Briar Preparatory Academy

Blame

Seth POV

I grab Kate's laptop off her desk, heading back into our room with Preston right behind me. He closes the door between our adjoining rooms and leans against the doorframe, crossing his ankles and arms.

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" I ask Preston, my voice dry.

"Not until we find Celeste."

He sighs and walks up behind me, peering over my shoulder at the monitor to see what progress I have made.

"I've got the past recording pulled up. This was from a few days ago." I tell him, as I pull up the feed, pressing play on the laptop.

The screen flashes to life and a picture of Celeste pops onto the screen. The boy we now know to be Joe pulls up a chair in front of her, sitting backwards in it, resting his hands on the back of it.

I survey his build, which appears to be very tall and incredibly strong.

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself, Princess? I noticed we haven't really gotten to... bond." Celeste ignores him. "You just gonna pretend like I'm not here? You know that won't go over well for you." Joe pries at her, the smirk on his face growing.

"It's definitely more engaging than trying to focus on you." Celeste snaps back.

"Hey! Hey! Princess, I've been nothing but kind to you since you got here." Joe replies to her, flashing her a smile.

Every time he calls her Princess it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I hate this boy who has done so much to hurt Celeste.

"I hate you."

"I gathered that." Joe tilts his head to the side and smiles, staring at her longer than necessary. I watch as Celeste shifts uncomfortably under his penetrating gaze. His eyes scan her up and down, taking in her entire being and memorizing it, the heat of his stare nearly visible in the room. I narrow my eyes in anger.

"Stop staring." Celeste says finally, breaking under his stare.

I observe the rest of the room on the screen, and nearly jump when I see the two men from the other video that looked like brothers. They are huge, burly men who look like they could snap someone's arm like a twig.

"Do you know how many days you have been here, Princess?" Joe questions her. "Four days. Four days you've been here, and you... have given us... NOTHING!" Joe raises his voice to nearly a yell as he leans down into her face, merely inches from her. "I am getting sick of seeing your pathetic expressions and short answers. They're getting us nowhere, and you may not realize it, but if you just sit there and give me nothing, then I swear to you that will turn into a decision you will regret!"

I tense, my hands gripping the edge of the desk tightly. She sits there, keeping her mouth shut, saying nothing. Somehow I know that Celeste would rather die than give up information about Briar Preparatory Academy. She will remain loyal to our school even if it means death.

"Carl." Joe says, his face clenched. One of the men emerges from the shadows and backhands Celeste across the face, causing me to wince. "My god," Preston says under his breath. That had to hurt.

"Untie her. That's not enough." Joe says, rubbing his temples.

"What are they going to do?" I ask nervously, looking to Preston for an answer. He simply shrugs and continues watching the screen.

Carl unties Celeste from the chair and throws her to the ground, giving her a firm kick to the stomach for good measure. I wince and feel Preston do the same as the toe of his boot digs into her rib cage, causing her to take several ragged breaths in as a desperate attempt to catch her breath.