Page 102
His eye twitches and he pauses his menacing walk, and I revel in the fact I just caught him off guard. He thinks he’s so fucking smart.
I can’t help but smirk. “Olivia,” I remind him, as if he could forget her name.
He deepens his tone, confirming everything. “Is her death funny to you? Or are you just satisfied with yourself now that you’ve taken her place as their plaything?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. I should be respectful to the dead, even if it seems like she’s still alive. “We can talk about it, Nigel, like normal people. You don’t have to punish them for it. You obviously loved her, but it doesn’t have to be this way.”
“She was a fucking disaster,” he scoffs, “but she didn’t deserve to die the way she did, with absolutely no retribution. And now here I am, stuck in a lawless society with her killers. If you could get back at the teacher who fucked you, what would you do? If you could peel away his sanity, layer by layer, would you do it?”
Sweat pools over my hairline, despite the freezing air around me. My voice is calm and steady. “It was Maison who killed her. He gave her those drugs, not Micah. But it was an accident—no one murdered anyone. You have no right to condemn them.”
His eyes betray his true emotions, and it is abundantly clear he has not let go of his strong animosity toward Micah.
He blares his teeth and lurches forward. “Micah was the one with her, you stupid skank.” The voraciousness in his voice makes me step back. “Don’t tell me you think he’s innocent. You are lacking all the intelligence I thought you had if you think for one second that he didn’t hurt her, too.”
My eyes whip to where I know Micah is and wonder if he’s hearing this. I can’t help it, and it’s enough for Nigel to notice the sudden change in my behavior.
“Are you trying to distract me, London?” he asks, looking around. “Where is Micah? Is he here with you?”
“No. I’m alone.” It’s a terrible lie, but it seems to appease him.
He snickers and I stay wholly still while he inches closer to me.
A few more minutes… that’s all I need before I can end this.
He reaches his hand for my shirt and I step back as he tries to pull it up. Rage builds in my stomach as I recall the first day of school; I slap his hand away.
His lips twists and his eyes flash. “That was a mistake. You have no friends here. I just want to see what has these boys all crazy for you.”
He lunges for me again, but this time I’m ready for him. I grab his head and knee him so hard in the stomach, he’s on the ground in mere seconds, withering in pain.
The trick Micah taught me weeks ago.
I circle and stand over him, pressing my spear right into the soft part of his neck. “You will not touch me ever again,” I spit out. “Do you understand?”
His eyes widen, clearly not expecting me to defend myself like that. For a tiny moment, I wonder what it would feel like to dig the spear into his neck.
To make him bleed.
To make him pay.
To fucking kill him.
His face turns back to that self-assured grin as footsteps fall behind me. I freeze, knowing I’m fucked.
“What the hell?” James says, and I blow out a breath of relief.
I turn to face him as Nigel sneers up at me from the ground. “Grab her. She’s trying to steal from us.”
Nathan and Ollie are with him, and the two other boys look to James for direction.
“He’s dying,” I blurt out, ignoring Nigel, who’s getting himself back up. “Thomas is dying. His cut is infected.”
They look at each other.
“She’s lying,” Nigel sneers.
“I’m not. He’s hurting, and he needs medication. If you try to stop me, you are killing him.” I give them a pleading look. “Please, he needs his wound cleaned. He could die. This is Thomas we’re talking about. I’m not the enemy here.”
