HEARING DAMAGE
TEEN NOLA - CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO !

EARLY MORNING DAYLIGHT SHONE down upon them. With the help of Natalie and her proficient use of the gun as a form of threat, they had managed to wrangle Coach Scott to his one good foot, force his makeshift crutch under his arm and began leading the man who they had once looked to for guidance on the soccer field back to their camp. The very camp they had been forced to create from the ground up due to his vicious act of burning down their only shelter.

Stevie McClane had always considered herself more of an observer than a partaker. Deep down she was just incredibly nosy which allowed for her to slink into the background and watch those around her from a distance. Unbeknownst to the group that lingered behind the rest, Stevie had been conspicuously glancing back at them every minute or so, the young girl deliberately tuning out the faint conversation that took place between Mari and Robin before her and instead straining her ears for if and when the group of girls behind her finally spoke up.

          She was awfully curious as to what had happened to them all back in the cave. Whatever had happened had seemingly caused all of them to cease speaking. Stevie let out a sigh as she waited for someone, anyone to break the silence amongst them.

          Nola found herself trailing along the back of the group, alongside the very girls whom she had braved the cave with. They all knew just by looking at one another that their own experiences hadn't been singular. No, they had each experienced some form of dream or hallucination, or whatever the fuck it had been. But they all knew it had happened.

          Stevie was just about ready to forgo satiating her curiosity when she was finally blessed with the first words to be spoken.

"It wasn't that weird." Shauna finally admitted, breaking the silence that had settled amongst them. She let out a sigh as she continued to say, "As far as nightmare go, it was like a six out of ten on my crazy dreams meter."

Akilah nodded curiously. She glanced about the girls beside her, her own face expressing her interest in what had happened. "I was just wondering if maybe the dream could have been, like, a message?" She asked them all, watching their faces for any chance of agreement.

"Yeah."

            "Stay out of that cave." Shauna declared, her voice dripping with finality before she stomped on ahead, with Van sending both Akilah and Nola a nod before wordlessly taking off after her.

Though she could have followed closely behind Shauna and Van, Nola felt it necessary to speak her true and honest thoughts. "I think it was. A message, I mean." She uttered quietly to Akilah, the girl staring back at her in wonder.

It felt wrong to deny what they had seen. To dismiss it as simply a sign to stay out of the cave. Whatever each of them had seen, it all had to mean something so much bigger.

           The McClane girl was even more intrigued now. The mention of dreams from Shauna to Nola confirming her belief that it has been a message, no doubt from the Wilderness, this revved up the dark haired girls interest. She wondered if something was about to happen now that they had successfully retrieved Coach Scott. Would they be rewarded by the Wilderness for their efforts?

It wasn't long until they had arrived back at camp. By this point, Nola had pushed herself towards the front of the crowd, the young girl idly walking behind Natalie who had been leading Coach Scott. The man looked to be in total shock as he took in the sight before him. The well crafted huts and even the little spot in the middle for their fireplace with tree stump chairs, it all looked so amazing, so impressive. No doubt he had assumed they had been living in the dirt, struggling day to day to survive.

When Shauna saw Natalie attempt to lead Coach further into the camp, perhaps towards her own hut, she called out, "Hey." While rushing forward, pushing past those in her way, her gaze grew furious as she snapped, "Hey! Where are you going?"

As the Scatorccio girl spun back to face her, the anger-filled Shauna continued to scowl. "We're here. He's back. Now we have to make him pay for trying to kill us."

By now everyone had stopped walking and was silently observing the clash of heads between two of their friends. Coach Scott even had the right idea to allow his fear to resurface upon his face as the idea of dying at the hands of this group of savage girls slammed into him, nearly winding the man.

Natalie stared back at Shauna incredulously. "That is not how we are gonna do it." She retorted.

"Nat's right." Lottie claimed. She glanced almost tearfully at the group around her. "Life and death has always been for it to decide."

Lost in the middle of the group, Melissa's eyes began to swim with conviction. She boldly yelled out, "Fuck that. He burned down our home with us in it."

"She's right. He tried to kill us."

Nola rushed forward. This wasn't right, they had no right to decide his fate no matter their feelings towards him. "Guys, we have to do this right. We have to be fair. If it's left for us to decide, he'll be dead in the next hour." Her chest tightened as she spoke. The Wilderness's stance on Coach Scott was all that mattered. "The Wilderness has always been fair. It's only ever taken from us what it needed. If it thinks Coach did it, he'll get what's coming to him."

