Apocalypse: The Dead Lives
Chapter 58: Wrong Answer

Chapter 58: Wrong Answer

The cafeteria was buzzing. Everywhere I turned, people were whispering.

They weren’t even trying to hide it.

I could feel the stares, the curiosity, the fear. They weren’t whispering about me, though.

No, I was just the girl caught in the middle of it. The girl whose boyfriend- ex-boyfriend nearly electrocuted someone to death.

My fingers tightened around my fork, stabbing at my food, though I wasn’t really eating. My stomach felt knotted, and my appetite was nonexistent.

But I needed something to do, something to ground me. Because my thoughts kept slipping back to last night. To the sound of Ronan’s lightning splitting the air. To how he broke my heart right after.

My mind slipped back to the way Marco had hit the ground, his body convulsing, smoking. To the way, Ronan’s eyes had gone completely blank.

I swallowed hard.

And then there was Orion.

I squeezed my thighs together, warmth pooling between them at just the thought of him. He wasn’t even human, but the way he looked at me... like he could see through me, past my clothes, straight into my bones- no, my soul.

A shiver ran down my spine.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I shook my head, stabbing at my food again. The whispers hadn’t stopped. If anything, they were getting worse.

"...Did you see what Ronan did to Marco?..."

"...They were like superhumans. I wonder what Ender’s gonna do..."

"...And Marco? His fire didn’t even stand a chance against Ronan’s lightning..."

I gritted my teeth, my grip on the fork so tight I swore I’d snap it in half.

They were talking about it like it was a show. Like Marco nearly dying wasn’t real. Like Ronan nearly losing control wasn’t terrifying.

I clenched my jaw and forced myself to look down at my plate. Focus. Breathe. Don’t listen.

And then-

A shadow moved across the table.

I looked up, expecting Ellie.

But it wasn’t her.

It took a second to register the face in front of me.

The dark hair, the big, wide eyes, the small, delicate features. She had that same innocent look, the same little-girl face that had tricked me once before- tricked us.

My stomach twisted, then dropped.

My fingers went cold.

Serene.

For a moment, all I could do was stare.

Shock hit me first.

Then horror.

Then rage.

I shot up so fast that my chair screeched against the floor.

Serene’s eyes widened, and I saw the flicker of recognition. She knew exactly who I was. And she knew exactly why I was about to rip her head off.

I lunged across the table, barely registering the gasps and scraping chairs around me. But before I could even reach her, a hand grabbed my arm, stopping me cold.

A strong grip. Familiar.

I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

Ronan.

His voice was low in my ear, calm but firm. "Don’t."

I yanked my arm, trying to shake him off, but he held me tighter. My blood boiled.

"Let me go," I hissed.

"No."

I turned my head to glare at him. "She stole from us, Ronan."

She tricked us and led us into a trap. She nearly got us killed. And now she was here, sitting in the cafeteria like she belonged?

Like nothing happened?

Ronan didn’t flinch. "She had no choice."

I scoffed. "Oh, so now you’re defending her?"

"I’m explaining."

"When did you become the devil’s advocate? I don’t need your explanations, Ronan. I know enough to make my own assumptions." My voice was sharp, slicing between us like a knife.

Ronan sighed, his jaw tightening. I could tell he didn’t want to do this here, with so many eyes on us. But I didn’t care. I wanted answers.

Finally, he exhaled through his nose. "Marlon, their leader had her mother."

My breath hitched.

I blinked, thrown off. "...What?"

Ronan let go of my arm, but I didn’t move.

"Their leader blackmailed her," he said, quieter now. "He had Serene’s mom. If she wanted to keep her alive, she had to steal. She had to lie. Had to trick people into trusting her."

My head spun.

Their leader. What a bastard.

I swallowed hard, looking at Serene again. She wasn’t meeting my gaze now, her fingers twisting in her lap, looking small.

Too small.

I exhaled through my nose, my chest tight.

I wanted to be angry. I was angry. But suddenly, it wasn’t so simple.

Ronan kept going. "I found them. Got them out. They’re safe now. That’s all that matters."

I snapped my gaze back to him, my pulse ticking faster. "And when exactly were you planning on telling me this?"

Ronan’s face hardened. "I didn’t think it mattered."

Wrong answer.

I let out a cold, sharp laugh. "Oh, it didn’t matter?"

"Hailey-"

"Kind of like how it didn’t matter to tell me you were gonna fry Marco alive?"

Silence.

The cafeteria noise hummed in the background, but around us, it was just quiet.

Tense.

Ronan’s fingers twitched at his sides. I saw the flicker of guilt in his eyes. But I also saw something else- frustration. Annoyance.

Like he thought I was being unreasonable.

I shook my head, stepping back. My pulse was pounding, my emotions all over the place. "I can’t do this right now."

I turned, walking away before he could say anything else.

I didn’t stop walking until I was outside. The cold air hit me hard, but I welcomed it.

I sucked in a deep breath, forcing the tension from my shoulders. But it wasn’t working.

Everything felt wrong.

People were still whispering about the fight. Still staring at me. Ronan was hiding things. Again. Marco was probably lying somewhere, bandaged up, pissed off.

And Orion.

I leaned against the wall, pressing my fingers into my temples.

What the hell was happening to my life?

I wasn’t sure what scared me more- that everything was falling apart.

Or that I wasn’t sure I even cared.