Page 125 of Vile Boys

A chair is kicked over.

The knife comes down.

But it isn’t my flesh that it stabs. It’s the boy’s back.

He cries in pain but maintains eye contact with me, and I shudder in place against the wall, desperate to prevent imminent death, while guilt floods my veins.

He saved me.

“Ares!” The knife is pulled out, and the boy groans. “What were you thinking? I could’ve killed you!”

“Don’t … hurt him,” Ares says, turning around to face his father. “Please.”

His arms are open wide, but all I can focus on are the droplets of blood rolling down his back.

The man in front of us points the knife at me. “He is a thief. He deserves—”

“Pain?” Ares quips.

Fuck. I didn’t want him to take this for me. I didn’t ask him to.

“You …” The man narrows his eyes. “I would’ve killed him if it wasn’t for you.”

“Don’t. Please,” Ares begs. “He won’t do it again.”

“No. He won’t.” The man wipes his knife on his pants. “Because you won’t everlethim do it again.”

What?

“This boy is your responsibility now. Make sure he never, ever tries to steal from me again,” the man growls. “If he does, I’ll make both of you pay, and it won’t just be another scar.”

“Yes, Father.”

His father?

His own damn father stabbed him with a knife, and it doesn’t even faze him?

The boy turns his head to me, and the look in his eyes is all I’llever need to know.

Just one act of righteousness and my life has been forever chained to his.

Crystal

Present

He liftshis hand and gazes at the droplets of water running down. “Our lives are entangled by a debt I can never repay.”

I sigh out loud.

Ares, saving a life?

Why does that sound hard to believe after what I witnessed?

“I know what you think about Ares, but he isn’t all evil,” Blaine says.

“I’m just … surprised, I guess,” I say. “But wait, you said something about Ares being responsible for you after that incident.”

“Ares took me under his wing. He showed me how to hustle, and in turn, I was able to protect both him and my parents.” He takes a deep breath. “I’ve cultivated a strong mind and body to make sure of that. And with a generous donation on his side, I was able to start my own business too.”

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