Natalie's head nodded with the speed of light. She would rarely agree with Nola, who didn't camouflage her distaste toward's Natalie's leadership, or even Lottie since usually their ideas were fuddled up with their fucking Wilderness bullshit but right now they were actually speaking sense. "Yeah, what if it was just a freak accident? What if Coach had nothing to do with it? He deserved a chance to tell his side of the story. You know, to plead his case." She was desperate at this point. She implored them to understand.

A small sigh tumbled past Natalie's lips. Her fingers gripped at the sleek sleeves of her leather jacket as she bravely declared, "We're gonna have to do this right. We're gonna have a trail."

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NOLA HAD STOOD BY anxiously, her dirtied nails trapped between her teeth as she bit at them while listening to Shauna and Natalie argue over how the end trail vote should go before landing on Nat's suggested two-thirds vote. By the time they had saddled Misty with taking responsibility for defending Coach Scott during the trail, the nail on her thumb has been chewed away to nothing. She was desperate to get talking to Lottie, the only person she knew she could speak to earnestly and who would understand her best.

But of course, Lottie had taken to also observing the group dynamics.

The very second the conversation had reached a conclusion, Nola rushed forward, the dirt below her feet being kicked up as she practically ran towards her friend. "Lottie." She timidly spoke up. The desperation in her voice caused the Matthews girl to turn towards her instantly. "Can I talk to you? It's kind of important."

Lottie glanced around them, taking in the confusion etched upon Natalie's face, the pissed off expression Shauna wore like a badge of honour these days and then allowed her gaze to linger on the stress that seemed to swarm Nola's eyes. Without much deliberation, Lottie nodded her head and smiled tentatively at the brunette before her. "Sure."

            Once she and Lottie had managed to find a place quiet enough to talk and far away enough from the others to prevent them from eavesdropping, Nola's breath shuddered. "I had a dream. In the cave. I saw something and I think it means something but I don't want to get my hopes up."

          "And I know you can't hear the Wilderness anymore but you're the only one here who has had a connection with it like me an—"

            She was cut off by the pressure of Lottie's hands falling upon her shoulders. It was comforting. She knew Lottie understood just by this act alone. Lottie sweetly smiled at her as she calmly said, "Nola, you had a vision. What did you see?"

            Nola took a deep breath, the young girl struggling to get her nerves under control though the weight of Lottie's continued hold on her shoulders kept her grounded. She was grateful. "I was here in the camp but everyone else was gone. You all had vanished. And I saw the Antler Crown, Lot. I put it on in the dream and it felt right, like I was supposed to be wearing it."

           "I know what you think, Lottie. You don't believe I'm ready for it, you didn't that night, but I'm telling you, I can do this. It's supposed to be me. Not Nat." She finally felt confident enough to say everything she had kept locked up inside. She hadn't agreed with Lottie that night and now she could tell her this without fear. The others weren't really on Natalie's side anymore. She didn't have to worry about retaliation on her behalf, she might in fact have gained support if Melissa's words the day prior were anything to go on. "It was never supposed to be her."

            The Matthews girl appeared contemplative. Her tongue darted out to wet her drying lips before she asked, "Did anything else happen?"

Now Nola was the one looking contemplative. Did she tell Lottie the truth and risk proving Lottie right? "The antlers on the crown twisted and pierced into my skull. I know it was just a dream but it felt so fucking real." She admitted with a long sigh. She knew the risk she was taking but being honest was the only way forward. She was quick to point out however, "It hurting me doesn't necessarily mean I'm not supposed to be the leader."

Lottie slowly nodded as her hands fell to her sides. "Maybe it means something else. Maybe that it'll be you but you'll have to suffer for it." She hypothesised.

"If it comes down to it, Lottie, will you have my back? I need you in my corner. You're the only one who truly understands what it's like." She was imploring with her friend, begging her for her support. The others would listen to Lottie, would heed her words and begin seeing Nola as more of a leader.

The leader she was more than capable of becoming.

After a few seconds of thinking, Lottie finally nodded in agreement. Perhaps now was Nola's time. Her nodding was halted as Nola practically threw herself at Lottie, wrapping the girl up in her arms and squeezing her tightly. Faint expletives tumbled from the Rilke girl's lips as gratitude for Lottie's support consumed her.

"You won't regret this." She promised as she finally peeled back from the hug and shooting the girl an appreciative smile.

