The Clean Ones

Chapter 11

"You're kidding, right?" I yelled as I stood up in my chair. "What the hell do you want from us, because I know it's not just a coincidence that you brought all four of us to stay in your home!"

His face contorted, his expression taken aback by my outburst. "Miss Bennett, I can assure you that you are under the wrong perception of this. First of all, you and Mr. Collins came to me, remember? But, nevertheless, you children needed a proper home to stay in, and I so generously offered my home to you. Now tell me, what's so wrong about that?"

"The fact that you ripped us from our homes and murdered his sister." I pressed.

"Oh, no, my dear!" He exclaimed. "Murder is completely wrong. No such thing would happen under my watch. No, it was mere accident. She happened to slip-"

"If you could spare Mr. Collins over there from the gruesome details of his sister's murder, that would be absolutely fantastic." I said, my voice now level.

His thin lips pressed into a firm line. "Very well. Now sit, dinner is about to be served."

Several men entered the room and grabbed the covered plates off the table. Each one placed a delicate platter in front of us and removed the covers. A steaming bowl of pasta in a rich, creamy sauce sat before me. The boys all dug into their food immediately, but I waited. I eyed the Mayor, who was happily eating his food as well. My stomach growled in agony; when was the last time I actually ate? I couldn't even recall. But, as I kept my eyes locked on the Mayor, the thought of consuming anything he served seemed utterly repulsive.

Benton, who had reminded silent through all this, leaned over to me. "You need to eat." He whispered.

I shook my head. "Not hungry."

"Yes you are." He said knowingly.

"Okay, maybe a little." I admitted. "But I don't trust anything that he serves."

"Care to share your conversation with the rest of the table? You know, keeping secrets is considered very rude." The Mayor said, leaning forward into me. I moved my chair back so it was flush against Benton's.

"Err, no, that alright Mr-I mean Mayor Johnson, sir." He stuttered. Mayor Johnson just shrugged.

For the remainder of dinner everyone remained silent. Even Lu, who inhaled his food within seconds, stayed quiet while the others finished. I, however, resisted the temptation the food brought. It was not just a rebellious movement; my body ached with nausea from the substance that burned down my throat earlier in the evening. I contemplated excusing myself for the night but ultimately decided against it. The desideratum to receive answers burned inside me more than the liquid did.
Once everyone had finished their food, Mayor Johnson called in a few men to clear our plates away from us. I sighed a little as they left, thankful that I didn't have to deal with the revolting decadence of food any longer. Cale looked up at me from across the table and mouthed the words "are you okay?" To me. I shook my head, "no.". He sat still for a moment as he took in my answer before he pressed a finger to his lips, ushering me to stay silent.

"Um, Sir, if I may," he started, breaking the void of silence that enclosed the room. "You said that we had topics to discuss and that you would answer our question later into the evening. Is now an appropriate time to bring those topics into discussion?"

"Hmm..." He pondered the inquiry for a minute. "No, son, it is certainly not an appropriate time. Maybe later."

My teeth dug into my bottom lip. No matter how much I wanted to speak up, I knew it would not be wise to do so. I could taste the salty, bitter taste of blood on my tongue as a sank my tether deeper into my lip.