"shit," william muttered mostly to himself as he looked over what nic had found, the collection of items so similar to the ones he and liza had found in his own home the previous night. (except for the airtag, the sight of which clued william into where he unfortunately needed to look next, given that there was only one place it would be worthwhile to put it!)
for someone who prided himself on being so observant, it had been a rude awakening to discover so many spy devices in his own home. one of which, though disguised within a clock, had been in plain sight! but the hit to his pride wasn't going to keep him from encouraging the spread of information. he was quick to nod in agreement with nic's suggestion, a statement of support immediately following.
"yeah, we should. liza and i found a bunch of these in our apartment last night too. there was a camera in our living room clock, plus listening devices there, in my room, and in the kitchen." a clear indicator that their stalker had money, but that was a conversation for another day. "they're in my car, actually. i didn't know what to do with them except... bring them to you."
he was tech savvy, and with some time he probably could have figured it out, but when you had someone in your circle whose job was dealing with technology, was it not better to just bring things right to the expert?
luckily, they didn't linger on the listening devices portion of their conversation for much longer. soon enough nic was leading william to their room, and though he brushed off her apology for freaking out at liza's party with an easy "you're so good," he could not as easily dismiss their warning and next apology. for that, he had no response. after all, how could he say anything without knowing what he was about to see? he remembered what they'd said the previous night, but it still didn't fully compute for him.
eyeing the shoe box in nic's hands with a curious tilt of the head, his intrigue grew exponentially the second she revealed a flash drive (a fascinating storage location for that!) and mentioned watching it on her old high school laptop.
obviously everyone needed to be highly suspicious of technology these days, but the last time he'd used a flash drive was... high school.
oh.
something bad happened at the cabin. i can't talk about it, but i can show you.
"okay," william nodded from where he'd settled, probably too calm all things considered. was he about to see something that was going to unravel the whole mystery? or was he going to watch something that made the tangled web they all found themselves in much worse? there was only one way to find out! "ready when you are."
was it strange, that it was somewhat comforting to know that will and liza had found stuff in their apartment as well? it meant that this wasn't just some freak stalking nic, but presumably all of them. now they'd just have to figure out how to tell the rest of the group, since nic had decided their phone was strictly off limits.
but that would be a conversation for after the video.
once will was ready, nic looked back at him. perhaps she was delaying it, because it had been too hard to handle the first time around. and the second, and third. but also, because she needed to give him some sort of warning. "like i said last night, something bad happened at the cabin. and whoever tag is, they know about it. they know what happened to peyton."
saying her name was like a damn breaking. years of pent up and repressed emotions came flooding to the surface, and before will could see the way nic's eyes reddened, she turned back towards the computer, and press the play button on the video. and then, they closed their eyes.
because they could remember it all clearly. remember everything. how they had been asked to take part in a prank that was supposed to humiliate peyton. and how nic wanted to hurt her just as much as she hurt them. how the job was simple, and that nic was only supposed to record. she'd be wearing a mask, so no one knew she was apart of it. especially not peyton.
it didn't take much convincing.
nic listened as the video progressed. listened as peyton was bound and brought into the cabin screaming and crying, where voices (who were once unfamiliar) began to threaten her. she heard the sound of the ropes holding peyton in pace hitting the floor, and her foot scuffing as she ran to freedom. the sound of nic running afterward peyton was harsh, blowing out the speakers with every breath exerted.
and then suddenly there is a shuffle, a crack, and silence. how quickly it had all gone to shit. how fast peyton had died. and from being tackled and falling on a fucking rock. a piece of stone took down the queen of wrensted.
it's always hard to keep paying attention after that point. usually nic's tears become too much that they can't see the footage properly, or their breathing too heavy that the sound begins to distort. this time she's doing her best to hold it all in, to not break before william.