Not long after their conversation, the two girls found themselves back outside and sitting down alongside the others, all of whom were waiting for the trail to commence. Mere seconds after finding a seat, Nola was overwhelmed by the people that began to surround her. To her left sat Shauna who had her body almost entirely pressed up against Nola's side while the other side sat Stevie and across sat Melissa. The three girls flanked her with such ease it would have been scary if she hadn't found it incredibly benevolent. It was as if she had her very own harem of beautiful girls.

"All rise!" Some of the group found how intense this 'trail' was becoming to be quite comical, laughable even but the vast majority of them had been holding in their frustrations with Coach Scott for some time and now that the time to hold him accountable had finally come, they weren't willing to speak up and pass up this opportunity.

"The People v. Benjamin Scott, on charges of arson and multiple counts of attempted murder. Jury verdict requires a two-thirds majority." Van announced, the girl acting as the bailiff. "The Honorable Judge Natalie presiding."

At the mention of her name, Natalie took that as her cue and emerged from her hut, appearing before them all adorned in a white cloak and the antler crown perched atop her head. The sight was enough to rouse a long, drawn out sigh to tumble past Nola's lips as her head fell into her open palm.

The Scatorccio girl stood stagnant for a moment, simply staring at them all as if she were trying to comprehend what the fuck it was they were actually doing, as if she couldn't believe this was the life she was now living. Her shoulders fell with a heavy sigh as she moved to sit in her chair. Her fingers wrapped around the wooden gavel beside her, gripping it tightly before bringing it down on the little makeshift table, the small collisions echoing throughout the silent camp.

"Alright, here we go. Taissa Turner, you may call your first witness." She offered up, allowing Taissa to stand to her feet and take the attention off of herself.

The Turner girl rose up, her shoulders rolled back and her head held high. She looked so professional. It was obvious how seriously she was taking this whole charade. "Yes, Your Honor. The People would like to call Mari Ibarra to the stand."

Heads spun towards the girl in question who was sat idly at one end of the table. The burn of their gaze seemed to snap the girl out of her boredom induced stupor. Her pupils shook as her eyes flitted towards the gawking group, realisation hit her.

"Oh, shit." The Ibarra girl breathed out. Another few seconds passed. She still looked a little confused but with a gentle nudge from Robin, she slowly rose to her feet.

Her hands gripped the table as her pushed herself up, balancing all of her weight on her one good foot, wincing just a bit as the slightest twinge of pain radiated through her fucked up knee. With a slight hobble to her movements, Mari successfully made her way over to a small tree stump to the left of Natalie. Their 'stand' if you will.

Taissa approached her with a kind smile. "Mari, first of all, we are really glad to have you back with us. Especi—"

She barely got to even begin her opening words before her voice was silenced. The Curly-haired, bespectacled Misty suddenly exclaimed, "Wait! We have to swear her in."

"Oh." Van uttered. Her eyes widened as she looked to Natalie, comprehension of Misty's words washing over her. "Right, yeah, we forgot that."

The group looked about themselves, many attempting to think of something appropriate enough to actual use when swearing someone in during the trail.

Lottie glanced down tentatively at the deck of cards she held in her hand. "Here." She then offered up, holding the cards out to signal she planned to use them.

With intention the Matthews girl moved to stand then ventured towards her friend on the stand. The deck of cards was held out with Lottie motioning for Mari to place her hand atop them. "Repeat after me: 'I vow by the Wilderness to honor It's virtue with my own. What It asks, I will answer, what It says, I will listen. What It needs—"

Her words of support for the Wilderness were brought to a halt by Natalie who sighed and took over. "She swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and that's it."

Yet another sigh tumbled from Natalie's lips as she stared pointedly across the group. "So help her all of us."

            Mari's head bobbed weakly up and down. She glanced between Natalie and Lottie while retracting her hand from the card deck. Hesitation was half-laced in her words as she replied, "Yeah, I do."

            The faintest frown pulled at Lottie's lips though she remained silent and stepped back, her head hung low and the cards held tightly in her hand.

            As the brunette shuffled back of her seat, Taissa slid back to her previous spot, took a deep, calming breath and then retrained her gaze upon Mari. "Mari, we are really glad to have you back with us, especially after such a traumatic ordeal with Coach Scott."

            "Objection." Misty called out with held out hand and a roll of her eyes. Taissa's lips tightened into a frustrated smile as the blonde continued to speak. "In whose opinion was it traumatic?"

            "I think we can all agree that being held against your will is traumatic." The Turner girl mockingly replied with a sarcastic smirk. Her tone indicated to them all that she believed her words to be speaking the obvious.

            Both girls then shifted their focus to Natalie, the judge, for some form of confirmation of who was right.

