33
AGATHA
It’s all perfectly fine.
I mean, I’m probably being recruited into a cult.
And seduced by its charismatic leader.
And I am stranded at their compound.…
But everything seems mostlyfine?
Yes, I would rather go home than spend another minute in this place. But I can’t leave Ginger (whom I haven’t seen since yesterday). And I can’t imagine justleaving.
Partly I can’t imagine it because I have no idea where the door is.
I’ve been upgraded to the members-only wing. Which feels much more like a hospital than a nouveau riche mansion.
Like a nouveau riche mansion/hospital.
All the hallways are stainless steel, and the floors are polished concrete. And there are far fewer windows than you’d expect.
“There’s a lot of innovation happening in this part of the house,” Braden said when he was giving me the tour. “Security is paramount.”
He showed me his perfectly ordered labs. And then a room full of computers that felt like a lab. And then a spa that looked like a lab—with white leather recliners and a whirlpool. “Do you have scientists who give pedicures?” I asked.
Braden laughed. “I spend most of my time on health science. Deep cleanses, detoxification, rejuvenation.”
“My mum would love it here.”
“Come on in,” he said, taking my arm. I let him. I was feeling charmed by him at that moment. Maybe itwouldbe okay to date a thirty-under-thirty type. I’d get lots of excuses to dress up. And he seemed to like it when I took the air out of him.
I’d never been able to tease Simon that way when we were dating. He was too fragile. Simon was like a nuclear missile with self-esteem issues; it was exhausting.
I followed Braden into his stainless-steel spa, and he sat me in one of the leather chairs.
“Grip here,” he said, directing me to a handle.
I did.
“Do you know your blood type?” he asked.
“I can’t remember.…”
He pressed a button on the chair. I expected it to start massaging my back. Instead, a touchscreen panel swung out of the side. “A-positive,” he said. “Look here, that’s your red blood cell count. Perfectly normal. Here’s your leukocytes.”
“What— How does it know all that?”
“It just took a blood sample,” Braden said. “You didn’t even feel it.”
“No. I didn’t.”
“Your glucose is higher than I’d expect. I wonder what that means.”
“Is this your way of making sure I don’t have STDs?”
“Ha, no, of course not. You don’t, though. Nothing out of the ordinary. I have a vaccine—”
