"The Italian pizza was amazing." Molly expressed.

They sat on the living room sofa after their lunch.

"I know, right? The best decision of my life." Mr. Bingo said in return.

"Pizza party? Wait, you guys had pizza without me and when?" Miguel demanded.

The two of them looked at each other, trying to come up with an excuse, but laughed instead.

Miguel only seemed more aggravated about it and huffed out a breath.

"Last night. It really was a random decision." Mr. Bingo explained.

"Yeah, nothing personal towards you, Miguel." Molly answered with a cheeky grin.

"If that's what you want to convince yourself with." Miguel said, deciding to take it in stride.

"Did someone mention pizzas?" A voice asked, and when they looked up at the source, Molly's eyes lit up in delight.

Mr. Bingo quietly admired her excitement and commitment to her family as a small smile formed on his lips. Miguel caught the small grin on his friend's face but decided to overlook it when it quickly disappeared under a neutral tone.

She rose to give him a tight hug, and he returned the favor.

"Dad, you're finally here!" Molly said as he let go of him.Mr. Bingo and Miguel were standing now, waiting to greet him after her.

"Of course, princess." Her dad responded, "What brings you home?"

"Your memory," she teased, "It had been a while either ways."

"You sure you aren't active on a case?" her dad asked.

She didn't need to explain herself; she had already told him, and he had been supportive of the decision.

"Not really," she shook her head and then remembered she hadn't introduced her friends, "Dad, meet my friends – Nick and Miguel. Though Nick likes to go by Mr. Bingo."

"Does he have a penchant for stealing all the Bingo chips or what?" her dad asked playfully.

Mr. Bingo let out a laugh before responding, "No, sir. In fact, it's the other way around. They took inspiration from my name for the chips."

Her dad raised an eyebrow but understood he was not serious about it.

"Sean," her dad extended his hands to shake his, "Molly has talked a lot about you. You must have quite the impression on her, eh?"

Miguel opened his mouth to interject, but Mr. Bingo gave him a playful shove to his side.

"Hey!" He protested, but it only seemed to make him laugh more.

Sean just laughed along with the others and Molly relished in the moment.

"Alright, I am about to leave for work," her dad mentioned. "Be careful kids, we don't want to have more of you."

It startled everyone in the room, but they opted to giggle uncomfortably at the embarrassing scenario.

"I could come with you and accompany you to the bus stop," Molly attempted to break the ice.

Her dad let out a small chuckle and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Sure you can," he mentioned, "We have to catch up on a lot of things." he winked and they both walked out together.

Miguel wanted to ask if he could accompany them, but decided it was best not to disturb them.

Julia and her mom were out for grocery shopping and wouldn't be home until an hour later.

"Looks like it's just us," Mr. Bingo said with a lopsided grin.

"Fine," Miguel said with a huff, "Don't violate me again now."

"Look, I didn't mean to do that, okay?" Mr. Bingo explained, but a playful smile played on his lips and it made the other only huff out louder.

"Just admit that I am charming and I will leave you to your devices," he added with a wink.

"Oh, I will show you what charming is." Miguel said as he moved closer to Mr. Bingo and when they were inches away, he used his thumb to brush against Mr. Bingo's lips and some of the lip balm he had been wearing got on him.

He teasingly tasted it and commented on the flavor, "Strawberry, huh?"

Mr. Bingo just stood there frozen, unable to process what was happening, as he felt so many emotions at once.

When he didn't answer, Miguel moved back a few steps before finally making a run for the first floor.

Mr. Bingo just stood there in silence and when Miguel finally disappeared out of his sight, he let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding in.

'What in the world just happened?'

He curled and uncurled his fists a few times before finally looking around the room.

He considered his options: stay in the corridor and escape the tempest developing in his thoughts, or walk upstairs where Miguel was sitting and ultimately confront the topic he had been avoiding for so long.

He opted to do the latter and went up to the first floor.

※※※

Molly locked the gate behind her as she entered through them.

She walks towards the hall. It was empty. The kitchen light was lit, however. Selene, her mom, and Julia were discussing something in hushed voices.

When Molly entered the kitchen, they stopped to look at her but quickly smiled. Julia was sitting on the marble countertop, moving her legs back and forth.

'She has grown so much since the last time I saw her,' Molly observed.

Julia was taking Masters in Arts class. Vision Arts. Something she had always wanted to do.

"I have missed you guys so much, I can't even start." She admits after careful observation.

"We missed you too, dear," Selene adds. "Come join us. I am making some coffee."

She said and turned to the stove where the milk was about to boil.

'Just like my life,' Molly thought to herself, 'Everything around me feels to be falling apart, which is just adding to greater stress.'

