𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭︱raven reyes, book 1

xii. protected

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

SIGHING, JUNE PULLED HER HAND OUT OF CLARKE'S GRIP. She had tried to act like a nurse and observe the bruises, worried that bones may have been broken after she socked Murphy in the face, but she was only ignored in the end. June didn't care about her well-being, not now. What Clarke did caused a mob and what Bellamy did to Murphy caused one angry, bloody male. He wanted what the mob had wanted before, for the killer to pay. While a large part of her agreed, she remembered Wells when he was alive, and everything that he believed in. June couldn't kill Charlotte, just like she couldn't have killed Murphy, and she knew it.

"Why, Charlotte?" Bellamy questioned in a plea, squatting to be in front of the small girl. He was quick to push her into a tent, while Clarke, Finn, and June were right behind him to shield her from Murphy's wrath. June was holding her head in her hands, unable to even process what they were being put through. None of this was how she pictured Earth being, not for a second.

"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me," Charlotte explained in her tiny, childlike voice.

Disgusted, June looked up to meet Bellamy's face, who was hit with a sense of familiarity at the words. "Demons?" She repeated. "Wells wasn't a demon. What the hell is she talking about?" She demanded to know.

"She misunderstood me," Bellamy shortly explained before grasping Charlotte's arms, trying to get her to understand. "Charlotte, that is not what I meant."

From outside the tent, Murphy's rough voice echoed. "Bring the girl out, now!"

"Please don't let them hurt me!" Charlotte begged, tears welling in her eyes.

Bellamy leaned forward towards the three on the other side of the tent, outstretching his empty hands, waiting for a suggestion. "If you guys have any bright ideas, speak up," he requested. June looked to the ground, knowing she had nothing. Her mind was whirling too much to think, and there were no good options. Clarke and Finn remained just as quiet, unable to come up with a plan either. Bellamy scoffed. "Now you stay quiet."

"Those are yours boys out there," Finn pointed out.

"This is not my fault," Bellamy uselessly defended. "If she had listened to me-" He pointed to Clarke. "Those idiots would still be building a wall."

Angry from the blame, June nearly lurched forward but opted for stepping closer. "This is your fault!" She accused loudly. "If you controlled those 'idiots' like you think you can, you would have stopped them. You kicked the crate out from Murphy." She paused to forcibly jab a finger in his chest. "This is all your fault!"

"Like you're so innocent," Bellamy shot back, puffing his burly chest. "You didn't have a problem in hanging him too!"

At first, June did. But at least she could see her wrongdoing. Before she could retaliate, Murphy's bellowing from outside continued, interrupting her slacked open jaw. "You want to build a society, princess?!" He called. Finn lifted the opening of the tent, and for a split second, June could see the rage Murphy was sporting under all his blood and injuries. "Let's build a society! Bring her out!"