“Where…where are you going?” I asked again, only feeling more adrift.
Neil turned around, looking impatient. “I’ll come get you again in a few hours. I need to shower and change. I don’t have clothes here. Make yourself at home.”
I looked down at the key he had clutched in one hand, and his apparent kindness took a back seat to my concern.
“So what are you going to do? Just leave me here?” I ventured, though I thought that was probably an absurd suggestion.
Instead, Neil grinned at me, pleased and proud. I couldn’t believe it…
I moved to stop him, but Neil was faster than me, and he left before I could reach him. I heard the sound of the key turning and the lock clicking into place.
Dammit.
“Neil?” Anxiety began gnawing at me. I opened the door to see him waiting nonchalantly for the elevator.
“Don’t go wandering around the city without my permission. See you later, Tinkerbell,” he said, sounding amused.
“You dick!” I shouted at him. He started laughing like an asshole and stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed on his still-laughing face. My rage only grew, and I called after him one more time.
By that point, certain that I had been left alone with only my fear and panic to keep me company, I tried to breathe and turned around to face the enormous apartment before me.
I felt adrift in an unfamiliar environment, in a faraway city, removed from my mother and all my friends. For all I knew, Neil was going to leave me here all night. Maybe he’d just go out with the Krew instead and wouldn’t show up again until the next morning.
I felt short of breath. I wasn’t used to sleeping all alone and certainly not in some apartment I’d never been to before.
“Okay, calm down, Selene. Breathe.” I tried to get centered while I took off my coat. I was sweating from all the agitation, so I tossed it on the sofa before sitting down myself to take in my luxurious surroundings. I could have gone snooping around the place, but I felt too much like an intruder. Even worse, guilt rose up in my chest. I regretted lying to my mother; she didn’t deserve that. Most of all, I regretted this whole clusterfuck—going along with Neil and his goddamned note.
Why had he even asked me to come see him? Was it a game? Was he messing with me?
“Relax,” I told myself, massaging my forehead. My fingers passed over my scar, and I thought about my accident, about the puzzles, and about Player.
What if he went after me again?
What if, somehow, he learned about my presence in New York?
I was getting paranoid.
“That’s dumb, knock it off.” I threw up my hands and got back to my feet. I had an extremely luxurious apartment at my disposal, and though I wasn’tin the habit of sneaking into other people’s spaces, I decided I was going to take advantage of it with a hot shower. To start.
Except, where was the bathroom? Big problem.
I picked up my bag and headed down the long hallway, which had various rooms branching off it. I opened a random door, and my mouth fell open.
The room inside could only be described as fit for a king. A huge bed lorded over the middle of the room with two modernist bedside tables flanking it. A bookcase stuffed with books stretched up to the ceiling, and a large window offered the same view as in the living room. The atmosphere was welcoming, and the bedspread smelled nice; there was the scent of vanilla in the air. There wasn’t so much as a speck of dust on the furniture, and the windows gleamed. Mia must have hired someone to keep up the place. Maybe it was even Anna, the housekeeper at Matt’s place. Who knew?
Either way, the apartment was clearly neither abandoned nor neglected.
I set my bag down next to the bed and got out a clean set of white lace lingerie, one I hadn’t worn yet. It was bold but not vulgar. Once I determined that, unfortunately, there was no bathroom in that room, I started wandering around again until I found one just a little bit farther down the hall.
As soon as I entered, I saw that pomp and luxury were also the order of the day in here. The gilded marble with white finishing on the decor was particularly eye-catching. I undressed and laid my clothes neatly on the countertop next to the sink before glancing at my reflection. The bite mark on my lip was still visible, as were the various other marks on my body, having turned from a burnt umber to an awful shade of yellow. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I stepped into the shower. I found various bath soaps located there and selected the one that smelled like almonds.
No coconut; not this time.
I soaped myself up in small circles and then rinsed carefully, trying to relax in the warm spray of the shower. When I was done, I found a fresh towel hanging nearby and wrapped it around myself. I stepped out, still dripping all over. I wrung the water out of my long hair with a huff. I needed to get it cut one of these days.
I spent an hour drying my hair and, miraculously, achieved the desired effect. It ended up looking soft and sleek. My bangs had migrated to oneside of my head, but since they covered my scar completely, I decided to leave them there.
I didn’t get dressed right away and instead explored the apartment in my underwear. I was alone, after all, and no one was going to bother me. Occasionally, I would stop to adjust the panties, which kept giving me wedgies. I wasn’t used to wearing such a tiny pair, and I cursed myself for being an idiot when I had to admit that I’d worn them for Neil.
