The Hive

16

After that she returned to her own bed. She apologized the same day. Alina looked her up and down and then looked at Joan and Natalia who promptly left. As soon as they did, Alina pushed her up against the wall.

"Don't ever disobey me again." She shouted, slamming her hand into the wall beside her head. She let it fall from the new hole in her wall to cup her cheek. "I love you baby, and I want you to be the best you can be, okay? I'm trying to help and it makes me really sad when I see you throw away everything you've worked for." Wally nodded, leaning into her hand. "I'm sorry 'Lina." She mumbled, Alina nodded and kissed her forehead quietly, "Do you want go go practice baby?"

Wally skated laps around the rink, throwing in spins and twists every now and again as the rest of the girls stepped onto the ice. Natalia tossed her racquet high into the air and Wally caught it, scooping up a ball and slamming it against the goal. The far wall lit up red and Natalia merely rolled her eyes, knocking on Wally's helmet.

They practiced for their usual three hours. It was strange without the other Hornets. All of them had quit Seek, some of them even dropped college all together. Wally's Seek career had ended before it began but she would take what little she could get now.

They invited her to drinks again the next night. She politely declined, feeling Alina's grip on her hand tighten. Darcy looked at it a moment and then up at Alina, "You know you can come too," "I like my organs the way they are and I value my body a little more than that, sorry." Darcy rolled her eyes, looking at Laila. All Wally could do was feel the long scar on her left side, covered by many more but by far one of the oldest. A surgical scar. She was missing a kidney. It was deemed profitable and taken sometime after she'd gotten there. Joan had the same scar.

She glanced at Alina and nodded, moving her gaze to the floor and following her back into the dorm. At ten they heard a knock on the door before Darcy let herself in. She held up two bottles and pointed at Alina. "Now we can play that drinking game."

Laila lingered in the doorway, watching Alina tap Wally's shoulder. She grabbed Darcy as she stood, reaching for the knife strapped to her leg. "Let's go before you get hurt." She mumbled, pulling her backward. Darcy looked at the knife in her hand, "Coach'll be real pissed if she finds out you hurt one of her starters." The knife slipped from her fingers and even Laila knew it was a low blow. Because while she was talking about a different coach, the memories were still there. Laila pushed Darcy aside and picked up the knife, setting it on the counter.

Sasha appeared at her side, glaring at Alina. "Oh look, the traitors are friends now. Consider me very surprised!" Natalia snickered before Sasha jumped on the table and stomped her foot. "I may be a traitor to whatever cult you tricked me into fucking joining but at least I'm not a goddamn coward." Alina scoffed, "Wally-" Sasha pointed at Wally, "What? You're going to make her beat me up? You only further my point!"

Alina punched her. She'd never hit someone who actually hit back. Sasha slammed her into the wall, grabbing a fistful of her hair as she swung wildly and throwing her into the desk and for the first time, Wally saw her scared of someone other than Coach, her own mother. She struggled through a few ragged breaths before she got back up. Sasha cracked her knuckles and punched her in the jaw, sending her stumbling into the empty bookshelf. She didn't get back up.

Sasha squatted down to her level but stayed out of reach, "See? Coward." Laila hesitantly moved behind her, "These people aren't the Hornets Alina. We're friends here. No one person has to succeed and the others have to fail." "Eat shit."

Sasha and Laila exchanged knowing looks before looking to Joan and Natalia who looked more scared of Alina than Sasha. Laila spoke first, "You two are welcome to hang out with us." Neither of them responded so she looked to Wally who's stomach had bottomed out as soon as Sasha had called Alina a coward. "You too Wally. You were a lot of fun the other night and we'd love to have you back." "Thanks," She mumbled, catching a book Alina threw before it hit Laila. She looked between them and set it on the counter as Laila stood still as stone.

"Ya'll are a new level of dramatic. I'm goin' to bed. But ya, what they said," she gestured vaguely at her roommates and left, leaving the door open behind her. Laila followed quickly but Sasha kept her gaze on Wally who merely stared back until she too left, slamming the door behind her.

Alina then how the bookshelf and flipped over the desk before she screamed and moved over the coffee table and flipped it over. She reached for the TV but Natalia quickly grabbed it and moved it out of reach before she glared at her and moved to the kitchen, smashing the plates on the ground and bending the little silverware they had.

She was throwing a fit.

Wally was sentenced to pathing her up as Natalia and Joan cleaned up. She sat her on the edge of the tub listening to her whine about how Sasha deserved to die a horrible death and how Laila was a son of a bitch and Darcy was a southern hillbilly bitch and this and that. Wally nodded along as she wrapped her hands and bandaged her face before Alina grabbed hold of her and kissed her. "I need you to let me have you right now baby."

Wally looked at her and shook her head. Alina gripped her face harder, kissing her again and moving down to her neck. "Please baby, these girls have me all riled up. I need you right now." Wally sighed and started to reach for her shirt, tossing it into the bathtub as Alina worked on her pants.

For the first time in a week and a half, she took a shower and didn't further damage up her hands. Instead she cried. She sat in tub and sobbed as the water hit her before she finally washed off and left the shower. She dressed but the thought of looking at the three of them, mainly Alina, was unbearable. So, she dried off what water was left in the tub and went to sleep.

She and Natalia went on a walk the next day. Well Wally went on a walk and Natalia tagged along.

"She's gotten worse." Natalia mumbled, Wally nodded. The memory of the previous night fresh in her mind. Usually Alina got her anger out on the ice or at the worst of times, on her teammates. Now the rink was a drive away and none of them trusted her to drive angry.

They went for ice cream, paid for in cash, and sat on the empty balcony. "I'm worried about her." "She isn't captain anymore. This team won't succeed unless we work as a unit." Natalia nodded along, eating her ice cream in silence. Wally's mind didn't get the memo. Her thoughts raced at a thousand miles per out. Even though the Hornets didn't like each other most of the time, they still played as a single unit. They spent every day together and when anything less than a perfect game was required, you had to learn to tolerate your teammates and play well with them. The Pile Drivers didn't have that and as far as Wally could tell, the season wouldn't go well.