Eli scoops up my singed panties from the floor and stashes them in his pocket. He smiles. The lingering crazy in his eyes that came to the surface when we fucked has already faded.
“See you soon, Sarah Acacia.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
ELI
He bringsher here as a punishment. It’s been four months since our first encounter, and we’ve seen her almost every other weekend. He locks her in the same room, hoping that it will somehow lead to a miraculous breakthrough. One time, when he was particularly angry, he integrated her with the general population for a weekend. She ate with the rest of the patients in the cafeteria which, he hoped, would frighten her into submission. Instead, Sarah picked a fight with Charlie and asserted herself as the rightful queen of Sunnycrest within a matter of minutes. Acacia is at a loss. He underestimates her. He seriously believes that she’s not clever enough to conceal her tracks when breaking his rules. However, he doesn’t know she has an ulterior reason for wanting to be caught.
“What did you do this time?” I ask.
I’ve been in Sunnycrest so long that I’ve become institutionalized. Hearing stories about the outside world provides a welcome break, and Sarah’s rebellious acts are my new favorite source of entertainment.
“Another party.” She shrugs. “Erin told him where I’d be. It turns out her being under Daddy’s thumb isn’t so bad, after all. How are the others?”
“That reminds me,” I say, reaching into my pocket and taking out a rat skull. “A gift from Aiden.”
Her eyes light up and she stashes it in her purse. “I’ll have to show him how thankful I am next time I see him.”
“I guess I’ll just have to do until then,” I mutter sarcastically.
“Hey!” She grabs my face, and her voice softens. “You’re enough on your own, you know. You don’t need Aiden. Let’s forget about him and Lex. Right now, it’s just me and you against the world.”
She always knows what to say to make me feel better. I pull her into a tight embrace and breathe in her sweet jasmine shampoo, craving how her warm body feels. Being with her always leaves me wanting more. More kissing. More fucking. More talking. More everything. If I had my way, I’d never leave her side.
I love her. I feel it deep in my bones, even though Aiden and Lex tell me I can’t be sure what love is. Love is whateverthisis. It’s wanting to crawl under her skin and wear her because I’ll never be able to get close enough. She’s mine now. Ours. Aiden and Lex refuse to admit it, but they feel the same way. Why else do they keep rejecting the queue of girls begging to fuck them? They haven’t been with anyone else since our first night with Sarah.
The others can’t see her tonight. A change in guards has made our nighttime explorations more challenging, and they’re working on a new angle. They’re going to visit a new doctor. Unlike the others, Doctor Warner appears to sympathize with our cause, and we have to exploit any sign of weakness in Acacia’s regime.
“Does it hurt?” Sarah asks, frowning at the fresh scar around my throat that looks like a red choker. A gift from her father’s latest experiment. “It looks painful.”
“This is nothing, sweetheart,” I say dismissively. “I’m fine.”
It’s good that Aiden and Lex aren’t here. They’re in worse shape than me. Lex’s shoulder is a wreck from being dislocated and put back into place repeatedly, and Aiden’s left eye is swollen shut.
Acacia recently offered complimentary sessions for potential investors, and we’re the subjects he gives them to, to torture for fun. It’s nothing too bad, though. He keeps the worst punishments for paying customers. This afternoon, he paraded around his new subjects in a grim death march. They are the ones who will be subjected to his worst experiments, and we are his poster boys. Hurting us is less fun now that we’re desensitized to pain, but we’re still favorites to some regulars, who have watched us for years, hoping to see us finally break.
“Did my father hurt you?” she probes. “Did he do this?”
We haven’t gone into detail about her father’s real work here or the experiments he conducts. I’d tell her in an instant, but Aiden doesn’t trust her. Not yet. He’s cautious, and it’s something we’ve argued about. She has a right to know who she’s living with. She’s told us how he beats her mother, but she’ll still be shocked at the true depths of his depravity. Aiden’s not sure she can handle the truth. However much she hates him, he’s still her father.
“I can’t talk about it,” I say. “We don’t have long, sweetheart. Why waste our time talking?”
I like having her all to myself. Sharing is fun, but it’s more special when it’s only the two of us.
“None of you ever answer my questions,” she says, turning her head as I lean in for a kiss. “Something bad is happening here. I’m not stupid. Every time I see you, you all have fresh scars. Whatever it is, I can handle it. You can’t hide it forever!”
“Not forever,” I say. “But not yet.”
Although I don’t agree with Aiden, I will never defy him.
“You mean, Aiden says you can’t tell me,” she mutters sarcastically. “I keep coming back, don’t I? Doesn’t that show I can be trusted?”
“Partying and flirting with hockey players isn’t hard work,” I say bitterly, unable to keep the jealousy from my voice. “There’s more to trust than fucking someone.”
“That’s all I am to you? An easy lay?” She crosses her arms. “I think you should leave.”
