Linked

17: why?

I'm not happy with the verdict I was given.

"You're just saying that cuz you don't want me dating anyone cuz you're jealous. Besides, that makes absolutely no sense. Make it make sense," I said, rolling my eyes.

"You wanna know what makes demons scary?" Sol asked.

"Just tell me," I answered.

"Demons can look into your deepest hidden traumas and fears and use them against you as long as they know your full name. You know Jamal and Jamila's full names and you're linked to a demon. So, you unknowingly gazed into Jamila's deepest trauma like a demon," Sol explained.

"Yeah, and based on what Suji told me, you and Sol share pain, cravings, and abilities. This trauma thing is an ability you share with Sol," Ortega added.

"Whoa..." Suji replied.

"Okay, so what does that have to do with me dating people?" I asked, pushing down the feeling of guilt. I had unknowingly used Jamila's deepest trauma against her. Of course I felt bad.

"Personally, I've never tested out my demon abilities but based on the little info that I know, it's not a good idea," Sol answered.

"So like I was saying, it all comes down to Soleil. I rest my case," Ortega the law student said, sitting back down on the floor.

I frowned.

"You know what?" Suji announced, standing up. "This new ability we've found out Soleil shares with Sol makes things worse and makes it clear that the faster we break the link, the better."

"Oh yeah. We were working on that before the whole thing with Jamila," I said.

"We obviously can't wait for Nevaeh any longer. Should we try an exorcism to break the link?" Suji suggested.

"Bitch, you can't do an exorcism to save your life," Ortega said.

As a result, Suji kicked him.

"An exorcism doesn't sound bad. Sure, it won't kill Sol, but it might break our link," I said.

Suji smiled. "Okay. I'll figure out how to do one."

"Yo. Y'all know Lucky 7, right?" Ortega asked.

"Seven's store?" I asked.

He nodded. "His items are rumored do anything. Maybe one of them could break the link so we should steal one!"

Suji, Sol, and I looked at him as if he was high.

"If any of his items could do that, then he would have offered it instead of getting help from Nevaeh!" Suji cried.

"Yo, the fact that you stole an item from him was what got us in the situation in the first place!" Sol yelled.

"Ortega. Just no," I said.

"...I'm just saying," Ortega mumbled, twiddling his pointer fingers.

...

Gossip is like a zombie apocalypse.

All it takes is one person. That one person goes to the next person and spills the tea. Then that next person spills the tea to more people. Then it spreads. In under a minute, everyone knows.

So like I was saying. Gossip is basically the verbal version of the zombie apocalypse.

When Suji, Ortega, and I stepped on campus on Monday morning, everyone was talking about how Jamal killed Jamila.

"How...?" Was Suji's response.

Helios, who was walking by, noticed us and made his way over to us. "Hey! Did you guys hear about it?"