The Academy (Part 2 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 7- Explaining

Rosine:

It turned out that we didn't need to take turns keeping watch, none of us slept a wink. I spent the first hour explaining things, giving them my background and explaining how my world worked. They each took a different amount of time to comprehend what was going on- Nyoka was straight to business, nodding and accepting it all as I told her, no judgement or questioning. Phoenix curled up in her chair by the foot of the bed, silent but nodding every couple of moments while letting her eyes constantly flicker to the door. Daitan seemed a little more innocent, or maybe it was just that she didn't assume the worst of people as easily as the others, but it took her a little longer to process everything.

We all seemed to be on edge, worried that the men who tried to kill me only a few minutes before would come back again and break through the bedroom door. Our hope was that no one would try anything since I was with people now. There was no way that any of us would be falling asleep, so after some more talking, we took turns going about everything as normal. Even though it was the extremely early hours of the morning, we took turns showering and getting ready like it was any normal day.

You could learn a lot about people in a couple of hours, especially when you've trauma-bonded during that time. There was no way that I was the only one feeling the sense of comradery among us, but I was also feeling a tinge of guilt. These girls were at no risk before I arrived, and just being in my vicinity put them in danger.

"They probably won't say anything about the destroyed library if the school truly was in on it. They wouldn't want to give away their involvement if you were to ask for them to pursue the incident as an attack," Nyoka reasoned.

Daitan nodded in agreement, "And no one should go anywhere alone for a little while, especially you, Rosine. Not during the day, and definitely not during the night. At least not until we can figure out a little more about what's going on."

"We sort of do," Phoenix pointed out. She hadn't spoke in a while, but she had been listening intently from her chair during this whole event. "Her father is a mafia boss who now wants to kill her because she refused an arranged marriage and he's afraid she'll corrupt his power complex."

We all sat there, letting her words sink in. The reality of the situation was heavy, and I felt the hopelessness wash over me. "I'm as good as dead. If he wants to have me killed, I won't be able to stop him. He has men everywhere, too much influence."

"He put you in here to make you an easier target," Nyoka leaned forward with a comforting expression. "But he doesn't expect you to have people watching your back. None of us have any weapons or anything but we'll find a way to defend ourselves, even if I have to turn my comb into a shank or something."

Daitan turned away from the window where light was starting to shine through, "I think once we get some breakfast in you, you'll start to feel better. They'll have pancakes this morning, too."

Daitan seemed to have a lot of faith in the healing properties of breakfast, but I was not quite as optimistic. I hadn't realized that the day had crept in either, so maybe I wasn't the most cohesive judge of anything at the moment.

I let Nyoka pull me up by my hand and drag me towards the door when Phoenix's quiet voice stopped us. "We won't be able to do much about that split lip, but that side of your face where you got hit is probably going to need some makeup by tomorrow."

Daitan gripped my chin and looked closer, "Right around your eye I can tell that you've been hit, but it's not obvious yet. With a whole bookshelf falling on you, I'm sure it's going to leave some marks as well."

"You're good with makeup, think you can cover it?" Phoenix suggested.

"Do you have any makeup with you?"