The Bouquet

Chapter 3

Namjoon was a charmer, sending your mother into fits of giggles and your father into boisterous rounds of laughter. It was times like this that made you question yourself. Had you made it all up? The blood, the gang, and the peril? Was it all some dream that had convinced you it was reality? One look at your brother's bruised and scabbed knuckles was enough to remind you that no, it wasn't a dream.

You jumped when his fingers brushed against your own on top of the table. What would have looked like an accident to others was purposeful in reality. You pulled your hand away and tucked it into your lap, continuing to eat as you felt his gaze burn into the side of your head. A large part of you hoped that if you continued to ignore him he would lose interest in you, that he would move on and forget you even existed. Another part of you whispered that it was unlikely. He was Kim Namjoon, ambitious, manipulative, and dangerous.

How could someone so young scare you so much?

You shoved your chair back and rose, grabbing your plate and excusing yourself from the table. Your father glanced at you worriedly, his eyes lingering on your nearly full plate as you began to make your way into the kitchen. He was scared for you, that much was evident. He heard your night terrors from down the hall, he sensed your paranoia, and he was watching you waste away before his very own eyes. He wasn't stupid, he was kind and he worried for his children. His son was finally home again, but his daughter was distant and seemed as if she were just out of his reach. He felt like he was losing his children, and he was at a loss of what to do.

Your time alone was short as Namjoon followed behind, pretending that he was the concerned friend of your brother come to check up on you. He knew you didn't like him, and he was so blatantly ignoring that. You scraped the food into the trash and set to work cleaning the dishes. He approached you from behind, quietly coming next to you. You could feel that dark gaze fixing to you once again. A chill ran down your spine involuntarily as the silence stretched between you.

"Are you okay?" He asked, forearms resting against the counter beside the sink. Your only response was the rapid scrubbing of the sponge against the plate. It probably looked like you were ready to rub a hole through the ceramic.

He cleared his throat in apparent discomfort before he tried again. "I wanted to thank you, for saving my life. But, it seems like I can never get you alone."

Your face remained cold, seeming like you hadn't heard a word he said. Your mind was racing behind that farce, you knew his intentions were meant to be pure but you couldn't help but think that his last sentence bordered on creepy. You never wanted to be alone with him, and now here you were.

He repeated your name before you finally responded, your voice distant and cold. "I don't like you." You bit out.

Your fourteen-year-old self internally flinched at your harsh words, but it was the truth. You despised him. There was no reason for him to becoming over anymore, he never had before his injury so why was he now? You didn't want to see him anymore, you were sure his presence was what triggered your night terrors and your paranoia. He had changed your brother and altered your family dynamic beyond recognition. Why should you care if he wanted to thank you for inadvertently causing your family more pain and more grief?

"I know," He whispered, you could hear the hurt in his voice. "But you saved my life. I need to repay you, that's how we work."

We, he meant his low-level gang. You wanted no part of that, you didn't want to be trapped in a never-ending cycle of owing one another. You were young, two years his junior, but you weren't stupid. You refused to be indebted to him for the rest of your life like your brother was. Your brother. What if you could help him? Get him off the streets and back home where he was safe? Would being indebted to Namjoon be that bad if you could protect him? Would you be willing to trap yourself like that, to save his life?