"You okay, Mole?" Julia teased with a soft smile.

Molly smiled easily, "Of course, Jule."

'Though I am not. How do I let go of the guilt I have been holding for so long?'

Molly's hands mindlessly traced over Julia's scars near her forehead. They were faint now, but visible, regardless.

A surge of guilt filled her as she recalled the incident that led to the scars.Julia raised her eyebrows at the action, and Molly quickly took the cue.

"Sorry," she quickly answers, "It's just..."

"What did we agree on?" Julia challenged with a hand on her hips.

She squeezed her lips together in a tight grin. Molly needed to be strong for her sister. She couldn't undo what had occurred, not that she could have avoided it, but the guilt was difficult to let go of.

"A strong coffee, just for you," Her mom turned around to hand her the coffee she had prepared, "It'll ease your worries away."

Molly knew she meant more than just worried, but she didn't press it further. She came here to visit them. She was going to find something else to do by the end of this week if nothing urgent comes up.

She felt bad about dragging Mr. Bingo and Miguel into this mess when everything seems fine. There are issues, but not that she could solve them or they could solve either.

The world at large was always a bit like a powder keg, just waiting for something to set it off.

'Mr. Bingo.' She repeated his name in her head as she took a sip of the strong coffee her mom had made.

The caffeine soothed her nerves, and she massaged her temple in circles. Its effect was calming and she let go of any further thoughts in her mind.

Molly chatted briefly with them about their lives. Julia was feeling better today. Though the fever didn't cease entirely. She mentioned she had been taking medications for it.

Her mom, on the other hand, was worried about the rising inflation and the ongoing crisis around the world. She tried to keep up with it, always checking for ways to support and companies to boycott. But it was also mentally draining.

"Not as draining as the countless kids and people suffering through it every waking moment of their life without hope for an immediate relief." She always used to tell, but the eye bags under her eyes were evident, growing only darker as the days passed by.But none of them could do anything about it. Their government was messed up, and they could only do so much to change it.

Molly quickly chugged her coffee, kissed Julia on the cheeks while playfully caressing her hair, hugged her mother and headed up to the first floor.

※※※

The door is closed.

Strange.

She's about to knock when she hears a loud thud. She decides to observe quietly for a while before going in, or listen since she couldn't see anything happening behind the doors.

There was a bit of movement. 

'They must be moving around', she concluded.

"Almost missed it," One of them says and chuckles but it muttered in such a low voice, it was hard to distinguish.

She eventually chooses to knock on the door, only to discover that it was open the entire time.

She shook her head, wondering what she thought she would discover, but when she looked ahead, her confused stare quickly changed to shock.

"What the—" she began but couldn't quite finish her statement.

"We just had one round," Miguel explained.

"There's one for you as well" Mr. Bingo is quick to add.

"How could you guys have pizzas without inviting me?" Molly asked.

"At least we didn't leave you out like both of you did!" Miguel protested, looking at them.

They exchange a quick glance before breaking the ice and letting out a small chuckle. It only seemed to aggravate him more, and he huffed, but realized it was going to remain that way.

"Have a seat, Molly," Mr. Bingo said as he presented the unopened box of pizza to her. She accepted it, but did not open it; her attention focused on the floor.

"You seem stressed." Miguel said as he placed his palm lightly on hers.

"I am fine, really. There's just so much going on around us and our hands are tied. We can't do anything but watch it get worse and worse."

"Molly, if you're going to worry yourself thin over the world, it'd lead you nowhere but your health's downfall," Mr. Bingo said with concern.

"But—" she protested, but she knew he was right.There were many things that were out of control of her life, and she hated it. Not because she always wanted to be in control, but because she wanted to be able to protect her loved one's better.

But, alas. Life was never going to be that way.

Miguel partially looked in her direction, sensing the brooding thoughts running through her mind.

"Can I ask you something?" He started hesitantly.

Molly nodded, breaking her thoughts from running into endless cycles.

"Do you have a strawberry-flavored lip-balm?"

Mr. Bingo's eyes widened at the realization of where this conversation was leading.

She quirkily raised her eyebrows, "Do you need flavors for... you know?"

"No, no. Oh goodness, no." Miguel defended himself, "It's just that—"

Mr. Bingo covered his mouth with his palms before he could say another word.

She had no idea what was happening, so she crossed her arms, sat back in her chair, and waited for one of them to inevitably open up.

"He's just being ridiculous," Mr. Bingo said while his hands were still over Miguel's mouth, "Can't a guy have a self care routine?"

Molly laughed out loud, and their antics wiped any residual worry in her head away.

