MADELYN was gasping for breath, clutching her chest as her heart pounded hard. She turned on the bedside lamp before wiping the sweat from her forehead. She glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table—it was almost midnight. It made her not want to go back to sleep after that nightmare. It had been a terrible dream, and it was about Noah.
Speaking of Noah, she wondered if he had already gotten home.
She got out of bed and stepped out of her room. She heard a rustling sound coming from his room, so she headed straight there after turning on the lights. She didn’t know why, but her heart started pounding wildly again. A sudden, unexplainable fear crept over her. And the moment she opened Noah’s bedroom door, she realized why.
Even though her vision wasn’t perfect, she knew the person inside wasn’t Noah. Especially since she could see two men, and their faces were covered.
“Who are you? What are you doing—” She wasn’t able to finish as one of the men suddenly moved, grabbed her arm, and threw her onto the bed. Her face was forced down into the mattress as the man shoved her head, making it hard for her to breathe.
“Shit! The girl woke up. Hurry up!” said the man holding her down.
“Just stab the girl. It’ll be easier,” the other man said, and she was instantly consumed by fear.
“Just hurry up so we can get out of here!” He roughly yanked her head up, and because of how painfully he gripped her hair, she couldn’t even scream. She was struggling to breathe.
“She might scream, idiot!”
The man didn’t reply. Instead, he started choking her. She gasped, but it didn’t help—he only tightened his grip around her neck. From the corner of her eye, she spotted the lamp on the side table. Without a word, she grabbed it and smashed it against him. He let go, and she took the chance to run. But he caught up to her before she could reach the door.
He grabbed her hair again and slammed her head against the wall. Her vision went dark for a moment, and she felt something trickling down from the side of her forehead. She touched it—she wasn’t wrong. She had a wound, and it was bleeding. But the man still wasn’t satisfied. He kicked her, sending her flying. She crashed into the TV stand, knocking it over. The TV fell, along with the pictures of her parents and their family photo.
“Let’s go!” the other man said as he came out of Noah’s room. He was carrying a black bag, and she forced herself to stand despite collapsing on the floor just to reach for it. She recognized that bag—it belonged to Noah. That was where he kept half of the money he had withdrawn from the bank for her eye treatment.
“W-wait…just a moment…” she said, her voice tight with suppressed sobs. But it seemed the two men didn’t hear her as they ran off with the money. She could do nothing but cry. Even though her body ached, she forced herself to stand. She headed for the open door, intending to find someone who could help.
She was just about to step outside when Keith’s car arrived. He must have seen her because he immediately braked and ran toward her.
“Maddie, what happened?” he asked, concern etched in his voice. Instead of answering, she collapsed. He caught her instantly, holding her in his arms as she quietly cried. He carried her back into the house. He froze for a moment as he saw the chaotic state of the room. She felt his tension as he held her.
“Who did this, Maddie?”
“I-I don’t know. T-their faces were covered.”
He entered fully, his expression dark. Carefully, he set her down on the couch and examined the wound on her forehead. She saw the worry in his eyes, quickly turning into seething anger—as if he wanted to kill someone.
“Those guys better not make the mistake of coming back, because I won’t hesitate to kill them,” he said, his voice making her hairs stand on end. It was then she noticed the bruises on his face. His left cheekbone was swollen, as if someone had punched him.
“I’m calling the police,” he added before she could ask about the state of his face. He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water for her. She noticed him walking stiffly, and though she wondered why, she didn’t ask. While waiting for the police, he gently wiped the dried blood from her face and cleaned the wound on her forehead.
She let out a long sigh as he tended to her, and Keith met her gaze. Slowly, she straightened herself on the seat but grimaced at the pain radiating through her body. Keith didn’t miss her reaction.
“What else did they do to you, Maddie? Did they…rape you?”
She shook her head. “N-no.”
“Please tell me.”
Her eyes grew hot as she recounted to him what the men had done. He bowed his head and locked his hands around hers, holding her tightly in his arms. At that moment, the police and an ambulance arrived. Keith stayed right by her side as she gave her statement to the officers, and especially while the paramedics examined her. It was then that Keith saw the large bruises on her back, caused when she had been thrown against the display cabinet holding the TV and picture frames. She was taken to the hospital, and she didn’t resist—it was what Keith wanted. Meanwhile, the police continued gathering evidence that could help identify the suspects.
She underwent a CT scan, and thankfully there were no serious head injuries apart from the cut on her forehead. The bruises on her back weren’t severe either and would heal within a few days.
“What about you? Aren’t you going to get checked? You have bruises on your face too,” she said as they walked down the hospital hallway, heading home.
He paused for a moment. “It’s nothing,” he replied tersely.
“Did you have a fight earlier too?” She lowered her head and avoided looking at him. For some reason, she felt like he was hiding something from her. “By the way, how did Noah’s fight go? Why didn’t he come home right away?”
“Maddie,” he stopped walking, and so did she. “I need to tell you something.”
“About what?” Her heart raced at the serious look on his face. “D-did something bad happen to Noah? Do you know where he is?”
He didn’t answer for a few seconds. She also noticed the faint beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “He’s at the hospital,” he said casually.
Madelyn exhaled sharply at his words. “W-what? Where—”
He suddenly took her hand. “Maddie, listen to me first.” She heard his voice even as panic started to rise within her. “Noah is at the hospital… because of me.” Her jaw dropped, and immediately she saw the worry in his eyes. He squeezed her hand as if he didn’t want to let go. “I’m Noah’s opponent, and just like I told you before, I forced him to lose so his life wouldn’t be in danger. Maddie, I’m so sorry, but I did what I had to do.”
She stayed silent for several seconds. She withdrew her hand and lowered her gaze. “Where is he? I want to see him,” she said in a quiet voice, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
“Maddie…”
“I want to see my brother.”
After telling her the floor and room number where Noah was, she quickly turned and hurried down the hallway. From behind, she felt Keith following her. At that moment, Noah was her only priority. There was nothing else she wanted to do except see her brother.
When she reached Noah’s room, a nurse was there monitoring his vital signs. She introduced herself as the patient’s sister. Soon after, the nurse left to call Noah’s doctor. She noticed Keith standing just at the door, watching her. Tears filled her eyes as she focused on Noah, still lying in bed. She couldn’t hold back her crying. Her brother’s condition was worse than the last time he fought Keith. His head and left arm were bandaged. Looking closely at the corner of his mouth, she could see it was split. She could barely recognize Noah with the bruises covering his face.
“Maddie…” she heard Keith say from beside her. She hadn’t realized he had come up to her. He reached for her arm, but she roughly brushed his hand away.
“Go away, Keith. Please, I don’t want to see you right now,” she said, her hands covering her face.
“Maddie—”
“I said get out!” she shouted, unable to hold herself back any longer. She pushed him away. She saw him wince, clearly hurt by what she did. Seeing him wince like that somehow brought her a little satisfaction.
“M-Maddie, please listen to me—”
“I don’t care what you have to say,” she cut him off, tears falling freely from her eyes. “He didn’t even win against you, but it’s like you killed my brother. Look at him, Keith. I can barely recognize him. You’re no different from the people who beat your opponents when they lose. You’re just like them! So get out! I don’t want to see you again!”
At that moment, the door opened and the doctor entered. Madelyn quickly wiped away her tears and turned her back to Keith. She felt him step back, and as he slowly closed the door behind him, her tears fell again. In that instant, something inside her shattered, breaking into a thousand jagged pieces. And Madelyn knew—it was her heart.