“Why?” I ask.
“Because deep down,” she says, leaning forward, “they’re afraid that they’re one of the bad ones too. Men who are pure of heart don’t run around trying to protect the evil ones. They seek justice instead. And that’s the answer that Rosemarie has been looking for—more good ones. Unfortunately, all these humans expect far too little of themselves.”
It’s an interesting thought. In my experience, humans, in general, do expect less of themselves. They accept rules that hurt them. They allow themselves to be herded and discounted and ignored and hurt. The Essential Women’s Act was allowed. Humans hurting other humans. And for what? So a few rich men can be richer and more powerful?
I look at Annalise, thinking that I would never hurt her in order to benefit myself. I wouldn’t hurt any of the girls. We’re trying tosave ourselves from the evil that society created with Innovations. And it’s not just the corporation—that’s what Rosemarie wanted me to see. But I don’t like her way either. I don’t want to control anybody but myself.
There’s the sound of the lock, and then the door opens. Quentin comes back into the room and smiles softly when he sees me and Annalise. “You’re just a few down,” Quentin tells me, motioning toward the hall. “Jackson said he’d keep the door open for you.”
I look over at Annalise. She kisses my cheek and tells me she’ll talk to me in the morning. It occurs to me that we’ll be sleeping in different rooms. With boys. She seems to understand what I’m thinking, and laughs. Quentin takes off his shoes and eases down on the opposite bed.
“Are we not the absolute shame of Innovations Academy?” she asks with a grin, making me laugh. “Up all hours with these terrible boys, running around town and causing trouble.”
A few months ago, the idea that we would be here wouldn’t even be laughable. It’d be unthinkable, impossible to fathom.
“We are certainly the worst of the Stepford Wives,” I say, and Annalise groans and falls back into the pillow.
“Ugh,” she says. “I hated that one! They should have done a Stepford Wives/Terminator mash-up. Now that I’d pay to see.”
I climb out of bed, oddly sore until I remember the bruise on my jaw from where Garrett hit me. Was that yesterday? It feels like a lifetime ago. How quickly things change for us. There’s a chill down my arm, a feeling of violation and panic woundaround my chest. And I realize that no matter how fast our situation changes, the fear inside us can last a long time.
“I’ll talk to you both in the morning,” I say, unable to hide the somberness in my voice. Annalise furrows her brow, but she doesn’t stop me. She murmurs a good night and watches as I walk out into the hall.
She probably thinks I’m worried about Jackson, which I am. He’s going to have to come to terms with the complicated relationship he had with his father. He’ll have to mourn him in some way, even if it’s just to mourn the death of what his father should have been as a role model.
The hallway is quiet, and I see the hotel room door unlatched and slightly ajar. I walk over and let myself inside, finding Jackson at the sink, brushing his teeth. He nods a hello as I lock the door behind me.
The room is identical to Annalise and Quentin’s—two double beds, a vanity and sink in the room, a bathroom with shower and another sink on the far side. There’s a small desk with a phone and notepad, and a large TV is bolted to the wall above the dresser.
It’s strange, Annalise choosing to sleep in the room with Quentin instead of insisting she stay with me. To be fair, I didn’t make the suggestion either. I don’t think there’s anything romantic between them, but I hadn’t realized how close she and Quentin had gotten. I’m glad that he shows up for her. She deserves that.
It does make me think, though—what if all of us find someone else to share a room with? Does that mean we grow apart?My heart speeds up at the thought. What happens then? I’ve never considered who I am without the other girls.
I look over at Jackson, and at that moment, he meets my eyes in the mirror and smiles around his toothbrush. He finishes sawing, then rinses off his toothbrush and leans down to sip directly from the tap before spitting in the sink and rinsing out the bowl. As he dries his mouth with a hand towel, I sit on the edge of the bed closest to him.
“Jackson, what are you going to do?” I ask.
He turns to lean his hip against the sink, and then crosses his arms over his chest. “You’ll have to be more specific.” His expression is calm, although tired and worn.
“About your dad’s body,” I say gently. His mouth flinches, and he lowers his eyes.
“Oh, uh…” He takes in a deep breath. “Quentin and I are going to handle it tomorrow. We’re making a plan, both for my dad and to report whatever happened here. But we have to be careful who we tell. We don’t know who we can trust. We’ll figure it out. Leave it to us, okay? You have enough going on.”
“Is it possible to tie this to the corporation?” I ask. “Can we use this against them?”
“Should I be honest?” he asks. I pause, and then nod. “No,” he says. “At least, not as quickly as you would need. There would have to be an investigation, and then a report to Congress. And then, who knows? Even if it could be proven, it would literally take years.”
His answer is disappointing, but I’m not surprised. The richoperate under different rules. And when we fight back, we have to use the rules they created that only benefit them.
“Okay,” I say. “You and Quentin handle this.”
When it comes down to it, the girls and I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with a problem of this scale, not when our time is running out. Not when it could take years.
“So now that my dad’s gone,” Jackson says, “that’s one less investor. What’s next?”
“I’ll talk to the girls,” I say. “Sydney, Marcella, and Brynn still have to get close to the other investors. We might have to fly out there to help them. I’m not sure yet.”
Jackson chews on the corner of his lip, but he looks past me as if thinking about something else. Now that I’ve mentioned them, I’m desperate to talk to my friends. They don’t even know I’ve found Annalise; they don’t know about Valentine. They’re going to be thrilled. Our collection of girls will be back together soon.
