CHAPTER 280: 280-THE DEATH THREAT

Clementine:

"I guess I might just go for Ian," I replied, watching Yorick hiss at me.

He took a step closer, but Troy placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back.

"We are not going to reject her, so you don’t need to get yourself all hyped up," Haiden commented, causing my jaw to clench.

"When the heck did you have this conversation with Ian? And why didn’t you tell us?" Haiden pressed, firing questions at me. I knew exactly how to respond.

Ian had followed us at first, but then continued down the passage to avoid being a part of conversation.

I was so embarrassed by my mates that I didn’t ask him to stay for our talk.

But now, Oriana was walking toward us.

"Maybe because you were too busy sucking her tits last night?" I said, and Oriana gasped from afar. She had already reached us at this point.

Even the others were shocked, Haiden’s eyes widening.

"What did you just say?" Before anyone else could speak, Oriana stepped forward and asked.

"You heard me. I caught you two in bed together last night," I hissed, noticing Troy and Yorick’s expressions.

They didn’t seem angry at her, but at me for embarrassing her.

"That’s not true. We were just having a good time," her voice shook, and tears began to appear in her eyes.

What a bitch. Suddenly, she was hurt over me talking about her own actions.

"Seriously, I can’t believe you’re the one starting rumors about someone’s character," Troy snapped, making me laugh at his attempt to manipulate me.

"I saw it," I hissed at him, my face hardening.

"Well, you didn’t see shit. The only thing you saw was her top out of place and her bra lifted. That’s it," Haiden yelled, making me clench my jaw as I stared back at him.

"It’s so low of you, seriously, Clementine. Is that what you’ve become? Jealous out of your mind?" Troy kept going. "All that because we gave you a little attention, and now you think you own us?"

"I can’t believe this," Yorick added as he stepped closer to Oriana, who was now reduced to tears.

She buried her face in her hands, crying and shaking her head.

"I can’t believe this, Clementine. I thought you were a girl’s girl. How could you start a rumor like that?" Oriana looked up at me with hurt in her eyes, but I knew it was fake.

"Well, then why don’t you all go ahead and comfort her after you’ve rejected me?" I argued, stomping my foot because none of it made sense.

"Well, we told you what it is. And since you think you’re such a big deal, maybe you should just sit and cry a little, because we’re not going to reject you. Mend your ways and apologize if you’ve hurt anyone," Yorick hissed at me.

Then Troy stepped forward, patting Oriana’s back right in front of me.

"For heaven’s sake, stop acting up. We didn’t expect this from you," he said to me, shaking his head in disappointment.

"To think I was so certain you’d never start rumors, and you did this to me. I’m really hurt," Haiden added, placing a hand on his chest.

"Oh, please, shut up—all of you. I’ll find a way to reject every one of you and make you accept it. That’s my new goal," I shot back, refusing to fall for their emotional drama.

They looked upset that I was speaking to them like this, but before they could respond, I turned and walked away.

My job here was done. I wasn’t going to talk to Ian. I wanted to find Miss Rue. I had questions for her.

Everyone might think I was losing my mind, or maybe I was. I was just tired of losing. I wanted to win at least one battle.

As soon as I reached the hall, I spotted Miss Rue walking upstairs with a file. The moment she saw me, she turned and tried to hurry away.

"Miss Rue, I need answers," I called out loudly from across the hall.

She stopped, then slowly walked back, realizing running wouldn’t help, at least not with me.

"Clementine, please. I told you, they’re just worried about the academy," she said softly, walking toward me.

It looked like she’d been heading somewhere important when I stopped her.

"To save the academy so badly that you decided to kill the leader of the Brown House?" I accused.

She gasped, but her reaction sounded fake. I knew I was right, they had done something to her.

"No, Clementine. What –ma—de you think that?" she stammered, her voice trembling with panic.

"That’s the truth, isn’t it? You were afraid he’d say something that would make it harder for you to hide whatever you’re covering up," I pressed, tapping my foot as I remembered how hard I’d fought to capture him.

They just let him die like that. What were they doing?

Were they even taking care of him? He was an important piece, and they didn’t seem to care.

"Clementine, these accusations can get you in trouble. Please, just stop," Miss Rue warned, trying to silence me.

But I didn’t stop. I knew I was asking the right questions.

"Miss Rue, do you even care about the North at all? None of you ever talk about helping, or cleaning it, or shutting down the monsters there. These tasks feel more like entertainment," I said.

As the words left my mouth, I realized how ridiculous these tasks had been.

Except for the first one, none had asked us to clean the areas or take care of the fleshmingos or the flying monsters that had attacked us once.

"All I can tell you about the questions you’re asking is this, Clementine, if you don’t stop, you’ll end up dead," Miss Rue said, answering in a way I hadn’t expected.

I was stunned, even shocked.

Could that be an admission of guilt? Was this forced silence proof?