Page 117 of Remi's War (Four Dark Horsemen 2)

Although, he has a soft spot for her as well; he’s already designed a few tiaras for her to wear and helps her with her puzzles. He can be an unbearable asshole to anyone, but never to her.

“Hello, my friend.” He blows me a kiss, and I nod at him and then hug Octavius, who grunts yet still manages to keep a distance despite our close proximity.

Among us all, he despises any sign of affection or touch, which is understandable, all things considered. Sometimes, he takes all this shit to the next level, though.

He made an oath a year ago to never marry or have kids; that’s why he still stays a virgin and intends to keep it that way for God knows how long.

“Hey. You’re late.”

“We had to pick up Estella from her dance class.”

She leans on Octavius and smiles at me. “Hi, Remi.”

“Hey, girl. How are you?”

“Good.” The redheaded ten-year-old is painfully shy, usually hiding behind her brother or opting for being silent. She loves to read, and that’s about it. During most of our meetings, she chooses a corner in the house and stays there or just watches TV.

Jimena soundly kisses Florian on the cheek and then asks, “Put me down, please.” He does, and she laces her fingers with Estella’s. “Let’s have some more cake!” They both dart to the table, and we all lose our smiles, the seriousness of the moment washing over us.

“Do you think he is still alive?” Florian wonders to no one in particular, flipping the lighter on and off, and his question weighs heavy on our shoulders.

Maybe because deep down we know that the odds are not in his favor, and most probably he’s dead.

However, such tragic realization has the power to destroy us, so we pretend otherwise.

“Yeah,” I say.

A moment passes, and Octavius informs me, “We beat up those guys who spat bullshit about you during first period.”

Florian barks a laugh. “You should have seen their faces; one of them even cried.” He points at his bruised knuckles. “Worth every moment. Now they will walk the other way once they see you.”

Not this again. “You didn’t have to do it.”

For some reason, they made it their mission to protect me in school since I can’t defend myself without getting into trouble.

The kids don’t dare go against a Reed or a Price, though, so they use their power constantly, either getting into fights for me or bullying the ones bullying me. They matched our schedule so we all have lunch together, and they even joined my gym to spend more time with me.

Or that’s the excuse anyway. I know they know I love to destroy my opponents and even know about my side gig.

I’m taller for my age and bulkier, so I get to participate in underground fights by faking my age. Even if the club owner knew, he wouldn’t care, since my fights bring him the most money.

They pay generously, and I get so much fucking satisfaction hurting someone it should scare me, and yet I just sign up for more fights, becoming addicted to it all.

The more blood, wounds, broken bones… the better.

“We are friends, a unit.” Florian emphasizes the last word. “An insult thrown your way is an insult thrown our way.”

“Yeah,” Octavius says and then slaps me on the arm. “Besides, they’re assholes, so our actions aren't exactly altruistic. We enjoy it.”

Their friendship and support still surprises me. I expected them to naturally drift away from me. They live closer to each other, have no reason to show up here, and we’re just different in a lot of things.

However, they’ve stalked me in school, come here for me constantly, and have dragged my ass to various activities, paying for them all.

Well, Florian handled the bills, since Octavius’s stepfather refused to even give him food, let alone money.

Our friendship though, despite all our combined efforts, just isn’t the same. I’ve felt like an outsider on most days, since they have a connection I could never be part of.

We were a unit as four, each one of us bringing something to the bond and then keeping the balance.

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