Everything came to a halt, including my heart.
March was there, head sticking out another window possibly twenty feet away from me. No smile on his face, no expression in his eyes that I noticed, just his hair that glistened red under the fresh sunlight. Every curl was perfectly defined. His skin glowed, and his eyes were more red than brown. I saw it clearly, even though we were a good distance away. Iknewall the shades of rust that made him.
“Good morning,” he said, and I more read the words on his lips than heard them.
I was certain that I meant to saygood morningback, but when my mouth opened, the words that came out of me were, “I know you.”
Because I did.
March watched me like he was both surprised and…sadat my words, which meant he heard them.
Instinct took over and my mouth opened again to saysorry,to sayI didn’t mean it, to sayI’m being silly—of course I don’t know you!
But before I could make a single sound, there was a knock on the door.
It was like I was suddenly possessed by someone else. I pulled myself back into the room without explanation, and I didn’t give myself a second to hesitate before I went and pulled the door open.
Mimi stood in front of me with a smile on her face, which then turned to a flinch when she looked down at me.
“You haven’t bathed.”
Bathed.
Holy Hour, there was a tub in the bathroom—andshelooked squeaky clean.
Her skin, her hair, even her clothes. Which then reminded me of the way we’d fallen when the floor caved.
“I didn’t…remember to, to be honest.” Bathing had been the last thing on my mind. I hadn’t even thought to look in the mirror.
“That’s okay. Just go dust off your hair and wash your face—I’ll wait.”
Outside in the hallway, a few of the others were walking out of their rooms, most clean. Clearly bathed.
Ireallyshould have remembered to bathe.
Then March’s door opened and he stepped outside. His hair was a little wet, and his face clean, but his clothes still had dust on them a little bit.
“Where are we going?” I asked—both him and Mimi, though he was farther away.
“To look for the proof, of course,” the Club girl said.
“Has anybody remembered?” March asked, and I held onto the handle of the door tightly…
“Nope. Not a thing.” Mimi said this with a grin.
A silent sigh escaped me. “I’ll just be a minute.”
I took a little longer than one minute, but I leaned over the basin and rinsed my hair as well as I could with cold water, cleaned my face, then dusted off my clothes with wet hands. I used one of the towels to clean the leather of my mother’s coat, too, and by the time I was outside in the hallway again, I looked semi-decent. And wet—but most of the others were the same. Except Anika, Levana and Mimi, who’d thought to bathe last night, before going to bed.
“You guys,” said Seth as we gathered at the mouth of the hallway. “Nobody has found us.”
“Which is a bit strange, considering theysawus,” I said in wonder.
“And they were going to alert the queens,” said Mimi.
Shivers erupted down my arms. I chased them away with my hands, casually stepping closer to where March stood a little farther to my left.
“But nobody’s here, so…” Russ shrugged, and he didn’t seem concerned in the least. Most didn’t, and none looked like they wanted to leave, either. “Breakfast? I’m starving.”
