Swallowed by a vicious, vengeful sea
Darker days are raining over me
In the deepest depths I lost myself
— Black Water, Of Monsters and Men
➵
Ari watched in shock as Castor got in two punches, three. Finn's head whipped to the side as Castor's balled fist collided with his cheekbone, hard. A cut split his lip, and his nose was bleeding. She didn't move, expecting Finn to fight back, to defend himself. But as Castor struck him with blow after blow, he laid on the ground like a rag doll and took each hit. Realizing that he would make no move to protect himself, Ari came to her senses and ran up to them, pulling Castor off.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked Castor furiously. She turned to Finn, knelt down to examine his bloody face. He gazed back at her in shock, a rapidly purpling bruise above his left eye. His chest rose and sank, breathing unsteady. "Are you alright?" Ari asked Finn. "Why did you just let him hit you?"
Finn shook his head. "I—"
"Because he's guilty," Castor cut in, eyes still trained on Finn. He was breathing hard. "And he knows it."
Finn swallowed. Ari looked between the two of them. "What are you talking about?"
Finn got up suddenly, stumbling, clutching his bloody nose. "Collins," he said.
Castor's hands were fisted at his sides. "Don't get any closer. I won't be able to stop myself from knocking you out."
Finn stopped where he was. "Listen to me. It wasn't my fault—"
"You were supposed to protect her. You promised!" Castor surged forward, and Ari stepped in between them immediately. She had no clue what they were fighting about, but she had a feeling that she needed to control the situation before it could get any worse.
Castor got in two punches, three, before Ari came to her senses. With a jolt, she ran up to them, pulling Castor off.
"Castor," she said furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
She turned to Finn, knelt down to examine his bloody face as he looked at her in shock, then anger as his eyes flashed to Castor. He struggled to get up, but Ari held him back. She looked up at Castor.
"Why are you with him?" he asked, breathing hard, his eyes still trained on Finn.
Confused, Ari looked between the two of them. "What are you talking about?" she asked, bewildered. Finn pushed away her arms suddenly, clutching his bloody nose, and got up, stumbling. He headed towards Castor, raising his own fist.
"I'm going to kill you," he said, anger twisting his features.
"Finn," Ari said, getting in between in them quickly, placing a hand on his chest. "Don't."
He glared at her. "Move aside, Ari."
"No." She pulled him back. "Just calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down?" He looked at her as if she'd slapped him. "Who the hell is he? What's he doing here?"
Ari shook her head, trying to explain. "He's an old friend, he helped me earlier, but—"
"Oh, an old friend," Finn started, voice dripping with sarcasm. "How sweet. That makes me feel so much better—"
"Just shut up for a second," she started, pinching the bridge of her nose. Too much was happening at once, and she was struggling to take control of the situation. She took a breath and turned to Castor. "Why the hell did you punch him?"
