If you're looking for an adventure in the morally grey, and a crash course of the human condition, this is the story for you! What is good and evil? Where is that line drawn, and who decides that? Packed with humor, danger, feels, and awkward relati...
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Nathan's excitement to play basketball today was dulled when he arrived at the court. Ian had refused to come today, but he'd been playing with them on occasion. Today it was just him, and it wasn't hard for him to pick up on the downtrodden mood among the boys, and half of them weren't even playing, just talking in small huddles. Rachel wasn't there, and Nathan went up to Donovan where he was leaning against the fence with his arms crossed around a basketball.
"They've been like this since I got here," Donovan said, dropping his gaze to Nathan. "I don't really want to ask without Rachel here."
"Why so glum?" A boy came up to him and slung an arm around his neck. His name was Antonio or something, and was apparently oblivious to it being his gang that seemed bothered by something.
"Where is Rachel?" Nathan asked him, and he hopped off his shoulders. The boys looked to each other and let out a collective sigh, as Nathan fiddled with his fingers.
"Rachel has been down all week," Antonio said, dribbling one of the basketballs.
"Antonio, go join the others." Tim nodded toward the group, and Antonio saluted him before heading off into the other boys.
It was a different sort of foreboding as Tim waited for Antonio to leave earshot. Tim was looking a bit better and no longer had his arm in a sling. Donovan straightened up as Tim walked closer to speak with just the three of them.
"Rachel has been very upset all week. It's not like her. Rachel could get hit by a car, pick herself up with broken legs, and crawl away with a smile." Tim's dark eyes found the ground.
"Do you know what happened?" Donovan asked, and Tim glanced to him but flinched away from his gaze for some reason.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have let her go off with that guy. I knew better, but Rachel told me she was fine, so I trusted her." Tim was half rambling to himself.
"Did someone hurt her?" Donovan's tone was dark, and Nathan flinched from the depth of his hostility.
"Hurt?" Tim asked as if that were out of the realm of possibility. "Physically, no. I prodded her for the last few days and she has insisted that she's uninjured. Apparently, she got into a pretty bad argument, though she wouldn't tell me what about."
"With who?" Donovan insisted before Nathan could even get a word in edgewise.
"You don't know?" Tim looked from Donovan to him, and then nervously found the ground. "Rachel is going to break my kneecaps. I thought you of all people would have known."
"Known what?" Donovan's expression was darkening in a manner that it only did when he was concerned for them. While Donovan was docile, when children being harmed was the subject, he turned deadly. Knowing what Nathan knew about him, he understood.
Tim realized that he was not going to get out of answering Donovan and pulled on his collar before visibly swallowing hard. "You can't tell Rachel that I told you," Tim begged, but Donovan just narrowed his eyes. After a short silence, the boy eventually found words. "The... blond guy at the pen. You know him right?"
