I knew exactly who she was referring to. “Yeah, I think I met him. He tried to choke me out until I reminded him that his boss might not want her property marked up. It worked. Apparently, Madame Moirai’s reach is pretty long.”
“Great,” Dylan quipped. “We’re totally fucked.”
“No, I don’t accept that. She can kiss my ass as I run from this place.”
“We don’t even know where we are,” Dylan said. “It’s not like we can call an Uber to get us.”
“We have feet. We’ll run, crawl, or whatever it takes. Either you want to live or you want to die here, Dylan. You have to make the choice because I’m not dragging dead weight.”
I was being serious. I would leave her ass behind if she lagged. I couldn’t spend time pulling someone who didn’t want to go.
“Calm down, I’m not saying I want to fucking stay,” Dylan grumbled, pulling the blankets up a little higher. “I want out just as much as you.”
“Good.” I rose. “Be ready to bail as soon as I come get you. I’m going to see if I can find Jilly and Tana. Stay safe.”
I got to the door and Dylan called out softly, “Hey,” and I turned around in question. “Thanks for coming to find me.”
I nodded and slipped quietly out into the hall.
I tried a few more doors but found nothing. I knew I couldn’t risk being found so I hurried back to my room, locking the door as I closed it with a soft snick.
I climbed back into my bed and snuggled down into the blankets, adrenaline pounding in my ears. I was so afraid Olivia was going to burst into my room knowing I’d been out but as the moments ticked by and the house remained as quiet as before, I relaxed and let myself fall asleep.
It seemed I’d pulled off my unscheduled tour of the house.
Tomorrow night, I’d do it again.
15
The next morning, I showered and found a fresh pair of clothes waiting for me, along with Olivia who brought my breakfast tray. I thought of Dylan and her daily meal of oatmeal and I wanted to throw the upgraded meal in Olivia’s face but I didn’t. Instead, I wrapped the robe around myself a little more tightly and sat on the bed to start eating.
Olivia, wearing her usual practiced smile, waited for me to take a few bites of the scrambled eggs before saying, “I’m glad to see your appetite has flourished. We mustn’t let ourselves become malnourished. It’s bad for the skin. Drink plenty of water to retain that youthful glow.”
Youthful glow? I was a fucking teenager. If my skin didn’t glow naturally I had problems. But forgive me, if I thought her advice was total bullshit. I wanted to quip, ‘Yeah? Well, you know what else is good for a youthful glow? Not being caged in a locked room for days on end.’ But I kept my mouth occupied with food, which seemed a safer plan.
Olivia pulled a small notebook from her pocket as if to take notes. This was new, I noted, chewing slowly. “What’s up?” I asked, going straight for the obvious. “What’s with the notebook?”
“We like to keep a detailed record of Madame Moirai’s girls for our accounting purposes. I hope you don’t mind answering a few questions.”
Yes, I did mind but that probably wasn’t the right answer. I forced a shrug along with a fresh bite of bacon as if I didn’t sense that Olivia was fishing for information for a bad purpose. “Shoot,” I said, pretending as if I didn’t care.
Pleased, Olivia said, “Excellent,” preparing to continue. “All right, you’re a senior at Carvello High, correct?”
I nodded, throwing in, “Looking forward to graduating now that I have the funds to go to college” just to make her squirm.
As expected, Olivia bypassed my comment and moved on. “Any family history of cancer, disease or mental illness?”
“Seems like that’s a question that should’ve been asked before I signed the contract but, no, I don’t have any of those things, unless you can count signing up for this gig as totally fucking nuts, which it kinda is.” I finished with an angelic smile meant to irritate the prissy cunt. “I guess you’ll have to figure out how to categorize that decision.”
“You have a criminal record,” she stated, as if needing me to verify the facts.
I refused to be embarrassed. Instead, I owned it. “Yeah, my mom forced me to shoplift for her because I was a minor and less likely to get any time. She was wrong. I spent a month in juvie for her crime. Life’s a bitch, right?” I wiped my mouth, finished, adding, “But now that I’m eighteen, my record should be sealed. How’d you get that info?”
“We’re very thorough.”
“Probably helps to have someone on the inside, too,” I fished but Olivia didn’t take the bait.
“No surviving family aside from your mother?”
I held her expectant stare for a long moment before answering with an exaggerated, “Nope.”
“Excellent.”
I cocked my head in question. “And why is that excellent? I think it’s kinda sad. Do you have any family? Anyone who might miss you if you suddenly, oh, I don’t know, disappeared?”
“We aren’t talking about me, we’re talking about you,” Olivia sidestepped my question neatly. She closed her notebook and tucked it into her pocket once more. That smile I was beginning to hate reappeared. “I have some exciting news to share.”
“Oh? We get to go home today?” I guessed with a hopeful expression. “I mean, our five days is just about up so I figured it was around the corner, which is good because I’ve got plans with my best friend that include some much-needed shopping.”
I was prattling nonsense on purpose. I wanted her to feel uncomfortable with whatever she was going to say next. I knew Madame Moirai wasn’t planning on letting us go home. Not now, probably not ever but I wanted the bitch’s emissary to admit it herself.
She folded her hands in her lap. “You are one lucky young lady. From time to time, Madame Moirai sees something special in an auction girl and decides to offer that girl an ‘elevation’ from her current status to one with more esteem.” Her smile widened as if she were about to announce I’d won the lottery. “And you, Nicole, have caught Madame Moirai’s eye as someone who might be worthy of elevation.”
“That sounds like a cult,” I said, unimpressed. “Sorry, but I have a strict ‘No cult joining’ policy in my life. I’d rather just get paid and put this whole situation behind me.”
“It’s a great honor,” Olivia insisted, dropping her smile. “Of the many girls who are chosen for the auction, only a select few get the privilege of elevating.”
“Yeah, sounds like a big deal but it’s just not for me,” I said, but I was curious as to what exactly elevation meant. “For argument’s sake…what exactly does it mean to become elevated?”
Oliva’s smile returned. Was this woman a robot, programmed to react in certain ways to select keywords? Yeesh. She was creepy as fuck. “It would seem that your buyer has taken quite a shine to you. He’s interested in pursuing a more long-term relationship with you. Isn’t that lovely?”
Lovely? No, Olivia, that’s a fucking horror story. “He raped me,” I said flatly, unable to pretend I was anything but repulsed by my buyer. “I would never pursue anything more with that fucking monster.”
Olivia’s expression hardened. “We don’t use that word here. You mustn’t spread rumors or lies, Nicole. You and I both know that’s not what happened. You were paid for a service that you agreed upon in writing.”