Chapter Twenty-Seven
It took three days before I was able to get out of bed without experiencing any pain. In those three days, Finn visited me in my room a few times off and on. Sometimes he brought food, and sometimes he came without Tanya and Holly. He never said anything about the slightly awkward forehead kiss, and he didn’t try and do it a second time.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
On the fourth day, I woke up with a strange surprise waiting at the foot of my bed. Two Socks was poking his nose through a box of tissue paper, and I could see the straps of what looked like a dress peeking through. I leaned forward and pulled apart the tissue paper, revealing a pink dress.
It was short and a soft pink color, with spaghetti straps. It had a sweetheart neckline and a layered skirt. There was a black band of lace that tied in the back with a bow, and it looked like a mixture of gothic and baby doll that was actually kind of neat.
It took me a minute to notice the note because Two Socks was playing with it. When I took it away from him, I saw flowing, beautiful handwriting across the card, and figured it could only belong to Tanya.
Ronnie, I saw this dress and thought of you. It’s a little bit cute and a little bit sass and I think it will help you impress Finn (if you wanna impress him lol). You can wear it tonight for the party we decided to throw for you. Don’t worry; I’ll be up to do your hair after dinner, that way you’ll be sure to wow Finn.
Party? Tanya was actually throwing me a party? I was just kidnapped, shot, and told by my dead mother that Andrew was my birth father. What made her think I would even consider celebrating? Andrew was still out there, and he still wanted to use me to take over the world. Getting everyone together in one room would just make us all into sitting ducks.
Maybe she’s right to throw a party. With all the uncertainty and fear, a little bit of celebrating might be a good idea. It’s just one night, and everyone can relax and just enjoy the company of their friends. Maybe that’s exactly what everyone needs right now. If Tanya believes a party will help, I won’t stand in her way.
I shoved the box off to one side, leaving the dress there until later, and I slid off the end of the bed, pausing only to rub Two Socks behind the ears. The showers were calling to me, seeing as I hadn’t showered in days, and I grabbed my bathing supplies, towel, and clean clothes, and I closed the door firmly shut behind me to Two Socks wouldn’t follow me into the bathroom.
Unsurprisingly, there were two smaller cats waiting for me in the hallway. They chose to follow me around sometimes, but they split their time between me and Annie, since we were the only two necromancers staying at the compound. Today it looked like it was my turn to deal with the constant meowing, purring, and rubbing as they twined between my legs.
They followed me into the bathroom despite my best efforts to keep them out, and they sat on the cold stone floor in front of the shower stall while I bathed. It was strange having them wash themselves while I did, because it looked so complicated for them. They had to use their tongues and they bent themselves into such odd angles to accomplish their goal, it was fascinating.
When the bathroom began to fill with the sounds of other girls, I hurried to dry myself off and get dressed. As I was pulling on a navy blue shirt, a girl a few years older than me stepped in front of the door, barring the exit. I recognized her instantly, on account of her long, beautiful, natural red hair and her voluptuous body that many women would kill for.
She planted her hands on her hips and stared at me with the unmistakable sneer of a girl that had just found her new torture toy. The way her dark gray eyes stared at me, I knew she was itching for a fight, though I wasn’t sure why. Most people had ignored me since my arrival, and I kind of liked that.
But this girl was different. She was looking for some kind of confrontation, and now was her opportunity. She’d been watching me for some time with narrowed eyes and an evil, twitchy smile on her lips, and it looked like she was finally ready to make her move.
“Can I help you?” I asked, calmly holding Two Socks in my arms. He was hissing at her and trying to leap from my hands, and I tightened my hold on my squirming cat. I wanted to get out of the bathroom without a fight of some kind, like Two Socks shredding her legs with his claws, but as she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me, I realized that wasn’t going to happen.
After another moment of silence, while all the girls watched us expectantly, she spoke. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Excuse me?”
“You just fucking waltz in here like some almighty princess, and everything revolves around you. Did you know that? All anyone talks about in this fucking place is you and how abnormally powerful you are, like it’s some kind of compliment. You’re powerful because you’re a freak of nature, a dead one, and you shouldn’t have come back.”
“I–”
“And then this place gets attacked for the first time ever, and people are injured, all because of you. I think we should just throw you to the wolves. Those of us with power would be strong and survive. Screw the rest of the world; let it burn.”
I gasped. “What is wrong with you? You could do that? Condemn the rest of the world to destruction and death, just because you didn’t like me? And I have not been treated like a princess. I don’t know where you’re getting that idea, but–”
She stepped forward until her amazingly beautiful face was mere inches from mine. “You know exactly what I mean. Finn’s been acting strange since you arrived, but it’s gotten worse since he rescued you. It’s like you’ve managed to suck the fire right out of him, and turn him into a whipped little puppy dog. I want my Finn back you stupid bitch!”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Finn isn’t yours. He doesn’t belong to any woman, least of all me. He’s a grown ass man, perfectly capable of making his own decisions. Maybe you should remember that. Oh, and if you were a little nicer, he might have been willing to stay with you for more than one night. As it is–”
She laughed, and the cruel smirk was back on her face, causing my stomach to clench painfully. “Finn isn’t mine? I guess I can’t fault you for thinking that. After all, it’s not like you were in bed with us an hour ago. Why do you think I’m here all covered in sweat?” She fanned herself and giggled. “Bitch, Finn and I just had an hour long workout, and that’s something you’ll never have with him. Trust me. He likes beautiful girls that know how to rock his world, and that just doesn’t apply to you, in any way.”
She turned on her heels, flipping her glorious long red hair in the process, and began to undress in front of the shower stall farthest away from me. But I wasn’t watching her; I wasn’t really watching anything. My mind was too busy thinking about everything that she’d just said, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop myself from believing every word she’d just said about him and picturing the two of them together in bed. Finn was that kind of guy.
I’d known that from the moment I set foot in this compound. But to have sex with her after kissing me like he had the other day? Didn’t it mean anything to him, or did he just do it because I was there? Would he really do something so disgusting and nasty?
Yes, he would, I thought to myself as I exited the bathroom. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and you knew that. Everything he does, even if it’s for someone else, benefits him somehow. Saving you was probably just a way to get at Diego or impress some girl, like me, enough so that they would have sex with him.
I didn’t realize I was crying until Tanya stopped me in the hallway. She asked me what was wrong, but I was too upset to sit down and tell her everything I was feeling, and I shut myself alone in my room, unwilling to think about Finn and what I felt for him.