Page 24 of Monster. Me.

The entire conversation is draining the life out of me.

Absent-mindedly, I pick at the hormone patch every varia is required to wear.

It's already had one unexpected effect on me.

Ever since I started wearing it, I've noticed that I've begun producing small amounts of slick, something I'd never experienced before. For me, sex had always involved large amounts of lubricant. There had never been any other option.

At some point my attention drifts toward the large mirror stretching across one wall.

For some reason, I keep staring at my reflection in it.

Is it a one-way mirror?

Are the facility's scientists watching us from behind it?

Acting on impulse, I get up.

I pretend I'm going for more chicken wings, but after grabbing some, I walk past the mirror. Then I quickly pull out my phone, turn on the flashlight, and press it against the glass to see if I can spot anything behind it.

And I do. A blurry shape appears beyond the surface. I manage to see something that absolutely shouldn't be there if it were an ordinary mirror.

Right when I'm about to pull the flashlight away, I catch a flicker of movement.

A quick motion behind the glass.

And then I see the outline of a hand resting directly in the illuminated area created by my flashlight.

Oh, fuck!

My heart starts pounding. What the hell is that?

Someone is standing behind the mirror…

I glance around nervously and notice a couple sitting at a nearby table staring at me in confusion. They're probably wondering why I'm hunched over a mirror with my phone pressed against it. Maybe they think I'm filming them through the reflection or something.

Awkward.

So I walk away with a tray holding chicken wings, not looking at them. I feel a strong reluctance to return to the table where loud Juan’s laughter is breaking out, and a text message saves me from it.

It's from my brother Gabriel.

Ever since my suicide attempt, he's been checking in on me regularly, asking about everything. He carries a deep sense of guilt for not realizing how serious things had gotten. Usually I keep my replies polite and brief, but this time his message catches my attention.

"Blue and I are staying at his cabin in Rainbow Spring for the first time. The renovation wrapped up last week, so we came out for the weekend. I know that facility is only a few miles from town. Want to stop by?"

A small shiver runs through me.

Could this be an opportunity?

I feel an almost desperate need to learn more about Fenn, and who could be a better person to ask than his former employer—Blue Lowen, my brother-in-law?

Without saying a word to anyone, ignoring Rupert's glance, I leave the cafeteria and head back to my room to check my inhalant therapy schedule.

Walking over to the small screen mounted in the corner, I pull up the times we're required to attend treatments.

I'm supposed to stick to a strict routine, and leaving the facility during inhalation sessions isn't recommended.

Still, there's a gap between noon and two o'clock.