the video continues with nic following the group back into the cabin. as two masked forms carry in peyton's lifeless body and many others begin to argue about a plan. a cover up. eventually the footage cuts out. which isn't saying much, as the camera had been aimed at the ground the second peyton was brought into that room. because even in the moment, when nic realized what had happened, she knew she shouldn't have kept recording. if she had not been hyperventilating under her mask all those years ago, that video would have turned off the moment peyton's head hit the ground. but she hadn't been thinking clearly. none of them were.
she didn't look at william after it was over, instead closed their eyes once more and tried to push down the guilt, the hatred, the disgust, and the grief that had sat with her ever since that night. "whoever tag is, they're trying to make us suffer. just like she did."
anthony let himself be pulled to his feet, but it was second nature in him to plant his feet once standing. a very, very bad idea if the wince that came was any indication. he's grateful for nic, knowing that without their help, he probably would've had to hobble all the way back to his apartment.
once he's on the bench, he twists so that he can bring his foot up onto the seat with him to peer down at his ankle. it's red, but there's no bruising from what he can tell. he looks back up at nic, brow furrowed. "you don't need to get me ice, nic, it's fine," he assures, "i've had worse. what are you doing out so early?"
"you sure? i feel like ice could be helpful here." nic had never been the athletic type, so truthfully injuries such as this were kind of unexpected territory. but didn't they always say to just, put ice on an injury? especially if it was red like that? whatever. ant was the sports guy. if he thought ice wasn't necessary, then ice wasn't necessary.
"oh yeah, i needed caffinee. and im out of energy drinks. and i found an airtag in my mom's car... so looks like im walking from here on out." their brows furrowed, realizing they hadn't explained the reason for the airtag or anything else they had found this morning prior to blurting it out. "oh um, yeah i started digging into my house. and i found a lot of stuff. tech stuff, to listen in. even some recording devices. i wanted to send a message in the group chat, but i don't trust my phone right now. anyway, i'd keep a look out for it." and then she realized, she was kind of the tech guru in their group. "actually, if you want help looking into it, i can do that."
Not sure if you know about that was a bit on the nose from Nic, Justice thought, as they heard the next words from her mouth.
Well, of course - another scenario of Justice being the worst possible person instead of being given the benefit of the doubt; yeah, why not! No, it was fine. It was always fine. Because they did what they needed to, what they thought they had to do, to protect the very people who were now mad at them. Rolling their tongue between their lips, Justice let the question sit between them. Undoubtedly, Nic had made up her mind about their role in all of this. A small sigh leaves them; they apologized to Wren. There was literally nothing else they could do except confess to murdering Amelia themself (which Tag would undoubtedly create evidence to back up) that would fix this.
Obviously, Nic was pissed. They were his friend. Of course they would be pissed. But neither Sarah, nor Anthony, nor Nic had any real consequences shoved at them for whatever they did or didn't do for Tag. Nic's punishment only hurt Justice and Wren. Justice got to sit with the responsibility and fall-out for William's near-death experience - which, she didn't feel the need to remind Nic, she was much faster in confessing to than they were about vandalism. After watching Tag write a warning (in blood !!) about bringing shit to the cops and then having Wren arrested, they apparently didn't consider what would come from a repeat round of "Justice says fuck you to Tag".
And, just like Anthony and Sarah, Nic didn't have to consider it. So why would they?
Yeah, Nic may have feared saying 'Wren' put him into jail, but they already knew firsthand Tag loved to tell people the repercussions of their choices.
"I think sending him to prison and therefore keeping my job and not being unhirable in the area thanks to the vandalism accusations would have been a better thing to leverage if I were going for blackmail," Justice said drily. "Don't you?"
