Page 116 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“He wanted it himself!”

“To have a demon on his back?”

“If you’re so smart, you should have caught it!”

Blake laughed unpleasantly.

“Same old story,” he commented venomously.

“What’s the same old story?”

“This is so you. Start some shit, and then shift the blame onto others.”

“What?”

“Give it a rest, you two,” Liam said. “We don’t—”

“Stay out of it!” Norma snarled at him before turning back to Blake. “Maybe you should just say what you mean?”

“I said what I meant!” Blake yelled. “He wasn’t ready! Maybe he never will be. But you took him in like some stray, you insisted on bringing him into our group, and these are the consequences!”

“And what was I supposed to do? Hold his hand, pat him on the head, and tell him the world of magic is all sunshine and roses?”

“We don’t even know if he’s a wizard.”

“Then what is he?”

“I don’t know! I’m just saying we don’t know, so you shouldn’t have taken a risk like that!”

“I was trying to help him!”

“You did a great job.”

“You did even better. You’re the one who let that demon push him in front of a car! You just stood there and watched!”

“I had no idea it was going to do something like that! There were people everywhere! I panicked, I didn’t know how to react!”

“Well, neither did I, so you can fuck off!”

Abigail listened to the exchange with growing agitation. It made no sense. They both felt guilty, they were both sad, and they both wanted to feel they had done the right thing, but instead of reaching an understanding and coming up with a plan, they were blaming each other.

“You’re the one who dragged him into this!” Blake shouted. “Don’t shift the blame to others!”

“Because I wanted him to feel like part of the group!” Norma yelled. “So he’d have something to do! I’m sorry I tried to be his friend!”

“I’d rather die than have a friend like you,” Blake hissed venomously.

Norma looked at him in disbelief, then screamed, “Then go and fucking die, Alden!”

“Stop,” Abigail whispered. She couldn’t stand it.

“You’re the worst person I know!”

“The feeling’s mutual! You accuse me of being irresponsible, but when it comes down to it, you’re just as happy to wash your hands of it! You’re just as guilty as I am! You dismissed him too!”

“Stop,” Abigail said, struggling to catch her breath.

“I didn’t have as much information as you did! When I asked what was going on, you said he was overreacting!”