Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

07. my tears ricochet

i didn't have it in myself to go with grace
and you're the hero flying around, saving face
― taylor swift

[trigger warnings: panic attack; mention of (recent) sexual assault & knife violence]

♦

CLASS I EXY TEAMS typically announced their newest recruits during the same week in May, ahead of summer practices so the media and fans could get to know the new kids on the block and decide whether to love or hate them during the upcoming season (and to make bets on how many freshmen lasted).

Under normal circumstances, now would be when the Foxes announced Neil Josten and Mara West's recruitment. But since these were far from normal circumstances, Palmetto State would not be participating in the unofficial tradition.

But Edgar Allan would.

Nicky complained when Kevin changed to the channel to ESPN, but whining to Andrew proved useless since he was currently ignoring them in favor of reading some book with a battered cover he'd stolen from Wymack's apartment, and Aaron didn't care enough about the guns-blazing action movie they'd been watching before to fight for it.

Kevin turned the volume up as high as Andrew allowed (which wasn't very high) and leaned back as the camera focused on the master and his nephew, sitting in the room of Evermore dedicated to press releases.

Mara swallowed down the sick feeling at the sight of them, and didn't miss the tension in Kevin's shoulders.

With the same bored, detached tone Mara was used to, the master announced the freshman recruits—three in total, all boys, one of them from Mara's club team. Then, as was customary, the uncle and nephew took questions from the abundance of reporters on hand.

No one at the press release was stupid enough to ask about the scar that ran from the top of Riko's unmarked cheekbone to his jaw, but Kevin wasn't stupid enough not to guess where it had come from. Still he asked in French, "Was that you?"

Mara kept her eyes on the TV, welcoming the satisfaction that flooded through her at the memory of slicing Riko's skin with his own blade. "He should have stopped when I told him to."

She knew it was coming, but she still tensed as the third reporter asked the question the whole Exy world must have been asking.

"I have to say, this lineup of freshmen looks even more promising than years prior," the reporter practically gushed. Press loved to suck up to the bastards. "But—and I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking it—it feels like there's a name missing from the roster."

Riko smiled graciously for the cameras. Mara fantasized about clawing it off of his face once and for all.

"Yes, I suppose we should address the elephant in the room," he said. "I'm sure everyone is wondering why Mara West won't be joining our lineup this year."

"Look at that, West," Andrew said, not looking up from his book. "You're the talk of the town."

Mara didn't have the energy to roll her eyes.

"So it's official?" the reporter asked. "Mara West won't be debuting as a Raven?"

"Not this year, no," Riko confirmed.

"Why?" the reporter asked. "We were all under the impression it was inevitable."

Riko feigned a sad smile at the reporter. "I wish it was for a better reason," he said. "Unfortunately, there was an... incident, involving an upperclassman. After the assaul—" he pretended to catch himself, but Mara saw right through it, and the world would, too. He was practiced in this—in manipulation, in ruining her fucking life "—incident, Mara no longer felt well enough to play for us. We are all incredibly sorry not to have her on the line with us this year as planned, but we only want the best for her. I only want the best for her. She's the closest thing I have to a little sister, I would never ask her to join the team while she's still recov—"