Page 8 of H E R

I hadn’t seen Noah in over a week, which is why he holds me so closely. I wonder if anyone else notices how tight he’s holding me, or how he grazes my temple gently with his lips. I shudder in his grip. I don’t want his hands on me; the proximity is suffocating. On instinct, I reach for my mother’s charm bracelet. I twirl and count each charm quickly and then ignore my insides screaming at me and clear my throat. “I saw Vork.”

A collection of gasps from the three people surrounding me makes my skin crawl. In fact, the reason it’d taken me so long to get back was because I was obsessed over the images I’d recorded. I slowed the film and froze it on Vork’s face, wishing I could have shot him. But my parents taught me better, and I wanted him to rot in prison. He’d make a dashing girlfriend for the inmates.

I wriggle in Noah’s arms, unable to hold back the feeling of suffocation. I walk to the dresser for my camera and take off my drenched sweater, then throw it over the hissing radiator. I sigh. “I got him on camera, Jule. I finally got this son of a bitch.”

Jule’s eyes focus on my hands, and he approaches me slowly. His lips quiver. “We got him, Nik.”

Across from my brother and me, Noah tenses, and I know what he’s thinking. So many times he’d already told me what Piper had an hour ago: that it was too dangerous to hope to land Vork, and that he most likely was working for someone higher. That I should stick to reporting the news and not risk my life by uploading any dirt on Vork and his bandits. I guess he hoped I wouldn’t get the opportunity to find the evidence I needed. Yet here it was, already in my hands.

But it wasn’t like me to break promises, and I intended to further press Piper and convince her that we should leak this new footage. Now I just had to break the news to Jule. His gaze is locked on my camera as I plug it into the nearest outlet and signal him to sit next to me on the floor.

Jule’s back collapses against the wall and he slides down next to me, our shoulders touching, and he leans into me.

“Show me.”

“Justice, I don’t really think that’s the best thing for you—”

I silence Noah’s protest with a glare. “Jule has the right to see the man who killed our parents.”

Jasmin sits at the edge of my bed, watching us closely. I know from the look in her sad, tired, and bloodshot brown eyes that she agrees. Noah scoffs under his breath and resigns by crossing his arms across his chest. I turn on the camera and play the footage for my brother.

The sound is as bad as I dreaded with my harsh breaths, thunder, and loud rainfall–the distant voices are muffled. Still, it’s way better than anything else I’ve managed to get in the past with my cheap cameras, yet it would’ve been better if there’d been no rain. When Vork comes into view, my brother goes rigid beside me. He holds his breath and grips my fingers. He squeezes so hard I think he might break them.

Once the footage is done, he lets go of the camera. So much unlike me. If I were in his place, I wouldn’t be able to let go. I’m relieved, though, because I don’t want him to flip forward and see the picture I took of my rookie cop.

Whoa.Myrookie cop? Get a fucking grip.

“When can this go live on the blog?”

I inhale a deep breath and keep it in my lungs for a long while before breathing out. “I can’t do that just yet, Jule.”

My eyes stare at the camera in disbelief. I can’t believe I managed to sputter the words out loud. My brother stands up frantically, his hands balled into fists. “Why the hell not?”

From under my lashes, I peer up at Noah. He’s smiling and looks relieved. I roll my eyes at him; he’s never seen eye-to-eye with me regarding Vork. Whatever, fuck Noah. I’m desperate to explain things to Jule before he storms out of the room and does something stupid. So I stand, leave the camera on the floor, and grip my brother’s arms, giant in comparison to mine.

“Try to understand. You didn’t witness what Piper and I discussed because I shut off the camera—”

“Who the fuck is Piper?”

Iignore my little brother’s outburst and inhale sharply before I lose it. I have to be the calm one, the responsible one. He shakes me off of him and angrily slides his hands over his stubble-filled face, then through his short hair.

Did he actually think I would let this man go so easily? Jule wasn’t there to witness how my parents were taken from us; he didn’t have this enclosed and restricted rage ready to explode on just about anyone who tried to stop me. I wanted to kill Vork with my bare hands. He has no idea how much it took for me not to empty my birthday present into him. Mom and Dad wouldn’t have wanted that.

“Piper is the redhead from the footage, the other one is Macy: they’re sisters. Piper won’t let me expose Vork, says he isn’t the source. Getting rid of him will pry open Pandora’s box.”

Jule snorts. “So you’re gonna let this tramp decide how we expose this …monster!”

It wasn’t a question. Jule is enraged, and he flails his arms, drawing attention to his anger directed at me. He feels betrayed.

Jasmin’s calm voice sighs behind him. “This girl, Piper… she’s right, though. Assuming that Vork is the mastermind of the pack is giving him way too much credit.”

“I don’t give a damn. I’m not looking to enlighten anyone: I’m looking to settle a score. Even if it brings on more shit, at least we’ll be rid ofoneproblem.”

I have to admit that what Jule says makes sense. If, in fact, there is someone higher in ranks than Vork, then we have more than just one issue. But in getting rid of Vork, we would have less to worry about, right? And after the footage leaks, we would be presented with thatotherissue and therefore given a chance to resolve what’s exposed.

“My plan isn’t to just delete this and forget about it. I want to convince Piper to let me show it. Her sister is underage, and if I expose her circumstances, Piper threatened to have me arrested.”

“Slut has a brain. How convenient.”

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