            "Sustained." Natalie's declaration caused Taissa to huff in annoyance and for the hands perched upon her hips to fall to her sides. Natalie just shrugged in response while explaining, "Well, it's technically an opinion, so."

            Taissa's eyes shut with a defeated inner groan. "Fine." She relinquished. "Mari, in your opinion, was your time in Coach's dungeon traumatic?"

            "Fuck yeah, it was. He made me eat bats, and he kept talking to...God knows who, but it wasn't me." Mari replied, her voice teetering between relief and unease as she recalled her experience.

           "Are you saying he's deranged?" Taissa questioned curiously, the girl knowingly stoking the fire that was the case against Coach Scott. If she had her way, by the end of this trail that man would be held accountable for his actions.

           Suddenly Mari looked conflicted. One second she looked excited to call out Ben's actions but then the idea of tacking such a negative description on the man left her apprehensive. She hesitated before stuttering, "I mean...maybe."

            "Is that why he held you captive?" Taissa stayed her course. She slowly lowered herself until she was eye level with Mari, creating a false sense of unity.

            "He didn't want me coming back to tell you all where he was." Mari revealed with a frown. Her eyes took on a glint of upset as she quietly continued to speak. "A-And then I did."

             Taissa's brows furrowed. "Why didn't he want that?"

            "He didn't want us coming to get payback."

           Smugness warped the Turner girl's smile as she rose back up to her full height. "Payback." She echoed.

           Immediately this caused the group to stare over at the man, their gazes hot against his skin as he avoided looking back. They were all thinking the same thing. If he didn't burn down the cabin with them inside of it, then what could they possibly be trying to dish out payback for? If he truly used that word as Mari said, he had basically admitted to it.

            With no other questions to be asked and a sense of satisfaction at her work, Taissa relinquished her place in front of Mari and allowed Misty to take over asking questions for the defence.

            Filled with determination, the Quigley girl stepped forward and began. "Did he say payback for what?"

            "Not exactly." Mari replied with a shrug. She wasn't lying after all. He hadn't said what the supposed 'payback' would be exacted for but it didn't take a genius to figure it out. "But I assume for burning the cabin."

            The blonde sarcastically smiled at the Ibarra girl. "You know what happens when you assume? You make an 'ass' out of 'U' and 'me.'" She snippily sneered. She allowed her own smug smile to form as the others snickered. She had begun to make the necessary strides towards exonerating Coach Ben. She just needed to keep going. Curiously she peered down at Mari. "Could Coach Scott have killed you when you were in the cave?"

            "Yes."

            "But he didn't, did he?"

            Mari's once upbeat personality appeared to have fizzled out. "No."

            Misty was invigorated. She knew that Mari was breaking down and becoming more and more amenable. She quickly carried on digging further into Mari's story. "Why did he take you to the cave? I mean, why didn't he just leave you in the pit? He could have left you there to rot, but, I mean...I know Shauna would." She puffed out a breathy chuckle as she gestured broadly towards Shauna.

            Nola glanced at the girl beside her who didn't even appeared offended as if actually agreeing she would have done exactly what she was accused of, as Taissa scoffed. "Objection. That's unnecessary."

            Natalie shrugged. "Yeah, but it's true. But sustained." She pointed out, knowing that they all agreed. Though it wasn't right for Misty to shift focus to Shauna, she wasn't wrong in her accusation. The Scatorccio girl turned to look at Mari. "Mari, just answer why he pulled you out."

Deep lines formed on her face as Mari frowned. Her eyes turned despondent as her brows furrowed. Her voice was low, sad even as she answered. "He didn't want me to die in there."

"He didn't want you to die." Misty repeated slowly. Her gaze darted towards the group who all of a sudden appeared uneasy, almost as if their belief in Coach Scott's guilt was beginning to dwindle. "That doesn't sound like a murderer to me."

Sarcasm dripped from every word that left Taissa's lips. "Are you giving testimony now?"

Misty swallowed down a biting retort. "Does that sound like a vengeful murderer to you?" She asked through gritted teeth, her attention shifted back towards a hunched over Mari.

Regret now marred Mari's face. "No."

The blonde smiled. Her head nodded as she looked towards Natalie. "No further questions."

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"WHY WERE YOU UP so late the night of the fire?" Misty interrogated Shauna Shipman who was now sat where Mari once sat. No sooner had the brunette been released from the stand, was Shauna called upon to be questioned as Misty's first witness. Shauna had risen to her feet reluctantly, only spurred on by a gentle push from Nola.

