The North Star | COMPLETED ✔️

Chapter 56~ Disbelief

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Chapter 56

Bard deposited me on my feet and spun. The moment he saw Amber on the ground, and the old man still flailing, he broke into a sprint.

I did the same, just making it to the old man in time.

Bard looked furious as he helped pull Amber to her feet. Her face was streaked with tears, but she squared her jaw as if she was trying to be strong.

I placed a hand on Mr. Frankfire's shoulder. "Hey. It's alright."

"They took it! They took it, and the world is blind!" he grumbled, chest heaving.

I forced my eyes to his. "We'll get it back." I had no idea what it was, but it didn't matter. I just really needed him to calm down so I could deal with what had set him off. Amber.

He met my gaze, took several deep breaths, then looked around the others wildly before meeting my gaze again. His lips pursed, and I knew, in that moment, he was back with me. But his ranting was almost better than the shame that took its place.

"This is not your fault," I said. I searched the group until I found Charlene, and I didn't even need to ask before she closed the gap between us.

She replaced my soothing hand with hers. "Let's go sit. Will you sit with me?"

The old man nodded and hung his head as she lead him away.

My hands fisted, teeth clenched. I turned back to find Amber with her arms around Bard's waist, crying against his chest.

"What the hell happened?" Bard asked her.

"He freaked out and hit me."

I could handle her obvious attempts at Bard. I could play nice when she made underhanded and manipulative comments to me. Hell, I could have overlooked pretty much any verbal assault she had.

But I couldn't handle her fucking with the old man. That was crossing the line.

"I saw the whole thing."

Bard met my gaze and nodded. He didn't have a clue. Here he was, comforting that bitch, when all along it was the old man who needed consoling. I looked her dead in the eye. "You said something to set him off, and he didn't lay a fucking hand on you."

She gasped and shook her head. "What? Why would I–"

"Jessie..." Bard's brow furrowed. "I don't think she'd lie about this."

"I just told you." My tone was even, words slow. "I saw it."

I looked around the rest of the group, hoping someone else had seen it too, but they all seemed at a loss. Every set of eyes darted from Amber to me, like puppies torn between owners.

Zeke's expression seemed thoughtful. He studied Amber, eyes like Bard's, probing, trying to figure out what happened.

"Tequila, I know you're close with him, but he obviously has some issues," Bard said, trying to sound diplomatic. All he managed to do was piss me off even more.

"I saw the whole thing," I said again between clenched teeth. What he'd just said sounded an awful lot like calling me a liar. I needed him to stop. He needed to believe me. If he couldn't, if he chose her word over mine... My chest hurt.

Bard's jaw clenched. "Did anyone else see what happened?" He looked around, but received a series of negative responses.

"I saw it, Bard." My voice held an obvious challenge, and no matter how hard I fought to contain the emotions, I sounded defensive and more than a little on edge. Probably because I was standing on an edge. A precipice. This was it. This was the moment. It didn't matter how I felt. It didn't matter if he did really love me.