Nefarious ➛ Theo Raeken [2]

|07|

Clarissa tapped her nails against her desk as she waited for class to begin. The conversation in the library had repeated itself in her head with each step she took towards class and she had nothing to focus on until her math teacher began to speak.

The idea of someone that she had cared about being taken by the Ghost Riders was a chilling prospect, especially since she couldn't remember who that person was to her. It was an even more chilling prospect that they could continue to take people that she cared about and she would have no idea.

She didn't know what she would do if anything happened to Delcan or Corey, the thought of them being ripped away from her life sent a wave of nausea through her. Mason and Nolan brough that same wave of anxiety as they were both humans that possessed no supernatural abilities. They were all helpless against something like the Ghost Riders.

Evelyn and Parrish could handle their own, but even then, she still worried about the two older members of her pack. Parrish had grown on her the longer that he tried to make up for his part in Theo's banishment. Three months had warmed him to her even though she took great relish in reminding him of the suffering that he had caused her.

Lori and Brett could protect themselves as well, but she didn't know how they would protect themselves against the Ghost Riders. Every single person that she cared about was at risk with them in town and she had no idea how to protect them from an enemy that they couldn't see.

The sound of a marker hitting paper continuously breached her eardrums and she didn't hide her confusion as she turned to stare at Malia. The werecoyote was running a yellow highlighter over her page, lining each sentence in her book with a bright outline.

Clarissa had seen the girl do that in multiple classes since she had come back to school and she had been made aware that she did it to show what she understood. It was a smart habit and she knew that it helped her in some classes to decide what to study more for her tests.

Clarissa frowned as she watched Malia pause gently, confusion on her face as she stared down at the page. The girl grabbed her red highlighter and clicked it open, her fingers trembling as she held it over a word.

"What word is it this time?" Clarissa couldn't help but ask softly as she watched Malia tint the word in a red that looked so much like blood. Clarissa used to love the various shades of red and silver but lately it reminded her of her own blood dripping through her fingertips as she tried to fight to live.

"Why do you care?" Malia questioned the chimera but there was little to no bite in her words as she clicked the red highlighter closed and picked up the yellow one again to continue her work.

"Just curious I guess." Clarissa commented softly, her eyes on the page as Malia sighed and tilted the book towards her.

The word Style was outlined in red surrounded by a sea of yellow and Clarissa frowned as she stared at the word. Something about it made her want to scream and tear the book apart but she couldn't as Malia needed it to study. Her head began to throb harshly the longer she stared at the word and Clarissa unconsciously ran her finger over the scar on her thumb. She had been doing that a lot recently, more often than she would admit to, and mostly when she had come across something that brought a searing pain to her head.

"You look confused too." Malia commented softly, a frown on her face as she turned to look at the chimera firmly. Something in her eyes willed Clarissa to pick up on what she was trying to say and she couldn't help but feel like the word style was important. She noticed the look in the chimera's eyes as she stared at the page and frowned as she noticed the unfamiliar scar that she was running her finger over.

"That's happened a lot recently." Clarissa frowned as she stared at the page for a moment more before turning back to stare at her own desk. She didn't know what possessed her to talk to the girl, but she knew that she needed to if she wanted to know what was really happening in Beacon Hills. Everyone else was still tiptoeing around her and walking on eggshells as if she would break down at the smallest thing. She needed Malia's brutal honesty which would be a breath of fresh air compared to the hushed whispers and danced around words. "More than I would like."