The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

Chapter Seventeen-Second Spencer

RILEY

THE ANNOUNCEMENT had been difficult to bear, as expected. Luc had looked around the parking lot then asked about every single detail regarding her reappearance. His shadowed gaze wore down in pain, an energy stirring around him even in the cold. Reluctantly, I spoke of my brief interaction with her. We agreed on warning Mr. Kennedy if he hadn't heard of the raging news yet. With Devin and Ben, we stopped at his desk next to the teacher's lounge, closed the door, and talked it all out.

But when we wanted to listen to Luc's side, he'd obviated the conversation, shrugging. Shadows overcame his stern face again.

"It doesn't matter. They're just liars." He ran a thumb over his lower lip. "I warned them to stay away."

I wanted to insist, thinking that couldn't be what held him busy for over an hour with those men. He snagged my gaze for a second, as if he could hear my mind. I pushed my own gaze towards the window, noting to myself that we'd discuss it later. There was more to it, alright. He just didn't want to speak about it now.

I dragged my feet to the cafeteria for lunch and picked a tray waiting for the line to move. Someone tapped my shoulder with a finger.

"How's the shoulder doing?"

I gritted my teeth before turning around, getting images of me bending his finger the wrong way. I had to deal with one Spencer this morning, and I was not keen on handling another one in the same day. They were like a disease. "Like you would care to know."

Miles extended an arm and took a tray. "Well, I didn't mean to hurt you too bad, but you were going to exterminate my friend. I had to do something."

A bitter taste filled my mouth as I recalled the throbbing feel of the gun in my palms, at the dizzying rage controlling my every impulse. It was horrible, but he was such a hypocrite. The line furthered a little. I closed my eyes. 

"We were doing the same thing, genius."

He shook his head once and lowered his voice. "Riley, we weren't planning on killing anyone."

I was going to rip his head off. How dare he say such a shameless lie with a straight face? I had to rally every ounce of discipline in me to not whack him with the tray.

"Oh, so Adam and Ethan were just collateral damage?" I snapped, and the plastic of my platter diffused hot where my hand touched it.

"I'm sorry about that. Adam was just a means to an end and we didn't think your other friend would show up. He would have derailed the whole plan, giving us no choice."

A wall in me cracked. They were the ones who had no choice? They who aimed the guns up to our temples and tried to force us into submission? I inhaled deeply and looked around the cafeteria, allowing the general chatter to ground me before I'd lose it right then and there. My lungs were starting to burn as I breathed.

"You are unbelievably conceited. You can't possibly justify killing two kids and act like it was a mistake."

"If things went my way, it wouldn't have happened," he said and stepped forward.

I didn't believe him at all. Being okay with how their 'plan' messed up only indicated he would have done the same if it had been his call. He was talking about it like it was a shallow screwup when in reality, two lives had been wiped clean in the chaos. 

"Is that what you tell Emma so you can keep feeding her your crap?" I asked when I arrived in front of the food display. "And are you going to make her watch as you try to capture her best friend again?"

I had the satisfaction to see Miles' cheeks flush red for a second, probably out of irritation. What lie did they tell her about the accident on New Year's?

"As far as I know, Emma isn't your business anymore. She can handle herself just fine and I'm not hiding anything from her."

I confronted him. "Really? You're telling me she knows you guys killed Adam and Ethan and she's fine with that?"

He stared at me, jaw locked.That's what I thought. I threw him a disgusted glance and scooped some boiled vegetables onto a plate. The mound of goo plonked down and then I dryly tossed back the ladle, perhaps a little too hard. 

But since Emma wouldn't listen to me, she had to find out on her own. It was too late for me to reach her, and she was too close to the hunters for me to trust her completely.

"Why are you even talking to me?" My arm mechanically poured soup into the bowl. His father had reined the attitude when Lauren showed up, like he knew he was no match. It didn't require a genius to understand that we were all against something that could explode at any given moment, and that both mutants and hunters had a reason to be wary. It must be why they hadn't truly bothered us since the night at the warehouse. "You guys can't even do anything because of her, right?"

How it was possible was beyond me, but it now seemed obvious that she had dirt on them. 

At that, his eyes darkened, becoming corrosive. "She's not your friend either, in case you were hoping that."

I studied his face for a couple of seconds, pinning him while I stilled. He'd said it like he wanted to scare me, but it sounded more like he was projecting his own fear. Why else would he react so unhappily about the news—why else would his father lose his wits before the start of class?

"You're scared of her," I let out, and laughed despite my best efforts. "Wow, Miles. So tough with all your weapons, but it looks like someone knows your weakness in the end."

We moved up the line. Miles turned to the side to grab a sandwich, and I couldn't see his expression anymore.

"She doesn't terrorize us." His nose crinkled when he shifted. "But it's plain stupid to get in her way. If you think she can hold us back indefinitely, you're wrong. Sooner or later, we will act whether she likes it or not. We just need time and opportunity."

I bit my lip to conceal a shiver rattling through me. The last time he'd said something similar, he'd meant it. Luc, the others and I, we had to figure out a plan to anticipate the hunters' next actions before their strike would be a definitive one. An idea squirmed in my brain as I tried to make sense of how Lauren was linked to everything. 

"What does she have on you?" I whispered. Miles and the hunters were treating her like a malfunctioning bomb. "How is she different from the rest of us?"

He sighed, like he needed an encyclopedia to cover that question. "A whole lot. Your friends didn't know what Lauren was capable of. We do. Believe me, she's better off locked up, and she's not on your side."

"Why did she leave and come back?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, unbothered at the lack of answer.

I picked a juice box and rummaged through the utensils case. Could I trust all this? He could be lying right now, and I wouldn't be surprised.

"If she's so supposedly dangerous, how did you even take her in the first place?"

We arrived at the cash register. The woman behind it motioned at me to hand over the money. I dug into my pocket to retrieve a stash of pennies. 

"That's a misconception you guys created." He leaned into my ear, and I resisted the urge to slap him off. "She was never captured. Lauren came to NIO of her own volition." 

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So, I am aware that Riley basically finds out the same thing Luc just has during his meeting with Caldwell, but here the emphasis was on the tidbit that not even hunters seem to hold an authority over Lauren, which is a key information. If you remember the prologue and the specific chapter in Coveting where she escapes, you can remember exactly why their hands are suddenly tied. If it's murky in your head, definitely let me know how I can make it clearer and I can also answer your questions :)