Miguel reflexively bit Mr. Bingo's palm, leading him to eventually release it while shaking his hands.

"Ow! What was that for?" Mr. Bingo asked.

"For violating me in the hallway!" Miguel confessed at last, making Molly's expression of surprise go even wider.

"That was an accident!" Mr. Bingo said, "I told you I was sorry, and I didn't mean it, but you gave me the same treatment."

"Yes, what's it like to taste your own medicine, Bingo?" Miguel teased.

Molly sat cluelessly in her chair, just watching the chaos unfold.When they finally looked at her, they both reddened with humiliation.

"If you guys needed alternatives for lube because you wanted to make it at home and didn't want to have an awkward trip to the store, you could've just told me." She explained with an easy grin, but bit her lips from laughing out too loud.

"No!" Miguel argued, he wasn't going to let this down easily, "Listen, there's two outcomes to this situation- either you have a strawberry lip balm and he stole it or he's just too shy to come out of the closet."

Mr. Bingo looks embarrassed as he tries to hide behind his hands.

"So, it was you who used my lip balm?" Molly asked, breaking the tension in the air, "And let me guess, you didn't even have the courtesy to buy me another one?"

"I did actually," Mr. Bingo stated, surprising the two, "Here."He said as he handed her a new packet of strawberry lip balm. She looked at it and a sly grin formed on her lips in satisfaction.

The sleeves of Molly's dress must've moved up slightly because Miguel looked concerned.

"I couldn't resist stealing it since I saw it in your room. The packaging is too cute!" Mr. Bingo squealed with excitement.

"If you needed it that badly," Molly said as she shook her head, "You could've always asked."

"But that's no fun. That wouldn't be Mr. Bingo style then." He said, and they both laughed.

Something felt off. They looked at Miguel, who was now sitting still like he was in a tense situation.

"Did a ghost catch you now?" Mr. Bingo asked him, trying to snap him out of his trance.

"I am sorry," Miguel muttered mindlessly, his gaze still fixated on the floor. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I shouldn't have-"

Mr. Bingo got concerned, got up from his seat, held Miguel's shoulders, and shook him gently.

When Miguel finally snapped out of his trance and looked at Mr. Bingo's eyes, he blinked to show he was okay.

He took the signal and settled back into his seat.Molly looked at him with concern, too.

Something was not right here.

"There's..." Miguel began as he swallowed his saliva, "Vertical cuts running through Molly's skin. It's not fresh and it's definitely not recent, but something tells me she..."

He couldn't continue. The thought broke his heart.

"Oh," Molly said as she realized what he was referring to. "No, actually. I didn't harm myself, Miguel." She admits, clutching the sides of the pizza box tighter.

"I was attacked." She explained.

It felt like a huge burden she'd always been holding in finally out in the open. It wouldn't make the guilt any easier, she knew it. She didn't need their sympathy; she was doomed for not being able to protect her sister. It was her mistake she let it attack her.

"By a..." Mr. Bingo starts, setting his own pizza down and Miguel just stared in astonishment.

"Bear. A wild bear." Molly admits as she shut her eyes and looked below. "It was almost seven years ago, but it feels like it happened just yesterday."

The memories of the campfire, the unexpected circumstance and how it attacked Julia before she could even get out of sleep it affected her and haunted her deeply. She had failed as a sister.

They don't say a word and anticipating her to expand more on it. But she didn't. She didn't want to feel like a failure yet again.

Not now.

She knew she could be vulnerable around the two, but this was something she didn't feel comfortable sharing just yet.

Both of them come around her and give her a side shoulder hug, trying to comfort her through her worries.

Mr. Bingo draws small circles around her back and Miguel is just steadily observing her for any further signs of distress.

When she felt better, she thanked them, prompting them to go back to their seats.

"I shouldn't have bought it up," Miguel said, his eyes cast down from remorse.

"No, you shouldn't be, Miguel." Molly said as she put her hand on his shoulder. "I just haven't really told anyone about it and it still affects me."

They nod their heads and get back to having their pizza in silence.

a/n: ah gosh, this chapter was painful to write, especially because molly's pain and all, she's a cinnamon roll ;-;❤

there's also contrasts in this story with the fun and the revelation.. but there's a subtle social commentary in there. i am not being area specific for a reason - its almost everywhere, Palestine, Argentina, Congo, Sudan, Yemen, China.. the list goes on and its long, the number of people who were martyred, the imagery and everything.. its too much to bear and yet, its too true.

do what you can, people... raise awareness, donate, anything– anything but silence. your silence will be studied by your grandkids and you wouldn't want to leave a bad impression.

hope you liked this chapter!

with loads of cats and purrs,
Sara <3