But she only laughs. “Fine. I’ll remember this, River.” She blows me a kiss. “I gave you a chance to get off my shit list. But you don’t want nice Pandora either.”
She leaves the room and slams the door shut behind her.
I stare at the door.
Part of me wants to go after her.
Part of me wants to say good riddance.
I don’t know which is stronger, but I do know one thing.
She isn’t done with us. Not by a long shot.
12
PANDORA
River’s right about one thing: cutting off fingers issocliche at this point.
What’s the point of revenge if you aren’t a little creative about it? I had my fun with Blaze and Asch—so much fun that even the rest of campus has noticed those two are no longer glued at the hip—but River’s gotten off easy.
So far.
“Bye, Samantha,” I say to the dying dahlias. “I promise you that River’s going to have the absolute worst day of his life today.” I pause. “Okay, second worst. It’ll be in the top three worst days at least. In the top nine for sure? I’d say top ten, but River can’t count off that many with his fingers.”
I heft my backpack and shut the door behind me.
River’s at the gym right now, if he’s following the same predictable schedule as always. That’s the problem with routines. Everybody knows where you’re going to be at all times. It’s why Papa is always late for things: so nobody can anticipate his movements.
Uncle Slayer says Papa is always late for things because he wants to piss people off, but who are we going to believe, Papa or Uncle Slayer?
I stop in front of the gym entrance.
My breath catches.
I look around, trying to spot whatever it is that’s making me tense up, but there’s nobody else out here. The lights are on, and the few cars parked nearby are empty.
I check the ground beneath my feet, but it’s a totally normal sidewalk. I don’t see any obvious signs of danger anywhere.
What the fuck? Why am I so on edge?
I quickly reach into my pocket so I can grip my charm. It pulses and sends a small flash of heat through me.
Probably not literally, but let’s pretend.
I let out a breath.
The gym doors open, and two women walk out, chatting with each other. They spot me, and one of them waves. I think I know her from one of my classes.
I wave back, then I finally step through the gym doors.
The lights are all on, and the hallways are bright. Several students are sitting in the couches in the lobby. One of them is fighting with the vending machine.
Perfectly normal.
Nothing weird about anything.
I shake off the strange goop dragging along my arms and continue down the hall to the fitness training rooms. I can hear several people grunting and talking. A quick peek inside reveals the usual jacked up college guys.
