The Other Half ✓︎

T h i r t e e n

"You look murderous," Lia whispered to me.

I closed my eyes, clenching my teeth.

"C, I think you need to take the day off. You need to cool off."

"I want to kill him," I hissed. "He's a monster."

"Hey."

I looked at her, working my jaw.

"Cassandra. You can't. Not yet. Tony said he was close. Give him time. We're close," Lia assured me.

"We're not close enough," I hissed. "Every day that we wait, the more time he has to hurt them."

"And then what? You beat the crap out of him, call the cops? We can't trust anyone right now, and you know that. Don't be so irrational."

I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. I knew Lia was right. But my anger didn't want to go away. It wanted to burn the man responsible for the pain he was inflicting on others.

"I don't know if I can do this right now," I admitted.

"Go home, C. Cool off," Lia suggested. "It's lunchtime. I'll drop you off."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yeah. I talked to my parents about the situation. They have half a mind to pull me out of here."

"I have half a mind to leave."

"My dad's home today. I'll drop you off and then go home myself."

"Actually, can you drop me off at the training center? I'm too angry."

"I got you," Lia answered, touching my arm gently.

"Have you seen Jason today?" I asked as we got our stuff.

"No. I think he took the day off after what we found."

I shook my head. "It's disgusting, Lia."

"It is, and we'll make sure he pays for it. But until then, we have to pretend we're ignorant."

I knew she was right.

We stepped out under the rain and walked quickly towards her car. I knew that I would eventually have to figure out my own situation. I didn't want to rely on someone else to drive me to school every day, and taking my bike wasn't a possibility in the rain. Not unless I wanted to get sick.

"Have you talked to Elliot?" Lia asked as we got comfortable in her car.

"Not about what we found out. Part of me is still hoping it's untrue."

"How do you think he'll react?"

"Same as us, as our parents. No way they want us around that monster, not after that."

"You haven't told your parents?"

I shook my head. "I was in too much shock last night to even process it."

"I don't blame you. You doing okay, with this and everything else?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I don't think my brain is fully comprehending anything right now. I'll bring up the panic attack to Emilia, but I can't bring up the other stuff. I think she's required to report anything to do with... that."

Lia cursed under her breath as she drove me to the training center.

"I hate not being able to do anything," she said.