I can’t begin to feel how Annie feels. And the only thing I know is that there is this fire burning up inside of me with pure unadulterated hatred for Noel Kahn and his whole being.
I want him tortured.
I close everything on the computer safely and stand up. Wesley is still looking at me from the door and I know he see’s the abrupt change of my mood. Because I’m back to venom self.
I wonder if Gabe knows about this. About what happened to his sister.
And I think not. Because I may have known Annie for a brief moment in time, but she was selfless. She wouldn’t make her brother worry like that. Who would do that? She would’ve done anything to prevent him knowing. Even if it was something ridiculous like joining..The A team.
Oh. My. God.
Wesley doesn’t ask me if I’m okay because he knows I’m not. I storm past him into our room and grab the doona and walk back out. I give him a flick of a glance, “I’m sleeping on the couch tonight.”
But I lie. Because that whole night my eyes burn the back of my eyelids so I can’t fall asleep. Because who the hell can fall asleep after finding out what I just did?
Not one being in the world.
***
I am late to school. I don’t know why since I didn’t sleep at all and I look like someone has just shot me in the bloody face. I don’t see Wesley that morning. I am glad.
I don’t want to see anyone.
That’s why I have a gun in my pocket.
I walk into the school just as the bell goes off. I don’t even head to my locker because there is only one place I want to go. One place.
Noel Kahn’s locker.
And when I turn the corner, there he is. Standing at his locker while the hallway clears, talking to Annie. And Annie stands there, not looking anyone in the eye and just shaking there. Like she’s trying to not show anyone how afraid she actually is.
He. Has. The. Bloody. Nerve. To. Talk. To. Her.
And, I think I’ve lost it. Because my bags just fall out my grasp, and I move up to him, grab his throat and slam his head on the wall.
And maybe this is all just a bloody good dream. But it’s not.
And I won’t stand for people like him. Never.
But the thing is. I was never a good fighter. I fought with words. Not fists. So what I was doing was full of flaws.
I think that’s when Annie noticed me, because she looked at me with wide eyes and then began sobbing hard. I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me.
Noel shook his head and groaned, “What the fu-“ Then he realised who I was. His eyes darkened.
I did not have to guess even once that he wasn’t part of the A team. Because he was and that was the easiest decision I have made in my whole entire life.
His eyes turned a solid black and he said carefully, “Annie, can you please come stand beside me.”
Annie shifts slightly and I say, “If you take one step towards him, all Hell will break lose,” with all the poison in the world.
She whimpers.
Noel Kahn smiles at me. One of those charming 360 smiles that makes me want to throw up and claw at his face. I won’t kill him . But I will hell make him feel like he is dying.
“I honestly didn’t think it would take you this long Alice. To figure out that I was a part of the A team,” He says.
“You are the most obvious person,” I growl. “And a waste of my fucking time.”
Noel’s eyes flick towards Annie who is cowering beside me. The first time ever I have ever seen her succumb.
“So you finally told someone,” he says. “Good. Because now there is nothing holding me back for killing every single person you care about and telling them about what happened to the oh soo thirteen year old girl who let me do what I did to you. I can’t wait till your brother knows. Imagine how disappointed he would be.”
“You. Are. Disgusting,” I snarl. Noel doesn’t even look at me when he starts to laugh. I speak to Annie behind me, “Call your brother and leave, Annie. Now.”
But she is sobbing and I don’t think she can hear me while she cries and just breaks down into a million pieces.
And then she looks at Noel, drops on all fours and begs, “Oh my god. Please don’t do this Noel. I did everything that you asked of me. I joined the A team. I attempted to bring in Alice. I did everything. Please.”
She is crying over and over again and my heart stops beating. Because I never knew that someone like her could fall this hard. And I think I will never know how she is still here today. Because if it was me, I would’ve lost myself.
I can’t imagine that pain.
Noel speaks directly to Annie, pretending like I’m not there, “If you step one foot out of this building I will do horrific things to you.”
And I’m so done with him because I pull back my hand and shove my fist into his face.
He catches it and twists my arm around until a sharp sting sounds. I have just enough momentum to kick him in the nuts and then we are both rolling around in the floor and Annie has managed to move to the other side of the room and sob form there.
I am disgusted.
I am purely disgusted.
I have never ever felt this way about someone in my whole life. I’ve never hated them like this before. And I don’t think that will ever change.
“How could you do what you did?” I hiss.
Noel laughs, “How could I not? It was an opportunity to get more information about Alison and she was just so easy to manipulate. I feel like manipulating her again. Don’t you?”
“You repulse me,” I roared, getting up from the floor to shove a weak kick in his face. But his hand grabs my foot and pulls me down to the floor with him. I started a hopeless fight.
Noel had all the advantage and I’d thrown my best weapon away when I decided that this would be a useless fistfight. The words I was throwing around were just utter disgust. But there were some people that would never feel the sharp blade of these words. Those people had minds like Noel.
I was at loss here.
When I was fighting with Mona, I had advantages. Words controlled her life. Not Noels. He was too far gone for that.
“And look at all the fortune that capturing Annie has given to me? I have personal information about you, which always links back to Alison. Doesn’t it?” He said.
“You know what the odd thing is, my dearest Noel Kahn?” I give him the most sweet viscous smile in the world. “ I am an expert at words. I know how to use them . How to wield them into weapons. And how to pierce someone’s soul with them. But right now, I don’t seem to have any words for you.”
None. Whatsoever.
I continue.
“And all this time, I thought I was the worst someone could ever be. But no. Never will I think that again because you are a complete and utter disgrace to humanity. I hope you go to hell. I hope you die tragically. No. I hope you live every second of your whole life feeling like you are just bout to die. Because that would make me so so damn happy.”
He is staring at me in fury. He gets up and chucks a punch that hits me square in the face.
Why am I always getting into fights recently?
“You think you any better than be?” he says. “You’ve made more people despise you than I could ever be. I’ve affected a couple of lives. You affected a million. Alison is a pawn compared to you. Perhaps you are the person we should be hunting.”
“You know. If everything you say is true,” I say while I pick myself up and brush off the dirt. Annie’s sobs have quieted down now. “Everything. Then I can just say: at least I have some class.”
Then, of course. I do the classiest thing in the world and put my rude finger up at him.
I prepare myself for a kick, and just as I swing, Noel throws himself on top of me so we both fall to the floor again. Annie is silently screaming and I’m trying to push him off but he won’t budge and all I can see is Noels wicked smile as his hand slowly inches itself to my waistband.
I squirm from underneath him, about to throw up every single thing in my body when Noel’s whole body weight leaves me.
He is picked up and thrown to the other side of the room.
And I think, wow.
Someone has answered my god damn prayers.
And then I see who has come to be my hero.
And I know I falter.