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“Don’t listen to Mila. She’s just afraid of getting in trouble.” Laura smirked at me over her shoulder.
“You’re kidding me, right?” I laughed, trying to make it as realistic as I could.
“Unless you’d like to tell him yourself?” she offered, as if handing a child a piece of candy.
The brother looked back and forth between the two of us, complete bewilderment apparent in his eyes behind the mask. Apparently this young Kingsnake hadn’t grown up with sisters. Poor thing probably never interacted with a girl before the world went to shit.
He raised both hands in the air, signaling for us to stop. “Okay, okay, look. I’ve been warned about you two causing shit before. I’m too tired to deal with it. So you are going back to your room.” He pointed at Laura, who frowned. “And you are going back to your room. Both of you are going to stay there until Brother Brutus can deal with you himself.”
I tried to speak up to complain, but Laura was speaking just as loudly, bemoaning she was merely looking out for the Kingsnakes.
“Both of you can shut up,” the brother snarled. “I don’t have the patience to deal with your petty bullshit. Your rooms. Now!” Both of us would’ve snapped back, tempers strained, if another brother hadn’t arrived at that moment. He glared at us, flipping up his hoodie enough for us to see the pistol sticking out of his pants. “What’s the problem in here?” I glared at Laura, and she sneered back at me. Neither of us were used to backing down, but survival trumped all, and a gun wasn’t something I was going to take a risk with. So we both shut up, and trudged up the stairs.
The first Kingsnake followed us up, Laura leading the way toppling in her too-high heels, me trailing behind shooting daggers at her back. I still wasn’t sure what information she thought she was going to share, and now I would have no way to find out until she told Brutus in person. I might very well be dead – especially after the shitshow of the raid. Maybe I’d be able to sneak into her room, and at least figure out what she knew. Or thought she knew.
Laura stomped into her room, slamming the door shut, and the brother quickly locked it behind her.
He turned back to me with a shrug. “Sorry not sorry. You’ll both be locked in until Brother Brutus arrives.”
Well there went that plan. I stormed into my own room, flinging the door shut. The lock clicked, and the brother’s steps trailed away. I had donesowell avoiding all the girls, and all the drama, just like Ray had asked. But I just couldn’t help opening my goddamn mouth when I should’ve been blending into the background.
Too bad I had never been much of a side character. I flopped on my bed, dreading the hours until evening. How would I explain this to Ray? He was going to be pissed.
The day dragged as I lay on my bed, watching the sunlight shift through the gaps in my window. I tried to think of any which way to escape my trial, to no avail. Eventually, the blue sky started to streak with orange and pink, and I turned on my lantern.
It wasn’t long before a key clicked in my lock again, and lucky for me it was my favorite brother, Brother Dogberry, poking his head into my bedroom. “Let’s go, new girl. I heard you were causing trouble again.” I rolled my eyes, being careful to not let him see. “Not exactly.”
“Good thing I like a girl with a bit of fire,” he murmured as I passed him in the doorway. I did my best not to gag. I tried to walk ahead of him, but he forcefully gripped my bicep. “Not so fast, sparky. I was given explicit instructions to take you directly to Brother Brutus’s office, and I am not about to let him down.” Dogberry pulled me closer, leaning his head against my neck and breathing deeply. “You better not let anyone else see you,” I warned.
“I don’t think Brother Prospero takes kindly to sharing.” At least, I hoped he didn’t. Dogberry chuckled, and I pulled my arm a bit looser from his firm grasp. “The Choosing is in two days, so you might as well accept that you'll be mine for the next month. Think of the fun we’ll have.”
No thank you. I did my best to ignore Dogberry’s comments as we walked downstairs. He led me to a small room next to the kitchen. Brother Brutus sat behind an aged desk. Laura stood on the other side of it, grinning at me as I entered.
“Thank you, Brother Dogberry. You can leave us now.” Brutus dismissed Dogberry with an ease that would’ve made me smile if I were anywhere else. But being alone with Laura and Brutus only made my heart pound.
Dogberry sighed behind me, and the door closed, leaving just the three of us. This wasn’t good. Brutus sat back in his office chair, which no longer had wheels but most likely did at some point. Now it just sat behind the desk on its thin legs.
I looked everywhere except into Brutus’s piercing blue eyes. I was certain if I stared directly at them, the truth would come spilling out of my mouth. Instead I scoped out his office, a room that remained locked unless he was at the motel. There was a window that wasn’t boarded up, the tackiest orange curtains framing the dusty glass. Stacks of newspapers surrounded his desk. Some people collected baseball cards to make them feel normal.
Obviously Brutus collected newspapers. It explained the newspaper decor in the common room. But the biggest shame of all was behind him – shelves and shelves of books. What a waste, to surround the office of an oaf like him. Those books deserved a better home.
“Laura, you said you have some kind of information about Brother Prospero and Mila to share with me?” I wouldn’t look. Couldn’t look. As long as I kept my gaze separate, I was safe. Maybe I would even recognize one or two of the books on the shelf. A girl could dream, right?
Beside me, Laura cleared her throat. I could practically feel the victory leaching off her skin into the room. This was it, the moment of truth. “I have reason to believe Brother Prospero and Mila are engaged in a relationship outside of the Kingsnakes’ arrangement.”
