The room was cold, musty, and lit by a single, dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. The peeling wallpaper clung to the walls in patches, the edges curling and yellowed with age. It wasn't a place meant for comfort—just an abandoned storeroom in the basement of a building on the edge of town. Dust swirled in the dim light as Leon paced the length of the room, his footsteps muffled by the grime-coated concrete floor.
Sarah lay in the corner, her body still and limp, her wrists bound with a length of rough rope that had dug into her skin. Her breathing was shallow but steady, her chest rising and falling with each labored breath. Leon had moved her here after realizing she was still alive, his mind racing with a thousand frantic thoughts. She couldn't wake up—not yet. He needed time to figure out what to do, how to handle the situation without everything collapsing around him.
The silence in the room was suffocating. The building itself was abandoned, long forgotten by the city, left to rot like so many other structures in this decaying part of town. It had been a stroke of luck that Leon had remembered it, an old warehouse he had passed by countless times without a second thought. No one came here anymore. No one would find them.
Leon's hands trembled as he stood over Sarah's unconscious form, his mind a swirling mix of anger and desperation. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. She had ruined everything, meddled in his relationship with Alina, and now here she was—alive, a threat to everything he was trying to protect.
His breath came in sharp, shallow bursts as he stared down at her. Sarah had always been the obstacle, the voice of reason in Alina's ear, convincing her that Leon wasn't worth saving. And now, seeing her like this—weak, vulnerable—it ignited something dark and vengeful inside him. He had been patient for too long. He had tried to fix things, tried to make Alina see that they were meant to be together, but Sarah had never stopped interfering.
And now, here she was, bound and powerless.
The air in the room felt heavy, the low hum of the old lightbulb buzzing above them the only sound. Leon wiped the sweat from his brow, his mind racing as he tried to think of his next move. Sarah would wake up soon, and when she did, there would be no more reasoning with her. She would try to fight him, try to scream, to tell the world what he had done.
His fingers twitched at his side, his anger simmering just below the surface. He needed to make sure she understood—understood the damage she had caused, understood that this was all her fault.
He crossed the room in quick strides, kneeling beside Sarah's limp form. His eyes darted over her bruised face, the small cuts from where she had hit the ground still fresh. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the anger building, rising like a wave that he could no longer control.
"Wake up," Leon muttered under his breath, his voice thick with frustration. He grabbed her shoulder, shaking her roughly. "Come on, wake up."
For a moment, Sarah didn't respond, her head lolling to the side, her body limp in his grip. But then, slowly, her eyes began to flutter open. A soft, pained groan escaped her lips as she blinked against the harsh light, her gaze unfocused and dazed.
Leon watched as the realization dawned on her, the confusion in her eyes shifting to fear as she took in her surroundings. She tried to move, but the ropes binding her wrists held her in place, the rough fibers digging into her skin.
"Leon..." Her voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper.
He stood up, taking a step back as he watched her struggle to sit up, her breathing ragged, panic starting to set in. Her eyes darted around the room, widening as she realized just how trapped she was.
"What... what is this?" Sarah croaked, her voice weak. "Where am I?"
Leon crossed his arms, his jaw clenched. "This is what happens when you can't keep your nose out of things that don't concern you," he said coldly. "You ruined everything, Sarah. You wouldn't leave us alone."
Sarah's face twisted in pain as she tried to shift, her wrists tugging against the ropes. "You don't have to do this, Leon," she gasped, her voice trembling. "Let me go. I won't say anything. Just let me go."
"Say anything?" Leon laughed bitterly, his voice thick with sarcasm. "You've already said too much. You've been filling Alina's head with lies for months, telling her to leave me. You couldn't just stay out of it, could you?"
"Because she needed to leave!" Sarah snapped, her voice gaining strength despite her obvious fear. "You're dangerous, Leon. You don't even see it."
Leon's fists clenched at his sides, his knuckles turning white. The anger surged up, boiling over in a way that he hadn't been able to control since the night he'd hit Alina. "I'm dangerous?" he snarled, stepping closer to her. "You're the one who pushed her away from me. You made her scared of me!"
"I didn't make her scared," Sarah shot back, her eyes flashing with defiance. "You did that all by yourself."
Leon's breath came faster, his chest heaving as the fury built inside him. His vision blurred with red, the anger too intense to ignore, too powerful to control. He couldn't stand it anymore—the way she looked at him, the way she always made him feel like a monster.
In one swift motion, he grabbed her by the hair, yanking her head back hard. Sarah gasped, her body jerking in pain as she struggled to free herself, but Leon's grip was too tight.
"You should have stayed out of it," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "You should have kept your mouth shut."
And then he hit her.
His fist connected with the side of her face, hard enough to send her head snapping to the side. Sarah cried out, her body recoiling from the blow, but Leon didn't stop. He hit her again, his rage taking over, each strike harder than the last.
"You think you know everything!" Leon shouted, his voice shaking with fury as his fist met her face again and again. "You think you know what's best for Alina? You don't know anything!"
Blood dripped from Sarah's mouth as she slumped to the side, barely conscious, her body too weak to fight back. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes unfocused as she struggled to stay awake. But Leon didn't care. He wanted her to feel the pain she had caused him, wanted her to understand what she had taken from him.
With one final blow, Sarah's body went limp, her head lolling to the side as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Leon stood there, breathing hard, his chest heaving as the rage slowly began to subside. His knuckles were bruised and bloodied, his hands trembling from the force of the blows. He stared down at Sarah's broken, motionless form, his mind reeling from what he had just done.
What the hell am I doing?
The question echoed in his mind, cutting through the haze of anger. He hadn't meant for this to happen. He hadn't meant for any of this to happen. But now, there was no turning back.
Sarah was unconscious again, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her body battered and broken. She looked so small, so fragile, lying there on the cold, dirty floor. For a moment, Leon felt a flicker of regret, a brief pang of guilt, but it was quickly drowned out by the urgency of the situation.
He couldn't let her wake up again. He couldn't risk her telling anyone what had happened.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, jolting him out of his thoughts. He pulled it out with shaking hands, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the name flashing on the screen.
Alina.
For a moment, Leon just stared at the screen, his mind racing. He couldn't answer—not now, not with Sarah lying unconscious at his feet. But he couldn't ignore it either. Alina would know something was wrong if he didn't respond.
With a deep breath, Leon unlocked the phone and quickly scrolled through Sarah's contacts. He found Alina's name and opened a new message.
"Hey, it's Sarah. I'm going to be out of town for a little while, got some things to take care of. Don't worry about me. I'll call you when I'm back. Take care."
He hesitated for a moment, his thumb hovering over the send button. This wasn't part of the plan. None of this was. But he had no choice now.
With a final glance at Sarah's still form, Leon pressed send.
The message disappeared from the screen, and Leon's heart pounded in his chest as he stared down at the phone. It was done. Alina wouldn't suspect anything—for now. But he couldn't keep this up forever.
He slid the phone back into his pocket and turned his attention back to Sarah. He had to figure out what to do next. He couldn't leave her here, but he couldn't take her anywhere either. If anyone saw them together, it would all be over.
Leon ran a hand through his hair, his mind spinning. He needed to buy himself some time—time to think, time to figure out what to do. He couldn't let this spiral out of control any more than it already had.
But as he stood there, staring down at Sarah's bloodied, unconscious body, a sinking feeling settled in his chest.
He was already too far gone.