“Cool.”
As I follow Kane into the house, bags in hand, I can’t help but think maybe this won’t be so bad.
Maybe I can finally relax.
“Sup, Mads,”Kane says as I walk into the living room where everyone seems to be congregated. I blush at the nickname but nod my head with a tight-lipped smile. Everyone’s eyes track over me, and the heat blazes hotter from their attention.
After a quick exchange of “hi’s” and “hello’s,” I plop down onto the worn couch beside Kane, grunting slightly as the broken wires poke me beneath the thin, fraying fabric. I readjust with a wince.
“You get unpacked okay?” he asks with a quick glance as he scrolls through his phone.
“Yeah, thanks again for your help.” I try not to twist myfingers together in my lap—another habit I’m trying to break—but my nerves are shot after what happened with Mom and Dad and then moving into a house full of strangers on top of it.
But thisisbetter than being at home, and I keep trying to remember that. They won’t be strangers forever.
And I need this. I need to be three hours away from them, starting a college I chose and doing it all on my own. I know it’ll be hard to work while in school, but I have enough money saved to last me for a while. But no matter what happens, I know I can’t go back. This… decision was final in every sense of the word.
They would accept me back if I admitted they were right, but I can’t because they never have been. And I never realized how detrimental their “love” was until I actually had the freedom of being a legal adult. Or any freedom at all. I never thought making my own decisions was something I could do… but then, I did it, and it changedeverything.
I just hope I’m strong enough for this… I’ve never been very courageous. Or confident.
“Sure thing. Happy to help.” Kane nods his head in response to my thanks. The movement sends some of his dark hair flopping across his forehead. My throat bobs as I watch the tendrils brush his smooth skin before I force my eyes away, heat settling just beneath my skin. Not because it’s wrong but because it’ssoinappropriate.My roommate!
Jesus Christ, Madison.
Thankfully, no one seems to notice my recurrent blushing—or if they do, they don’t comment on it, which I appreciate.
Being around other people who are just…normalis still so new. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.
After a few moments of subtle breathing, I finally take areal look around the room. It’s big and open. The white paint on the walls isn’t bright anymore, and there are stains in the carpet. Every piece of furniture is old and falling apart and smells kind of musty, but it’s nice. Feels real and honest.
Not like the pristine, stiff contents of the home I always knew…
I shake those thoughts away—which is harder than I thought it’d be. It takes me a few moments to realize everyone is either on their phones or they have their laptops out—and they’re all staring at the screens with rapt attention. “Is something going on?” I ask hesitantly.
“Yeah.” Lenny nods excitedly. I eye him curiously, trying not to remember him naked—or almost naked. Instead, I focus on his eyes, which are wide and glassy, the screen of his computer reflecting off of them. His dark fingers hammer over the keys with giddy glee, magnifying my curiosity. “Here.” He shoves his laptop toward me. “Look at this, dude.”
I wince as it scrapes across the wood, sending the worst nail-scraping noise reverberating throughout the room. Shaking off the chill, I lean forward, pressing my fingers against the coffee table to ground me as I look at the web page in front of me. It’s dark, muddled with an ambiance of colors that are nearly indistinguishable, but all that does is highlight the photo in the background.
I blink as my eyes zero in on it, throat bobbing as my skin prickles with unease.
It's a motel, which looks to be abandoned—run down and decrepit with peeling paint and doors hanging off the hinges. There’s a large, broken neon sign with only the letter M glowing through the black and white, standing out like a haunting beacon in the darkness.
It’s not until I shudder, and a single tear falls from thecorner of my eye that I realize they’re burning. I lean back with a sniffle, dragging the back of my hand over my eyes in a rush as my face floods with embarrassment.
“Uh…” I clear my throat, resisting the urge to tug on my collar. Unwittingly, my eyes drop back to the words beneath the photo. They’re bold and dingy and… creepy. If words can even be those things.
Welcome to Mayhem Motel.
A bead of sweat drips onto my quivering bottom lip. My tongue swipes across it absentmindedly before I suck it into my mouth and sink my teeth into the flesh.
“Wanna come with us?” Collin asks, startling me.
“M-me?” I balk, eyebrows sky high. My three new roommates jerk their heads up to stare at me.
“Yes…” Kane replies hesitantly with a brow wrinkled in question.
“Who the hell else would we be talking to, bud?” Collin chuckles, and my face flames. I lean back into the couch, trying to bury myself in the deformed foam.
