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If Orion wasn't crying before, she certainly was when she met the cold eyes of the man who raised her. She could feel her entire body begin to shake as he took in the scene before him, his eyes trailing over each and every individual stood in shock, before ultimately settling on her.
His eyes noticeably darkened as he stood straighter. "So you took part in this," he scoffed.
Orion quickly shook her head. "I didn't. I promise I didn't, I'd never be capable of something like this, you have to believe me."
"Then why is his blood on your clothing? Explain that to me, Orion." Her name rolled off his tongue like poison, and Orion could feel her heart clench at the sound of it.
"Mr.Baxter, this was all me," Kelsey blurted, stepping forward as his features hardened. "Orion had absolutely no part in this-"
"And yet she's here," he snapped, Kelsey visibly flinching. "She's here, you're all here, there's a beaten man on the floor and she's covered in blood."
Orion watched with baited breathe as Baxter stepped forward to further examine the beaten man on the floor. He glared at the four as he walked past them, Mateo's chest tightening as another wave of tears threatened to spill over at the sight of it. Without thinking, he moved further away from his sister and closer to Tom, grabbing onto his friend's hand and squeezing tightly. Orion bit the inside of her cheek when Baxter kneeled beside the man, grabbing his chin to turn his head and examine him.
"Richard Quinten." A wave of recognition washed over Orion's face at the name, and in an instant, she was turning to Kelsey with her lips parted in surprise. "That's who this man is, correct?"
Kelsey swallowed harshly. "Yes."
Baxter stood up, his arms crossing over his chest, eyes narrowed at Kelsey. "And what was your intention here, Miss Garcia?" Kelsey opened her mouth to respond, but fell silent as she was met with a glare. "Did you believe we'd let you off the hook because of your chosen victim? Hm? Because I can guarantee you that is certainly not going to happen."
Mateo coughed, bringing all eyes to him. "W-Who is Richard Quinten?"
"Infamous leader of the Do Gooders," Orion breathed out, her eyes trailing over the man's unrecognizable face. "He's heavily guarded at all times, so it's been impossible for him to be found despite the angels best efforts."
"So how was Kelsey Garcia able to penetrate his security and do this to him?" Orion paled as he rounded on her, catching her in her lie. "She's with them, isn't she?"
"I can explain-"
"I gave you the chance to explain!" Orion tensed up as he raised his voice, a new fire in his eyes. "I gave you the chance to own up when Clover was detained and you didn't. How do you expect me to trust you now?" Those words brought a pain to Orion's chest, and tears gathered in her eyes once more. "I raised you to be an angel, not a rebel. And if she decides she wants to be a rebel, then she'll be treated like one."
Orion let out a cry as he raised his hand, fingers moving to a snap, and without thinking, she reached out and grabbed onto his hand. Her tears had long spilled over now, bottom lip trembling as she clutched his hand. "Please, you have to believe me," she begged, both hands holding onto his. "You have to, please." Slowly, she sunk down to her knees, her body shaking with cries. "I love being an angel, it's all I've ever wanted. I'm not a rebel, please."
Tom's heart lurched, and he found himself squeezing Mateo's hand despite wanting to have his crying girlfriend wrapped in his arms.
Orion yelped as Baxter tugged his hand out of her grip, his eyes narrowed at her. "This isn't angel behavior." He lifted his gaze to eye the other three individuals watching. "All four of you are going to face consequences for this."
Kelsey inhaled sharply. "All f-four?" She quickly shook her head, her chest tightening at the look of fear on her younger brother's face. "No, you can't. This was all me, I did this, they didn't do anything. Punish me, not them!"
Baxter stared at for a moment, giving the four a false sense of hope as he considered what Kelsey said to him. "Fine." Mateo let out a shaky sigh as he readied to thank the older man. "The three of you will be sentenced to trial, while Orion testifies against you."
Orion's head snapped up at that, and she instantly found herself shaking her head. "No."
Baxter blinked. "No?"
