After: a Maxerica Story

Part 10

"Can I ask you two something?"  I ask, glaring from Brooke to Sadie and back to Brooke again. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with us?" Brooke snaps, glancing at Sadie who crosses her arms at me. I've never seen so much attitude from either of them. "Well let me tell you. We fell in love with you and have been showing you time after time how much we really love you and then you add another girl! Is that even allowed?"

"I didn't add another girl!" I exclaim. "Let me tell you a little something about Gwen. She-"

"She lets you call her Gwen?" Sadie asks, putting a hand on her hips. 

"Yes. Is that such a sin?" I ask, irritated. "Now. Her family is the British royalty, who happen to be under attack by what I believe are rebels. It's never been this bad for them. We happen to be very good allies with the British, and they asked us to take their daughters. They might not make it out of these attacks alive. If they kept Gwen and Ashlyn with them in Britain, the whole family could be dead in less than a minute."

That seems to silence them. "So you need to go to her and apologize for being so rude to her! What you did was the least queen-like thing I have ever seen!"

"Why?" they ask together.

"Because a queen always keeps her emotions on the inside. If she doesn't like someone, she doesn't glare at them and expect them to be polite back. She's welcoming and encouraging and loving, no matter what."

"I'm sorry, Gerad," Brooke whispers, walking up to me and hugging me. I wrap my hands tentatively around her back. 

"Well I'm not." Sadie's voice is firm, not weak as it has been before. I let go of Brooke as she speaks. "Breanne is dead, okay? Because of you, basically. Well, your family. If you didn't have this stupid Selection, Breanne would still be alive and doing whatever she did. Why don't you find love on your own instead of cheating on thirty-five different girls and hoping you'll find someone who doesn't think you're pathetic?"

I don't respond. She has a point.

"Sadie-" Brooke whispers, but Sadie silences her.

"Shut up, you fake bitch!" Sadie yells, and Brooke covers her mouth. I wrap an arm protectively around Brooke, not knowing what else to do.

"All of you are fake. Always putting on a show to get people to like you. I did, too. You pulled me into your trap. Well, I'm done. Breanne was the only real person here. And now she's dead! Dead, Gerad! No one will ever see her again, touch her again, talk to her again, laugh with her again- and Gerad, you'll never be able to marry her. Don't think I didn't know that you were going to pick her. I saw it in your eyes. You fooled her-" She points to Brooke. "But you sure as hell didn't fool me."

"I didn't want to fool anybody!" I yell. "I didn't want Breanne to die, I don't want you to hate me, and I didn't even want Gwendolyn to come here."

From the corner of my eye, something moves. I turn around to see what it is, and all I see is someone running away.

Gwen.

About to break down in tears, I breath deeply and close my eyes. "Sadie, if you never wanted to be here, you should've just told me. I would've let you leave. There are no traps here, except for the one you built yourself."

Sadie's eyes widen, and she beats me to crying.

"Please, leave. Please," I whisper, my eyes still closed. I can sense Sadie running out of the room, but Brooke apparently comes up and kisses me. My eyes fly open and all I can see is Brooke's lips, pressing to mine.