Saving the Villain

"Ugh…"

While Maxen, Luke, and Cosette were enjoying dinner at the four-seater dining table, they heard a weak grunt from the small living area. Since Luke\'s apartment was a studio type, their eyes instantly caught Remo moving his body.

The three of them chewed slowly, observing Remo from their seat. None of them move as well as if they didn\'t want to part with their food. The delivery took some time; Cosette\'s driver arrived minutes earlier to deliver some clothes and uniforms for Maxen and Cosette. If only they knew driver George would be faster, they would\'ve asked him to bring food as well.

Therefore, the three of them were quite hungry and the reason for their reluctance.

"Ugh…" Remo winced as he held his side, his arm across his stomach. He carefully propped his elbow against the thick blanket underneath him, looking around at the place he had woken up in.

Remo blinked and blinked until his blurry vision grew clear. He ran his eyes around once again, catching three people sitting around the table. The three were looking back at him whilst chewing slowly. He recognized those three faces quickly, but not immediately.

"Ugh… shit," he cursed under his breath, pushing himself to sit upright. Those guys beat him without reserve; if he wasn\'t immune to punches and street fights, Remo would\'ve died or been in the hospital again.

"You should rest more." Luke clicked his tongue in irritation, seeing that Remo could barely sit up. "And pretend you\'re still asleep while we eat. We\'re really hungry and man… you were heavy. What are you even eating?"

"Why am I in here?" Remo winced after spatting those words and he could feel pain in his side as he spoke.

"We can\'t let you sleep in the street, can we?" Cosette replied offhandedly, shaking her head. "You should listen to Luke and get more sleep. If you can stand up, come join us for dinner. But if you can\'t, wait until we finish."

A weak and dry scoff came out of Remo\'s chapped lips. However, he didn\'t argue with them and tried to push himself to stand up. However, just before his first attempt would fail, Maxen spoke.

"You should listen to them," Maxen\'s tone was calm, watching Remo look back at him. "Those guys will come back with their buddies to get even. I don\'t think you can do anything in that state."

"Who said I want to do anything in the first place?"

"So you\'re saying if they returned to get revenge, you\'ll just let them?" Luke quirked a brow in disappointment. "Man… why did we even bother if you\'re so ready to throw away your life?"

"Even if you don\'t care about what they would do to you, you should at least consider those who made an effort to help you," Cosette added in a knowing tone, also disappointed by this guy. "Because of you, we now have to constantly look over our shoulders."

"I didn\'t ask you for help," Remo argued under his breath. "So, why do I need to feel responsible for the mess you jumped into on your own?"

"This guy —" Luke was about to spring up in his seat when Cosette held his arm. He looked back at her and saw her shake her head.

"Look." Cosette jerked her chin in Maxen\'s direction and when Luke followed it, he saw Maxen slowly raise from his seat. Luke and Cosette watched Maxen approach Remo until he was standing before the guy.

Looking down at Remo, Maxen raised a foot. Remo\'s frown instantly deepened, but he didn\'t shut his eyes to anticipate a kick or anything of the sort. Remo was used to pain and getting kicked by Maxen in such a state might be painful, but he knew he wouldn\'t beg for mercy.

Much to Remo\'s surprise, Maxen didn\'t kick him to knock him out. Instead, Maxen only kicked the pit of his elbow for Remo to lose his balance. His body thudded weakly against the floor, eyes dilating as they shook, looking back at Maxen who was standing beside his body.

"If you can\'t sleep, then don\'t strain your body. I\'ll reheat your food first so you can take your medicines," said Maxen monotonously. "Those two are a bit hungry and were quite sensitive at the moment, so just shut up and be good."

Remo blinked and on his third blink, all he saw was Maxen turning his back on him. Remo was speechless. For the next several minutes, all he did was stare at the low ceiling of the apartment while hearing the menial conversation between the three.

"Gosh… why is he so hot?" Cosette cupped her face, eyes twinkling with admiration, watching Maxen place the bowl of porridge inside the over.

"Are you a masochist?" Luke\'s face contorted as he gazed at her incredulously. "What\'s so hot in that?"

Cosette looked at him in dismay. "You\'re not a girl. How can you understand?"

"Right… I won\'t, because if a lady is like that? Like punching someone until that someone loses a tooth or bribing someone to make that person eat shit? I would definitely run away. Red flag!"

