I take a couple of steps forward, sitting on the single chair that’s in the room. The entirety of the space mirrors a hospital room, though with less furniture. I can’t have her using anything to escape or hurt herself, because if she escapes again, I highlydoubt we’ll ever catch her a third time and if she dies I can’t use her for what I need to take out Simmons.
“I came here to check on you,” I shrug, lying through my teeth. In reality, I came to question her a little, to try and make sense of everything that she’s been doing. “But I can see that you’re still trying to kill yourself… Why?”
“Because I’d rather die than be a prisoner again.”
I snort. “Of course. Look, I have a packed schedule for today. I’ll ask a few questions, you’ll answer, and you won’t have to see my face again.”
“You can ask,” she drawls out, “but I can’t promise honest answers.”
“Of course you can’t,” I exhale, exasperated. “But I’ll take my chances, anyway. How the fuck did you become a killer?”
“When you grow up in a town like Long Grove, you come to understand that such a town has limited options. It was all so… dull. So, I decided to travel a bit. I ended up in New York, hooking up with a guy that stole some money from the wrong people, and they killed him in front of me. I had a choice, die at their hands, or I could join them.”
A frown tugs on the corners of my lips. “Just like that? They asked you to join them, just like that?”
“Well, no. It wasn’tjustlike that,” she rolls her eyes, readjusting her lying position. “When they shot him dead, I acted on impulse. I reached for the gun I owned, and somehow managed to shoot one of the men in the chest, killing himinstantly. The others took me hostage, and well, you can figure the rest out from there.”
“Why would you do that? You had a life in Long Grove. Surely you could’ve gone back at some point.”
“You should know by now that leaving a life of crime isn’t always an option,” she scoffs. She’s not wrong, the only way out of this life is death. “And besides, why would I go back to that godforsaken place? This is way more fun.”
The way she speaks about killing people; it being fun, without so much as a single ounce of remorse makes me shudder. In that sense, she’s similar to Kaya, but Kaya has a reason for why she became who she is. Amy doesn’t. Her psychopathy must run deep, and now it all makes sense that she’s not terrified of dying. She simply doesn’t care and would pick death over not having control.
“Why? Why do you want me dead so desperately?”
Amy looks at me, up and down, without a single flash of emotion on her face. Then, without missing a beat, she responds.
“Because I don’t like the fact that you have my face.”
I’m shell-shocked at the absurd reason she wants me dead. I don’t get the chance to pry further because Freya returns, with a lot of leather belts. Amy doesn’t get the opportunity to protest as Freya ties her wrists to the bed, making sure she cannot move an inch.
“There,” Freya smirks triumphantly. “Try picking your stitches now, bitch.”
TWO
Aria takes a big bite from the pizza, then lets out something between an exasperated sigh, and a satisfied moan. She eats the entire piece in less than a minute, with Freya and me staring in disbelief.
“Easy there,” I joke. “It’s all yours.”
Aria shoots me a dirty look, though her eyes glimmer in amusement. She swallows down the huge bite she just took, wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin, then tosses it into the trashcan, without any effort whatsoever.
“I’m starving,” she breathes out. “Arlo and I will be out for the majority of the day, so I needed the food.”
I nod. “Are you going to be back in time for a poker game?”
“Fortunately for you losers, no. I don’t think we’ll get back in time, given that we’re first visiting mom, then going to see dad. How’s Amy doing?”
“She tried ripping her stitches out again,” Freya shrugs. “So, I tied her to the bed. She won’t be able to do much now.”
Aria scoffs. “The bitch is batshit insane. Why do you bother with her, Blair? Can we just kill her and move on?”
“No! I have big, big plans for her. She’ll be very useful, very soon.”
“Alright,” she shrugs nonchalantly. “I’ll take your word for it. I’ll go, Arlo will be waiting for me. Have fun, girls.”
Aria grabs another slice of pizza and takes it with her, then walks out of the base. Freya and I stare at her in disbelief, but when she’s out of sight, I turn to face Freya. “She’s a bit weird, isn’t she?”
“Teenagers,” she snorts. “Let her be. Anyway, Jewel and a few others will be joining us.”