The sarcasm was a bit much, but Nic was supposed to be her friend, too. Or maybe Tag had gotten it wrong, and Justice was punished on Nic's behalf for no reason. It's not like they had checked in after she lost her job, or did anything other than watch as people questioned Liza and Justice in the group chat about getting tasks, or even tell her what happened until a month later. Maybe they hadn't been her friend, after all, and Justice and Tag were both under the wrong impression. How embarrassing.
there wasn't a world where nic could anticipate what justice was going to say next. a part of them expected denial. another thought maybe justice would try to explain their side of the situation. however, immediately bringing up the vandalism accusations was not on their BINGO card.
she could not help the way she rolled her eyes. in some ways justice and nic were so alike. they had spent most of high school on the outside. watching others. but in other ways they were so different. "oh come off it." nic grumbled, irritation started to build so much that their ears got hot. "i have your alibi, but oh, come on my podcast. no matter how you spin it, that's fucking blackmail, justice. wren was in jail. for something he didn't do. which you know, because you saw so first hand! and instead of just going to the police with it, you saw it as an opportunity." nic's voice had gotten a bit loud now, their arms moving erratically with ever word. but they were pissed, who gave a shit. "you could've just given them the alibi. and after wren was out you could've asked him to come on your podcast. but all in the same visit? dude you know how bad that looks." or they wouldn't have been trying to infer that nic's tag punishment was also a factor.
where: rollaways leisure center
who: nic carson & sarah jeong @shadowedtower
"so... what'd you think of the party we threw?" nic asked as she laced up her skates. obviously, they had to throw in the fact that it was their party. not just because the town believed it, so it was best to keep appearances up in case someone was listening in (and we know they are), but also because it now was kind of an inside joke.
"kind of a crazy night, right?" part of nic wanted to ask about what was going on with justice and sarah. they had noticed the two seemed a bit closer then before... but also it was none of her business. just like she wasn't out here asking will and georgia what the fuck was going on there... or ant and wren. if people wanted to be up front with their personal lives, they'd do it. there wasn't any need to pry.
it was with reluctance that he had gone back to his trailer. wren had sought out more comfort than just an empty home that might have been in a terrible state. truly, he hadn’t been wrong about the state of the place. he had borrowed anthony’s clothes, had a semi difficult conversation and decided he needed a little air. the sort of air that let him get some of his own clothes and he’d stop by the laundry mate to clean them quickly. not because he didn’t think ant would let him use whatever he had, but he wasn’t used to asking and asking from someone.
he didn’t want to be too much. not after he already had that feeling. the whole arrest thing and the justice thing. maybe he really was a problem for the people he cared about? he wanted to be conscious of his asks for the first boyfriend he ever had…
finding the door was kicked in, he couldn’t stop the heavy sigh that left him. his mind not even thinking over who must have closed the door. not in the moment. instead, he looked around and saw everything they had turned over or completely torn apart looking for shit that wasn’t even fucking there. slowly his anger began to build, twist into something ugly as he went further in. every drawer over turned, his closet torn open, the computer he had turned off and put away fucked up to.
what he needed, was a smoke. digging through one of the junk drawers that was currently on the floor, he found his emergency pack of smokes with lighter. a just in case he never really thought about. wren hadn’t even gotten to take any of the cigarettes out before he heard someone yelling.
it was a few beats of his heart before he realized who’s voice it was. turning, he wasn’t surprised to see nic running in through the front door. blinking for a second, he was going to speak but it was in a flash that he had arms full of nic. instinctively, he hugged back. holding them for a moment, surprised but not annoyed in the moment.
“yeah, yeah,” he offered quietly, a little amusement filled his words before he pulled away from their hug. “i should thank you for keeping the door together,” a smile tugged the edge of his lips. “that was you right?”
it was even surprising to nic how desperately she needed this hug. there wasn't going to be any tears shed, but wren had become someone of a staple in nic's life. somewhat friends in high school, two outcasts who found company in being together. he was one of the first person they trusted after being tossed away by peyton. the first person they came out to - granted it was in response to wren confessing his feelings towards them, but still - and one of the only people nic had opened to about their feelings towards peyton.
it was hard not to build a bond with someone in that way. and while for years nic struggled to use the term, out of past trauma and shit, they'd accepted wren was probably their best friend.
so yeah, it was fucking good to see him.
