“Are you okay?” I asked. “Laney!” I called when she didn’t turn around.
“No, I’m not okay!” She burst into tears and screamed at me when she turned. “I’ve spent all night with guys giving me grossed-out looks and turning me down for dances.”
Those fuckers. They were supposed to divert dudes, not crush her spirit. “They’re stupid.”
“All of them?” She scoffed. “Not a single boy would dance with me all night. It was mortifying!” She sniffled and threw up a hand in my direction. “But you wouldn’t understand. Girls throw themselves at you.”
“No, they don’t,” I objected, but even I knew I was full ofshit. “Laney, it’s nothing against you. They...” I had to think on the fly. “Guys just don’t like younger girls.”
“Sure. That’s it.” She rolled her eyes again. “It has nothing to do with me.”
“It doesn’t.”A slow song came on, and tears pooled in her beautiful brown eyes again. Smiling, I extended my hand.“Could I have this dance?”
The look on her face would be forever ingrained in my memory. Hope, relief, love.
For a moment, I felt that connection. I took her hand and pulled her into my arms. We did slow circles with the music, and suddenly, we weren’t stepsiblings anymore. We were...
I looked up and saw someone creeping in the shadows. One of the many Michael Myers. Carson took off his mask, stared at Laney and me, and shook his head slowly. I could see the realization in his eyes, and it filled me with guilt and shame.
He knew.
Rule 37 - Priest
Learn the house rules, not just your own.
"You found the mirror room." Carson snickered from behind me.
I blinked and looked around. Everything felt... fuzzy. As if I'd dreamt it all, but I knew I hadn't. I'd been here, fully aware, and... with Laney. I stood up from the chair and ripped the mask off. My cock hung out of the jumpsuit absurdly. I tucked myself back inside.
"I don't remember putting this on," I said, gazing at my reflection.
"You don't? How odd. Must be the Vincent's doing."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I turned around and reluctantly brought my eyes to his face. He looked normal again, the gunshot wound gone.
“I knew. The whole time. I knew about your feelings toward her. Kaleb did too. It was obvious. Even more so after that guy’s murder. They tried to get us for it, did you know that? Because everyone remembered us at that Halloween party, pushing guys around who talked to your sister. No one believed us when we told them it was because you told us to.”
“I didn’t know that.” A small twinge of guilt hit me butthen I recalled what he’d done to Laney earlier today. Or was it yesterday? My days were so blurred. I wasn’t sure what was going on now. “You seemed to fair all right. For a little bit anyways."
"Ah, yes, my big finale!" Carson made a gun with his hands and pretended to blow off his head. "How dramatic that was. I shouldn't have done it that way. It was a gruesome scene. I'd much rather have... frozen in the cold." His eyes darkened and he chortled. The room echoed with his laughs, causing me to flinch.
"You bastard!" I started forward, catching him by the shoulders. I threw him to the floor, and he continued laughing.
"What are you going to do? Kill me? Newsflash, asshole, I'm already dead!" He lifted his legs and kicked me with his boots, sending me across the room. I hit a mirror, and it shattered, shards of glass rained down on me, and I clenched my eyes closed.A loud smash came from the other side of the room, and I peeked an eye open and then leapt to my feet. Carson had an axe and was smashing the mirrors.
"No one escapes the Vincent once you've been picked. Not me. Not any of those girls. and not you."
"What do you mean? I haven't been picked for anything. Carson, stop!" I lunged for the axe and he swung at me. I dodged just in time. His brown eyes began to glow gold.
"You have been picked, you idiot. Otherwise, we wouldn't be talking. You only see us if the Vincent wants you to. And the hotel only wants you to see us if it wants you to be one of us."
"Is that why you killed yourself? Man, that's—" I paused and laughed. This was all so absurd! "You could have gotten out! Me and Laney are getting out as soon as the storm?—"
"Ha, you think that storm was accidental?" Carson shook his head. "The Vincent did that. It controls more than youknow. More than any of us realize. We're all at the mercy of this fucking place. Even if they were considering letting you leave, you've no doubt made it angry by fucking her senseless. The Vincent doesn't like that."He lifted the axe and turned to the other wall, swinging against the mirrors again.
"I can't do this." I put my hands up and started walking backward toward the door. "You're not making any sense. I'll find you later."
Carson took a break and spun around, his face still maddening. "Yes, you will. And you'll be confused about how you got there and why you didn't feel quite yourself. Don't you see?" He waved up and down, and I realized he was talking about my jumpsuit. "It's already started. The Vincent is going to slowly take over your mind until it kills you. And if you die here, you stay here."
