Alejandro’s mind slowly drifted into consciousness as pain radiated from all parts of his being. He slowly lifted his heavy eyelids before jolting, trying to move. However, he was stuck, tied down to the chair he was sitting in. He looked around to see himself in his dining room, never having left his apartment. Looking forward, he saw Aurora eating fast food. In her left hand, she held multiple fries, while in her left hand, a double-stacked hamburger with multiple chunks taken out of it fit comfortably in her hand.

She was so immersed in eating that she did not notice that Alejandro had awoken until he said something.

“Who the hell are you?”

Aurora looked up and noticed he was awake. She quickly swallowed the food she had in her mouth before speaking.

“Vicente sent me.”

“!”

Alejandro’s eyes widened slightly before he grew suspicious.

“Why would you knock me out if he sent you? Actually, why in the hell would you break in?”

Aurora and Alejandro both looked back towards the shot door, with the doorknob on the ground and the door open.

“You weren’t answering. I thought someone else had gotten to you first.”

Alejandro squinted as he remained vigilant.

“See, that’s why I knocked you out. You would have shot me if I hadn’t.”

“…Prove it to me.”

Aurora bit a piece of her burger off and shoved fries into her mouth before responding.

“I can tell you the reason he sent me if you want to know.”

“…”

Aurora took his silence as a yes and continued.

“He sent me because you pussied out.”

“…”

Aurora smiled before placing her burger down.

“Javier had told him that after a little boy was killed, you left.”

“…”

“And I can see that has been affecting you. You’ve been drinking to relieve the stress. I saw plenty of empty beer bottles in your room.”

Aurora stared at him as he refused to respond.

For minutes, they sat in silence while Aurora continued to eat before she added a comment.

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“The guilt has been eating away at you, hasn’t it?”

Alejandro looked down before attempting to escape again. Aurora pulled out her firearm in response and placed it on the table.

“I know I’m not supposed to kill you, but don’t tempt me.”

Alejandro stared at the gun before settling down.

Aurora finished her meal and cleaned up after herself.

“Go and speak to him tomorrow; he wants to see you.”

Alejandro debated for a moment in his head before speaking to Aurora.

“I just don’t know why he had to kill the kid. He was only a little boy, no older than ten…”

Aurora threw her trash into a bin before speaking to him.

“What do you mean, why? He had to kill him.”

Alejandro’s face tensed as anger formed in his body.

“No, he didn’t! He could have let the little boy go!”

Aurora walked back towards him before sitting down once again.

“That boy would have shot you, no doubt.”

Alejandro was shocked as he questioned.

“What? What are you-”

“That rage and anguish doesn’t leave.”

“…”

Alejandro stood silent and listened while she continued.

“Whether five years or maybe ten years later, he would have found you and put a bullet into your head.”

“…”

“He watched his father get killed mercilessly. Over time, that trauma would eat away at the boy. In the end, all he would think of was revenge. Every waking moment of his day, your death and everyone else’s would be the only thing keeping him going.”

“But…”

Aurora smiled with a deathly stare as she continued.

“I think Javier is scum, but he was in the right.”

Alejandro heard this and nearly snapped.

“There is no right! In what world is killing him, right!?”

“Alejandro, you walked into this world head first. You should know nothing is wrong in this world.”

“You weren’t there! He played with the boy as though he was a toy! Something he could throw away after he was satisfied!”

Aurora stood up and prepared to leave while listening to Alejandro.

“And so what?”

“!!”

She placed her gun in her pocket before walking over to Alejandro.

“He did what he wanted and what he needed to. He killed two birds with one stone.”

At Alejandro, she pulled out a pocket knife before cutting the rope that was stuck, binding him.

“You’re justifying it?”

The rope fell as Alejandro found himself free. Aurora walked away towards the door.

“I just don’t care.”

Alejandro clenched his fists but stopped himself from doing anything.

“If you really have a problem with it, do something about it.”

“!!”

Alejandro’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at Aurora.

“Instead of drinking your sorrows away, stand and act like a man.”

Aurora walked to the broken door before pushing it open. She looked back at Alejandro one last time before he spoke.

“Change it…?”

Aurora smiled and responded.

“Let’s see if you can do anything about Javier.”

Alejandro sat in his chair as she left. Minutes later, he stood up and walked to the fridge before opening it. Inside, he grabbed an ice-cold beer, popping the top off and bringing it to his mouth before stopping. He thought hard about what Aurora said before pulling the drink down and throwing it onto the ground. Then, with a bag, he grabbed all of the beers he had before throwing them out of his house.

He went into his room with another bag and cleaned it all up as well before throwing it out of his house. Moments later, someone else walked inside. Alejandro looked and saw who it was. It was Aurora again.

“I forgot to give you your gun back.”

After saying that, she pulled a handgun out before tossing it to Alejandro and leaving once again.

However, before she could, Alejandro spoke to her.

“Hey!”

Aurora looked back and saw a determined glint in his eyes, surprising her slightly.

“Earlier, you spoke about the rage of having your loved one killed.”

“…”

“Did something like that happen to you too?”

Aurora stared at him before leaving without responding.

Alejandro jumped up, realizing he had probably said something wrong.

'Did I say something wrong??'

Then he sighed lightly before continuing to clean his dirty house, as though he were cleaning his head.