The Things We Do (Under Editing)

The Path Beneath my feet

Elliot snapped his head up to look at me when I said his name. Seemed to have made a habit of surprising him recently, but at least there wasn't a doorframe for him to walk into this time. Instead, after a moment, he started laughing wryly.

"You really are smarter than I gave you credit for, aren't you."

"One of these days you're going to learn to stop underestimating me."

The three of us just watch each other for a moment, and I figured Kacie was starting to rethink her choice in friends. On the street below us, the morning rush was really kicking in. I needed them to leave. The memory of me sentencing probably hundreds of people to death was one I'd rather they didn't have. I didn't want it either, but there wasn't a choice for me, not like it was for them.

My phone dug into my hands because I was gripping it so tightly, but I barely noticed. The screen showed at big, red, digital button that mocked me silently.

Finally, Elliot gathered himself, standing up and stepping towards me.

"Look," he kept his voice low. "Even if I didn't do the crimes I took credit for, you're not entirely responsible for what you've done, either. You were threatened. Your family was threatened."

I shook my head, avoiding looking at him. "I went to him first."

Neither of us noticed the light that had entered Kacie's eyes until she stepped between us. She rose to her toes and her voice rose with her. "But you went to him for a reason. You went because of the rumors around school. Most people don't believe them, so they don't spread outside, but they exist for a reason."

"Right." Elliot almost smiled. "He's done this before plenty of times, and he's going to keep doing it with or without you."

"Oh, and that makes everything better." My voice dripped with sarcasm.

He shook his head. "Not what I meant. You said he has proof of everything you've done in order to use it against you if necessary."

"Blackmail material!" Kacie practically shouted in my ear. "Every bit of proof against you is also proof against him!"

I froze. She was right. Wraith's meticulous records wouldn't prove that he'd been threatening me, but if he kept enough records from enough people, at the very least it would prove he was connected.

Now Elliot really did smile, almost as widely as Kacie. I didn't think he was capable of that.

"We'll have to work quickly. Finish before your deadline passes. It won't be clean, but we can do it."

"We?" I asked, and both of them nodded, Kacie doing so so vigorously I might've worried her head would come off.

"You're receiving help. No objections." So much for her rethinking her association with us; she almost seemed existed, if for no other reason than because she had a reason to force me to rely on her.

Elliot put a hand on her shoulder, stilling her near vibration. "Amelia, you don't even have to go. He doesn't have to know you helped us get them."

I stared at him, then back at Kacie, hope and gratitude surging in my chest. "No." My voice was barely audible. "My freedom will come by my own hand, but we're going to need some help."