Asch and Blaze follow inside. Blaze’s phone flashlight stays pointed at River. In the dark, none of them notice me.
“Is she under the desk?” Blaze asks, moving over to the desk.
Before he has a chance to spot me, I dart out of the room and grab the doorknob, slamming the door shut.
I hear the three of them yelp.
“Hi, boys!” I call out to them. “Are you looking for something?”
I keep my grip on the doorknob. I know I won’t be able to keep it closed for long, but I don’t really need to.
I just want to give them a scare.
“Pandora!” River calls out, and I can recognize the tight lid he keeps on his anger threatening to blow the whole way off. “Open the fucking door.”
“Uh, why?” I ask. The doorknob rattles, but I pull and twist the knob to keep it from opening. “Last time I was in a dark room with the three of you, it went a bit badly for me.”
I keep my voice light, amused, but I still feel a sharp jab in my chest.
No, I’m not thinking about any of that.
“Jesus Christ,” Asch mutters. “Pandora, you don’t have to beinthe dark room with us. We’ll even give you a sixty-second head start before we come after you.”
The door knob rattles again.
“You came here looking for me, and you expect me to believe you’d let me walk out, just like that?” I laugh. “Blaze, what was your plan?”
“Throw you over my shoulder and choke you on that couch,” Blaze growls, the frustration palpable. “Open the fucking door, Pandora.”
Hmm. That’s a promising image, but I’m not done riling them up yet.
“How are you choking me if I’m over your shoulder?” I ask. “Your plan is silly, Blaze.”
“She’ll get bored eventually,” Asch says, ever the voice of reason. “Just ignore her. She’ll go away because she’s too scared to get caught in here with us.”
It’s so clearly a play at reverse psychology, and I want to say I’m above it, but a spike of anger spears through me anyway.
“And yet, you’re the ones who sent River in first. Didn’t want to get caught with my knife in your ribs,” I taunt back. “Nice to see that River is expendable.”
“I am not—” River begins hotly, cutting himself off quickly enough that I think one of them must’ve said something so low I couldn’t hear it.
“I can’t do this forever, but who knows how long Icando it,” I respond. “If you beg nicely, I might let you out before one of you has to piss in the corner.”
“Is that what you want?” Asch asks, and there’s an edge to his voice that makes me feel positively gleeful. Not so calm after all, is he?
“It’d be pretty funny,” I say. “Have you guys fucked yet? Living in that house together. I’ll allow it, I think. Just make sure to be thinking of me while you suck each other off.”
“We are not…” Blaze lets out a frustrated sound. “Open the door, Pandora, and I’ll get you some nice flowers. Dahlias. You like dahlias, right?”
I freeze.
The blood red dahlias Zayden had given Samantha are still sitting on my kitchen table, turning brittle and drooping. The fallen petals have collected around the vase like a puddle of blood, every new drop reminding me that Samantha is still missing, that she hasn’t returned yet, and it’s my fucking fault she’s still out there and hurting.
No, it’s Zayden’s fault.
I’ve already paid Zayden back tenfold, but it hasn’t brought her back.
My hold on the door knob loosens, and one of the guys lets out a triumphant shout as he gets the door open.
