Intruding force

Diego fought in separating Mike and Lillian Grey. She got too much invested in destroying Mike, which made her ignore Diego's presence.

It took Diego a long time before forcefully clutching Lillian from her back and dragged her out from pounding Mike.

Lillian struggled at first because to separate them, Diego has caught her from behind, lifting Lillian slightly above the ground. The girl battled to step away from the oppression that steered her from crushing Mike.

Mike seemed finally escaped from her blows. His irregular breathing slowly ceased back to normal as he lay on the ground. He stared up at the sky; it was so bright yet, his vision got tampered. Lillian Grey gave him a swollen eye, Mike's left eye, received a lot of her whacks and got bloated. He wasn't able to enjoy the clear sky fully. All he heard was another male voice grunting against the beasty girl, trying to control her.

'Thank you, Jesus.'

Mike thanked God when he heard the guy whom Mike perceived as his 'savior,' someone who helped him before he almost got killed by Lillian Grey.

He started to lose his conscious as he sprawled on the ground without moving. Before his lashes came together, blacking out his sight, Mike let out a cry.

'Maybe, I deserved this.' – He thought.

After getting beaten into a pulp by Lillian Grey, Mike sensed the guilt he had hidden for so long started to dissolve slowly. Probably, Mike secretly hoped to get punished for his sin for a long time.

With that thought, his eyes shut down, finally giving up.

***

"Enough. Already. Lilly."

"Break. Away."

"Calm. Down. First."

Diego tackled against Lillian, trying to suppress her current emotions. Listening to his voice, Lillian's eyes, which set on Mike fluttered and sought after the incoming sound, it traveled desperately and found Diego.

"Calm down, Lilly," Diego emphasized every word meaning to bring her back to self.

Lillian kept staring at Diego. He had held her shoulders firmly to stop further moving. It made Lillian's sight to be surrounded by the image of her friend, Diego. Soon, she was able to snap out of her wrath. Meanwhile, Diego gently moved her far away from Mike and took her to the nearby bathroom.

He made her relax and ordered to stay put inside until he comes back to fetch her.

Snapping out of her exploded rage, Lillian blacked out as she nodded silently, obeying Diego's words.

***

Diego, when he came out and approached the unconscious Mike, he gasped.

His face was a complete wreck.

'What the hell happened here?' – Diego crammed.

It took him several minutes to control Lillian Grey. She is resting inside the bathroom. Diego used this chance to call Josh and requested him to arrive at the spot.

In the meantime, Diego fetched tissues from the bathroom and wiped out Mike's blood, dripping from his nose. It appeared as if he got a broken nose. Mike fretted.

…

Josh saw the beaten up Mike resting on his back against a big rock. As the basketball team captain, Josh seemed the right person to approach for Diego.

"What the hell happened?" Josh's eyes widened at the image he was seeing.

Diego gagged, hiding his distress he replied Josh that Mike slipped on the ground and got hit in his face. Though it didn't look exactly like an unplanned injury, Josh bought it.

He believed in Diego's words and helped him in helping Mike. His legs flailed, making it difficult for the guys to carry him. Josh gave up immediately.

"Help me put him on my back. I'll carry him like this. He did appear to have injured his legs too."

Mike said, and instantly squatted.

Diego couldn't believe that his idea went smooth. Instead of spacing out, Diego quickly helped Josh. He took Mike's hands and wrapped them around Josh's neck while placing his body on Josh's back. Once he finished, Josh stood up with ease and firmly grabbed onto Mike's hands, making him not fall back down.

"Let's go," Josh announced.

"Seth is going to freak out," Josh stated as he took deep breaths and finally started moving.

The two reached the lake soon. When the guys returned, the nearby girls went shrill and started to ask what happened.

Their racket caught Seth's attention as he turned to see Josh carrying Mike on his back, and Diego standing next to him.

His eyes grew the instant in a panic, as he rushed towards them in a flash.

"What happened?" Seth asked worriedly,

Diego and Josh looked at each other for a moment before turning to meet Seth.

"Mr. Seth, he fell on his way from the bathroom. His face hit hard on the ground, and he went unconscious gradually."

Diego explained as he was the first one to notice Mike. Josh waited patiently, still carrying Mike on his back.

The ruckus caused everyone to hold their activity and watch what went. Carmel saw Josh carrying Mike, Ivy and Bridgette were surprised to see Mike's face in a wrecking mess.

Bridgette's gut feeling told her that something happened.

Nobody was left behind, even Anna and Giselle were staring intently at the three boys and Seth.

"First, we have to go back to the building so we can treat him. I will call the emergency doctor available. Let's go soon."

Seth instructed Josh to carry Mike back to their accommodation. Seth went along, leaving the other staff members in charge of the kids until his return.

...

"Stay here until I come back and be careful."

Seth announced to all who were watching them and left the place with Josh and Mike.

Before leaving, Josh thanked Diego for informing him, as Josh felt he is responsible for his teammate's well-being and glanced at Carmel, gave her a nod along with a smile and finally left the lake.

Diego waited until he could see Seth and Josh no more. He didn't return to his place but instead informed the staff telling them that he didn't get to complete his business because of Mike and then got permission to revisit the bathroom.

Anna and Giselle noticed Diego's hurried actions.

It is then Anna realized that Lillian Grey is missing as well. She immediately examined the area and found Mindy, still alone.

Mike got injured, and Lillian Grey is not here. Also, Diego is rushing to leave the place in a hurry.

All of these puzzle pieces confused Anna, and she sensed discomfort.

"Anna, are you okay?" Giselle called.

Anna saw Giselle in a trance as she looked at her with concern.

Anna nodded that she's doing fine. They resumed their work.

Bridgette too was not an alien to that bewilderment. When she saw Mike hurt severely, she suspected if something occurred or not. However, she convinced herself not to get involved anymore and returned to Ivy's side as they focused onto catching their third fish.

***

Diego hurriedly paced as he followed the trail back to Lillian Grey. When he reached the place, he noticed Lillian Grey coming out of the bathroom.

Diego rushed towards her.

"Who told you to leave?" Diego groaned.

Lillian looked up to find Diego hurrying towards her.

"Why?"

"Am I forbidden from leaving?"

Lillian's arrogant reply startled Diego.

She appeared angry and ignorant. Diego felt a slight twinge in his heart from the way she behaved to him.

"Why are you getting all angry on me, Lilly?"

He couldn't resist but only ask her for a reason.

Lillian Grey suspended her strides but, didn't react; she blinked for a few moments before continued walking.

Her actions were offensive, and Diego seemed pissed off.