Steal the Stars [REWRITING]

Nicole - Apologies

If the earth could open up and swallow me, I would gladly let it.

Today had been horrible, and I'd proved myself incapable of holding it together. I hadn't even managed to let Annabelle take the glass out without panicking. Because, suddenly, it'd all been too much. I stared at the floor as they began talking about how to best get out. All of them would know now, that I was a coward and couldn't make it through getting an injury healed. I was pathetic.

"Are either of you going to tell us what's going on?" Annabelle snapped. "Because I'm getting tired of playing this stupid guessing game. Both of you are cut up, Nicole looks like she's seen a ghost, and yet it supposedly wasn't a guard or anything like that. So, what happened?"

"Not now," Leo said. I could feel his gaze burning into me, but I didn't raise my eyes to meet it. "Later."

Fine by me.

Annabelle huffed, frustrated, but didn't ask any more questions. "Okay, then. Fine. Let's just get out of here."

"Hold on," James said. He stared at me, his eyes piercing. "Do you have the jewels?"

I nodded and tugged them out of my pocket. Several of them were tarnished with my blood, but it would come off. I handed them to Leo. I wanted nothing to do with them. The sooner we gave them over, the better. James could have his reward, and I hoped this would be enough to satisfy everyone for a long time.

"So, what now?" Annabelle asked.

James shrugged. "We walk out."

"Literally everyone in this building is looking for us. Great in theory, but how is that going to work?"

"You and Leo, maybe. Nicole and I can walk out."

"Right. Nicole's covered in scars and looks like she's on the verge of a mental breakdown–how is that not suspicious?"

He rolled his eyes and looked at me. "Get it together, then."

"Hey," Leo snapped, "can you at least try, James–for once in your life–to show a little compassion? It won't kill you."

"He's right." I stopped staring at the floor. "About both of those. We'll walk out. Leo, Annie–go out through the gardens."

Annabelle nodded. "That's how James and I lost the guards earlier. In the maze itself, actually, but there are so many–and they're so big–that it's all pretty much a maze. We can go out through the back and loop around into town."

"No carriages, though," James decided, ignoring Leo. "It'll look suspicious. We'll walk until we're far enough away that we can hire a carriage or something." He looked at Annabelle. "Nicole, you can buy her some clothes or something. It's pretty obvious where you came from. And, Leo, your shirt is covered in blood, so maybe a new one, because we'd look insane hiring a carriage like this."

"That's that, then," Annabelle said. "If you're not there in twenty minutes, something's wrong, and we'll come back up."

"Twenty minutes?" James asked, incredulous. "That's so short, though."

"With thirty Leo nearly bled out."

"Fine." James sighed. "Twenty."

Leo bent down to my level before we split off and whispered, "You okay?"

I tried to smile and failed. "I'm okay. I just want to go home."

Home, for me, didn't exist. The last two years had been the closest I'd ever gotten, but we were in Koyia, not my familiar room at the inn. I wanted to go somewhere that might never exist.

Leo squeezed my hand. "You will. Just a little longer, and this will all be over. Promise."

"Be safe."

"You, too."

I stepped away from him and toward James, who had begun crossing his eyes. "So, we're good then. See you in a bit, if not we'll come looking blah, blah, blah, blah. Good talk, team. Yay, I believe in us! Whatever else I'm supposed to say! Are we done yet?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Sure, James." He nodded to Annabelle. "Let's go."

James half-dragged me in the opposite direction, holding the top of my arm so tightly it pinched, until I yanked my arm out of his grip. "Stop it. I can walk."

"Fine, then. Hurry up." He began walking at a pace so fast he was practically running, and I had to jog to keep up with him. He scowled as he tore down the hallway, his eyes focused ahead.

"Stop!" I finally snapped. "Just stop! What is your problem?"

"My problem? Take a wild guess, Nicole! I'm so sick of this! Every time, Leo drops everything to help you–always. Like he gets tunnel vision or something. And it's ridiculous! Because, suddenly, nobody else matters! It's Nicole, Nicole, Nicole all day long, and it's like he has no time for anything else. He wasn't supposed to be up there at all, and look where it got him–look where you got him. And now you won't tell anybody anything–because you never do! And maybe Leo's okay with that, but I'm not, because whatever you did got him hurt, and he won't even say anything because you don't want him to!"

For a moment, his words hung in the air between us as we stared at each other. He was right. He was right, and I knew it. Leo hadn't been supposed to be up there, but he had been, because of me. It was because of me he'd gotten hurt–my father had known, somehow, that he could use him to get to me. It was my fault.

"I'm sorry," I said finally. "I didn't know he was going to be up there. He wasn't supposed to be; he was still supposed to be with Annabelle. We didn't work out some plan behind your back, and I never wanted him to get hurt. You're right. It was my fault, but I didn't mean for it to happen. And I'm sorry. I don't control Leo, James, and I'm sorry if you feel like you've been replaced, but you haven't. Leo still needs you and wants you around, even if he spends time with me a lot. I'm not your replacement James."

He kicked the ground. "No? Because it feels like that. You're his first pick for everything–jobs, whatever. I know you're better at a lot more stuff than me, trust me. But every time?"

"I'm not better at more stuff than you. Just different things. I can't build a bomb or forge papers, or any of the things you do. If you want to work with Leo, just ask or suggest it. I'm not going to fight you for it. I like working with Annabelle. She is my friend, remember?"

"I know." He hesitated. "I...Sorry, Nicole. I shouldn't have said anything I did say to you, and I shouldn't have dragged you down the hallway like that. Or yelled at you. That wasn't fair."

"It doesn't matter. You were upset." I gestured toward the exit. "We should go. We don't have much time."

Word Count: 1,162