Saving the Villain

Cosette wanted to respect Olivia\'s wishes and give her some time to think about her future actions. However, after seeing Olivia\'s mother and seeing the pride in her eyes as she remembered her daughter, Cosette knew deep in her heart she couldn\'t sit idly and wait.

It was unfair.

This world was already unfair and sometimes, a person\'s resilience wasn\'t something to be proud about. Those youths were too young to commit atrocities, and the damages they had cost was far too great to let them all get away from it.

Cosette wouldn\'t allow… her thoughts suddenly trailed off when Luke\'s voice tickled her ears.

"Wait." Luke paused from eating the dish Maxen and Cosette prepared for him. "Why is this guy here again??"

He looked to his side, scrunching his nose up at Remo as the latter was also eating. Remo looked back at Luke and cocked his head, confused.

"He was with you when you came," Maxen recalled, sitting beside Cosette on the square dining table in Luke\'s apartment. Since Cosette and Maxen were always in Luke\'s place, Luke handed Maxen a spare key in case of emergency; by emergency, he meant Maxen getting kicked out of the Blac Manor.

"You dragged me with you," said Remo, blinking almost innocently. "And told me you\'d buy me dinner since I\'m now your neighbor."

"Right…" Luke shoved another spoonful of rice into his mouth, recalling dragging Remo with him, knowing Maxen and Cosette cooked something.

Even though Maxen had a spare key to Luke\'s apartment, Maxen still told him they would go to his place via text. Hence, he took Remo with him since the guy just moved into the apartment next to him.

"So." Remo cleared his throat, shifting his attention to Maxen and Cosette. "What\'s the plan?"

Cosette slowly raised her eyes and Maxen looked back at him. The look in their eyes suddenly urged Remo to explain his interest in the matter.

"I\'m not the person to ask this, I know. I hurt Max, and other people too. Whatever the reason, they\'re all excuses. But…" Remo trailed, lowering his eyes as he cleared his throat once again. "... that girl almost killed herself. Juvie is hard, but the hardest of all is the guilt you carry while you\'re inside that place."

"She doesn\'t want to do anything," Cosette answered with a quiet voice, watching Remo lift his eyes on her. "She knows it will devastate her parents if they knew about it. So she planned to keep quiet for now."

"What?" Luka slammed the bottom of his fist against the surface of the table, making the plates and cutleries jump slightly. "She wants to let them get away from everything they had done to her?"

"That\'s what she said." Cosette shrugged. "After all, if she goes out there, it\'s not like it\'ll all be a happy ending. Criticism will be thrown at her. Not to mention, those who don\'t understand the situation will just point the blame on her."

She let out a deep sigh, leaning back as she remembered the frustrating details of her conversation with Olivia.

"It\'ll not be an easy road for her either. No one likes to hear the truth after all," she continued. "And even if she wins the case, she\'s afraid she\'ll just be known as the young girl who was bullied and violated. It\'s frustrating, but Olivia wasn\'t prepared for this. She\'s been through a lot already."

"And because of that, she\'ll just let them all get away from it?!" Luke gasped in disbelief, both frustrated and angry at what Cosette said. "She might not care about the future victims of those guys, but hey, that\'s unfair!"

"I know, right?" Cosette let out another deep exhale.

"So, we\'ll let her be?" Remo inquired, getting straight to the point. "Is she aware this will not stop?"

His eyes glinted with solemnness. "If she thinks graduating is her way of escape, it\'s not. Those guys will not stop until they find another girl to toy with. I know; I\'ve met a lot of delinquents just like them. They\'re all fearless… just like how I was. I wouldn\'t be in a juvie if I didn\'t have the same thinking back to them. It just so happened I didn\'t go that far because my grandfather will kill me."

"Cozie, can\'t you change her mind?" Luke added with a deep frown. "I know it\'ll be hell, but she needs to stand up for herself. She\'s lucky Remo stopped her in time before jumping out of the window, but trust me, this will not be the last time she will attempt something like this. Who knows? No one might come and stop her the next time she attempts to kill herself."

"I agree with him." Remo nodded, keeping his eyes on Cosette.

Cosette darted her eyes between Luke and Remo, pursing her lips into a thin line.

"I want to respect her decision for now," she answered after a minute of nothing but silence. Her answer, however, immediately brought a gloomy frown on Luke\'s and Remo\'s faces. "I think she needs more time to reconsider. It\'s not good to push her right now. It will only backfire and completely make her want to forget about it completely."

Cosette then paused, turning her head to Maxen. The latter looked back at her and nodded.

"However, as someone who knew about this… I cannot sit idly by," she continued, making Luke and Remo raise their brows. "Olivia might need time to recover, but I can\'t wait for years. Battling her trauma will take time and I know that. I\'m angry, upset, and sad that this happened in real life."

"What else do you know that also happens in real life?" she added, darting her eyes between Luke and Remo. "Karma. Karma happens in real life."

Maxen kept his mouth pressed into a thin line before parting them. "That girl didn\'t want to do anything with it for now, but Cosette will never sleep peacefully, knowing nothing was done. I think it\'ll be the same for the both of you."

"That is why… while waiting for you, Cosette and I came up with a plan," he continued, propping his arm against the edge of the table. "Want to hear it?"