She stumbled to her feet, biting the inside of her cheek as she stepped away from the older man. "N-No. That's not fair." Her eyes flitted over to Kelsey, a silent message exchanged in their short eye contact, one that said 'its okay.' Looking away from Kelsey, Orion swallowed the lump in her throat, before speaking clearly, "The only one sentenced to trial is Kelsey." She looked back at the two boys watching in silence. "The three of us are innocent."
Baxter's eyes darkened, and Orion felt a shiver run down her spine as he took a step towards her. She inhaled sharply as he stood ahead of her, not daring to take a step back in fear of looking weak to him. Yet, she still trembled with fear as he locked eyes with her. "Either you stay and they go, or you all go," he hissed.
Orion let out a shaky sigh. "Okay." Baxter looked pleased for a moment, though his satisfied smirk quickly faded when Orion stepped away and interlocked her hand with Tom's. "Then we all go." Baxter opened his mouth to retort but Orion silenced him with a shake of her head. "This is what being an angel is, staying loyal to the ones you helped, not betraying them in their time of need."
Tom squeezed Orion's hand in response to her words, earning a squeeze back from the girl.
For a moment, Orion thought he might have cracked and let them walk free like any other sensible person, but she was disappointed as a snarl resonated from the back of his throat before he raised his hand to snap his fingers. A shrill gasp escaped Orion as thunderous footsteps sounded from behind them. The guards.
Tears brimmed at her eyes as she let go of Tom's hand and allowed herself to be tugged into their hold, all her friends following suit. Baxter watched with a blank expression as guards restrained her, his arms crossed over his chest to give off the impression that he didn't care.
It was far from it.
He didn't know what he was walking into when he followed Orion and Tom to the place they rushed of to. A part of him wished he just decided to not listen to that gut feeling and trust that Orion could handle whatever was happening on her own. But his protective side of her was not allowing that he stick behind and watch her deal with something on her own when he could easily help her. He could only wonder what she would have done had he not shown up. Would she have turned in her friend like she was meant to do, or would she have orchestrated an elaborate cover-up to save her like before?
With doubts still swirling in the pit of his stomach, he raised a hand to the guard holding back the only daughter he's ever had, making them immediately release their hold on her. Orion watched with parted lips as Baxter took a step forward, her bottom lip latched between her teeth as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"You don't have to go like this," he spoke quietly, only Orion hearing his words, the rest of the group forced to watch. "Testify against them, Orion, please. You're destined for greatness."
A tear slipped down her cheek as she moved away from his touch, glossy eyes meeting his. "You don't have to do this, please," she pleaded, eyes begging. "Y-You know we're innocent, Dad, please." Baxter tensed up as Orion's throat tightened, the foreign word tugging at their heartstrings as tensions were high. Her eyes darted between his, looking for just a small shred of hope for her to grab onto, but she found nothing but an unfamiliar coldness in them.
"I... won't be a victim to your manipulation, Orion," he replied gruffly, Orion's face falling as he waved a hand for the guards again. With a rough tuff, she was back in their hold, a low cry escaping her as she was pulled away from Baxter. "Take them to the holding cells."
Orion kept her head low as she was lead away, leaving Baxter to watch her leave with the guards. The only one who dared to meet his eyes was Tom, the young man slowly shaking his head at the man as he was lead away, pure disappointment in his eyes.
Orion chest heavily rose and fell as she walked further and further away from Baxter. This was it. This was her demise. She was no longer the girl he thought could achieve unimaginable things. She was a delinquent in his eyes, somebody not worth saving. The one man who took her in when she was an orphan gave up on her.
She rose her head to look around her, her gaze instantly settling on Kelsey, whose guard was walking her alongside her. Kelsey met her eyes, a look of regret in them. "Orion, I'm so sorry."
Her apologies meant nothing. Not anymore. The last years of her life were spent chasing after Kelsey, keeping her out of trouble, keeping her clients away from her, going out of her way to guarantee safety for someone who didn't care the slightest bit about being safe. She didn't see the girl who pushed her out of her comfort zone, or brought her snacks when she was too stressed out, all she saw was the girl who ruined her life.
So with tearstained cheeks, and a hoarse voice, Orion spat, "You were never worth saving." She diverted her attention to the sight in front of her, unable to see the way Kelsey's eyes filled with tears at her words.