Page 37 of The Monster of Hotel No. 7
“I don’t knowwhy you dragged me to this,” Von says.
“Isadora dragged you,” Karia replies primly.
“Becauseyoudraggedme,”Isadora counters, and Karia’s pink lips turn up into a smirk, like it’s true.
Still, she says, “Whatever,” under her breath, rolling her eyes as she glances at me.
I keep my head bowed and hands in my hoodie pocket across the lobby from her, sitting on the opposite benches alone. My stomach is in knots; it has been since I walked in here and discovered the three of them. I’m surprised they came; I expected to spend the night of the meeting by myself. I wish it had only been Karia here, but it sounds like she coerced the others to come with her.
Can she ever be alone?
I’d like to think she came at all to see me, but I’m positive that’s not true.
No one is interested in someone like you, Sully.
“Let’s pass the time,” Karia says slyly, staring at me now.
I inhale and hold it, wondering what she will say next. Suggest some stupid game, like always, as if we’re still kids? Maybe this time it’ll be hide and seek and I can get her away from the others. Hide her in an alcove and ask her if she thinks of me like I think of her. I am nearly trembling here, trying to obey Stein, to save her life. It is a war of emotion beneath my broken skin.
“Truth or dare, Sullen Rule,” she calls out to me, but her voice sounds a little shaky as her pink-painted nails dance in the edges of her short, mauve skirt, her legs crossed primly like she’s some innocent virgin.
I know she isn’t though.
I glance at Von and want to break his neck for it.
“He’s not going to play your stupid games with you,” he says without looking at me. He’s slouched down on the bench, backwards hat over his red curls, chin dipped down and eyes closed like he wants to be anywherebuthere.
She has that power, doesn’t she? The ability to draw everyone into her orbit, no matter what they really want.
Because here I am, for the same reason.
It makes my skin feel itchy, knowing she can play this mind game with everyone. I am not special, to her, to anyone.
“Maybe we’ll do ‘would you rather?’ instead. You only have to say a few words for that,” she presses on, and I’m happy she is completely ignoring Von, but she doesn’t seem to likeI’mignoringher.
I keep my head bowed but my eyes on her blue ones, a few feet of marble flooring the only thing between us.
“Would you rather have the power to be invisible or the ability to read minds?” she asks, never looking away from me.
Easy. Invisibility. I know what’s inside people’s minds; I don’t want to hear that darkness all around me. And if I was invisible, I could leave. Stein would never touch me again. I could sneak into her room and hide under her bed. I could slash Von and Cosmo across the throat when they got too close to her.
“You should make the choices correlate. Compete with each other. I don’t think those are two comparable things,” Von says, elbowing her as she sits up straighter, uncrossing and recrossing her long legs, frilly pink socks pulled up to her calves.
I glance at Von Bentzen and want to carve out his eyes for touching her. For getting to see her naked. Kiss her and laugh with her and go to her house and all these things Stein would never let me do. These dreams I will never live in.
“They’re two supernatural abilities, of course they are,” Isadora jumps in, on the other side of Von.
She’s right, but I’m not answering. If I give it away, Karia might pity me more than I’m sure she already does.
“Is that too hard for you? I’ll make it easier.” She keeps going as she stares at me, her cheeks flushing pink like they do when she’s embarrassed. She gets mean, too. The princess unraveled. I’d love to grab her and shake it out of her, all of her attitude. I would love to put my hand over her mouth and make her stop being a brat as she looks at me.Seesme.
“Would you rather kiss me or break your own leg?” she asks with a slight snarl.
I almost smile.Almost.
“Jesus, Karia,” Von says under his breath.
“Look at his face, I think it’s obvious,” Isa adds.