"I couldn't sleep." Shauna replied indifferently.

Misty's brows furrowed. "So you just...were sitting there? Doing...nothing?" She emphasised her words to real hone in on the disbelief she and perhaps the others might feel at Shauna's response.

Shauna had been awake when the fire had began, after all. She had been up in the attic when the flames first began to flicker. Misty wasn't quick to believe that Shauna had simply been unable to sleep and she most certainly wasn't quick to believe that Shauna didn't have it in her to burn the cabin.

The Shipman girl sighed. With a roll of her eyes, she elaborated more on what she had been doing that night. "I was journaling."

"What were you journaling about?" Misty questioned as she paced intentionally before Shauna, her eyes locked upon her over the top of her glasses.

Her line of questioning didn't go over well with Taissa who immediately spoke up. "Objection. Who cares what she was journaling about?"

Natalie couldn't help but agree. She didn't understand why Misty cared so much about what Shauna had been journaling about. The Scatorccio girl nodded as she glanced over at Misty, perplexity written all over her face. "Sustained. Misty, why's it matter what she's—"

"Because she could have been journaling about starting the fire." Misty hastily replied, cutting Natalie off. This caused Shauna to roll her eyes.

Nola couldn't help but scoff under her breath at Misty's attempts to sway the jury and pin the blame on Shauna. Nola had been up that night too. If Shauna was a suspect then surely she was too but no. Because of Shauna's quick temper these days, it was simply easier to shift the responsibility over to Shauna.

"Yeah, okay, so ask her that."

Misty huffed. "I'm building a narrative." She explained as if she was talking to a bunch of five year olds, each incapable of understanding why she was digging her heels in so fiercely. Her hands flapped to her sides, slapping against the bare flesh of her thighs as she turned back to Shauna. "Shauna, did you start the fire?"

"No." Shauna replied firmly.

The blonde didn't let up. "You're under oath, remember."

            Shauna now looked at the blonde as if she'd grown another head. "I did not start the fire. That's fucking crazy."

            Misty's brows cinched together. "Is it?" She inquired, a sarcastic disbelief woven into her voice. "Because the night of the fire was the same night that Natalie was chosen to be leader. And I saw the look on your face, the disappointment you had."

            There was a beat. Then Misty, almost sympathetically asked, "Are-are you upset that you weren't chosen to be leader?"

            "No."

            "You don't think that you deserve to be the leader?"

Shauna's gaze rose up and met Nola's concern filled eyes. At one point, absolutely Shauna believed she deserved to be leader. She had been through so fucking much, had suffered such extreme losses and accumulated so much blood on her hands. It was only fair.

At one point, absolutely Shauna believed she deserved to be the leader but not anymore. She knew deep down, that only one of them was truly capable of leading them, of guiding them in the right direction.

With a small but sure shake of the head, Shauna uttered, "No."

Misty wasn't fooled. "Really? After everything that you've done? After everything that you have been through to survive?"

            She wasn't going to let Ben take the fall. This meant only one thing though. Keep pushing Shauna. Don't let up. Don't pull her heel from Shauna's neck. "After losing your girlfriend, losing your baby...carving up Javi's body, because none of us could, just so that we could feed ourselves?"

Each word jabbed at Shauna. Pricked at her skin like thousands of pins and needles, heating her blood to a simmering boil. Misty saw how angry Shauna was becoming. Perhaps if she kept going, Shauna would flip and reveal that she has in fact burned the cabin down. "I mean, I would be furious if I went through all of that and wasn't even thought of to be the leader."

Shauna's nose turned up in frustration at the blonde. She glared up at Misty who hovered nearby and snapped back, "Why the fuck would I burn down the cabin because of that? I lived there too."

            They were all on the edge of their seats now. Breaths were being held, hearts were pounding as they watched on as Misty bombarded Shauna with hypothesis after hypothesis.

            Misty nonchalantly shrugged. "Well, maybe you resorted to something drastic...to show us all who the real hero is, the real leader. I mean, maybe...maybe you started the fire so that you could save us all, so that you could get yourself crowned."

            Fury raged through Taissa as she jumped to her feet, her shoes pounding against the ground. "Objection!"

            "Withdrawn." Misty's gaze remained locked upon Shauna. With a firm voice, she called out, "No further questions." Then as if she hadn't just verbally accosted one of her friends, she stepped back from the stand.

            From beside a concerned looking Nola, Stevie scoffed. "Misty is such a bitch. I saw her face that night. She wanted it to." She whispered quietly to her friend as she stared hard over at Misty who was now taking a seat next to Ben at the table.

