Chapter 56: Friends Kiss Each Other, Right?

Wren’s fist connected with the guy’s face again.

CRACK!

Then again.

CRACK!

The guy’s head snapped back with each impact with more blood spraying from his already broken nose. His face was rapidly swelling, turning into a mess of purple bruises and split skin.

"Stop! Sir, please stop!" the guard outside the cell shouted with his voice rising with alarm but Wren wasn’t stopping. His hands shot out and grabbed the guy’s head with both hands, his fingers tangling in his hair then he drove his knee up.

CRUNCH!

The knee connected with the guy’s face dead center and the cartilage gave way once again as blood exploded outward.

’So what if he’s a VIP on this ship?’ Wren thought as rage continued burning through his veins. ’So what if his parents are some of the richest people in the world? Does that give him the right to try and murder me?’

His knee came up again.

CRUNCH!

More damage... More blood... and more pain for the man who’d pushed him off the ship.

’This guy literally tried to kill me because of—’ Wren’s knee landed again with another sickening crunch and the guy’s head snapped back violently from the impact. ’Of fucking WORDS! He tried to murder me over something his girlfriend SAID!’

So what if his girlfriend had said she wanted to break up with him and date Wren instead? Wren hadn’t even known the girl existed until minutes ago! He’d never met her, never talked to her, never even seen her face!

He lifted his foot and stomped down hard on the guy’s midsection with brutal force, making him cough out even more blood and curl into a tight fetal position, trying desperately to protect his vital organs.

Those were just words! Empty words from some random girl! Pushing someone off the top deck of a cruise ship into the ocean... that was a deliberate action! That was attempted murder!

The cell door burst open and the guard rushed in, moving fast.

"Sir, I need you to step back right now!"

The guard grabbed Wren from behind and shoved him hard against the wall. Wren’s face hit the cold metal surface with a dull thud that made his teeth rattle.

"Please calm down, sir, or I’ll be forced to use additional force on you and place you in restraints," the guard said firmly, his grip tight on Wren’s arms.

’Aren’t you already using force by slamming me against this wall?’ Wren thought with dark humor despite his rage.

The guy on the ground... the one who’d pushed him, whose face was now barely recognizable looked up through his swollen, bleeding eyes and managed to mouth a single word through his broken teeth.

"Sorry."

Wren gritted his teeth so hard he thought they might crack. His whole body was tense, coiled like a spring ready to explode again but he forced himself to stop resisting the guard’s hold, to let his muscles relax slightly even though everything in him wanted to keep beating this man until he couldn’t move.

The guard slowly, cautiously released his grip once he felt Wren stop fighting.

The female doctor who’d examined Wren earlier came rushing down the hallway and immediately knelt beside the injured man on the floor. She checked his vitals quickly with her expression growing more concerned by the second.

"He’s seriously injured," she announced grimly. "Multiple broken bones, possible internal bleeding. We need to get him to the Medical Bay immediately."

She looked up at Wren. "And you need to come as well... Those knuckles and knees need proper treatment."

The guard pulled out his walkie-talkie and spoke rapidly into it. "Security to detention area, we need additional personnel here immediately. We have an injured person requiring medical transport."

Within moments, several more crew members stormed into the detention area.

One of them surveyed the scene... the blood on the floor, the man curled up and groaning, Wren standing there with bloodied knuckles and asked. "What the hell happened here?"

"A fight," another crew member answered simply.

They immediately began coordinating the cleanup.

Some crew members carefully lifted the beaten man onto a stretcher, following the doctor as she led them toward the Medical Bay. Two other crew members positioned themselves on either side of Wren, gripping his arms firmly.

Even though Wren was perfectly capable of walking on his own without assistance, they clearly didn’t want to risk him having another violent outburst and attacking someone else.

Nobody could actually blame Wren for going ahead and attacking the other guy, even if it wasn’t strictly legal to assault someone like that.

Being pushed off the top deck for such an insane, petty reason was beyond crazy. The man had genuinely tried to kill him over jealous words.

As they escorted Wren past the now-open cell where the interrogation had been taking place, he glanced inside and saw Isabella standing there.

Her face was filled with worry, her eyes wide with concern as she looked at him and Leah stood beside her with a similar expression.

Wren managed to give them a small, reassuring smile despite everything, even as the crew members pulled him forward down the hallway toward the Medical Bay.

