I don’t know where the name comes from, but when she opens her arms to reach for me, I say, “Luna.”
She claps as I lift her out of Kane’s arms, pointing at her big sister. “Scarlet.” Then herself. “Luna.”
Kane wraps his arms around all three of us. One by one, he kisses our crowns before whispering, “My girls.”
“Dad,” Scarlet groans. “I’m not a kid.”
My eyes close as I bury my face in his chest, content for the first time in so long. Just as the peace settles, my entire body shakes as someone further away grits, “You fucking idiot.”
Cold liquid is pushed up my nose followed by a sting to my cheek. I hold my family tighter, refusing to allow anyone to take them away. Yet it doesn’t matter how hard I cling to them, they’re violently ripped from me. The harder I try to stay with them, the more it hurts as I’m dragged away.
There’s more cold as something hits me in the face. “Wake the fuck up.”
Another cold splash that makes me choke.
I’m turned on my side as I throw up. My eyes burn, but the only word I can croak is, “No.” I look up at Nova who gently rubs circles on my back while I cry, “Why did you stop me?”
“Because,stupid, do you think dying here is a good thing? If it was, we’d all be dead. It’s not a fucking end. It’s how you go to The Dollhouse.”
“I don’t care. I had them. I finally had all three of them.”
She remains in front of me in the small dormitory bathroom as I throw up, cry, trying to recall the warmth of Kane’s chest she’s taken from me. Kane, Scarlet, Luna. My family, my husband and children. Our daughters. Ours. No one else’s. We were in a world away from everyone. All four of us were finallyfucking safe. I did something right, but she’s taken it away from me and I can’t fight my trembling body to lash out at her.
When my stomach stops sending bile up, Nova slowly sits me up so my back is against the tiled wall. She sighs as she stands, grimacing at the vomit pooled on the floor, then wets a hand towel to lay it over the mess. She rinses her hands four times before filling a plastic cup with water and sitting opposite me beside the sink.
“Here.” She holds the cup out to me. “Your face is dirty.”
I shakily wet a clean patch of my dress to wipe my face as she continues staring at me. I don’t give a fuck about her opinion. I know I’m disgusting, otherwise I wouldn’t continuously be shunned. She doesn’t threaten or berate me for once. I gulp the water down as I stare at a spot on the wall beside her head. Once I can breathe, I ask, “What’s The Dollhouse?”
“Where the dead go. This,” she waves her hand, gesturing to everything outside of the dorm, “is better. One of the boys who would go there had scars all over his body. Sometimes he’d stare into space or he’d watch everyone like he wanted to join in on what we were doing but he didn’t know how.”
“How do you know so much?” I slowly sip the remaining tepid water.
“Are you dumb?” Her brows slam together. “Everyone knows what happens where they live.”
I didn’t. Maybe I am dumb.
Nova nods to herself then tilts her head, creepily assessing me. “Yeah, you look dumb with that stupid look on your face. The big eyes like you’re lost, and yourtears. It’s why they keep choosing you.” She leans forward as she whispers, “Some advice, stare right at them next time. Look at them like you know who they are, take their power away, then they won’t pick you.”
“Who?”
“Did you ever look in your empty dorm and wonder why there’s no one staying with you? It’s because you’re the only one they want in the Silver Room. So stop giving them what they want. Stop screaming. Laugh. Laugh until it hurts your stomach, then they’ll have to choose someone else. Or be like Sienna.” She shrugs. “Keep crying, letting them think they scare you. What do I know when I don’t get sent to the Rooms anymore?”
“Nova?” I ask softly, careful of her temperament since she’s decided to stop threatening me.
“What?” she snaps, scowling.
“What is this place? I know it’s a perverted club, but you’re talking like this is all you know. You’re young, way too young to be here, so you should remember your life.”
“Life?” she scoffs. “There is nothing outside of here, apart from the Green Rooms. Jasper’s lucky because he always gets picked for those.”
“What’s green?” I whisper, fearful of her answer.
“You leave, stay with the client until their term is over, and they’re not allowed to kill you. If you’re really lucky, they don’t chain you to their bed and you breathe outside. Trees, grass, everything the filters in this place remove from the air.”
“Am I going to die here?” I ask myself more than her.
She crawls forward to sit next to me. I don’t touch her given her whole violent aura, but she doesn’t move away when my shoulder brushes hers. “People have died. No one knows how. We hear the whispers about them going to the other place. Some get too old or the clients don’t want them anymore, so they get taken away. Like Xanthe, she was Jasper’s room mother. It’s funny, isn’t it? None of us have parents but we call the person who looks after us mother.”
