I’d trust them to distract me with some hot guy tricks and take my mind off the fact that I’m running for my life or beinghaunted by ghosts.
Teagan:
I don’t even know how to respond to that.
Capri:
Does anyone really know how to respond to the nonsense that spews out of Lexi’s mouth?
Lexi:
Maybe the hot stranger would.
Teagan:
I’d never trust a hot stranger. That’s like horror movie 101. Don’t fall for the villain!
Capri:
But what if they’ve been written into the story because they’re also trapped? They could be sitting there thinking the hot girl is the villain. Did you ever think about that? Not all men suck.
Lexi:
All the men in my life suck.
Teagan:
Hey! Josh is perfect. And Lee is like the greenest flag ever to walk the planet! One day, you’llfind your own prince.
Capri:
*clears throat* Umm, yeah. I’d trust the stranger. Definitely.
Lexi:
I’m sleeping with the hot stranger and then strangling him while he dreams about how epic our night was together before he turns the tables on me first.
Teagan:
Help us settle this debate in the comments: Would you fall for the villain?
Chapter thirty-four
I’m ushered from the room right after Lexi leaves. She goes left, following the red-haired staff member, and I go right, following the brunette female assigned to me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, pulling my filthy flannel tighter around me to stave off the frigid breeze in the stark white hallway.
The brunette turns down another hallway, ignoring my question entirely. I haven’t decided whether or not to hate her. On one hand, I understand that sometimes your job makes you do things you’d never have chosen to do. On the other hand, what kind of person just goes along with locking people up in cages and standing aside as they kill each other?
“You need to shower and get dressed. We don’t have much time before dinner, so you need to hurry,” she instructs as she pushes me through yet another white door. “I’ll be back in half an hour to fetch you.”
The room turns out to be a bathroom. It looks the same as every other room here: boring and undecorated. Lexi would have a cow if she saw this place. There’s a mirror on one wall with the sink, and a standing shower on the other, next to the toilet. It reminds me too much of the bathroom in the lighthouse. Swallowing hard, I push the vision back. I can’t let myself relive that right now.
I pull my disgusting clothing off and toss it into the corner before hopping into the shower. I quickly wash my hair and lather my body with the soap left for me. Vaguely, I wonder if there is poison in it. Or if cameras are watching me right now. That’d be right on track with Pierce’s house of horrors, wouldn’t it?
The shower runs cold much too soon, forcing me out and back into the real world. On a hook next to the sink, there’s a white towel waiting for me that I swear wasn’t there before. I dry off and turn to see a deep plum V-neck dress hanging on the back of the door, along with sharp heeled silver stilettos that are much more Lexi’s style than mine.
My makeup bag has been left on the sink. Someone was definitely in here while I was naked in the shower. I roll my eyes and get dressed in a hurry—no need to give these creeps a longer peep show. There’s not much I can do with my hair, so I guess I’m just going to have to let it air dry. I dab a bit of makeup on and finish putting on my shoes when the door opens.
