Aftg react

Part61

Foxes react: chapter 12 part 3

They were angry, angry that they were not able to stop this, angry that they had not see past the facade he had put on in front of them in the locker when he saw who was there with them. But no one was giving up on him because that would be worse then anything else, they know that he was going to survive or at least they hoped he survived.
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She covered his hand with burning lacerations before moving on to the next one. When she was done she slid over and leaned between the front seats. She traced Neil's tattoo with the tip of her blade. "We read all about your feud with Riko. What a convincing act! In another life you could have been an actor. Tell me, did you really think his collar would protect you from us?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It does. I can't take you before your father with such a stain on your face. Rome?"
Romero reached for the dashboard. Something clicked as he pressed it, and Neil scanned the array of buttons for a hint of what he'd done. It wasn't the radio, and none of the lights were on to indicate he'd clicked on the heater. That left only one possible solution, but Neil refused to believe it. Denial didn't change facts: soon enough the dashboard cigarette lighter popped free of its lock with a metallic cling. Romero pulled it out and held it up.
Neil leaned away from it with a heated, "You're sick."

They had the same reaction as Neil, it take a genius to know but they didn't want to believe it.
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Lola wound her arm around the back of his chair so she could hold her knife to the right side of his face. The blade cut a paper-thin line from his mouth to the corner of his eye. Neil went still at that warning and watched as Lola took the lighter from her brother. She gave it an experimental twirl and tipped it where she and Neil could see the red-hot coils inside. Lola nodded approval and favored Neil with one of her wide smiles.
"What do you think?"
Neil thought he was two seconds away from losing his cool. "I think fuck you."
"Don't flinch," she said, and pressed the lighter to his cheek.
She said not to move, but there was no way Neil could obey. Agony exploded in his face, knifing down his jaw to his throat and eating its way through his eye. The smell of charred skin only made the blinding pain worse and Neil couldn't hold his ground in front of it.

They were horrified. Some didn't want to believe it but it didn't work, Kevin's hand shot up to his own tattoo without thinking a sick feeling making its way to his stomach, Aaron was looking away not wanting to see it, Nicky was crying a hand was in front of his mouth, Alison was the same but with no tears, Renee had a blank stare but you could see the anger escaping from tiny cracks on her facade, Dan and Matt were horrified and angry, Wymack looked more angry then anything but Abby was the opposite she looked horrified and scared for Neil, Andrew on the other hand didn't show anything else then anger his eyebrows were frowned and eyes narrowed a look that could freeze hell over.
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Heat ate a fierce line through his other cheek as he retreated right into Lola's waiting knife. He felt it like a distant memory, an insignificant tickle against the inferno. Lola followed him when he retreated, keeping the lighter in place, but pulled back after a second to inspect her handiwork. Neil knew she put the lighter away because he saw her do it, but he still felt its metal and fire on his skin. Every passing second just made it worse until Neil's stomach was roiling inside of him.
"Better," Lola said, and dug her fingernails into his raw skin just to make him cry out again. "Don't you think?"

Seeing all this made their anger grow by the second.
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"I know your father's going to ask, but I have to know now," Lola said. "You listening, Junior? Hey." She thumped his back with the hilt of her knife. "Where's the bird, hm? We've had some time to dig around since we figured out where you were, but there's no sign of her anywhere. Tetsuji says you told them she's dead. He was sure you were telling the truth. Me, I'm not so trusting."
"She's dead," Neil choked out.
Lola grabbed a fistful of hair to yank him upright. She'd put her knife aside so she could hold him with both hands, and her free hand clenched around his throat so tight he could barely breathe. She pulled him back against his chair, pinning his head to the headrest. Romero plucked the lighter out again, and Neil put up a desperate fight.
"She's dead," he said, almost wheezing through Lola's brutal grip. "She died two years ago after he beat her in Seattle. Do you think she'd have let me go to Palmetto if she was still alive? I signed up because I had nothing left."
"Do we believe him?" Lola asked Romero.
"Might as well be sure," Romero said.
"Right that," Lola said, and held fast to Neil so Romero could crush
the lighter to his face once more. Lola's strangling grip on his throat meant the best Neil could manage was a pained whine. He thrashed mindlessly against his restraints. Lola was speaking again, but he couldn't understand her over the roar in his ears. His world narrowed down to the fire in his face.
Romero put the lighter away, but he pushed it in all the way so it'd reheat. Lola loosened her grip enough that Neil could breathe but didn't let go completely.
"Try again, Junior," Lola said. "Answer me and make me believe you. Where is Mary?"
"She's dead," Neil said, voice raw with pain. "She's dead, she's dead, she's dead."
Lola looked to her brother. "You believe him now?"
Romero lifted his shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. Lola considered Neil again, then smacked his burned face as hard as she could.