XANNY ▹ Harry Bingham

DOOMSDAY

mention of alcohol, mental illness, drugs, and abuse. this is a trigger warning. please do not read ahead if you'll be negatively affected.

chapter sixteen

"remember that the sociopath wears a mere mask of sanity"

_

It is an odd thing in this society; we cast out our children into the world so eagerly, rather than keeping them lovingly close. Anxiety then ripples through the young of the 21st century, especially now, in the church of New Ham. The seniors had been cast into their own society, now in charge of creating a new jury and trial, wearing the clothes they'd only seen on the guardians of West Ham.

Eden rested under Harry's arm, awaiting the jury's verdict. When she looked up at him, he felt his heart break away in little pieces. The fire in her eyes had been dowsed with ice water, making the hazel fade into a murky, polluted sea. It was unnerving. It was like she'd just crawled into a depressing film to play the main character.

She looked away from his gaze, down to the church bench they'd both seated at. Harry watched as she ran her hands over the buffed out wood, using her nails to pick away at the finish. She scrapped until chips of it began to flake away, floating to the floor like pencil shavings. It was like the chips of paint that flaked from the corners of her bedroom doorway, coming loose with every exit and entrance. He nudged her to bring her attention up front, where the students belonging to the jury had shuffled back into their seats.

One girl from the jury, Eden noticed, had stood up out of her chair. Eden mentally remarked that she looked quite young for their grade, but it wasn't a thought that lingered for long. As the girl looked around, her eyes landed on Greg Dewey: the poor, skinny, white boy being convicted of murder. His fate had already been sealed, but no one in that room had known it yet. Then, she spoke, "We, the jury, find Greg Dewey... guilty ... of first-degree murder."

The entire church remained quiet. There was an unsettling wave of murmurs from throughout the hall, but quickly it faded into silence. Dewey had stood, and now all eyes laid on him. Eden unconsciously bit the nail of her thumb, waiting for his next words.

He did not disappoint the crowd, "Cassandra... was a fucking bitch..."

Gasps of distaste echoed in Eden's ears, and she even felt Harry's arm tense up around her shoulders. She bit down harder.

"...so is her sister. So are all the women here."

Her gums began to ache, and her jaw clenched.

"Fucking bitches. They think we owe them the time of day? You know, the night of prom, we were at Campbell's house. Wren said she wanted Cassandra dead."

Eden clenched so tightly that she'd bit the white of her nail clean off. The snap sent her out of her trance, and Dewey's words finally registered in her head. She stood up along with the crowd, and swung her head to the rows behind her-- to her sister. Wren was just sitting there by Campbell, her mouth agape.

"And Campbell even helped me plan it! They're like Bonnie and Clyde, you know."

"Shut the fuck up!" Wren pushed herself out of her seat, immediately jumping to her lover's defense. She began approaching the altar with a deadly look in her eyes, before Jason stopped her, pushing her back, away from Greg. "He's a fucking liar! Allie, you put him up to this? You and your little posse?"

Wren looked around at all the eyes on her, and she landed on Eden. That's when it clicked. "You bitch." She pushed past Jason and approached her sister. "You fucking bitch. This is on you."

Harry tried to step forward in Eden's defense, but the girl held her arm out to stop him, "I don't need you coming to my rescue. I'm not a damsel. Let her say what she wants."

Wren stepped threateningly close to her sister, sending worry through a multitude of people surrounding them. "Have you really lost that much to live for? That, to pass your time, you plan out shit like this," Wren gestured out to the chaos erupted during Dewey's speech, "because you hate to see someone other than you, happy? Your drugs can't save you this time, E. You're going to feel everything I'm about to send your way."

Wren finally retreated back to Campbell, and they left through the church double doors. Everyone else remained frozen in place, eyes glued onto the girl who'd just been outed to the entire town. They all looked at her through a new lens: the depressed druggie who, after Wren's threats, was probably not far behind Cassandra.

It was like the thread holding Eden together, had finally unraveled. She felt nothing. She couldn't even bring herself to cry. Her brain continued to stutter, and every part of Eden froze until it could catch up. She couldn't even will herself to move. She wondered if they could see through her, and everything in between. As if stuck underwater, everything became slow and warbled.

Allie ordered everyone out.

Harry pulled the pitiful Blanchard sister into his arms and held her close, not to hide her eyes from the world, but to hide the world from her eyes.