once he pulled back from the hug, nic sheepishly looked back towards the door. "i did the best i could, but im not exactly mr. fix it." they had never had to time to learn about cars and tools and all that shit from their dad before he went away. "but i figured it'd stop people from coming in."
looking around at the mess inside the trailer, nic let out a deep sigh. they hadn't actually taken the time to check it out when they fixed the door before. just wanted to respect wren's space... but fuck. "shit, i should've cleaned up or something before. those assholes really did a number." she didn't even think before offering up her time now. "i got a few hours free, lets catch up. plus it'll be easier to tackle this together then alone. just tell me what to toss and what to keep."
with a groan, anthony looks up towards the shadow hovering over him. it was one thing to absolutely eat shit on his run, but another to have someone witness it. at least it was nic he was looking up at, and not someone who would definitely question him about his playing time this season if he had a sprained ankle.
“hopefully the only thing bruised is my ego,” he says through gritted teeth. but as he struggles to get to his feet, he realizes that probably wasn’t the case.
ant tries to test his weight on his ankle, but winces in pain. “fuck, okay. maybe more than my ego is bruised. can you help me to that bench?”
nic was already leaning in to help ant up before he asked for it. she had seen the way he went down, that was gonna hurt to get back up. no question. "yeah, come on." nic murmured, grabbing his arm and pulling him up (not well, considering their complete lack of strength) and then ducking under him so they could anchor to his torso and help him over to that bench. "do you want me to go get some ice or something?" nic asked, once ant was comfortably on the bench. sure they were in the park but there was some businesses close by, and nic was somewhat fast.
When Nic said no, Justice's head cocked. Had Tag really done that much of a number on the group they were all avoiding each other now? And their tone… when they last spoke, yeah, things had started off awkward with the party but it'd ended fine. Justice told Nic no sweat about Rollaways, instead of bemoaning their job loss and that they couldn't help Wren because of it. In fact, they'd done their best to keep things light given the state Nic was in at the party.
“I don't have, like, a mask hidden anywhere,” they joked awkwardly, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. “What's up?”
there was a part of nic that had hoped when they rejected justice's offer to join them on the swings, jusice would just let it rest. but had they ever let anything rest? no. regardless, it did not stop a sigh from leaving nic's lips, not really interested in getting into all of this shit. but if they did, so be it. nic had heard it all from wren and ant now, probably was best that justice speak to it as well.
pausing where they were walking, nic ran her hands through her hair and said, "had a long day. wren got out, not sure if you know about that. actually ran into both him and ant, and we caught up on some shit." they could let it hang here, let justice connect the dots and fess up to it, but part of nic didn't want to have to drag it out. eyes closing as they roughly rubbed the pulsing spot between their eyes. "what the fuck is this about you blackmailing him, dude?"
where: heming memorial library
who: nic carson & georgia mei @pixiiewings
"thanks for coming with me," nic murmured as the sat down at one of the tables within the library with a free computer. while nic had found a few listening devices in their home, it didn't mean they found everything. in fact, they had a sneaking suspicion that tag had somehow cracked their computer and was watching every move nic made on that thing. which meant shifting focus.
they couldn't have access to every public computer as well, could they? "i don't know if you've spoken to will, but i found some shit in my house, and i just want to do a bit more research on what else tag could be using to listen to us. figured what better place to lock in then the library, right?" what surprised nic the most was that she had invited georgia with, but honestly, georgia had grown on nic in the recent weeks. her ever present and positive energy was welcomed, especially considering nic often lived in a more serious, pessimistic world. "this fucking asshole needs to just get a life and leave us alone." they grumbled, pulling up google.
where: backyard bill trailer park, outside the carson resident. the morning after the party
who: nic carson & wren poe @wrenpoe
"you've gotta be fucking kidding me," nic grumbled as the crawled out of the backseat of their mom's car, holding an airtag that had been left in the drink holder of the right passenger seat. within seconds they were opening the back of the airtag and pulling out the battery. and then they chucked it out of their front yard.
