Chapter 215: 215-No Happy Endings For Anyone
Joshua:
"I can’t believe Suki stabbed another Crusader, and none of you said a word to me." Mr. Rick had been pacing the room, throwing tantrums. I hadn’t argued with him, because I honestly had no idea how to. But that didn’t change the fact that Suki was gone now.
"Maybe the negativity and all the stress from the North got to her." Jack tried to clear her name a little but that idiot Ian ruined her reputation after he didn’t even save her.
"It doesn’t matter. It makes things worse. Was she really that weak, that she got influenced so easily?" Mr. Rick hissed.
Now it was just the three of us—me, Jack, and Nate. And honestly, I didn’t even want to do it anymore. I didn’t care anymore. I had only come here for Suki, and now she is gone. It felt like I’d wasted my time. That was the sad reality.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I felt like Jack and I had fucked it up. We shouldn’t have pushed her so far. Maybe it was our words that broke her, because on her own Suki was really innocent.
"What? You’re gonna sit here and say nothing?" Mr. Rick snapped me out of my thoughts.
"If you’re gonna call someone out, call me and Jack out. We were being way too harsh on her," I finally admitted. Even when I could see Jake didn’t agree with me and didn’t want to take any blame for her guilt, I didn’t give a fuck.
"Really? And how is that?" Of course, Mr. Rick wanted to know how we had fucked up.
"We were praising Clementine," I muttered, staring out the window and taking deep breaths.
"And? How does that explain anything? That just proves she was weak." Mr. Rick scoffed at her mention, and I clenched my fists. I turned my face from the window to glare at Mr. Rick, but then my eyes landed on Jack behind him, signaling me not to lose it.
"Anyway, we don’t have many people left. I’m afraid they’ll once again ask to merge the squads. So from now on, you will listen to me carefully," Mr. Rick said while rubbing his chin in his fingers.
So that was what was bothering Mr. Rick. Once he explained it, it all made sense. He only cared about his position.
Once Mr. Rick was ready to leave, he turned back and told us one last thing.
"Enjoy these few weeks for now. I don’t think we’ll be sending you back to the North for a while."
I closed my eyes as Nate cheered and Jack smiled almost too happily. But to me, it felt like he’d stabbed me right in the chest.
"Did you hear that, man? We’re not going back there for a while. Oh my god, that’s such good news," Jack said, walking over and patting my back.
But I shook my head, and I knew he saw that I didn’t think it was good news at all.
"Why aren’t you happy?" Nate asked from his bed.
"You know what Suki’s last wish was?" I asked, staring out the window as tears stung my eyes. "She never wanted to return to the North. She told me she had a feeling that next time she went back, she wouldn’t come home. And look, she was right. This vacation they’re giving us, she’s not here to enjoy it. Otherwise, she would’ve been so happy."
I mumbled the last words, rubbing my face with my hands. "And you’re asking why I’m not happy? I don’t feel at home here anymore."
As soon as I said it, I saw Jack and Nate’s eyes widen before they glanced at each other. I slowly got up from my bed and started walking toward the door.
"Hey man, it’s really late. I think you should rest," Jack called after me, but I waved him off, letting him know I wanted to be alone.
I walked out the door, through the corridor, and into the open ground. I had too much going on. Too many emotions. Too many feelings.
Flashback
"Do you have any idea what you’re saying, Joshua?" My father looked me straight in the eye, his jaw clenched.
"Yeah. I’ve told you this once, and I’ll tell you again. I warned you about this. I don’t want you sending Suki to the academy. But you didn’t listen. You thought I was joking. You thought it would be easy to send her off, get your work done, and then tell me it’s not your fault. That you never planned to send her away."
I laughed, almost manically, the anger boiling in me.
"So it’s really not our fault," my stepmother cut in. "We had to send someone. We were going to send that useless friend of yours anyway. So what if we send her too?"
I grunted at her, biting back the rage. I had never told anyone about what went on in my house. My father had given me a choice. He didn’t want Suki with me. He wanted me to marry some alpha’s daughter. And he knew my friends were everything to me, both Suki and Jack.
" warned you, Father. I’ll never step back from Suki. So fine. Take my crown. Give it to your wife’s kids. I’m done here. I’m moving to the North. I’ll go where Suki goes," I said it because deep down I knew Suki would be too scared in the North without me. With that, I made up my mind. I left everything behind just to be with her, just to take care of her.
End of flashback
As I stood staring at the sky, I turned my head and watched Yorick lead Clementine away, and it hit me. I was going to make their lives miserable. If I didn’t get to be with my woman, they never would.
She was the only one holding the group together. I saw how everyone looked at her. They were waiting for their turns, waiting to win her. Flash news! they were about to lose her in the most horrific way.