“He was a beautiful, happy child, and I hate that he did that to his skin.” She touched Scott’s arm. “I don’t blame him. I understand to some degree, but I hate that his life played out like it did.”
Scott shrugged, looking up at the ceiling, then the walls. They paused at the base of the spiral staircase so Scott could readjust his hold. “Some people would say Thomas’s life turned out pretty great.”
“And those people would be idiots.”
Scott widened his eyes and looked away from her. “Well, that told me.”
They couldn’t walk side by side on the staircase. Janice went ahead, and Scott trailed behind her, doing his best not to smack the cleaner into each step.
When they got to the top, Janice stopped and turned to him.
“If he could go back in time, he’d give this all up just to be happy and anonymous again.”
“Anonymous?”
The black door that led to Thomas’s quarters opened, with Thomas tilting his head on the other side. Scott frowned, feeling lost again at not knowing anything about his ex-cellmate.
“Oh God, I don’t like that look on your face at all.” Thomas folded his arms. “What’s the old bat been saying?”
“Old bat?” Janice squawked. “I may be old, but I can still clip you around the ear. Lean forward so I can slap you.”
“I think I’ll give that a miss.” Thomas stepped back to let them inside, then took the vacuum cleaner from Scott’s arms.
“Damn it, woman, I have the best vacuum money can buy.”
“This is my lucky one.” She reached out to touch it. “I’ll hear no more complaints about it. If I do, I’ll suck out your other eyeball.”
Scott furrowed his brow, making sure his eyes were firmly in his face. He didn’t like the image Janice’s words had conjured. “Hold on…”
Both Thomas and Janice looked at him.
“That’s not how you lost it, right?” Scott pressed himself against the wall. “She didn’t suck out your eye?”
“Sure did,” Janice said. “So you’d better watch yourself, make sure you always wipe your feet on the mat before coming inside.”
Scott glanced down at his trainers, then at the mat a few yards back that he’d stepped over. “I’m sorry.”
“You will be,” Janice replied.
“Janice didn’t suck my eye out, although don’t put your face anywhere near this thing,” Thomas said, lifting the vacuum. “It will probably suck your brain through your nose.”
“How did you lose your eye?”
Thomas stared at him. “I woke up one day, and it was on my pillow.”
Scott gagged against his fist. “That’s…gross.”
“He’s messing with you,” Janice said. “That’s not what happened.”
Thomas sighed. “I lost my eye in a confrontation with a guest. Two guests, actually. I was hosting an auction, and things got out of hand.” He pointed at his fake eye. “It was a champagne flute.”
Scott gaped. “Someone shoved a champagne flute in your eye?”
“Yes, it was as painful as it sounds, but still not the most painful thing I’ve been through.”
Scott thought about what Janice had said, what Tim had hinted at with the court case, and kept his mouth shut.
Janice frowned. “What’s the most painful thing?”
