Chapter 415: Sacrificial Lamb

Mina took deep and steady breaths, still feeling as if she were on the verge of yet another panic attack. Although she was not locked into the tent per se, something about knowing she could not just push open the flap made her uncomfortable, and the dim torchlight did not help.

Mina could feel Olivia staring at her, and she felt the woman's hand interlock fingers with hers as support. Willow, who did not know what had happened to Mina, was also concerned for her friend and she turned to lightly poke the woman who looked pained.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Panic attack." Mina was too focused on breathing to go into detail, and Willow had seen her having an episode in University, so she did not feel the need to.

"Do they happen more frequently now?" Willow's question relieved Olivia who felt like she could now speak openly on Mina's behalf.

"She had one in Cylus' room. She said they happen when she is stressed or locked into a place." Willow knew that Olivia did not know the details of what happened with President Lee, so she neglected to comment but she instead tried to help Mina steady herself.

"Think of it this way," Willow said. She too had reached for Mina's hand and was surprised when she felt how tightly Mina was squeezing Olivia's fingers. "There are no doors to a tent." Olivia laughed; she did not want to make light of Willow's words, but it was such an odd statement that she could not help it. The laughter was a good thing though, because Willow also started to chuckle, and Mina let out a few short chortles of her own.

Soon Mina's grip on the women's hands lessened, and her breathing evened out. She whispered her thanks, and the women resumed staring at the stars in silence.

"Why are you so quiet?" Mina said softly. She was talking to both women, but she wanted to see who would take the bait first. She did not expect them to answer at the same time.

"I don't like you taking the blame for Vanya."

"Oric accused me of stealing his clothes."

"Wait, what?" the women said in conjunction.

"What blame? You spill it first," Willow demanded and both Mina and Olivia felt threatened enough by her seriousness to explain in full detail. "Mina, becoming a sacrificial lamb is only going to get you into further trouble. I've told you this many times." Mina nodded.

"It's only until Cylus can think of how to explain the situation to his mother, and besides, he has to compensate me." Willow arched an eyebrow at her friend. She did not like Mina's new obsession with money because she was sure it had something to do with the woman's parents. "Now it's your turn." Willow took a deep breath and released it before answering.

"Before I came to the tent, Oric barged into the room and accused me of taking his clothes."

"So?" Mina asked, she knew that Willow was not easily offended, and the story clearly had holes. Olivia stayed silent, feeling tense as she waited for Willow's explanation. Oric was her friend, and she did not want to hear someone talking bad about him behind his back.

"I wish I would have thought of it first, but I didn't." Olivia and Mina stared at Willow with stone faces. "What? It's not like most of the women in that cabin haven't already seen him naked." The women continued to stare at Willow, unsure if she was purposefully trying to throw them off. The staring contest was only broken when the sound of a twig could be heard breaking outside, and Olivia literally jumped into Mina's lap.

"Who is there?" Willow shouted. She wanted to laugh at Olivia's startled reaction, but she could do that after she made sure a shady person was not trying to hurt them.

"It's me, Oric. Can I please talk to you?" Willow rolled her eyes, but the pleading looks on the faces of Mina and Olivia told her that they wanted her to be civil with the man.

"Fine, give me a second," Willow responded, and she could hear Oric grumbling about something, but she ignored it.

Outside of the tent, Willow quickly made her way close to the small fire that the staff had started for them earlier in the evening. She sat on a wooden chair and Oric sat on another beside her. The man did not speak for a while, and Willow was about to lose her patience with him.

"Sorry that I wrongly accused you," he said, and Willow guffawed at the remark.

"Don't be, I would have taken them had the idea occurred to me. The only difference is I would have thrown them in the fire with everything else in your room."

"What is your problem with me?" Oric asked, no longer feeling like he owed Willow any courtesy with how rudely she was behaving toward him. He had at first believed she was hurt because people found out about them, but according to Connor, that never bothered her.

Willow just stared at Oric wondering if he had abandoned his studies and went to the gym instead, because his question was among the dumbest he could have asked. She wanted to smack him, but the light from the fire glistened in his eyes and made her marvel at how much more handsome he had become.

It was a shame to Willow, who had always been attracted to how doting Oric had been to her. She now saw him as nothing more than a complete stranger. Oric had gone from being a soft and kindhearted boy, to a cold hearted and promiscuous man, and she was the first idiot who fell for it.

"I have no problem with you, but you keep insisting on bringing up a past I do not wish to recall." Oric had not considered that, but he found it to be a fair enough response.

"I really should have considered your privacy back then. I wasn't thinking clearly." Willow laughed cynically. She shook her head from side to side as if she could not believe what she was hearing.

"Do you really think I cared about people finding out about us? Really think about it." Willow stood up; her hands balled into fists that she was resisting the urge to swing. "Since you seem to be struggling, I will help you. You slept with me and without so much as a few kind words after, you rushed me into the shower, then to the pharmacy where you paraded me to the pharmacist, forced me to swallow a contraceptive and then dropped me in front of my parents' home like an used tissue." Oric blanched at Willow's description of the events.

"I didn't mean it like that. I was scared and I did not want to ruin your life. You were a child; Willow we were children." Willow continued to shake her head.

"You know what? I am sorry. I am sorry I ever did anything with you. Now please leave and take your closure with you. I will not waste another second on this conversation." Oric's face darkened and Willow made her way back into the tent, where Mina and Olivia scrambled away from the entrance.

Willow knew the women had been eavesdropping, and truthfully others may have been as well, but shame was no longer a word in her vocabulary, and she had gotten over allowing people, who did not enrich her life, to cause her embarrassment. The tent flap fluttered and Oric made his way inside and sat down.

"Get out," Willow growled.

"I'm not here for you. I'm here for Mina and Olivia." Willow made a noise of annoyance, and left the tent, heading back to the cabin where she planned to wait until Oric was gone.