I quickly recoiled to experiencing a sudden bite on my wound that I propped against the wall before sliding myself onto the floor and flopped. I loosen my towel that was around my body and clasped it against the scar on my stomach to stop the pain from pulsating.

"Be careful," Nick's eyes followed my movement but contained himself from drawing near. He shuffled towards my bed and sat on the uncovered mattress, studying me closer. "Can I see it?"

"What's in it for you?" I asked.

"Is it mine or is it Abs?" he asked back.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I swung my right leg, aiming for his chest but failed as my foot was a few feet away from him. Then I withdrew my leg and targeted his shin. "If you're here to insult me, then you better be fuckin' leave. I rather die getting killed than being around with heartless dickheads like you."

He opened his mouth to respond but closed immediately and reassessed his thoughts. "Did they cut you deep?" he queried curiously.

"If I show it to you, will you promise to leave me alone?"

"I can't guarantee that," he responded frankly. "But I'll swear to you that I won't say anything hurtful."

It was a fair deal that I willingly accepted. I slowly got up and dropped the towel to the floor, revealing the fresh scar under my belly button before his eyes. "You can only see but you can't touch."

He studied my scar for a couple minutes in agony. There was a mix of gloominess expressed in his face, making him feeling anguish, resentful, sorrow and appalled by the sight of it. He held his tears from rolling, taking a few deep breaths before he braved for another question, "So it's true that he didn't survive?"

I sighed at his question, wasn't sure the best answer to give him without having him to flip. I wouldn't want to let out the details about my painful decision to have D&C as per doctor's advice. "He couldn't make it, though. The paramedics said he wasn't strong enough to even survive the first trimester," I finally said.

Nick swallowed hard and wasn't unable to accept the news. He buried his face in his hands and cried quietly. I stood still watching him sobbing in remorse. "I shouldn't have left you," he murmured.

"You shouldn't have run away from your dad either," I replied.

"God damn it!" he got up, kicking the bed behind him that it swerved diagonally away from him. He turned towards the bed and flipped it around, causing me to startle. I watched him a few feet away, hurling his wrath around the empty room for a couple of minutes before slowing down to calm himself. He wiped the wetness of his face and took another deep breath before exhaling, rubbing his palm against his nape, "I shouldn't have exposed you. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let them come to you."

"But sooner or later they will find out" I opined.

"Not if I'm being careful," he mouthed. "I'm sorry, we end up like this."

"I'm glad that's how you feel," was all I could utter. "But it's okay, I'm leaving you anyway. So I'll be the least of your problem."

"I guess you're right somehow," Nick shook himself off from his daze and knelt down in seiza sitting posture in front of my luggage before extracting anything that he could possibly define as essential.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" I pulled himself away from my luggage but failed. Despite him having an emotional attack, he was still strong to combat my grip. "I just had those packed."

"You're not taking all of them," he said while dislodging my toiletries bag and a couple of my shirts and trousers from the luggage and on to the floor. "You're going to travel light for easy mobility. I'll have the guys take the rest and ship them to your KL house."

"No!" I protested and slid the luggage away from him. "You're supposed to go and confront your dad while I pass through the boarding gate unharmed."

"You're so stup–" Nick held his tongue, remembering the promise he made. "You're still in denial, aren't you?"

"I am not," I resisted. "I just don't want to get involved in your daddy issues. You should have settled your problems with Hussaini rather than coming here and trying to save me."

"And you thought that'd sort everything out? How can you be so senseless?" Nick shook his head bitterly. "They are not leaving you alive regardless. I've put you in this mess, I am taking you out."

"Why? It wasn't me who they wanted? It's you?" I retorted. "Why do they have to drag me along?"

"Things aren't that simple, sister," Nick answered. Addressing me as 'sister' seemed to be more appropriable to him moving forward. "They still wanted us both dead either way."

"Then elaborate," I demanded, soliciting his every reply rather than having him willingly impart the information.

"Look, the more we talk about this, the more time we stall," he grunted irritably. He tried to stuff my discarded items into my Osprey hiking backpack but I tugged it away from him and did the packing myself.

"How can I trust you?" I casted a doubtful look at him. He pursed his lips for a few seconds before taking out his favourite .44 Magnum that was secured in a holster under his YSL teddy jacket and placed them in front of me. "Oh no, hell no!" I edged away from the gun.

"This is for your safety when things get awry," he said. "Protect yourself from anyone, even from me."

"How do I know it's loaded?" I said suspiciously.

"Go ahead and check it out," Nick gestured at the gun. "But we need to move fast before they find out and track us."

"Well, can you at least allow me to get dressed?" I creased my eyebrows at him. "I don't feel comfortable having you eyeing on my bra and panties without thinking that you still want me."

"Yes, sorry. Go ahead," Nick looked away and scrambled to the common room before shutting the door behind.