...

"Again..."

Wren muttered the word to himself as he sat on the edge of the medical bed in the small examination room.

He’d been allowed to leave this room less than an hour ago after his first drowning examination, and now here he was back again for a completely different reason.

The main doctors were currently dealing with that other guy in the emergency treatment area... the one whose face Wren had thoroughly destroyed.

Some nurse had already come by to check out Wren’s knuckles and knees, cleaning the blood and examining the damage, but she hadn’t bandaged anything yet before being called away to help with the more serious patient.

The door to his room opened and Isabella entered.

"Where’s Leah?" Wren asked immediately.

"She said she needed to go talk with her mother about something," Isabella answered, closing the door behind her.

Isabella still didn’t really know much about Leah’s background, but if her mother was influential enough to have significant say in matters on the Celestine, then she was probably a major shareholder or something similar. Money and power like that opened all kinds of doors.

Regardless of Leah’s mysterious connections, Isabella walked over and sat down on the bed beside Wren. She looked at him carefully, studying his face and body language.

"How do you feel?" she asked gently.

Wren sighed and leaned his head back against the wall behind the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Honestly? I feel pretty nice about myself right now."

Apparently beating someone until they couldn’t fight back... especially when they’d seriously wronged you came with a pretty satisfying feeling. Well, that was when you didn’t consider the potential legal consequences that might come afterward.

Isabella placed her fist lightly against his shoulder with a playful smile. "That beating you gave him was pretty impressive."

"You think so?" Wren responded with a slight laugh. "I haven’t actually fought anyone in my entire life before today. That was my first real fight."

He’d never been angry enough or put in a position where he’d seriously considered laying his hands on another person with violent intent.

This was a completely new experience for him, and the intensity of the emotions had been overwhelming.

"I could definitely tell you’ve never fought before," Isabella said with amusement in her voice. "Your technique was all over the place."

Wren rolled his eyes. "Don’t tell me you’re some sort of secret fighting expert too, on top of everything else."

"Fine, I won’t tell you then," Isabella said with a mysterious smile and they both laughed at that with the tension easing slightly between them.

Then Isabella’s eyes dropped to his hands and legs, noticing that the nurse still hadn’t finished treating him. His knuckles were cleaned but not wrapped, and his knees were the same.

"The nurses didn’t bandage you yet? Here, let me do it."

She stood up and walked over to where the medical supplies were stored, grabbing bandages and antiseptic then she knelt down on the floor in front of him, positioning herself between his legs.

"Don’t get the wrong idea about this position," she said with a slight blush. "Just give me your hands, Ren-Ren."

Wren extended his hands toward her, and she took his right hand gently, examining the damaged knuckles.

She applied some additional antiseptic to make sure they were properly cleaned, then began carefully wrapping the bandage around his knuckles precisely.

"Are we still going to go bowling like we planned?" Wren asked as she worked.

Isabella looked up at him and gave him a stern disbelieving look. "You’re still thinking about bowling in your current condition? After everything that just happened?"

But Wren was thinking about it because he was anxious... Extremely anxious...

He needed to sleep with Isabella before the twelve-day deadline expired. The System’s mission was clear and non-negotiable but what kind of person would actually spread their legs and have sex within just twelve days of getting to know someone?

Was he supposed to abandon Isabella as a target and find someone else? Maybe approach some popular adult actress or escort who’d be more willing? Someone for whom casual sex was more normal?

It was incredibly difficult to calm down and think straight when the mission was quite literally holding his upgraded features hostage. He needed to get richer...

He still had ten days left before the deadline, but that felt both like too much time and not nearly enough time simultaneously.

Isabella studied Wren’s face as she adjusted the bandage on his knuckles and began wrapping the second hand. His expression was troubled, worried about something beyond just the physical injuries.

Her lips thinned slightly as she worked then she spoke quietly.

"I was scared."

"Scared?" Wren repeated, confused. "Of what?"

"I was scared that you would die down there in the water..." Isabella said with her voice barely above a whisper. "That’s why I jumped in immediately without thinking. I couldn’t stand the thought of you drowning."

Perhaps it was because she genuinely considered Wren to be a very close friend despite the relatively short time they’d actually spent together. There was something special about him that drew her in.

