Chapter 16
My brother broke the code. What code? My mind was spiraling as I thought about everything—the darkness, the code, the money, the agreement, the cold concrete beneath my hands, the clean smell, the pounding. What the hell was the pounding?
I awoke with a start, and I was in my bed.
My bed.
In my apartment. Miles away from the Gorges. I sat up in bed and leaned back on my headboard and patted myself down to make sure I was intact. What the fuck? How the fuck? The last thing I remembered was screaming at the top of my lungs in that dungeon-looking basement. I closed my eyes to think. Had they opened the door? Had they . . . I whimpered at the thought, my hand cupping between my legs, but no. I didn’t feel anything there. My neck was sore though, as if I’d slept in an awkward position. How had they carried me out of there without me knowing? How had they gotten into my apartment? A shiver spread through me. Was it the same ones who brought the boxes in here previously? Were they still here? I brought a hand to my mouth to keep from whimpering aloud, and when my phone vibrated on my nightstand, I jolted. They’d even placed my phone there and plugged into the charger. Who were these people? I stared at Travis’s picture kissing my cheek on the screen of the phone for a beat, then two, before deciding to answer it.
“Hello?” My voice was hoarse.
“What the fuck, Mae? I’ve been calling. Did you make it back home?”
“Um . . . yes. Yeah, I’m home.”
“What happened? Why were you in the middle of nowhere last night?”
“I got an invitation to a party,” I said, licking my lips.
My lips were so dry. My voice was so hoarse and I felt so groggy. They drugged me. They were spouting about loyalty, yet they’d drugged me. I glanced down at myself again. I was still wearing the same clothes I had on last night and aside from looking disheveled, nothing was torn. I knew they hadn’t raped me. I just knew. But still. What if they’d touched me? What if they felt me up while I was unconscious, or looked at me naked, or taken pictures? My lip quivered, my eyes instantly pooling with the thought of that.
“Mae?” Travis sounded impatient.
“I’m sorry.” I licked my lips again. “Yeah, I’m fine. I should’ve been more clear last night.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
“Nothing.” I climbed out of bed and started walking toward the living room. I had to stay on the phone with him while I searched the apartment and made sure I was alone. “What’s going on with you?”
“I’m worried about you,” he said. “I was worried sick last night. I almost called the cops and sent them your location but I wanted to wait until this morning just in case.”
“I’m sorry I worried you.” I went into the bathroom and looked around. There was nothing there. The kitchen was next. Nothing. The guest room and bathroom. Nothing. “Thanks for not calling the cops though. That would have been overkill.”
The word kill made me queasy. I put a hand over my mouth to keep from gagging.
“Do you still have a roommate?” he asked.
“No, she moved in with her boyfriend.”
“Kind of how I asked you to move in with me?”
“Right. Except we were more off than on in our relationship, and they seem to have something solid going on.” I licked my lips again. “I heard a girl with you last night. Obviously, my moving out or moving away hasn’t stopped you from exploring other people on campus.”
“Don’t be like that, Mae.” He exhaled. “What do you want me to do? I’m not gonna be a monk. You want me to give up fucking around? Fine, but that means you have to commit to being with me again.”
“Travis,” I warned. “You could barely commit to me when we were together.”
“So don’t ask me about my life then. I’m not asking you why you sound like you were sucking dick all night.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry.” Another exhale. “It’s just, you sent me your location and ghosted my calls. What do you expect me to think?”
“Not that.” My eyes felt wide as I went back to the kitchen and got myself a glass of water. “Jesus.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just, I miss you, and I know we said no calls or texts but fuck, it’s hard, Mae. I’m worried about you.”
“Look, I’m sorry I sent you my location with no explanation. That wasn’t fair.” I closed my eyes as I leaned against the counter. “I won’t do it again.”
“I’ll be there next week, you know?”
“Here?” My eyes snapped open. “Why?”
“We’re playing a game there. Scrimmage, nothing official, and the guys and I are going to the football game Saturday. Maybe we can hang out, you know, for old time’s sake?”
“Ummm . . . maybe. I guess. Let me know when you’re here,” I said. “Thanks for calling and checking up on me.”
We hung up with that last olive branch. One I wasn’t sure I’d give or take, especially after he’d just said he missed me. That was Travis though. That was the way he usually got me back after our break ups. My attention turned back to my apartment. The lock was in place and didn’t look like it had been tampered with, not that I would know what a tampered lock would look like. The door was fine. My keys were on top of the counter, in the exact spot I usually set them. What the fuck happened last night and who brought me back? There was no way, absolutely no way that I was going back there again. Not for $50,000 and freedom and not for knowledge. My sanity was worth more than whatever they had to offer.
Chapter 17
After a long shower, I gathered my things and headed to my first class. As I stepped out of my apartment, I noticed a sheet of white paper folded in two on the floor outside my door. I looked around and picked it up quickly, my back pressed up against the door as I read it: We’re watching you. Another shiver rolled through me. I hadn’t been able to stop shaking since I woke up. I still didn’t know who was watching me. I didn’t know what anyone looked like under the black cloaks they wore or why they were so secretive about it all. On my way to campus, I called Max. I’d packed my brother’s laptop in my bag and was planning on going to the library with it to do some digging, but I needed to know more about what Lana had found when she was working for the paper. I thought about the pictures I’d seen last night of her and Lincoln and how they’d said he betrayed them. What had he done? What part did my brother play in all of it?
“What did Lana tell you about what she was investigating?” I asked Max once he picked up the phone.
“Not much,” he said. “Did you find something? Were you invited to join a society?”
“No.” I stopped walking, heart pounding. What if Max was involved somehow? He could’ve been hiding underneath a cloak. I took a deep breath before I continued, “I just keep thinking about her and wondering if maybe she found something incriminating on them. Like incriminating enough to make them want to get rid of her.”