Wings Of Fire As Humans ~ 2 ~

[17] Hear Me Out

"When the evidence points,
And there is no way around,
Would you cuff them up,
Or would you hear them out?"

What if something you cannot believe is true? What if everything is in reverse? Would you think and try to comprehend, or would you ignore it and accuse the worst?

~Glory~

"And why should I trust you?" I demanded. I had a weird urge to rip out her hair. "After what you had done, you dare to show your face? You do realize that police officers are out looking for you, correct?"

"Greatness, you're under arrest for attempted murder," Qibli said as he reached out for her, but Greatness only stepped back. "Don't resist arrest. It'll only make your situation worse, you know that, right?"

"What I do know is that I'm innocent," Greatness said, shoving her phone into her back pocket as she placed her bouquet on the bathroom counter.

"What, so I tied myself to the bottom of the ocean because I felt like it?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. "You know, as a con artist, you're not conning me."

"Hey, I appreciate the title, but I'm no con and I definitely wasn't trying to kill you," Greatness said, tucking her silky hair behind her ear. "Which is why I came to explain... everything."

"Explain it in court," I scoffed, and Qibli took that as a signal to reach out for her again. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, holding her arms behind her back.

"Wait!" Greatness pleaded. "It's–it's about Deathbringer!"

My head snapped up as I narrowed my eyes. "Bullshit," I growled. "What does Deathbringer have to do with any of this?" Qibli paused as Greatness looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with me.

"He's why," Greatness whispered. "He's why you almost drowned, a-and why I was framed. But, Glory, I'm telling you, I would never hurt anyone. Glory I know who did this... and why. Just, please... Give me a chance. Give me a chance to prove my innocence."

"I'm not lying—I mean it—" I remembered saying, the day of the New Year's dance.

I remember begging Deathbringer to believe me,w a spark inside of me telling me I was going to pay for my actions for the rest of my life, but also that there was something deep inside of me that could change his mind about me.

I suddenly saw myself in Greatness—the desperation to have someone believe her. I could sense it–feel it, even.

She's telling the truth. Maybe I should hear her out.

"Five minutes," I growled.

"*"

"Glory, I never had the intention to hurt you," Greatness said, her wrists in cuffs on her lap. We were both in my living room but on opposite sofas. "In fact, you were my idol. Hard to believe, I know, but it's true." Qibli snorted, leaning on the wall beside us with his arms crossed.

Yes, he was my supervisor, as dumb as that sounds.

"Why would you idolize me?  I never talked, didn't have many friends, and was never considered one of the 'cool kids.' Those people were really just Qibli, Moon, Deathbringer, Winter, and whatever. On top of that, we never really knew each other... at all."

A faint smile danced on Greatness's lips. "I didn't idolize for the reasons you think. I only really had my eyes on you because Deathbringer had no urge to hide the fact he was all over you. So, I soon started to envy you. If you were Deathbringer's type, I guess I would just have to be like you. But he didn't even notice me."