Our Demise 🌈

12 - Frank Conversations

The pain was horrible. Not a single position offered relief. The red doctor had roughly rubbed ointment on his wounds before bandaging them, and there had been a sadistic grin that felt misplaced on his usually merry face. All those new guys, Markus hated them. All of them. If he ever found out with what they were poisoned, he wouldn't hesitate to use it again. Everything had been a hundred times better before they'd set foot aboard.

Footsteps descended the stairs, the pace telling him it was Rogier. Sullen, he turned his face away. He felt betrayed. Rogier had let the little brat whip him without any proof for such a heavy punishment. Imagining what that little devil must have done to play Rogier like this, made him feel sick.

Rogier refused to look at his back and walked around the hammock. There, he leaned against a wooden pole. The look in his eyes was cold. That his best friend was bleeding in a hammock, didn't seem to bother him. He had crossed his arms in front of his chest, his skin still dark with blood. "You got anything to say?"

Markus clenched his jaw. Yeah, he had a lot of things to say. "You humiliated me. By letting me get whipped by a child."

"You were the one who wanted a child to take your place."

Markus breathed heavily. "I can't believe you value his words more than those of your best friend. He will say anything to save his ass."

"And you won't?" Rogier mocked.

"I'm loyal! I have always been loyal to you! But I guess it was always on one side."

Rogier stepped closer, his blue eyes drilling into his. "You lied right into my face, Markus. You made up orders, pretending they were mine. You knew I couldn't leave it unpunished. These are no signs of loyalty, and it's neither something a friend would do. I don't care why you hold a grudge toward Rory, I want you to let it go. I like the kid. Deal with it. Next time you pull a trick like this, I will have you passed under the keel."

Markus' jaw tensed even more. Even though he had just been tortured, he still had a hard time believing Rogier was shoving him to the side like he meant nothing to him. "I don't understand why you can't believe that he was hiding in the hold. He has a big mouth, that's all."

"He fought more battles than you."

"Like he would claim the opposite," Markus huffed.

"His captain told me. Why would he lie about it?"

"Maybe he thinks he's a good fuck too."

Rogier stepped forward and grabbed his throat. With a jolt, he lifted him so his upper body lost contact with the hammock. At first, Markus was too shocked to respond, but then, he started to jerk at the hand squeezing his windpipe.

"Don't talk about him like he's a whore. He's more respectful than you; he has more self-respect and more respect for others. Your jealousy makes me sick, Markus. If you want to prove that you can do more than lean on my shoulder, you have to show it and not by pulling someone else down. Remember that." He pushed Markus back into his hammock. Pain flamed along his spine. "From now on, Rory is trained as a steersman. If I hear one more complaint from you, you'll be the one washing our clothes. You got that?"

The cold look in Rogier's eyes made his insides freeze. It hurt — and at the same time it called up a wild hatred. He wasn't going to step back. It felt like that kid had taken everything from him and he would make him pay. But not in such an obvious way as he had done today. He learned his lesson. He would wait patiently for the right moment and then, he would get rid of the stupid boy.

"Yeah," he grunted.

"Yeah?"

Markus took a deep breath while glancing into his icy eyes. "Yes, captain."