Page 45 of The Sweetest Revenge

My peripheral vision blurred, narrowing to a tunnel. Focusing straight ahead took every ounce of willpower, my neck muscles aching with the effort not to turn, not to see. Each step echoed hollowly, the sound ricocheting off the walls. Somewhere ahead, a door banged open, the sudden noise causing a ripple of flinches through the crowd.

Minutes stretched like hours as we stumbled towards the exit. The rhythmic thud of combat boots and the crackle of police radios surrounded us, a cocoon of urgency. A gust of cool air hit my face, we were outside.

The sun's glare was jarring after the dim hallways. I squinted, my eyes watering as they adjusted. Police barricades loomed ahead, their red and blue lights pulsing silently against the day's brightness.

We didn't stop until we reached the parking lot's sun-baked asphalt.

"You're safe," I whispered to Ariella, my voice hoarse. As I eased her down, my arms trembled from exertion and fading adrenaline. Her feet touched the ground, but her fingers remained curled in my shirt as if afraid to let go.

"Fuck," Trey's voice cracked as he spun around. "Do they have the shooter?"

I swallowed hard. "I don't know," I said, the words feeling inadequate on my tongue.

"I counted two," Hawk said.

I knew he was talking about bodies. "Could you tell who it was?" I asked, sliding an arm around Ariella's shoulders.

"Oh my God," she cried out. "Journey and Mila."

"They were male," Hawk said, his tone low and somber. "But I couldn't tell."

My gaze scanned the crowds of students coming out of the school, standing around the parking lot behind the barriers law enforcement set up. Everyone was waiting for someone they cared about to appear.

"We should get out of here," Trey said, his voice tight. He ran a shaky hand through his thick, dark hair, leaving it standing on end. "We can start making calls to check on everyone."

Ariella's hands fluttered over her pockets, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. "I don't have my phone," she mumbled, her voice distant, as if coming from underwater. "I must have left it inside." She shifted her weight, swaying slightly on her feet. Her eyes, wide and unfocused, fixed on the school building behind us.

My hand wrapped around her arm, feeling the goosebumps on her clammy skin. "You can't go get it," I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the lump in my throat.

"I need it," she cried out, her voice rising to a pitch that made my ears ring. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "I need to check on Mila, Journey, and my team." Her chest heaved with each ragged breath. This wasn't about a phone. It was the fear of the day coming to a head.

"We will check on everyone," Trey said. "But right now, we need to get out of here."

"I have Mila and Journey's numbers in my phone," Abby said, reaching into her pocket. "You can call them."

"Call them on the way," Hawk said, ushering us toward our cars.

I knew these next few hours would be the worst as we waited to find out who was injured and who didn't make it out.

CHAPTER22

ZAIDEN

Standing in the darkness, I stared at Ariella sitting at a park table with her feet propped on the bench under a pavilion. A storm of emotions churned inside me. Anger at what she'd done to my sister mixed with the instinctive need to protect her, to make sure she was okay. I hated how easily old feelings resurfaced, and that kiss didn't help the situation.

By the time we made it to my house after leaving campus, we had decided to send out a group invite to meet at a local park so we could accommodate everyone. Apparently, everyone had the same idea because before we knew it, the park was full of ballers, dancers, and cheerleaders.

We'd been here for almost an hour, and most of Westbrook's athletes had been accounted for, but we were still missing Mila and Journey.

Sterling appeared through the crowd, his usually carefree demeanor replaced with a grim determination. He'd volunteered to help account for our team. "Everyone is accounted for on our end," he reported, voice steady despite the worry lines creasing his forehead. "But the other teams—" He trailed off, glancing towards the clusters of anxious athletes still waiting for news. "We're still missing a couple of people from the football team, dance team, soccer team, and a few cheerleaders."

It was possible that others had lost their phones like Ariella and didn't know we were waiting for them, but knowing that didn't make the wait any easier for those waiting to see if their friends were alive or dead.

"Mila and Journey still haven't shown up," Sterling stated. "I saw them heading toward the exit before everything went down. They were probably heading home."

"Yeah," I muttered without taking my eyes off Ariella. "Their practice was over."

"Maybe they both lost their phone," he said. "A lot of people dropped their things in the chaos."

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