Cadee is already in bed when I go back inside. I change into a pair of shorts and get in next to her, hoping she’ll do something that will make me feel better about where all this is going. But she just makes it worse. She turns her back to me and says, “Good night, Cooper,” then reaches over and clicks the light off. Not even caring that I didn’t say good night back.
The next day is Cadee’s party. Well, was supposed to be her party.
No one shows up.
We cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner and in the end it’s just me, Cadee, and Isabella.
Even Ax stays away. Like he’s making a point not to interact with us.
“Divide and conquer,” Dante said.
Well… mission accomplished.
We are officially divided.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - CADEE
Nobody eats in the Hunter Building dining room.
Of course, only three people are allowed in there since my whole cult baptism and subsequent pledge to be Cooper’s Maiden. But in the week that’s passed since we all came back from Thanksgiving break, Isabella has decided to make Sophie her new project—whatever that means—so Isabella and Sophie eat in the High Court cafeteria on the other side of campus for meals. And Cooper hasn’t been home before two AM all week. He’s always over in the woods by the tomb doing… whatever the hell fake geological engineers do.
That’s kinda bitchy of me. Cooper is actually pretty smart in some ways.
But I don’t even know if he came home last night. I gave up waiting for him and just went to sleep. And he didn’t come into my room, so who knows? Maybe he’s dead? Maybe they sacrificed him out at that tomb?
I’m exaggerating. I know that. But I’m mad because no one will talk to me. No one.
Well, that’s not true. One person is still very much interested in me.
Leela Valcourt.
She’s been texting me daily since Thanksgiving. She even texted to ask how my dinner party went. Which, of course, was a complete failure because no one came.
Ax didn’t even come. And he fucking lives there.
But Leela has been suspiciously absent outside my classrooms all week so when I come out of life drawing on Friday and find her waiting for me, I’m surprised. But also happy.
Happy because meeting creepy Leela Valcourt is the first social interaction I’ve had in five days.
“There she is!” Leela beams as I walk towards her. “How was your week?”
“Fine. I guess. What are you doing here?”
“Checking in. Wanted to see if you were OK. Make sure you didn’t need anything.”
I wonder if she’s the reason no one will talk to me? Cooper said people don’t trust me because of Leela. Which I get. But it’s a game. I understand that we’re all kinda going in different directions, but the deal was that we would still trust each other. And I know that there are cameras everywhere. But they could grab me between some random building and pull me into the woods or something, just to prove they care.
Hmm. Maybe I should tackle one of them?
“Cadee?”
“Hmm?” Shit. Was she talking that whole time?
“I asked what your plans were tonight.”
“Oh… probably Coop and I will go out to eat.” This is wishful thinking. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know it’s Friday.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jack is over at the tomb right now. That’s not a secret, right? You know about Cooper’s project?”
I shrug. “Some of it. I guess. I know it’s at the tomb.”
“Well, Jack is over there now checking on his progress. He texted a little while ago telling me Cooper is woefully behind and I should check in on you to see if you were OK.”
That was creepy of him. “How nice of him. Yes, Leela. I’m fine. But thanks for asking.”
“Well, since Jack and Cooper will be busy tonight, I thought we could go into Monrovia and get some dinner.”
“Hm.”
“Is that a no?”
“No. Not a no.” I sigh. I do not want to spend time with Leela. I kinda wish this whole pledge thing never happened. I kinda wish I had gone to North Dakota. Of course, in this fantasy Cooper comes with me. I’m not sure how that would work, since I learned about North Dakota when Cooper still hated my guts. And the Chairman said it was a lie when he admitted to setting me up for the summer so I would still be around when the building was completed, so none of this is even possible anyway.
“Then what is it?”
Jesus Christ. She’s still here. Can this woman take a hint? “Fine. I’ll have dinner with you.”
She raises one eyebrow at me.
“What?”
“You are very distracted tonight.”
“Sorry. I’m just thinking about Cooper. He’s… busy.”
“Oh.” She pauses to smile at me. “I understand. Well, let’s have dinner and we can talk it through.”
I force myself to be nice and hook my arm into hers, tugging her towards the parking lot like I’m eager. Because right here, in public, in front of people—Leela is pretty much a nobody. But the minute we get in her car she morphs. I don’t know any other word for it. She turns into someone important. Someone deserving respect.
She goes in and out of these two versions of herself depending on who is around. For instance, the minute Jack appears she’s back to being nobody. She slips into the background like wallpaper. When he walks away, she’s suddenly flesh and blood again. In command of things.
It’s weird. I’m sure there’s some detailed handbook out there on how to be a good cult wife, but no one ever offered me a copy. This is also weird. Not that I haven’t gotten a copy yet, but that Leela is even bothering with me.
Why?
I’m the Maiden in this arrangement. And it’s not even her arrangement. So why is she investing so much time in me when she should be investing it in Isabella?
I don’t get it.
But I don’t have any better offers tonight, and there’s no real way to tell Leela no once she gets it in her head that she and I are spending time together. Trust me, I’ve tried. So there’s no point in fighting it.
We end up at the restaurant in the Monrovian Hotel.
Predictable.
I’ve been here with Leela so many times now, the maître d’ greets me by name and the server asks if I’d like my usual drink to start.
My usual drink is water. Because I’m eighteen years old and my booze normally comes from cult rituals or college parties.
God, I’m very cynical tonight.
“Snap out of it, Cadee.”
Leela is creepy intuitive. Sometimes I wonder if she can read minds, that’s how on she is. “I’m fine. Honestly. I think the stress of the semester is finally catching up with me.”
This is also a lie. And I’m sure Leela knows it’s a lie, because I fucking love school. I haven’t missed a single day, I haven’t skipped a single assignment, and I aced all my midterms.
“Well, I know what could help with that.”
“With what?”