Faults

Chapter 36: Archie

"Since he won't tell me, Archie, why don't you explain what happened to Aydin," Trey says as he pulls me in the opposite direction of the shack.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Trey rolls his eyes. "Don't play coy. I'm talking about his scars."

"It's partly my fault, but it's really not my place to tell all that happened to him," I respond solemnly.

"Oh? What'd you do to him?" Trey asks curiously.

I look at him, frowning. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Trey groans. "Why don't anyone tell me?"

"Why are you so curious?" I side-eye him.

"Why are you so protective of him?" Trey asks, stepping in front of me.

I stop, keeping a straight face. Trey continues speaking, "It's not like he's very useful anyway. What can he do other than hold us back?"

"Would you shut the fuck up? He's not holding us back," I snarl. "He's the strongest person I know, far stronger than you could ever imagine to be."

Trey begins to walk back in the direction of the shack. "Again, you're so protective of him. Why? If he's so strong and not useless, he should be able to defend himself, not rely on you for protection."

"He's my boyfriend, you idiot! I'm supposed to watch out for him!" I yell, causing birds to fly from the treetops.

Trey looks taken aback by what I just said. Aydin is walking over to us now, looking concerned for us. "What just happened? Where have you two been?" he asks.

"Trey made me a tad bit angry, that's all," I respond, collecting myself.

I take a deep breath in and walk away from Trey, grabbing Aydin's hand and pulling him with me. "What did he say to you?" Aydin asks me.

"He was being rather rude to you," I reply, not wanting to bring up anything that'll remind Aydin of the past or say anything that will hurt his feelings.

He's not useless.

"I never liked him," Aydin says, shaking his head.

"I don't blame you," I say, thinking about how every time Trey sets eyes on me, he gives me a once over. It's starting to gross me out.

Out of nowhere, Trey comes running past us and up to the shack. A voice comes from behind, "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

Aydin and I turn around to face the owner of that voice: Christian. Taylor and a redhead are standing next to him. "Christian," I grumble. "Who's the newcomer? Another pawn you're going to manipulate?"

"A bold question coming from you, considering I could ask the same thing. I count... Four new people with you? I see you've finally learned that you're no match for me. You've just decided to bring along some cronies to assist you in your downfall," he laughs.

Our crew steps up beside us. Klaus is the first among the rest of them to speak up. "Marshall? What are you doing with him?"

"Revenge above all else," the redhead responds. There's a sad look in his eyes as he talks, a mix of grief and guilt.

Marshall is the friend that Klaus wanted to bring along. He looks so betrayed in this moment. I feel for him. Unfortunately, we know about being stabbed in the back all too well.

I turn to the crew and nod at each one of them.

The battle is on.