Page 115 of Science Project

“Nothing,” Jamal quickly said, grabbing his brother’s hand and yanking on it. He looked back at Nicole and pulled his siblings out of the room. “It’s time for bed.”

The anime faded into the background, drowned out by Nicole’s horrified silence. It was clear that someone had leaked this to the entire town of Redwood, maybe even that fucker that she called a father.

Tears welled up in Nicole’s eyes, and I quickly wrapped my arms around her trembling shoulders, pulling her close, telling her that I would do anything to protect her.

But deep inside me, fury raged.

Whoever had done this to Nicole would pay.

“I’ll kill him,” I growled into her ear.

“My father didn’t release the video,” she said. “Poison did.”

“How … how did they get it?” I asked quietly, confused.

Nicole took a shaky breath, her tear-filled eyes locking on to mine. “I gave it to them,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I thought if they believed I was being abused, they’d help me rescue you from what happened.”

A wave of guilt washed over me. I couldn’t bear the thought of Nicole feeling responsible for this nightmare, and I certainly didn’t want anyone watching her endure this torment.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never wanted you to go through this, Nicole. I never wanted anyone to see you like that.”

Nicole gently brushed her fingers across my cheek, looking into my eyes. “Akio, I needed this entire town to know the truth. I needed them to see what’d been happening in Redwood for so long. It’s not your fault, and it’s not mine. I know that now.”

I stared at her with both adornment and amazement at how much she had grown these past few weeks.

“We’ll expose everyone for what they’ve done to you.”

“We’ll get justice,” she said. “Not just for us, but for everyone who’s suffered.”

CHAPTER

SEVENTY-TWO

NICOLE

Wailing sirens jolted me from my sleep. I shot up in the unfamiliar bed with panic surging through my veins. Akio lay beside me, also stirring from his sleep and opening his eyes as the sirens intensified around us.

“What’s happening?” I whispered.

Akio rubbed his eyes and glanced at me, equally confused. “I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t sound good,” I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and tiptoeing to the bedroom door.

Jamal had slept with Marquis last night, graciously giving us his bed. I had never been good friends with him, but he seemed like a thoughtful guy.

The sirens grew louder, and I noticed that they were a mix of ambulances and firetrucks, but mostly just police cars. After peeking out the door to make sure that there weren’t any officers here, I stepped into the hallway and then descended the stairs.

At the bottom of the staircase, Ms. Simmons sat at the kitchen table with tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at her phone. With trembling hands, she gripped it tightly and shook her head, mumbling about how terrible this was.

My stomach turned. “What’s going on?” I whispered, my voice quivering.

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with sorrow and guilt. “Nicole,” she whispered, her voice quivering. She stood, reached out for me, and pulled me into a tight embrace—the first time a motherly figure had done that in years. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this was happening to you.”

“You saw the video,” I said, mouth dry, “didn’t you?”

“If I had known somethin’ like this was happenin’, I would’ve done somethin’.”

Gently, I hugged her back and stared out the front window at the police driving by with their lights blazing. My heart raced as I watched them pass, and I really hoped that they wouldn’t find me here. I wanted to ask Ms. Simmons why there were sirens, but the words caught in my throat. I knew why the police were going crazy.

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