AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Exactly.” Zara cleared her throat and brisky clapped her hands together. “Anyway, it’s late. We all need to get back to bed.”
I gave her a beseeching look. “Is it okay if I stay in here with Piper until she goes back to sleep? Just so I know she’s okay.”
“Of course, sweetie.” She smiled and waved. “Goodnight, girls.”
She exited the room with Ali. Piper stared after them, chest still heaving with rage and terror.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing her hand. “Let’s get you into bed.”
As I helped her under the blankets, she burst into tears again. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t understand why they’re doing this to me.”
“What do you mean?”
She stared up at me, eyes flickering with indecipherable emotion. “Nothing,” she finally muttered, rolling over on her side.
“Piper, what’s going on?” I said. “You know you can tell me anything.”
She slowly rolled back over to face me. “I… I just…” She trailed off, nervously licking her lips. “I just hate doctors. That’s all.”
“Why?”
She sniffled. “No reason,” she mumbled. “You’re right. This is all a bad dream.”
With that, she closed her eyes and rolled over again.
I sighed inwardly. She was on the verge of cracking, but she wasn’t quite there yet. Jensen was right, though—our plan to drive her over the edge was working, and it was working fast. If we kept it up, she might snap within the next few days. Then we could swoop in for the kill and make her tell us where the Playground was located.
Once Piper had fallen asleep again, I crept back to my room, closed the door, and retrieved the burner phone from under my mattress. I crawled under the blankets and turned the screen on. A message from Jensen awaited me.
Jensen: How did it go over there?
Me: OMFG, even better than we thought it would! Piper is totally losing her shit!
Jensen: Did she tell you anything?
Me: No, but I can tell she’s really close to snapping. If we give it a few more days I think it’ll happen.
Jensen: Haha awesome, can’t wait.
Me: Is it weird that I actually feel a bit bad for her? She was crying soooo much. And she was petrified when she heard Dr. Carmichael’s name. I honestly thought she was going to faint.
Jensen: Nah I get it. You thought she was your sister for months, so whether you like it or not, you’ve formed an attachment with her. But you don’t need to feel guilty. She’s basically just as bad as her parents.
Me: Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I need some sleep. See you tomorrow?
Jensen: Yup. I’ll give you a ride to school. Love you.
Me: Love you too :)
With a yawn, I put the burner back under my mattress. Then I collapsed back into bed and closed my eyes. Sleep came for me quickly, because the early pregnancy was seriously draining my energy levels, leaving me exhausted most of the time.
I woke with a start sometime later, ripping myself from a shadowy nightmare. I rolled onto my back and slowly opened my eyes. Someone was looming over me, dressed in black with a matching mask on their face.
“Jensen?” I murmured groggily, thinking he’d sneaked in to play a joke on me.
The person said nothing in response. Just stared down at me, expression hidden by the mask.
Suddenly I was wide awake. “Who the hell are you?” I asked, heart pounding.
