Blue texted Magenta around midnight.
"Hey, I was at a family dinner. My brother came back from his last teaching job a state away. It was a surprise visit. We were catching up and I didn't check my phone."
"Oh wait, Sebastian is back?" Magenta asked.
She remembered Blue's older brother vaguely but the details were fuzzy. She knew that Sebastian had a passion for teaching and education. He was about ten years older than Blue.
"Are you free for a call?" Blue requested.
Magenta picked up the phone and they talked for a short while about Blue's brother.
"We need to talk about the Reese thing," Magenta said.
The day they were in the party room, Blue and Magenta found the heart list on Reese's wallpaper. It was a list of girls, with a monetary figure next to their names. There were three girls before Magenta's name all crossed out.
"I called Matt Ripley from Reese's old school. He's gonna send me some evidence that could help us," Magenta said.
"Detective Magenta to the rescue," Blue said.
"How about we work on this tomorrow? We should get some sleep," Magenta suggested.
"Yeah sure."
"Night night meanie Beanie," Magenta said.
"Night, baddie Maggie."
They collected all the evidence they had the day after. Magenta received the voice recording through email, and Blue had the heart list screenshot. They both met at a cafe and typed a blog post together to put on all socials. Once they were done, they shared a reassuring glance, and then with one finger, Magenta pressed send.
To the people of Thundering School and Oakstone Academy, You might have heard of somebody called Reese McCartney. The current president of the student council, and captain of the soccer team at Oakstone. Today we are exposing this person for his evil ways. Here in this post is evidence of Reese making a heart list, betting over winning the hearts (and pants) of some girls in our schools. And to show that we are not just trying to make his reputation go down, we have also included a voice recording of Reese talking about one of his victims. For a while we let Reese reign over us, but now is the time to put a stop to all this. Join us in stopping these actions from happening again. Let us know if you know or have known someone who was affected by this list or by Reese himself. Yours truly, Blue and Magenta of Oakstone Academy.
Their post went viral among the boarding school groups within a few hours, especially as combined, Blue and Magenta had a good social media presence and following. Comments came flooding through about Reese, from different accounts. Girls were making video responses, showing their evidence of having been suppressed by Reese. One such heartbreaking story was from Clare, Matt Riley's sister.
"I'm one of the girls on that list. My name is Clare Ripley. Say hi, Nugget. This is my daughter, the result of what Reese did to me. His family forced me to keep quiet about this. But now that the truth is out, I don't want to hide anymore. I'm a teen mom, and I am not ashamed of my child. But I am ashamed that I let myself be charmed by Reese. Please, get justice for what I couldn't do. I'm safe now, in a new country with my baby. But I don't want this to ever happen to any other girl.
Clare blurred out her baby's face, but her face was visible. The progression in the case was overturned so quickly, and the deans of Oakstone fired Principal McCartney, effectively asking Reese to leave the school too.
--
"Is there an update on our case?" Magenta asked.
They were all waiting with bated breath at the Davies household. All of the quartet, plus all the parents who could make the trip over. Magenta's dad placed a hand over Magenta's shoulder.
"You've been really brave, Magenta. Mom and I are really
proud," Tim Davies acknowledged his daughter's courage.
The police officer on the phone responded to Magenta's question.
"Unfortunately, we do not have enough evidence to prosecute Mr. McCartney, but his family has left the country. All possible charges against you and Mr. Harrison have been dropped." Officer Dan reported.
"Thank you so much, Officer," Magenta said.
As she put down the phone, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Blue opened his arms for a hug, and she gladly accepted. He enveloped her in his arms.
"I'll never let that guy near you again," Blue whispered, holding her hands in his.
Magenta said, "You better not!"
Shelby and Jasper embraced, as did the Davies family.
"Shall we celebrate?" Tim Davies said.
"Yes!" Most people cheered.
"What should we do?"
"Another pizza night!" Jasper said.
"No! We should do trick or treat for Halloween together!" Shelby claimed the idea.
But Magenta wanted some alone time. She excused herself and went to her bedroom. Taking one step at a time, Magenta leaned her weight on the staircase railing. One drop came, and then the next. Her tears became the storm underneath, in her heart.
She reached her room and finally broke down, letting herself cry it all out. All the tension building up in her body loosened, and she could feel relief. But somehow the coils around her chest seemed to still be tight. Is this what it felt like, to be abused? To never be free again from the memories?
The fatigue pressed against Magenta's body. She lay down on her bed and eventually fell into another teary nightmare.
Do you see, Magenta? Do you see me? I'll be waiting for you, hiding, getting ready to see you again. Don't forget, I'll always be here. Black vines shot up from the ground and clawed through Magenta's skin, and the vines held Magenta against her will. Reese McCartney stood above her like a majestic mage, with all the powers in the world. As their eyes met, everything changed. Magenta felt an electric current traveling through her skin, and when he touched her, she exploded.
Magenta woke in a sweat, screaming.
It was two am and everyone else was asleep at the time. Her scream resounded through the room, making an echoing sound downstairs.
Magenta's dad burst through her door, with a baseball bat.
"What happened!" He asked.
Magenta wept, her hands in her face.
"Oh, honey," Her mother popped up by the door and came close to hold Magenta.
"I can't sleep. I keep getting bad dreams about that time. Will it ever get better?" Magenta asked.
"Maybe we can go see the doctor tomorrow." Magenta's father said.
"Oh, that's a good idea. The doctor might be able to help you with the sleep nightmares." Her mother pointed out.
"Oh...okay," Magenta said.
"Let's get you some water and a night soothing herbal tea," Cathy said.
As they walked downstairs, the wind outside groaned, looking for a host to visit. The wind stopped by the Davies house with one look, and squeezed through the window, into Magenta's bedroom.