Page 23 of Monster. Me.

Of course, everyone at the facility has access to satellite and cable TV, and every room has a monitor. Rupert loves watching comedies in the evening and laughing himself stupid. Unfortunately, his sense of humor doesn't match mine at all, so I usually just sit beside him with a blank expression, staring at the screen.

Over these past few days, Rupert hasn't tried to hug me, touch me, nothing. And I'm definitely not the type to initiate.

I see other couples getting affectionate sometimes. Holding hands, kissing, cuddling. They do it openly. But none of that is happening here.

The voices outside the door keep going.

There's obviously some kind of conversation happening out there. I get up and move closer, hoping to eavesdrop, and recognize Rupert's voice along with Caspian's.

They're probably gossiping about someone, but I can't bring myself to care.

The conversation drags on and on. Five minutes pass. Then ten. Eventually fifteen.

I've had enough. My head is buzzing. My nervous system refuses to fully calm down. I need to get out of this damn room.

So I head for the door, irritation still building steep inside me. I yank it open.

Rupert is casually leaning against the wall while Caspian stands in front of him, slightly bent forward, covering his mouth with one hand as he whispers something between quiet laughs.

"Lunch is starting," I say.

"Oh, right, right," Rupert replies, looking like he'd completely forgotten the rest of the world existed.

Then Caspian says, "There's karaoke tonight. You guys should come. Juan and Timmy are singing, and they're actually really good."

"Sure, we'll be there," Rupert says immediately.

Caspian glances at me and probably notices my frown.

"Marlow, you have to come. Juan has an incredible voice. He should be a professional singer, but instead he's a tailor!" Caspian laughs.

A second later Rupert's phone makes a sound, and he pulls it out to answer a text. I assume one of the patients canceled an appointment.

I don't say anything, just head toward the cafeteria, leaving Caspian behind, while Rupert follows with his eyes glued to his phone. Together we walk into the massive dining hall.

The cafeteria was built for far more people than our humble group of fifty. In some ways, I almost wish there were more participants. As it is, everybody knows everybody, people form little cliques, and there's always some irritating gossiping going on.

Rupert joins a table where Juan is already sitting.

Juan is a very tall, strikingly handsome alpha with a ridiculously charismatic personality. He's way too pretty and way too polished for my taste. I prefer the rugged type.

The guy dresses like he just stepped off a runway, wearing fancy clothes he made himself.

His black hair is tied back into a short ponytail, and one ear is pierced with a gold earring.

Timmy is his varia. He's a slightly heavyset alpha with blond curls who's incredibly talkative, exhausting to be around, and permanently in gossiping mode.

Rupert sits beside them, which means I'm forced to sit there too.

Timmy and Juan are definitely the biggest attention magnets in the program. Loud, outgoing, impossible to miss.

Besides them, there's another couple at the table, Pedro and Vasyl, both clearly wanting to bask in the rays of the sun that Juan is, at least around here.

Sighing, I lower my head toward my plate.

Rupert starts asking Juan about the latest league games, roster changes, and promising new players.

Yawn.