"So weak-willed." Cosette shook her head in disappointment, not taking his insinuation to the heart. It would be better if the lingering romantic feelings he had for her would just completely disappear; that would be better for him and for Cosette.

It didn\'t take long when Maxen sat down in his seat again. Both Luke and Cosette ate as slow as a cow so Maxen wouldn\'t have to continue eating on their own.

"Was your kick that strong?" Luke asked out of plain curiosity, gazing back in Remo\'s direction. "I mean, it looked weak, but our guy over there isn\'t moving. Did you paralyze him?"

Cosette also cast Remo a quick look. The latter was just lying flat, staring at the ceiling blankly. But she didn\'t think much about it as she continued to eat.

Meanwhile, Maxen glanced up at Luke and then at Remo.

"He just understood he will not go anywhere," he said, setting his attention back on his plate before checking if Cosette was eating well. Seeing that she still had the appetite, he placed down the cutlery to pour her a glass of water.

"Homeworks and a long quiz. You should finish so we can have time to review," Maxen reminded them, like a responsible big brother.

"Aye aye, captain," Luke replied offhandedly, throwing away whatever curiosity he had at the back of his head.

Cosette, on the other hand, paused when a piece of green appeared on her plate. She slowly gazed up, only to see Maxen gesture to her to eat it.

"But… I don\'t want it," she complained quietly with a pout, but Maxen\'s eyes were unyielding. In the end, Cosette had to eat vegetables because Maxen habitually placed pieces of green on her plate.

If she didn\'t know better, she would think he was just trying to avoid eating the vegetables she ordered for him. But she knew him, and just like how she was concerned about his diet, Maxen was aware she needed proper nutrition even if they weren\'t home.

The three of them would converse from time to time until they finished their meal. After filling their stomachs, Cosette and Luke stayed idle on the beanbags. Luke was busy with his phone while Cosette just melted on the soft bean bag as her stomach felt so heavy.

Meanwhile, Maxen prepared the meals for Remo and served them to the guy. The latter refused Maxen\'s help, but Maxen didn\'t listen to him and sat him upright.

"I don\'t have forever to wait for you to sit up," Maxen explained when Remo was sitting upright, snapping his eyes at the latter indifferently. "Eat so you can take some painkillers."

With that being said, Maxen stood up and walked to the beanbag next to Cosette. He glanced at her and chuckled, seeing her fight her weary eyes.

"I feel so sleepy, Max." Cosette fluttered her eyelashes ever so tenderly, acting all cute while he brushed his gentle hand over her forehead. Maxen massaged her scalp with his fingertips, making her even more sleepy.

"We still have homework… I\'ll fall asleep if you do that," she complained in a tiny voice. "This is the horror of realizing I\'m not in a novel. It only means I really need to take school seriously."

Luke, who was trying to focus on his phone instead of her voice, could not help but gasp.

"What made you think you were in a novel?" he asked in disbelief, setting his eyes full of disbelief on her. "And even if you are, why wouldn\'t you take school seriously?"

"Duh?" Cosette shot him a dead look. "Have you ever read a school-themed novel or series whose characters focused on school and what actually happens in it? No. They go on adventures or things like that that would definitely warrant them a suspension or expulsion in the real world."

"Take a shower first." Maxen didn\'t dwell on their current subject because Luke and Cosette would bicker on the most nonsense things.

Cosette\'s attention instantly shifted to him. "We?"

"Hey! This place is PG-13!"

"Ughh…" Cosette rolled her eyes as she let out a long-suffering sigh, making Maxen chuckle, which only fueled Luke\'s desire to save himself from watching these two making out right in front of his face.

As Luke harrumphed, dragging his bean bag beside Maxen, warranting Cosette\'s wrath, Remo remained quiet. He darted his eyes between the three because those three seemed he wasn\'t there; he didn\'t know if they were purposely doing it so he could eat in peace or if they were just this chaotic.

Remo\'s gaze then lingered on Maxen who was intervening between Cosette and Luke before the two bring forth hell if their argument continued. Seeing that slight smile on Maxen\'s face and how his eyes looked so peaceful — unlike before — Remo realized something.

\'Those guys… will surely take that peace away from him,\' he thought, picking up the spoon to eat. \'They\'ll kill me too. Hah… what a life.\'