Ambivalence

                                    

                                          
There was a reason why Felix had never bothered to watch any of Changbin's torture sessions. It was difficult to watch anyone struggle like this after everything that had happened with his parents. He dug his fingernails into his knees as he watched Kiera's face turn tomato red for the fourth time. 
She had still refused to talk and every time she did, Changbin made her hang without oxygen for longer. It killed him to see her being treated like this. Sure her dad was an asshole, but she wasn't her father. 
"Is she going to die?" The words came out of his mouth in a hushed whisper. It broke the spell of silence that had fallen over the viewing room. 
"Not yet, Pup," Chan responded. He had been watching the whole thing emotionlessly. He was trying to figure out who Kiera Campbell really was. Who was she protecting if she hated her father? Shouldn't she be eager to spill his secrets? It didn't make much sense to him. 
At the other end of the room, Han wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. Why wasn't she breaking? She was forcing herself to go through one of the most painful things that a person could go through. There were plenty of times when she could have been speaking up, but she refused. 
After a few more minutes, Changbin let go of the edge of the rope. Hanging her wasn't doing anything, so he'd have to resort to other acts of violence. He reached into his pocket and whipped out the pocket knife. Felix's eyes widened in horror. 
Kiera's bright red face had turned pale the moment she saw the knife. Unlike hanging, a knife wound wouldn't stop stinging. Hanging sucked, but she had realized that she wasn't meant to die. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. Her whole body went numb as a chill crept down her spine. All she could see was the knife in his hand. 
Changbin grabbed the back of her hair and yanked her face towards him. The noose still prickled around her neck. Beneath it was a bright red mark from where the noose had cut into skin. Within a few hours, it'd turn an ugly shade of plum purple and blue.
His mouth moved, but she didn't know what he was saying. Her ears were ringing. Time seemed to slow down as the cold metal blade was pressed against her cheek. Changbin applied slight pressure and she could feel it begin to push into her skin. 
All Felix could see was himself as a child. Begging the masked intruders not to hurt his mother. Pleading with them to not let him be an orphan. He choked on his salty tears and had felt the splatters of his mother's warm blood. 
He couldn't take it anymore. He hurried out of his chair and out of the viewing room. It took him a total of ten seconds to sprint from the viewing room and into the other room. Changbin was yelling at Kiera now and it only caused a red hot anger to fill him.
He stormed over to Changbin and yanked him by the back of his shirt. Changbin didn't move from his spot, but he glanced over at Felix. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Felix yanked the knife out of his hand and threw it across the floor. 
His hand flew through the air and stung as it came into impact with Changbin's cheek. Changbin's hand went to the side of his face in shock. Behind the pair, the door swung open. Felix opened his mouth to scream at Changbin, but loud sobs came out instead. 
Lee Know's arms wrapped around his waist. He began to try and tug Felix away, but he didn't budge from his spot. Kiera had slumped over on the ground. The noose still sat on her neck and she didn't bother removing it. Unaware of what was happening around her, she had completely disassociated. 
The door to the room opened again. Hyunjin placed a hand on Felix's shoulder. Lee Know stopped trying to tug him away. Hyunjin came around to block Felix's view of Changbin and Kiera. He said something, but Felix couldn't hear him over his sobs. He shoved Hyunjin away and looked back over at Changbin. 
The red imprint of his hand had formed on his cheek. His body shook with more sobs. He had never meant to hurt Changbin, but he couldn't stand by, and do nothing. Hyunjin's hand engulfed Felix's and he tried to pull him away. 
"S-she's not her father," Felix finally got out. His voice was wobbly, but it didn't stop him. "She's not her father!" He cried out again louder. 
"Felix, come on," Hyunjin tried to coax the younger man away. "Let him finish doing his job." 
He shook his head and pulled out of his grip. He tried to walk closer to Changbin, but Lee Know's grasp on his wrist stopped him in his tracks. He tried to tug away, but he couldn't shake him. Hyunjin let out a soft sigh as he hooked his arm beneath Felix's armpit. Lee Know followed his lead and did the same. 
"Don't! Don't touch me! Don't fucking touch me!" He squirmed to no avail. "Let go of me! You don't understand! Don't hurt her, she's not her father! She didn't do anything wrong! Don't fucking touch her!" Another broken sob left his mouth. 
Hyunjin and Lee Know began to drag him out of the room. He kicked his legs, but they refused to let go. Kiera still didn't register anything that was happening beside her. Slumped on her knees, her gaze never left the cement floor. 
"She's just his daughter! She didn't ask for this! Please! Please! Don't fucking touch her!" 
The door to the room slammed shut as they left. Changbin was left wondering what the hell had just happened with a stinging cheek. He glanced back at Kiera. All the malice that he had was sucked out of him. 
Felix's knees buckled outside the room. Chan had already left the viewing room. The moment Lee Know and Hyunjin let go of him, he collapsed into Chan's chest sobbing. Chan's arms wrapped around him tightly. He placed his chin on the top of Felix's head. 
"It's alright, Pup, just let it all out. I've got you, I've got you. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. The bad guys are gone, they're not here anymore. You don't have to worry anymore. Just try to breathe, yeah?"
When Felix found out who murdered his parents, he'd never forgive them.