Maddie had to remind herself that these were kids, that the leader was a kid. Otherwise, she probably would've lunged at him after he made his little remark about her family. It really wasn't easy to let that go. Clenching her jaw, she huffed like an enraged bull.
It was Nick's hand on her shoulder that kept her from making a move. For the first second, Maddie only felt surprised that the other girl dared to touch her, but then came the gratitude. Her anger ebbed away slowly. Not completely, but enough so that she wasn't tempted to do serious harm to a kid – much as he deserved it.
Shrugging off the hand, Maddie retreated a step, though her glare stared focused on the leader. “That's where you're wrong,” she responded in a quieter tone than the one she'd previously been using. “My brother was a genius. He could've been somebody if the world hadn't turned out this way. And my sister... She had so many things she wanted to do before she....”
Maddie trailed off, shaking her head. It was an insult to her brother's and sister's memories to share their stories with these kids. She was wasting her breath.
Her gaze flicked to Nick for a fleeting moment, before she turned her back on the group. “You were right. They're not gonna listen to us.”