He was amazing in ways Marcus would never be. Wren actually watched the movies she was interested in and didn’t complain about them being boring or stupid. He listened to Sable Lowe’s music and seemed to genuinely enjoy it. But beyond just sharing her interests, Wren was a genuinely kind person.

She’d been watching him yesterday during their hiking trip. Despite how uncomfortable and exhausting it must have been carrying all that camping equipment plus an entire injured human being down that tall hill, he’d done it without complaint and he’d made sure to carefully bandage up her ankle afterward, being so gentle and considerate.

That was truly amazing behavior... It showed real character...

Marcus would never do something like that, no matter how much she asked or how desperate the situation. His answer would always remain the same selfish refusal. She wouldn’t say she hated her current boyfriend... Marcus did have some good qualities mixed in with all his bad qualities but the differences between him and Wren were becoming painfully obvious.

"Thank you," Wren said sincerely, meeting her eyes. "I probably really would have died if you hadn’t jumped in to help me. I owe you my life."

Isabella gripped his hands tightly in hers with the bandaging forgotten for a moment. "I promise you... I’ll never put you in a dangerous situation like that again. I really just wanted to spend time with you, and that’s—"

"Isa."

Isabella looked up and found Wren smiling at her warmly. He used one hand to rub the back of his head in that shy way he did sometimes.

"I already told you, it’s not your fault at all what happened," he said firmly. "I’ve already beaten up the guy who actually did it, so you don’t need to worry or feel guilty anymore."

He glanced down at his freshly bandaged knuckles with a slight smirk.

"Though you do need to teach me how to properly fight at some point so I can beat up more people who seriously piss me off. Clearly my technique needs work."

But Isabella wasn’t really listening to most of what Wren was saying in that moment. She was just watching how his lips moved as he talked, focusing on the shape and motion of them and a thought crossed her mind.

’Is this what Marcus means when he says my lips look so kissable?’

Looking at Wren’s lips as he continued talking made her own lips twitch with desire. She really, really wanted to kiss him right now. The urge was overwhelming but she had a boyfriend. She was in a committed relationship and kissing another man would be cheating.

’B-but... friends can give each other kisses sometimes, right?’ Isabella thought, trying to justify what she wanted to do. ’It doesn’t have to mean anything romantic and Wren clearly needs comfort and affection right now after his near-death experience. Kisses would help calm the tension in his heart. Yes, that’s it. He needs this.’

"Wren," Isabella interrupted whatever he’d been saying.

She suddenly stood up from her kneeling position and pushed herself against him on the medical bed, her body pressing against his as she leaned in close. Her face was inches from his with her breath warm on his skin.

"I’ll make you feel better, Ren-Ren," she whispered, her voice taking on a breathy quality. "Please let me."

Then she closed the final distance and kissed him.

Her lips pressed against his firmly but gently, soft and warm. Wren’s eyes widened in complete shock with his body going rigid with surprise. This was the last thing he’d expected to happen.

Isabella pulled back slightly after that first kiss, just an inch or two with her eyes half-lidded as she looked at him then she leaned in again, this time parting her lips and deepening the kiss. Her tongue slipped into his mouth to explore him.

Wren finally recovered from his initial shock and began responding enthusiastically, kissing her back with growing intensity and passion.

His hands moved to her waist automatically, pulling her closer against him.

They separated again briefly with the both of them breathing harder now as Isabella’s face was flushed pink.

"You’re so cute, Ren-Ren," she murmured against his lips.

Then they were kissing again, more passionately this time with tongues intertwining, hands gripping tighter, and the medical bed creaking slightly under their combined weight as Isabella practically climbed onto his lap.

The kiss went on and on as both of them losing track of time completely.

Neither of them heard the door open.

Leah stepped into the medical room, returning from her conversation with her mother about the incident.

She’d been planning to check on Wren and make sure he was okay after that violent outburst in the detention cell.

Her mother had been concerned about him potentially facing charges for assault, but Leah had managed to assure her that the circumstances were clearly self-defense given what had happened but she froze immediately when she saw what was happening on the medical bed.

Isabella was practically in his lap, kissing him passionately. Their hands were all over each other and completely lost in the moment.

Her mind went blank for several long seconds as she tried to process the scene before her. This couldn’t be real... She had to be seeing things.

’H-huh...?’ Leah thought in complete confusion and shock, blinking several times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating or misunderstanding what she was seeing. ’Why is Wren... kissing another woman?’