I gulped. They really were orchestrating our entire lives without our input. “And what of our former parents?” I asked, picking up on the defeat in my own voice and not liking it. I straightened my shoulders against it.
Fanny stalked to the door, and with her hand already on the frame, turned back toward us. “What do they matter? They’ve done nothing but betray you.”
When none of us had anything to say to dispute that depressing conclusion, she walked out, closing the door behind her.
After several seconds of quiet, I exchanged looks with my friends. “Well then. I guess … welcome home, motherfuckers.”
9
I Think I’m a Facilities Ho
After Don sped away with Fanny in tow, heading back in the direction of the campus buildings, and I finally found myself alone with the only people in the entire world I truly trusted, the events of the past few days settled across my shoulders like a thousand-pound barbell. No longer panicked about the immediate fate of my crew, I allowed myself to feel some of the terror and loss, and then the whirlwind of relief, that began with Brady’s original death. As I did, absolutely every single part of my body turned leaden. I thought I’d sink to the floor and join Brady in sleeping next to Bonnie just so I wouldn’t have to move for at least the next twelve hours. I had nothing left to give, and now that I paused, I recognized I was still woozy from whatever drugs they’d pumped through my system.
But when my similarly grim-faced friends headed off to check out the rest of the place, my curiosity pushed me to trudge upstairs after them, even though there was no way that whatever Chase had provided with the rest of the house would do anything to buoy my spirits.
Oh, how wrong I was. Turned out maybe I couldn’t be outright bought, but I could most definitely be … encouraged.
A koi pond—yep, a fuckingkoi pond, filled with beautiful swimming fish—occupied a large basin at the bottom of a staircase that spiraled up and around it. A wall that led from the garage to the main floor—and then continued up to a second-story loft—streamed with a continual sheet of water that fed the basin. The trickling flow of water instantly soothed some of my ragged edges.
Beyond it was a large terrace with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and forest. To the other side, descending several steps, were a recessed indoor swimming pool, a hot tub, and a surrounding lounge area.
When I made it into what I guessed might be a living room—a large open area that reached all the way up to the second story—and found a large fireplace with a huge seating area around it, and a kitchen with gleaming stainless steel and marble everywhere past it, I halted right where I stood.
“Guys,” I said. “I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but I think I’m a facilities ho.”
From the other side of a wall I hadn’t yet explored, Layla’s voice trailed out. “If you’re a facilities ho, then so am I. I could live here for the rest of my life and not mind one fucking bit. This bedroom’s beyond gorgeous.”
From somewhere else I couldn’t see, Brady whooped, and I heard Hunt respond, though I couldn’t make out what they were celebrating. Griffin walked on, exploring the place, never leaving my side for long.
By the time every space was accounted for, we’d discovered a bedroom for every one of us—each with an ensuite bathroom that included a deep-soaking tub, a view, and a walk-in closet already loaded with clothes and shoes—a theater and gaming room on the other side of the garage, and an art and music studio that occupied most of the loft area. The billionaire had spared no expense.
We pulled out a veritable smorgasbord of gourmet food from the fridge and pantry and spread it out on a wooden dining table that retained the slab’s organic edges. Though we were still underage as far as the local drinking laws went, the fridge was stocked with some of our favorite local microbrews.
I loaded my plate with hummus, baba ghanoush, olives, cheeses, and fresh bread, shoved some into my mouth, sighed in relief, and leaned back in my chair with a beer in my hand. I took a long sip and studied my friends, who were stuffing their faces as eagerly as I was.
“So, what do we think about everything?”
Brady looked up from his plate while shoveling in a chip heaped with chunky homemade salsa. Shit, that looked good. I reached to add some to my plate.
“I think we’re super fucked,” he said around a mouthful.
As one, we all nodded. Then Griffin added, “So fucked. This is bad, guys. So fucking bad.”
“It’s bad,” Brady said, “but still somehow so good.” He groaned around a bite of what looked like an Italian sub. “So fucking good. I could eat a horse.”
“Think they’re listening to what we say?” I asked.
“Definitely,” Hunt said, his eyes on me while he drank his beer. “I looked for cameras but didn’t see any. Though”—he glanced at the blatantly obvious sophistication all around us—“I doubt we’d spot them if they didn’t want us to. This place is … well, it’s something.”
“It’s something, all right,” Layla said happily, munching on some Greek pasta salad. Damn, that looked good too. I reached for that bowl as well.
“They can probably hear us through the keypad panels,” Griffin said, scooping some salsa onto a pita chip, “if nothing else.”
I narrowed my eyes at the nearest one, recessed into the wall beside the refrigerator. “For sure. So we have to keep that in mind.” I laughed bitterly. “But hey, at least that part won’t be that different from ‘living at home with ourparents.’” I hooked air quotes on that mega charade before licking some hummus off a finger.
Hunt leaned back in his chair too. “I know we saw ‘Mitzi’ with our own eyes, and my brain gets that she’s a woman named Tracy and not actually Griff’s mom, but still … ” He shook his head. “It’s like it just won’t compute. I keep thinking of my mom—Alexis or whatever—as, well, my mom. It’s messing with my head.”
“Yeah, bro,” Brady said around yet another mouthful. Knowing the guy, he’d likely eat for an hour straight before he’d have his fill. “I feel the same way. I’m kinda freaked about learning all their real names ’cause I already know it’s gonna feel weird as fuck.”
