Chapter 19: Nick

It was silent as Brian finished his terrible tale. I noticed that the others had joined us outside and that Brian was now wrapped in Texas’ arms, tears on the faces of both.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, not really knowing what to say.

“How could they do it?” Brian asked. “They… those Cats… how could they? They… they violated her Nick! How could they do that?”

His voice had risen as he spoke until he was pleading with me, his eyes full of fury and hatred toward the Alley Cats.

“No one really knows.” I heard Kevin whisper as he knelt beside us, trying to reach out to comfort Brian.

But Brian tore out of Kevin and Texas’ grip and started walking away, stopping a few feet from the house. I hurried to his side and was scared at the hostility I saw in Brian’s eyes.

“There’s a council tomorrow after school.” Brian told me, his blue eyes blazing as he looked at me. “They’ll pay, Nick. You hear me? They’ll pay dearly for what they’ve done!”

It was all we could do to hold him back from storming away and taking out the Cats alone. It wasn’t long before Brian stopped fighting against us and relaxed into Lance’s strong arms, tears beginning to fall again. We all knew how much Brian idolized Lance and my respect for that man went up so much more, seeing him comforting Brian.