and then it dawned on them that maybe turning off the airtag was a bad idea, a potential indication to tag that they had been discovered. groaning, nic began to search for the battery in mounds of loose gravel that made up their driveway. the search, which was annoying and pointless, was cut short when nic noticed a shadow moving around wren's home.
perhaps it was frustration from the past few days, but without thinking nic ran over and began shouting, "hey! get the fuck out of there, asshole!" she had said she'd look after wren's shit for him, and somehow, someone got into his trailer. except it wasn't someone
it was wren.
a look of shock and confusion cross nic's features for only a moment before they ran to their friend and hugged him tightly. a dislike of personal contact be damned. "holy shit, you're out!"
where: backyard bill trailer park, the carson resident
who: nic carson & william finch @knewitalls
"i found it all in the house," nic muttered, motioning towards the kitchen table littered with audio listening devices. there was a hidden camera, that had been behind a clock. three audio recording devices that had been found throughout the house, including nic's bedroom, and an air tag from their car. everything had been disabled, and would soon be on it's way to the dump, but nic wanted to show william first. "i know it's not why you're here, but i wanted to let you know. we should probably tell the others, make sure they at least are aware of it."
running a hand through her hair, let out a sigh. this shit was way bigger then any of them had anticipated when they first got those texts. "i'm not even sure i got all of it. but i hope i did. anyway," nic started to walk towards her bedroom, motioning for william to join. "sorry about the freak out last night. it was a lot. but uh..." how did she explain what she was about to show him. "this is gonna be rough, okay? just... i'm sorry."
once in her room, nic closed the door behind them and walked over to the closet. they disappeared inside for a few moments, pulling out an old shoe box hidden behind and under other useless junk. something that would not be of interest to a random person. walking towards william, nic opened the shoe box and pulled out a jump drive. "we can watch it on my old high school laptop. i haven't used it as my personal computer for years, but it should have enough power to play this." and there was no reason tag would suspect it of being used. hopefully no spyware installed on it.
open starter: february sims time (1/3)
location: sullivan memorial park, sometime in the morning
despite feeling like he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, anthony was trying to make the best out of a really weird fucking situation. even his sisters had asked him about the party, to which he had to come up with some bullshit to placate all of their questions. it was torture. in spite of it all, ant, however, was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. everyone had made it through the party safe and alive, and above all, wren was free. for once, his daily runs were nothing but training, no longer an avenue for stress relief or silent planning about what he needed to do about the fucked up situation they’d all found themselves in.
as he rounded a corner on the trail, his watch buzzed to let him know he completed another mile. he slowed to a jog, planning to stop at the next bench he passes. however, anthony de silva, whose foot-eye coordination should be spectacular given his career in soccer, clips the toe of his sneaker onto a rising root in the trail, tumbling face first into the dirt.
“fuck,” he grunts, pulling himself up into a sitting position to examine the damage on his ankle, “fuck, fuck, fuck.”
since finding an airtag in the back of their car, nic had decided it was best to walk everywhere. sure, they had found an airtag. but had they found all of the air tags? the question haunted them all morning, as they turned their home upside down looking for any other potential tech that tag could be using the spy on them.
after hours of searching, nic was exhausted. and never much for coffee, decided it was time to drink some. they were on their way to the cafe when they saw ant. and noting he was running for a jog, decided best to leave him along.
until he absolutely ate shit, that is.
previous goals now ignored, nic ran to where ant had fallen. "holy shit," she muttered, coming up to him and noting he was holding his ankle. "are you okay? that fall looked rough."
location: sullivan park (the playground area, specifically the swingset)
characters: justice & open (0/5)
When nothing felt safe, the risk of going out in the night and maybe getting conked by a masked nightmare weighed out evenly with the risk of the aforementioned nightmare inviting itself into their apartment while they slept. So, instead of spending more time restlessly categorizing items from bed, they hopped on their bike and rode to the park.
