who was standing in the hallway looking up the stairs in utter confusion.

He took the stairs three at a time and stopped outside her locked bedroom door. He knocked gently on the wood.

"Kathy... please open the door. Let me talk to you."

"GO AWAY! GO AWAY AND LOCK YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOM LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO! OR GO RUN BACK TO YOUR NEW REDHEAD GIRLFRIEND!"

"Kathy, please–"

"I SAID GO AWAY!"

Her voice broke into heartbroken sobs.

As Vincent stood outside the door, hearing her cries from the other side, he realised pushing her right now would only hurt her more. So slowly, he leaned his back against her door and slid down until he was sitting flat on the carpet.

For now, this was all he could do. He just sat there and listened to all of her pain.