Sins Of Her Venom

-Kathrine Andrews: (Song of the Chapter: Pity Party by Melanie Martinez

I grabbed my brother's forearm, and Nancy grabbed his other arm. Together, we pulled him out of the house…Well, mansion.

The loud music and laughter faded away as we made our way toward the parking lot, but Nicolas was still angry, cussing Alex out under his breath.

His words were harsh, filled with anger as we walked.

"That fucking asshole doesn't know when to shut his mouth. He can go fuck himself!" Nicolas muttered, his jaw clenched.

We reached my motorcycle, and Nicolas finally stopped, taking a deep breath to calm down.

His eyes narrowed as they landed on me, taking in my soaked clothes, drenched in beer.

"Why the fuck did you come to this party, Kat?" he demanded, his voice low and full of frustration. "You know they hate you. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Nancy stood beside him, her hand on his arm, stroking it gently to calm him down.

They both turned their attention to me as I looked down at my hands, still holding the broken and ripped earphones.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I hesitated before I spoke, unsure of how to even begin.

"I didn't want to come," I said, my voice quieter than I wanted it to be. "I had, to get my earphones back. They said I had to come to get them. They wouldn't give them to me unless I did."

I looked down at my hands, showing him the broken earphones, the wires hanging limply, torn beyond repair.

The sight of them made the pit in my stomach tighten, and I felt like my world was crashing down again.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling the weight of everything hitting me. "They ripped them off."

Nicolas sighed heavily, taking the earphones from my hand with a tender touch.

He pulled me into a hug, and I melted into his warmth, my chest tightening with emotions I couldn't put into words.

He held me for a long moment, his grip firm and reassuring, before pulling back slightly.

"Kat, I don't care about the fucking earphones," he said, his tone softer but filled with frustration I could hear behind his words.

"You could've just let them take them. I get it—you didn't want to cause a scene. But you have to stop letting them push you around. This shit's been going on for too long. It's time it stopped."

He pulled back slightly, his hands on my face, his thumbs gently brushing my cheeks as he looked deep into my eyes.

His gaze softened, and his words hit harder than anything I expected.

"I know you want to keep your reputation clean, that you don't want to fight. I know you want to be this perfect, professional Hockey player in the future, but you need to start standing up for yourself. You're not nothing, Kat. You're fucking strong, and you're worth more than what they're doing to you. We should tell the principal or he'll even the police at this point."

My chest tightened at his words, and I felt a lump form in my throat. The weight of everything was too much.

I knew he was right. But reality had its hold on me. I looked at him, my voice shaking when I spoke.

"You know damn well what would happen if we went to the principal. His father owns the school, and the principal is his uncle. Even if the police got involved, they'd pay their way out of it. We're just a gum under their shoes, Nicolas."

He didn't say anything, but I could see it in his eyes.

He was frustrated, torn between wanting to protect me and knowing the system was rigged in their favor.

He knew I was right.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

He looked at me again, his eyes full of concern.

"I don't care about all that," he said, his voice rough. "I care about you, Kat. You can't keep letting them treat you like this."

Nancy stepped forward, her voice soft, filled with guilt. "Kat, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's wrong with Alex and his friends. I've tried asking him to leave you alone multiple times, even Glyndon, but they never listen. I don't know why they keep doing this to you. I'm sorry."

I shook my head, trying to reassure her. "It's not your fault, Nancy. I know you can't control your brother and what he does. I've never blamed you for it."

Nicolas climbed onto my motorcycle on the seat behind me, his face still tense with anger.

He looked at me, his expression softening slightly as I started to put on my helmet.

"Come on, Kat," he said, his voice quiet but insistent. "I'm not leaving you go home alone."

I looked back at him, my heart swelling a little at the thought of my brother not leaving me alone.

"You can't leave your girlfriend alone, Nick," I said, my voice full of concern.

Nancy smiled softly, a sad look on her face. "It's okay, Kat. You can't go home alone, you're shaken up. I will be fine, I live here, remember?"

I smiled weakly at her as she leaned in to hug me, then kissed Nickolas on the cheek.

She whispered something to him before I started the motorcycle, my mind racing.

We headed back to my house, and all I could think about was the anger burning inside me.

I wanted them to hurt. I wanted Alex and Glendon to feel every ounce of pain they'd put me through.

I would make them regret every single thing they'd done to me.

As the road passed under me, the only thought in my head was vengeance.

The world didn't matter. Only the people who had tormented me would.