After locking their bike to the side of the swingset, Justice took a middle swing (the one that, if she were still a kid, would be the best one because then people were on either side) and backed into the seat. Leaning against the seat, the blonde tossed their phone to the ground and properly sat. For years, swingsets were prime real estate that Justice never quite had access to. She was slow, and she didn't have friends to "hold her place", and some kids got more time on the swings even though they were supposed to be taking turns. As they all grew up, less of her peers were interested in the swings, and she found herself at some point alone on the set in the playground for those 15 minutes.
Defiant as ever, she'd kick and pull and kick and pull and swing until she was out of breath. She wanted to swing so high she made a full loop, and then people would notice her. Then they'd wish they were her friend, and she'd get to play with whomever she wanted.
Now 25, Justice felt a sense of calm on a lonely swingset. They'd have been perfectly content in the silence only disturbed by the occasional creaks, but then they noticed someone else. Narrowing their eyes, Justice finally recognized who it was. "Y'know," they called out, "there's two empty swings here if you wanted to join."
it had been a long day. between the deep search of their apartment, the meeting with will, and finding out that wren had been released... nic was exhausted. and in need of some time alone. it wasn't often that she went for a walk. usually if things felt too heavy and it was time to be alone and decompress, nic would lock into a video game session for anywhere from two to eighteen hours. only stopping to use the bathroom and eat something. but even their home had been revealed to no longer be a safe space.
as they walked past the park, they eyed a shadow amongst the swings. after everything that had been going on lately, nic was comfortable enough to ignore them. but when a voice range out, a familiar one, one that also was adding to the weight of the day, nic sighed. turning towards justice, nic could not help but call back, "no, im good."
at the party nic had told justice about the vandalism of rollaways being their fault, and the had both left the conversation on good terms and with a level of understanding. however, later in the night ant had told nic information justice hadn't. that they could've provided wren with an alibi, and that instead of doing the right thing and handing it over, they tried to use it to blackmail wren. she hadn't acted immediately, had to confirm the claims with wren himself, and once she had... well a deep disappointment, frustration and anger welled up in nic. if they couldn't trust each other to help in these situations, then who the hell could they trust?
so at this moment, nic had no interest in sitting on some swings and making conversation. sadly, their tone probably gave away their internal feelings.
Blue eyes surveyed Nic's reaction, looking for hints of recognition before the brunette landed on: "what about the cabin?"
Okay, maybe she didn't know as much as they thought - or she was covering still. Sarah confirmed their suspicion pretty quickly, and once Ant caught up he wasn't hiding it either. They tried to play it off with a shrug, realizing this probably wasn't the time to bring it up with someone they saw dash out and hide behind a tree earlier. "Just something Amelia said," they said, shaking their head. "Another time."
It was too much to explain that she was the person who picked this cabin, or even why she would have done it. The resistance Justice had with helping out with this "little prank" was eased by Amelia telling Justice exactly why Sarah never met up with her after Amelia came home from vacation that year. But maybe... maybe Amelia had lied about that? Just like she lied about the conditions that Justice would help her under.
A wave of guilt roiled in their stomach, and they tried to ease it by taking another hit. Heart pounding in their ears at the prospect all of this was based on another one of Amelia's lies, they realized they were going to have to ask Sarah what happened - what really happened - and if Amelia really had lied about everything to trick Justice into being involved.
"Have you figured out what your part in tonight was?" Justice asked, at this point curious if all of the roles Tag assigned them were as ironic as Justice being in charge of the guest list. "Like, what you did to plan the party."
amelia? nic wonder. when had amelia spoke of the cabin? the night they all were there, or some time much later? days before her death? nic wanted answers, but it did not feel smart to talk about anything here. not tonight. not when they had all been brought here. not before nic could investigate their car and their phone for some kind of tracking or listening device. call them paranoid, but after everything the group had gone through, there was no reason to be anything but!
and god forbid someone at this party was tag. or two someones, since william shared that the masks on the figures so far had been different. there was just no way to be certain, and nic didn't feel safe. it's why she hadn't mentioned peyton to william earlier. didn't want to give these fucking freaks any more ammo to use against them.
at justice's question, nic nodded and thought back to what tilly had said when the original group had gone inside and come face to face with a group of party goers. "i was in charge of decorations. which if those people knew me, would be suspicious immediately. i'm not one for decorating or aesthetics." a deep sigh. "you?"
nic didn't have to tell william twice. he had already been thinking up ways to survive without his phone, his screen addiction broken the second it became obvious that a hacked device was the easiest way to listen in. once again, they were on the same page.
