Offenders

Offenders (30)

"But what about Vanessa?" I couldn't help but ask. "She had a video of me... uh... kind of using my powers."

Before Hank or Nay could even react to that information, Anthony rose his hand. "I took care of that," he answered, and I could have hugged him. "I took her phone and deleted the video. I also erased her memory of what happened in the store so she won't go looking for it again."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Nay turned toward me now, her hands on her hips. "That may be out of the way, but your friend is still on the loose."

I knew exactly who she was talking about, and it made my skin crawl. I was disgusted with myself for ever liking Tom. I hated him for tricking me.

"He's not my friend," I scowled.

Dex seemed to pout just a little bit. "He almost was."

"Dex, please." Nay covered her eyes with her hand as if she was getting a headache. "This is no time for your jealous comments."

"Point for Nay," Aiden muttered to Anthony, who snickered.

"Aiden," Nay began, and Dex smirked before Nay even said her comment. "Must we discuss your behavior when Kristie was asked to the dance by several different boys before the dance was even announced?"

Aiden sunk down in his seat. "And another point for Nay..."

"We have no idea where Tom may be," Hank said, and I couldn't help but feel kind of bad that I let him get away. "But we're guaranteeing that you five will see him again so it's not something we're really worrying about."

"What we're really worried about, however, is the fact that Malicius is dead," Nay continued for him, her demeanor suddenly changing at the mention of Malicius. She turned toward me. "We know you didn't mean to do it, Violet, but you still have to be punished for your actions."

I nodded. "I know."

"Personally, I'm glad the bastard's dead," Dex shrugged, clearly not caring at all that Malicius had died.

"Well, right now isn't a time where your personal feelings matter, Dex!" Nay almost shouted at him, surprising everyone around her with her outburst.

"Really?" Aiden spoke up, a flat look on his face as he stared at Nay. "Because you sure seem to be having some personal feelings right now."

"I thought you hated Malicius, Nay," Kristie frowned.

"I could never hate Eric-" she began, but then cut herself off when she realized her mistake. "I... I mean... Malicius."

Hank shook his head. "It's understandable that you're upset, Nay," he told her, seeming a little down himself. "He was our friend. A friend we weren't able to save in the end."

Nay's eyes were red and watery. I never thought I would see her in such a vulnerable state. When Lena had been in danger with her stalker, Nay hadn't cried. She'd been angry and protective. But now, she was sad...

I could tell she didn't want to cry in front of us. Nay was probably one of the strongest women I had ever met, and she knew that. She didn't want to show any emotions she found to be weak.

She covered her eyes with her hands and grinded her teeth. She didn't want to cry. Especially not in front of all of us. She thought she was supposed to be strong for the rest of us, but she was breaking down right before our eyes.

"I just thought... that maybe some day... we could have saved him," she whispered, and this was only making me feel worse, even though I knew that wasn't her intention. "But now... Now we'll never get that chance."