            This intrigued Nola. She hadn't noticed anyone else that night. Admittedly she had been wrapped up in herself that night. Her focus has been solely on the betrayal she had felt at the hands of Lottie and the anger and jealousy directed at Natalie. She didn't have enough brain power to manage keeping track of everyone else's faces as well. But if what Stevie had was true, if Misty had truly looked upset at not being chosen just like her, just like Shauna then surely she was just as much a suspect?

            Taissa sauntered up to stand beside Shauna, who was attempting to calm herself down after being riled up by Misty. It was the Turner girls time to shine now. She had the floor and she intended to win.

            With a comforting smile she approached the Shipman girl. "Shauna. I believe you're a hero, for alerting us to the fire and this saving our lives."

            "Objection. There's not a question." Misty protested.

            Once again Natalie was forced to intervene. Her head nodded in agreement with Misty's statement. "Sustained. No preaching, Tai." She advised the Turner girl who let out a sigh in response.

            When she saw her attempt had been foiled, Taissa knew she needed to take a different approach if she was going to win this thing. She plastered on a small smile as she asked, "Fine. Shauna, do you think Ben is a hero?"

            Shauna's eyes narrowed. They darted up to stare at Taissa. She was confused on why the fuck she would be asked that as if she hadn't been calling for his capture ever since the burning of the cabin. "No."

            "Why?"

            Misty's hand raised to the air. "Objection." Her voice leapt out, cutting off any chance Shauna had to give an answer. The blonde glanced over at Natalie before looking backing to Taissa and asking, "Where is this going?"

            Taissa was quick to retort, "I'm building a narrative."

            The judge was growing tired of the sparring. With a roll of her eyes, Natalie waved for Taissa to continue on. "Overruled. Keep going."

           "Shauna, why don't you think Ben is a hero?" Taissa knew it was wrong. She knew rousing up Shauna's still very raw feelings was wrong but if there was any way that they could get everyone on their side by the end of the trail, some hard truths needed to be brought back up. "Didn't he help you, when you were in labour?"

           Realisation marred Shauna's face. Her voice grew quiet, becoming almost a whisper as she spoke. "No. He didn't."

Bingo.

Internally Taissa cheered herself on. She felt triumphant, like a winner.

Fighting back a smirk, Taissa feigned confused intrigue. "Huh. What did he do when you were in labour?" She goaded while glancing back and forth between Shauna and the man who had the good sense to look ashamed.

"Nothing. He just left me." Flashes of herself in labour appeared in Shauna's mind. The sheer agony that had invaded her body, the blood that refused to stop flowing, the absence of her baby's cries.

Suddenly a lump formed in her throat. She could feel herself tearing up but she fought back allowing them to fall. "I was bleeding and in so much pain, so Natalie went to get him. And he just looked at me and said, "All I did was press play on a VHS tape."

Ben's head hung low. He could feel the judgment from the group. He knew what they all thought of him as Shauna recalled his shameful behaviour from that day.

"And then went back to his room."

The croak present in Shauna's was enough to make Taissa feel like shit. Wracking up her friend's painful memories to prove a point had been a dick move. The right one but wrong all the same. "Shauna, why do you think Ben would have wanted to start the fire?"

         "Cause he judges us." She stated as if if was obvious. She stared out at the group, all of whom stared back at her, none of them able to break from her gaze. "I mean, he's judged us this whole time. He's not one of us and he hates that. It terrifies him."

"We are here and alive cause we fought to be here and we fought to stay alive. And he tried to take that from us."

Taissa was satisfied. "No further questions."

With an expression one can only declare as genuine, eye-twitching rage, Misty jumped back to her feet with a stomp. Her nose was turned up in irritation, her bottom caught between her teeth as she prepared herself.

Her feet moved forward. One, two, three, four steps then she halted. Her bottom lip was freed now. She spun on her feel and glanced out at the jury. There was only one person she could think of to target next. Her dark eyes landed upon her mark. She observed the girl who comforted her girlfriend with a smile, who ran her thumb along the back of Shauna's hand that clenched and unclenched in rapid succession.

Misty cleared her throat, the sound catching the group's attention once again.

"The defence calls Nola Rilke to the stand."

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author's thoughts.
chapter fifty two, not proofread
I truly believe Shauna didn't really blame Ben until Taissa's began to stoke the fire. the others constantly messed with her emotions and then were surprised she turned out so horrible. Anyway I hope you enjoyed :)