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Malik shakes his head. “Ten minutes north is Superior Memorial. It’s the closest one, unless you want to go to Duluth.”
“Fuck that,” Atticus groans.
“Do you have something to drink?” I ask after a silent moment, my fingers going to my bruised throat. Ever since I was choked, my throat has felt absolutely terrible.
Felix stares at me blankly before nodding his head toward the kitchen. I frown, setting my things down on a nearby chair before following after him. Everything is just as the rest of the house, black granite countertops, white cabinets, everything sleek and sharp. More than that, every part looks untouched. Barely lived in.
I go to the first cabinet, opening one after another until I find the tall, crystal-clear glasses. I bring it to the sink, turning it on and filling it halfway, downing it in two gulps before I fill another.
“Hazel,” Blaire says, peeking her head around the corner.
“Huh?” I ask, feeling exhausted. What I want to do is sleep, but I know I need to look through the folder. “We’re going to go downstairs. I guess Felix has a movie theatre, and we’re going to chill out for a bit before we go home. Want to go down there?”
I set my glass on the counter as Levi walks in with Piper.
“Oh, uh, sure,” I mumble, lifting my glass for one more drink before setting it into the sink. I head back to the living room, seeing Felix and Malik lifting Atticus from the couch. He groans, his face scrunched up in pain, and I instantly feel a twist in my stomach.
“Wait.” I lift my hand, an idea coming to me. Going to my backpack, I open it up and pull out an amethyst crystal. I grip the rough edges with my hand as I walk up to him and slip it into his front pocket.
“I don’t want your witchy shit,” he snaps, sweat trailing down his temple.
I frown at him. “It’s a healing crystal. It’s not going to do any harm. Just… keep it on you.”
He watches me, his jaw grinding, clearly unhappy, but I can see the pinch of hope in his gaze. He’s in pain, and even if it doesn’t take his pain away, I hope it at least lessens it. As much as I detest these guys, Atticus has always been the least rude to me, and having his bone protruding from his arm can’t feel too great.
“I’m going to help them outside. Levi, show them downstairs,” Felix says as he helps carry Atticus out.
“I’ll call you guys tomorrow,” Vera says, chewing on her lip for a moment as she looks around, her eyes falling back to mine. “Are you sure you guys want to hang out here?”
“As much as I don’t want to be here, I’m not ready to go back out there, so yeah, I think I’ll be fine for a bit in this mansion.” Blaire huffs. Piper nods, but Vera leaves her eyes on mine, and I stare at her, not sparing her a blink.
“I can already feel this will be a mistake, but I’m just too tired to go back out there. I’ll look through the folder, bring them home, and then head back to my house,” I tell her.
She watches me for a few more beats before giving me a slow nod.
“I’ll call you in the morning,” she mumbles, Malik’s keys in her hand.
We nod, and she follows Malik out to his car.
Levi leans against the wall, and I glare at him, knowing he just listened to every word we said. “I think you all are less safe in here than you are outside. We’ve been known to be a bit deadly,” he says with a smirk.
“Shut the fuck up, Levi. I’m going downstairs, turning on a rom-com, and forgetting all about tonight,” Blaire snaps, taking a step forward. “Where the hell is this movie room?”
Levi gives her a look before shoving off the wall, giving us his back. “Follow me.”
He starts heading down the hall, and I race to my backpack and pick it up, as well as the folder, rushing after them.
Down the dark hallway, Levi opens a door, a wide set of carpeted stairs making an appearance. He flicks on the light, not even sparing us a glance as he heads downstairs. Blaire looks at Piper, then at me, before she follows him. Piper and I follow behind her, and once we get downstairs, our eyes all simultaneously widen.
Shit, this really is a movie theatre.
One wall has a projector against it, and four rows of leather seats and couches sit facing it. There’s a bar off to the side with rows of liquor bottles on the top shelf.
“Anyone want a drink?” Levi mumbles, heading to the bar.
Blaire shakes her head, walking toward the chairs. “No fucking thank you.”
“I’ll take one. Whatever you’ve got, honestly,” Piper says, waving her hand into the air as she sits down in the closest chair.
