MISSING LINK》t. briggs & v. stirling

Chapter 《08》

*Trigger warning: this chapter contains mentions of rape and suicide*

Felicity was a mess.

She ran carelessly back towards her school, tears and snot pouring down her face. Bright headlights of cars blinded her as she rushed down the street not caring if they hit her or not. And why should she? Maybe if she got hit by a car then her parents would actually give a damn about her. Though if she was being honest she kind of doubted it. Nightshade could show up right now and brutally murder her and they'd probably be more upset about the fact that she'd still never identified him then the fact that she was dead.

Mental note, she thought to herself, should you get brutally murdered anytime soon, make sure to write down the identity of your killer. At least that way, the biggest thing your parents feel when they see her dead body isn't disappointment. Hell, why stop at just the name? Maybe she should just get a selfie of her and her killer! Make it real easy for them. That's probably what they wanted, right?

Felicity shook her head, her whole body shaking. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was she such an idiot? Of course they didn't believe her. She shouldn't have contacted them so soon. She should have just waited until she'd identified the stupid poison. Then she'd have something to give them. Then she'd be useful. That's what they wanted.

In fact, that's probably why her parents kept those other kids around. Maybe they were actually useful to them. No wonder she got kicked to the curb. All she could offer them was the ability to see poison that no one else could see and they clearly didn't believe was even there. So not only did they think she was stupid and desperate, but now they also probably thought she was crazy.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Frustrated, Felicity pulled her flimsy school sweater closer around her. She hadn't noticed the cold when she'd first walked to the hotel with Lia and Sloane. But now that the sun had gone down, the frigid December air seemed to be out in full force rushing all directions around her and biting at her skin. It stung her eyes and whipped fiercely against her tear stained cheeks. She tried to wipe them away with the sleeve of her jacket, but no matter how hard she rubbed they refused to stop falling.

It wasn't long before she was back on her school's campus, running through the halls of her school's academic building. Blurry eyed and falling apart, a small part of Felicity registered the fact that this would be the second time today she'd escaped to her favorite teacher's classroom for comfort after a disastrous confrontation with her parents. Only this time, when she reached for the doorknob to room 319, it didn't turn.

Panic swelled in Felicity's chest. It couldn't be locked. Not now. She had to get in there. She could see all the lab equipment through the small window. Everything she needed to identify the poison was right there. But if she couldn't get in, then she couldn't identify the murder weapon. And if she couldn't do that, then they were going to send her away again.

Felicity looked at her phone, 8:23 p.m.

When had it gotten to be that late? Her court marshal was going to be here in less than six hours. That wasn't enough time to identify the poison, how was she going to identify it before they came to move her? What was she even thinking? Forget identifying the poison, she couldn't even run any tests if she couldn't get into the lab. She tried the door handle again, pushing down on it repeatedly with more and more force hoping that by some miracle it would open.

It didn't.

Felicity shook her head, her whole body shaking in panic now. She had to get in there. She had to. Had to, had to, had to. She smacked herself again, again, again. Think. Think, think. The tears were back and this time the snot was running down the back of her throat, choking her alongside her own panic.