The hand on the wall clock was especially slow that afternoon. There were only ten minutes until he was able to clock out for the day, but time was lagging and Neo was impatient.

As it was tax season, he was expected to work on weekdays as well, and the stress took a toll on him. For the remainder of his shift, he ignored the financial statements spread around his work space and watched the minute hand move.

As soon as he could, Neo left the accounting firm. Upon entering his car, the vibration of his phone against his leg manifested an incoming call from... Unknown Caller ID.

Frowning, he pressed it against his ear. "Who's this?"

"Hi, Neo." A familiar French accent answered. "It's Celine. I have news regarding the transaction of your nephew."

"Go on." He closed the door.

"After looking at documents, we learned that the boy's father owned a huge company before he passed away."

Sure, Neo knew that much already. He just didn't know why it mattered.

"That makes him a CEO's son, a rare status in the trafficking market. Personally, I've never seen it happen. We only ever trade poverty-stricken children," Celine explained.

"So what?" He asked as he began to undo his tie. It felt suffocating.

"So, interest is growing fast. We're getting offers in the hundreds of thousands, and the auction hasn't even started yet!" She exclaimed, a smile in her voice. "A lot of people are willing to buy Evaughn. It's amazing."

Neo felt the world resonate. As if it were the head of a drum, it produced a distinct beat that he felt propagate inside his head. After opening and closing his eyes multiple times, he saw that his hand was still hovering over his collar.

The necktie was still knotted.

Neo quickly composed himself and brought his attention to his phone. Celine was mid-sentence. "What?"

"Goodness, Neo." She childishly pouted. "At least listen to a woman when she's talking to you. I was saying, we raised your share from five to twenty thousand dollars. Without you, we would've never gotten this opportunity."

"What opportunity?"

"The opportunity to sell your nephew, silly." Celine laughed. "Get it together, Neo. I was expecting you to be happy about your profit increase, but if you're having a change of mind—."

Neo's jaw tensed. "Don't talk nonsense." Getting rid of Evaughn was the best choice to make, so he should've been happy.

He had to be happy.

"Perfect. The money will be deposited in ten small chunks starting tomorrow, just to avoid suspicion from the bank." She ended with, "We'll make sure the boy is out of your hands as soon as possible."

He was happy.

***

The moment that dancing lights flooded his vision, Neo slipped on his sunglasses. With one hand in his pocket, he sauntered through the crowd to the bar area.

"Hey, Neo." The bartender bobbed his head to greet his frequent customer. "What'll it be today?"

He removed his glasses. "The usual."

"You got it, boss."

In seconds, the bartender had his margarita poured in its signature double-bowl-shaped glass. He set it down before attending to the next customer.

Neo raised the glass to his lips. He felt the drink flow down his throat, emitting a satisfying feeling. He realized how much he needed the drink after his conversation with Celine. For the second time, Neo had dissociated when discussing Evaughn's fate.

For the second time, he felt... weird.

It wasn't shame, he told himself. He wasn't regretful, he mentally repeated. So, what was it?

The second sip of the margarita sent shock waves through his head. At the same time, he saw clearly the suicide letter that his brother, Damien, left, and his dying request for Neo to take care of his son.

To him, the fact that Damien put such a burden on his shoulders was the utmost selfish act. And for him to leave the word right after doing so was cowardly. It disgusted Neo.

In fact, it disgusted him so much that he didn't feel his hands ball into a tight fist and apply pressure to the sunglasses he was holding. It was when he heard a crack that he realized. He unfolded his hand to reveal broken glasses.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl sitting next to him who eyed the scene intently. Neo turned his head, and she recoiled at the sudden eye contact before slowly returning her gaze to him with a new, more curious look.

"I can tell you're looking at me." He said, glass to lips.

"Sorry," she smiled nervously, revealing deep indents in either cheek.

Uninterested, Neo looked away. She looked way too young to even be allowed in the bar. Regardless, he couldn't help but pay mind to her as she slid across the bar top towards Neo, her cheeks bright red from alcohol.

When her face was only inches from his, she whispered. "Can I tell you a secret?" She twisted left, right, and back to him. "I used a fake ID to get in." She giggled, obviously drunk.

Neo studied her orangish cocktail and motioned towards it. "Is that a Zombie?"

Her eyes widened. "Z-Zombie!? Where?" She made jagged movements. "Where is it?!"

He blinked at her. "How don't you know what you ordered?"

"Oh thank God there's no zombie..." She sighed with relief. "I don't know. I just asked for the heaviest drink."

