[Thalia's POV]
Kei and I arrived super early at the building where boxing matches were being held. Her boyfriend, Jake, was waiting for us there. I stayed at Kei's house right up until we were ready to leave, and she lent me one of her cute outfits again.
When Kei and I got there, the first match was underway. Kei paid the entrance fee for both of us again since I didn't have any money. My family was already struggling, with my mom having to pick up extra shifts at the hospital just to keep us fed.
The crowd was as wild as ever. I kept my head down to avoid looking at the men beating each other bloody. Kei held my hand, seeing how scared I was. She tried to play it off as a joke by smiling, but I knew it was her way of protecting me.
Jake was standing by ringside with his usual group of friends. Kei tried to greet him, but he quickly brushed her off and focused on his friends. At that moment, I wanted to hit him over the head for how much of an idiot he was being, but I restrained myself. I didn't want to make the night any worse for Kei.
It was quite obvious that Jake and his friends were betting on the match. They were being rough about it too, with a fight almost breaking out among them. I hated boys like them—boys who only tried to resolve problems with their fists.
Kei and I stood side by side until Jake was done. He had a satisfied smile on his face by the time he finished. Something told me he had made a lot of money. His friends seemed pretty dissatisfied with how it ended though. They stormed off angrily and I heard one of them mumbled how he was going to get him back whatever that meant.
"Did everything go okay babe?" Kei asked, noticing his excited face.
"Yeah, I won us a bunch of money," he chuckled. "Wanna get out of here?"
Kei nodded, and we all left. We headed to the joint. I felt a little worried about going there since that pink-haired girl was always around. She was so scary that even Jake seemed afraid of her. Luckily, she didn't harass us this time, so we went inside without any trouble. She was too busy horsing around with those rough looking men to pay us any mind.
Inside, the layout was more like a bar, but they operated like a restaurant. Kei and I weren't sure about the meals they had, so we only ordered juice. After that, we played some games on the gaming machine they had until we decided to leave.
Jake was having the time of his life seeing that he had made a lot of money. Kei seemed to be enjoying himself since Jake wasn't a total asshole when he was in a good mood.
Just as we were about to exit, the pink-haired girl stopped us in our tracks.
"You seem to have made a lot of money tonight, Jake," she said inquisitively.
"Not really," Jake shrugged. "Just as much as everyone, I guess."
The girl smiled, sat back down on the sofa, and crossed her legs.
"Need I remind you that all bets must go through us? We oversee all bets to ensure fairness, so if you or anyone is betting without our involvement, there will be a price to pay."
Jake staggered back slightly..
"Look Yuki, I don't know what you're getting at. I know the rules, ok?"
"Do you?"
"Yes, I do. Every bet I've made tonight was legit." Jake stared at her unwaveringly, as if offended by the mere suggestion that he might have cheated but I got a gut feeling he was lying. From what I saw tonight, it looked like he was running bets of his own.
The pink-haired girl sighed heavily.
"Fine, it was just a warning. You can go."
We quickly exited the building, leaving her behind. Jake sighed in relief, putting his hand on his chest.
"Is everything alright, babe?" Kei asked, looking a little worried.
"Everything is fine," Jake said, brushing her off with a wave of his hand. "Let's get out of this place."
Jake walked through the streets at a brisk pace, and we followed after him hastily. There were still people walking on the streets at this hour. Shops were still opened and accepting customers. It didn't matter what hour it was; Firefly District was always alive.
Jake continued to walk hastily, muttering under his breath as Kei tried to calm him. Suddenly, a group of men emerged from the shadows and pulled us into an alleyway. It all happened so fast. One minute we were walking on the streets, and the next, we were being held from behind, our mouths covered with rough hands as we fought and struggled to get free.
Jake was on the ground, being kicked and beaten while Kei screamed with a muffled voice for them to leave him alone. My heart was caught in my throat. I couldn't believe what was happening.
There were three of them in total. Two of them restrained me and Kei while the other kicked and punched Jake as he coughed up blood. The one kicking Jake was big; he looked like a bodybuilder with a long, matted brown beard.
"We warned you, Jake," he said bitterly, then spat on him. "Stealing from us wasn't a good idea."
"Ugh… I didn't steal… cough… anything from you," Jake protested through ragged breaths. He was so weak that he couldn't push himself up. The ground below him was covered in his own blood.
The man shook his head and spat in Jake's face again.
"You have the nerve to lie to us. Let's see how much you'll lie when we start hurting your friends."
"Do whatever you want with them, but let me go, man," Jake begged, his voice cracked from desperation. "I don't want to die in an alleyway!"
The man turned to us and smiled.
"You hear that, ladies? This is the kind of lowlife you're hanging around with. The type of trash that can't even protect the women he gets involved with."
I glanced over at Kei, and tears were running down her face, but she was still fighting even now. She kicked and thrashed with all her strength. Just so she could save that piece of shit she called a boyfriend.
Suddenly, a look of determination cross her face, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. I wanted to scream at her, to tell her not to do anything foolish, but my mouth was covered so tightly that I could barely breathe.
Kei bit down on the man's hand, forcing him to remove his hand from her face. When he did, she screamed on the top of her lungs
"Let them go, please! Thalia, this is all my fault—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the man lifted her off her feet and slammed her to the ground with a sickening thud.
"Little bitch," he snickered.
Kei clutched her side and let out a blood-curdling scream. A scream I never wanted to hear coming from her. Her agonizing scream twisted something inside of me.
The man turned to her and pulled out a knife as she wailed on the ground. Seeing someone pull out a weapon to harm my best friend, I couldn't take it.
I kicked and thrashed, trying to help her, but the man holding me was too big. Too strong. There was nothing I could do. There she was in harm's way, and all I could offer her was useless tears. Kei looked at me with calm eyes, as if saying that everything would be okay.
I hated it. Why did she always have to be so strong? Just once, I wanted her to have shoulders to cry on. I wanted to be that for her. She was my best friend but I couldn't. My own weakness wouldn't allow me to.
A silent wish crossed my heart. I begged for someone, anyone, to save us. Even though I knew no one would come, still, I wished it, with all my heart. I begged for it but still, Kei and I were all alone, all we had were each other. No one would come.
"Let them go."