Page 86 of Havenfall Harbor
“What are you guys doing out here?” Evan’s eyes run over each kid. It’s mostly boys, I’d say anywhere from twelve to fifteen years old, but my estimate could be off.
“Just hanging out,” a boy in the front answers.
“I found some stuff over there.” Evan nods his head to a corner. “You guys hang out here a lot?”
“Nah, not us,” the same kid replies.
“Who?” Griffin demands. I place my tongue against my teeth in an effort not to say something about the way he’s talking to the kids. He’s not being outright mean, but he sure isn’t very approachable either. No wonder half the staff and students seem to be wary of him.
“Dunno.” The kid looks around a little to see if anyone else is going to answer.
One of the few girls in the group looks down at the ground and bites her bottom lip. I can’t tell if she knows something or if she’s just nervous. Without looking up, she gabs as if she might lose her nerve. “Minka and Alexis come out here sometimes.”
Evan’s gaze narrows on the girl, but his face is relaxed, unlike Griffin’s. “Minka. Senior, right?”
The girl jerks her head quickly. A few of the kids around her distance themselves from her by taking a small step or leaning away. Someone coughs, “Rat,” under their breath.
Griffin’s head tilts to the side as if he’s examining the group closely.
“What was that?” His voice is pitched low, more of a growl than a whisper as he glares at the group of teens.
The girl who spoke darts her eyes around without lifting her face. She knows what she just did is going to cost her, but she had the nerve to do it anyway. I watch as the uncertainty drains from her face, her head coming up and her back straightening as if pulled up by a string.
She takes one step forward and every ounce of reservation washes away from her expression, replaced with determination. “Michelle comes out here too.”
There’s a gasp, as if what she said before could be dismissed, but now she’s broken some unspeakable vow. The other children’s faces were sneering, but a look of trepidation replaces the scorn. The young lady walks to the front of the group, her shoulders back and chin raised in a defiant tilt. The kids around her shrink away from her, but this time it’s almost as if they’re afraid instead of rejecting her.
I glance around quickly. What did I just witness? The girl only ducks her head and averts her eyes once she reaches Evan and Griffin. The slight slump of her shoulders and the shifting of her demeanor speaks volumes.
While she stood up for herself in front of the other kids, she doesn’t have the same confidence when it comes to the two supernaturals in front of her. I realize I just witnessed a display of dominance among the kids. I glance at the group behind her again. Several of the boys are looking everywhere but at the girl, while only a select few are glaring at her back. I take note of each face. I don’t know any of these kids yet, but I commit each one of them to memory.
“What’s your name, little cat?” Evan lifts his hand and lays it on the much smaller girl’s shoulder. She sags a little under the weight.
“Etta.” Her voice cracks, but she clears her throat and quickly repeats herself.
Evan raises his head and glowers over at the kids behind her. “It takes courage to pull yourself from theflock.” He sneers the word as if he’s calling all the other kids sheep. I roll my lips behind my teeth.
A few of the boys who were glaring at Etta’s back shuffle their feet and get busy looking anywhere but at Evan.
“A true leader knows when to speak up, never fearing the consequences, because we know where we stand.” He’s addressing the girl, but also the kids behind her. There’s a subtle warning, one I easily admit I don’t quite understand, but can feel nonetheless.
Griffin steps forward, and a few of the kids in front take a quick step back, some bumping into the kids behind them and almost stumbling. He takes his time examining each face, making sure each teen knows he’s taking inventory. “Run along, children, we’ll find you if we need to.” He smiles then, but it’s more of a baring of teeth than anything else.
The kids scatter, not one of them looking over their shoulders as they retreat. The sound of their running feet on the concrete triggers a memory, and I hear the words in my head.Oh shit! We have to go.I get stuck on the wordwe, there was more than one person when I was attacked, and the voice that spoke was a boy, not a man, but a boy’s voice.
I reach for Evan’s arm because he’s closer. He glances over his shoulder at me, but something he sees on my face has him pivoting on his heel and reaching for my shoulders. His big hands gently encompass my upper arms. “Quinn?” He searches my face.
“The running.” I point in the direction the kids fled. I clear my throat. “They ran away after I fell.”
Griffin steps into my vision. “They?” His voice is deadly calm, but his eyes are barely restrained pits of fire. I lick my lips, nervous to tell them what I remember. I’m not familiar enough with supernaturals to know how they would deal with knowing it was kids who did this.
His mind is quick, and he picks up on the fact that there was more than one person before I realize I even shared that part.
“Are you remembering more?” Evan’s palms drag up and down my arms in a comforting manner.
I blink quickly and look at his chest. It helps that he’s so freaking tall so I don’t have to make eye contact. I can see Griffin in my peripheral vision, but I keep my gaze averted from him too. I shake my head no, but say, “The sound of the sne—” I stop myself from finishing sneaker, not sure if it would give it away that it was kids. “Shoes on the ground. I remember the running.” I peek up at Evan to see if he caught my slip. His full lips are thinned, but the moment he notices me looking he shutters the anger on his face.
“I’m sorry.” I reach up and touch the side of my head and close my eyes. I hate that I’m using the injury as an excuse, but I need a few minutes to figure out what I’m going to say. “I just need a minute.” I spin out of his hold and take a few steps away.
