Chapter 89
Nika
Thursday
Nika swings the steering wheel hard to turn into Oakpark. She’s going faster than she should, she knows that, but she doesn’t care. She’s fuming. More than yesterday, more than this morning. She’s just spent three hours in Jessica’s room, talking it over, and she’s more riled up than ever.
“It was definitely Maeve who did it, by the way,” Jess had said, as if Nika needed any convincing. “Ruby and Alison think they actually saw her near the clubhouse, skulking in her stupid purple beanie. She’s so embarrassing.”
“Enough to tell the police?”
“They weren’t that sure but, like, almost.”
Nika sighed. “Fucking Maeve Khoury.”
“You can’t let her get away with it,” Jessica said. “She literally tried to kill you. And she’s just getting on with her life.”
“I know.” Nika stood at Jessica’s wardrobe, riffling through her dresses. She was there to pick out something to wear to a party next weekend, but the whole Maeve thing was making it hard to focus.
Jess frowned. “Like, if it wasn’t for the AWGoss account, we could get her arrested. I hope she knows that.”
“Annoyingly, she probably doesn’t.” Nika sighed. “God, I wish there was a way to tell the guards without getting in trouble.”
“Well, you can’t, but there has to be a way to get your own back.
” Jess was sitting on her bed, painting her nails.
“Honestly, you can’t just let her off. Like, we can’t change the law, but all you did was put a video online that was actually true?
You didn’t make anything up. Doesn’t matter what any stupid law says, what she did was way worse. ”
“I know. I’m fucking furious.” Nika held a short pink Oh Polly dress against her and checked the full-length mirror. “I actually can’t believe she’s getting away with it. I just feel so…powerless?”
“You are powerless when it comes to the laws and stuff. But you can take back some power and sort it out yourself, you know?” Jess had warmed to her theme. “Like in the TV show, The Power?”
Nika had seen the show too. It was about the patriarchy, not about teen girls fighting among themselves, but this wasn’t the time to correct Jessica.
“I should. I will.” She put the pink dress back in the wardrobe, too distracted to think about clothes. “So what will we do?”
“We’ll think of something,” Jessica said darkly.
· · ·
But now, two hours later, and on her way home, she still hasn’t settled on a plan.
Jessica had wanted to go online again. Fake some diary entries in Maeve’s handwriting, stuff that would be way, way worse than her crush on Ariana (because, for god’s sake, let’s face it, Jessica said, everyone had a crush on Ariana at some point).
Nika is nervous of the online route though.
There’s always a way to track people down, as far as she knows, through IP addresses and so on.
She’d asked Jessica if she wanted to set up the anonymous account this time, but she didn’t, it needed to come from Nika, to get “closure” Jessica had said.
There has to be a way to get at her, Nika thinks now, as she speeds through Oakpark.
But there has to be a way she can do it without getting caught.
That’s when she sees the figure ahead. Someone walking along the path by the green.
She squints. Someone in a distinctive Ed Hardy hoodie, lit up now as she walks under a streetlight.
It couldn’t be, could it? It is. It’s her.
This is too much. Maeve Khoury. Out walking as though everything is fine.
As though she hasn’t just tried to kill Nika.
Getting away with it, no consequences. Thinking she’s untouchable because her aunts are teachers.
Thinking she’s great. Nika’s not thinking she’s great.
Nika’s not thinking at all when she jams her foot down on the accelerator.
The car revs and speeds forward. She turns the wheel without a plan, fueled by adrenaline and white-hot rage.
The car mounts the footpath just as Maeve turns her face to see what’s coming.
And then Maeve is gone, knocked to the ground. Motionless. And Nika keeps driving.