"Yeah, I don't think you need any more of this." Neo pulled the drink away from the teenager.

"You can't do that." She pouted. "I paid for that. I'm calling security."

"I'll tell them you're underage."

At his comment, the girl began sobbing. Tears flowed from her bloodshot eyes, adding to the redness. Needless to say, Neo was intrigued at the sight.

"I'm so sorry. I'm going through a hard time right now," she sniffled. "I just broke up with my boyfriend, and he-he's a nice guy, really." She cried noisily, throwing her forehead into her elbows on the table.

Neo raised a brow. For some reason, he was invested in her story. "Then why the hell did you?"

Her voice was muffled in her shirt. "He thinks the best of everyone... even the worst people. He doesn't see it, for some reason, and I... I take his word every time. We shouldn't be together. He's so pure, it's... it's so toxic."

Neo tried hard to imagine someone so good that they couldn't spot their own evil. His mind came up blank.

The girl lifted her snot-covered face and wiped her nose. "He's a good person, but he hurt me. Even though he didn't mean to, I...I lashed out at him."

The older man's eyes widened. He, too, had been tormented by a person's kind nature. He, too, hated that very person for it.

What replaced the blank space in his mind was an image of his brother. Sure, Damien wanted the best for Evaughn, but he went about it in a selfish way, forcing upon Neo a burden.

That's right. Damien was selfish.

How satisfying it was for Neo to hear his thoughts verbalized so perfectly—.

"Ugh. I... lashed out at on the wrong person."

Neo was confused. Until now, he was sure they felt the same way. "What."

"Well..." Dimples appeared, although solemn in their undertone. "He had good intentions. And he did everything he could to make it up."

What?

"That's what's most important."

No.

"So I just... I just can't be mad at him."

You should be.

"He didn't mean to hurt me."

But he did.

"He wasn't the villain in my story."

Neo seethed. Yes he was! Damien ruined my fucking life—!

Thud.

Out of nowhere, she'd lost her balance and groggily fell against the table. It seemed that the Zombie finally won. "Gah, I wewy shou-den ave drank tha."

***

"You know, I really can't thank you enough."

"Don't." Neo glowered at the feeling of her saliva on his back. He knew not how he got to the point of giving this teenage girl a piggyback ride. He felt every exhale and every flutter of her eyelashes on his skin.

Her arms were limp over his shoulders, weighing him down as he stood before the traffic. For a moment, the only sounds audible were those of cars whooshing by, or honks and shouts from impatient drivers.

"Hey."

"What."

"Thanks for listening to my ramble. You didn't have to."

"Not like I had a choice."

She laughed weakly under her breath. "You remind me even more of Eve. He has really nice hair. It's pretty long, too. Come to think of it, I've never seen it down. He always ties it up."

A pause followed, and she hummed in thought before quietly inquiring to herself,

"I wonder why."

Neo knew exactly why.

Both the reason Evaughn had long hair, and the reason he preferred to wear a ponytail had been buried deep in his memories and until now, Neo had forgotten that he was the reason why.

It was he who, years ago, forced Evaughn to grow his hair out. Neo had discovered that pulling longer hair made for a more effective punishment.

Furthermore, it was because of Neo that he preferred to tie his hair. Not for the aesthetics, but out of the very rational fear that Neo would seize the opportunity to impose that very punishment if he ever wore it down.

It was Neo.

He was the villain in Evaughn's story.

"Oh, my cab is here." She informed before slipping out of his grip. When her feet met ground, she wobbled for a moment before gaining some balance. "Thanks again." She waved as she hopped in the backseat of the yellow vehicle, dimples on each cheek. "Goodbye! Oh, by the way, my name's Iris. Byeee!"

While she held on to the last syllable, her taxicab drove her away, and a paralyzed Neo was left on the sidewalk with his thoughts. How a random teenage girl could have such an impact on his life, and then leave as if she did nothing was intriguing to say the least. It rendered Neo silent and almost terrified.

He was the villain in Evaughn's story, he reminded himself, not the other way around.

Had it always been 'not the other way around?'

Had he always been backwards?

Parted lips heaved quivery breath from swollen lungs and a pounding heart. Rapid eyes moved side to side, transfixed on bloodstained, sweaty palms.

Had it always been... him?

It hadn't.

There had been a time in his life when he and Evaughn lived in harmonious perfection. A point in time when he was not the villain, but the perfect uncle who'd fulfill his brother's dying wish.

Oh—What was it again? That silly pun he had made up on the spot; how did it go again?

Ah, I remember.

"Neo and Eve will one day Ruhl the world."