"i don't want them tracking my location either, so i'm just going to leave it at home," he admitted. and if he needed to take notes on anything nic was showing him? well, there was a reason he always had old school pen and paper on him.
intrigued by the paige dazey of it all, william listened intently as nic detailed gave a vague outline of their childhood spent together, a single quirked brow indicating his curiosity as to why the dazeys would have stopped talking to the carsons (growing up, he'd been in his own world, and had little time for town gossip). that felt like a question for another time, though, when the current focus of their conversation was now on paige. and her unexpected return.
her conveniently timed return.
was that not suspicious to anyone else?
"wait, she's starting college here?" he nearly interrupted her to ask. "why?" he didn't even try to keep the judgment out of his tone. who would choose the one college in wrensted over one in paris? and why would someone suddenly return to the place where their sister went missing years prior after having been away for so long? for revenge, perhaps? she may be nice, but maybe it was a front. "do we know how long she's been back?"
normally she'd say he was smart. that leaving the phone at home was a good idea, but as the panic attack slowly began to make it's way out of nic's body, they could only muster a thumbs up for the moment.
as will asked more questions about paige, nic nodded once more. it was strange, to realize that parts of your life that were so important, that truly shaped who you were, were nothing more then a blip in someone else's life. granted, peyton had done her best to erase any memory of nic by the time they got into high school, but it was wild to realize will had no idea just how close their families had once been.
"that's what she said. that she transfer back because she had some stuff that was left unfinished." family stuff, she had said. and while maybe nic was putting building everything up in their mind, they couldn't help but speculate what exactly that family stuff consisted of. taking one last deep breath, nic felt their old self starting to return. "she said a couple days. i didn't get anything else out of her before i started freaking out. seeing paige, it brings up bad memories. shit i thought i wouldn't have to deal with anymore."
looking back towards the house, nic started to get up. "i'm starting to feel a it better, if you want to go back inside."
even though anthony knew, for the most part, that nic was one of wren’s friends, it felt good to know that there was another person doing everything they could to prove his innocence. when so many people in town believed the worst of wren, it felt like the whispers and pointed looks followed ant everywhere he went, just by association. he wondered if this was what it was like for wren, that feeling of being the one person in town everyone is suspicious of, even before his arrest. if it was, anthony wanted to make sure that he never felt like this again— and he was grateful for nic’s help in any way.
“that’s good, that you went to see him and everything,” he says, a weak smile. “he seemed… a little beaten down when i first saw him, but he seemed better when i saw him this morning. maybe the visits are helping?”
anthony peered over at nic from the corner of his eye, watching her closely. their question lingered in the air between them for a beat before ant slowly shook his head. “there is,” he says simply, defeat slithering its way into his tone like a snake.
"i'm glad you're seeing him too. it's nice to know he's not alone." even if he was alone in there, he had people out here who were doing everything they could to help prove his innocence. maybe that would get the fucking cops to realize pinning this whole thing on him wouldn't be and open and shut case like they seemed to think,
people would care, and push back, and they'd always have someone fighting them no matter what.
at anthony's confession, nic's brows furrowed. why did he sound so down about that? if someone could prove wren didn't do what the cops were saying, they had to go find them. and they had to convince that person to to speak up. "wait, what do you mean? you know that for certain?"
izzy806
stormborns
pixelskylines
gummygunk
germansingergirl
dailybridgerton
jbbartram-illu
