"Okay, so we don't know what we're doing, then?" James asks, clearly annoyed that the others haven't done the work for him already.
The turd expects us to do everything, Amelia thinks bitterly.
"You mean we don't have a clue, not you. You have been the least helpful." Emilie retorts.
That woman seems to read minds.
If Amelia is in a different situation, she'd be impressed, but given that know one here can be trusted, well, this is a bit concerning.
"Excuse me, but you haven't found much of anything either."
"At least I was actually looking, James." Emilie rolls her eyes. "Now, we may not know which direction to take, but I may have an idea. The clue obviously is referring to a map. And it just so happens that James and I saw an observatory a few doors down. I'm sure there's a map of significance there."
Okay, now Amelia is impressed.
She'd just have to be more careful around Emilie. The blond doesn't seem to realize Mia's plan, but she could be playing along with it. It bugs Amelia that she doesn't know.
She's the kind of person who loves to control everything to ensure things go her way and don't fall into the wrong hands.
After making that mistake once, Mia's adamant on not letting it happen again. She shivers, a tingling coming to her wrists.
Never again.
"Emilie, you're a genius," Mia hooks an arm around her neck. "See boys, women know how to work smarter, not harder."
"We work smarter and harder, it seems." There's a glint to Emilie's hazel eyes, reminding Amelia not to get too comfortable and friendly.
If she acts too nice, then the de Vanily twin might know that something is up.
"That's what you girls say to make yourselves feel better about your lack of strength." James crosses his arms with a smug grin. "I bet you can't hurt me if you tried."
"Oh, you don't know that, bro. Sweetheart here could kick your butt just like her brother did," London says before turning to stare deep into Mia's eyes. "But Mia doesn't stand a chance."
Amelia shifts uncomfortably. London is way too perceptive for her tastes. Felix is okay, but London Presley is starting to give her the creeps.
"Oh, I'm sure Mia could kill you both before you know what's coming." Emilie retorts, turning to smile at Mia. "She's stronger than you think."
"Alright," James holds his hands up in surrender. "Fine. We're all strong here."
"But not all of us have a brain."
A sparkle Mia didn't notice before is returning to London's eyes, the corners of his mouth turning upwards. "Of course. You girls win."
"Come on."
Emilie guides the four of them to two heavy dark oak doors leading to the observatory that she claims she and James found.
"Wow, this place is cool." James walks over to a large globe and spins it.
"Huh, I didn't know the dome could open."
The room is naturally lit by the brightening sky and it dawns on Amelia that they've been there for over thirty-six hours.
And she is very hungry.
Does she have to pee?
Oh gosh.
"Hey guys, did any of you by chance pass a bathroom while exploring?" she asks, trying to remain stoic and casual.
"Yeah, downstairs. Fourth door on the right from the stairs." London answers. "I saw it early on. Probably should've mentioned it."
Amelia eyes him warily and a piece of paper catches her eye.
Peeing would have to wait.
"Thanks." She gives him a fake smile before making her way to the map peeking out from under some books and scrolls. She carefully opens a book, so as not to look too suspicious. Once she is sure no one is looking, she slides the paper from under the books and folds it up.
"Whatcha looking at?" James appears behind Mia.
"Uh..." Mia takes a look at the table and points at a random scroll, "I was looking at that." While James is distracted, she slips the paper into her navy leather jacket. She'll have to look at it later when there are less prying eyes.
"Huh. Looks interesting." James calls over his shoulder, "London! Come look at this!"
"Know what? I'm gonna split to find that bathroom you were talking about." Mia gets out of there quickly before anyone can stop her. She's glad for the excuse to look at the paper. And she really needs to pee.
She walks quickly down the hall, peering into the rooms as she passes them. Nothing catches her eye. That is, until she passes the teaching room. The blackboard, which she previously erased, has new writing on it. She wonders how long she can get distracted before she pees her pants.
Mia walks in to see that same fancy writing from before. This time, it read: "You brought this upon yourself, Me-uh Oh-my-uh."
The map that Ameila had secreted falls to the floor.
Who is doing this to her?
She looks down at her scarred wrists and attempts to rub the ghost pains away. But instead of disappearing, they became stronger. Amelia lets out a choked sob as the memories she hates most come flooding back to her.
SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD AMELIA TAYLOR sat on a faded jade-green couch waiting anxiously for ... to get home. She knew he wouldn't be very happy with her performance that day and wonders how mad he'll be.
He was furious.
The door opened and closed with a loud bang causing Mia to flinch. She didn't know what else to do, so she tried being as pleasant and sweet for him as possible.
"Amelia," ... said. "What do you call what happened earlier?"
The said girl picks up the tray of popcorn and candy she had prepared as soon as she got home, hoping that ... would forget about what she did and watch a movie with her.
It was wishful thinking.
"I made us some snacks if you want to—"
"Don't change the subject!" he shouted. He tore the tray from her hands just so he could throw it at her, the popcorn flying everywhere and M&Ms rolling across the floor.
"Why were you with Daniel?" he asked loudly. "What were you saying?"
Amelia took a step back. "Nothing! He was just telling me that he found me a job."
... stepped closer, closing the space between them. "I thought I told you not to speak to him." Mia wrinkles her nose at the acrid smell of his breath.
Well that's just wonderful.
"Daniel gave me an amazing job offer and I thought you'd be happy for me! I'm happy for you whenever something good happens. Like when you got your acceptance letter into college!"
...'s face twists up in anger.
"That letter was a fake!" he roars. "You faked it to make yourself look good. Do you know what situation you put me in?"
Mia was astounded. She never faked any letters! But it wasn't like ... was going to believe that.
"I never did such a thing! How can you even say that? You can't fake an acceptance letter!" Mia argues.
"You need to learn to listen, Me-uh Oh-my-uh." He flashed his knife on her, causing her to stumble backwards onto the couch.
"Please, .... I'm begging you. All I am doing is securing myself an income. Don't do this."
He gripped her upper arm and led her to the cellar door.
"No!" she screamed, an ugly sound, struggling to escape.
He pinned her against the wall and held his knife just above her inner wrists. Mia trembled violently but knew that if she resisted she'd only make things worse for herself.
He ran the blade across her wrist, a thin stream of blood coming out, before opening the cellar door and pushing her down the stairs with a loud thud.
Amelia clutches her bleeding wrists to her chest and wails. Her tears blinded her, the world in front of her so blurry that she didn't dare to move out of fear of falling and further hurting herself.
She spent the next twelve hours in the darkness of the basement.
Then another.
And yet another.
Amelia started to get worried because with every passing hour, she became hungrier, the pain in her stomach now a familiar companion. He has never left her down here for this long and she was just starting to think that he abandoned her to the darkness for good when a crack of light shows itself at the top of the steps.
"Beautiful, you want to come up?" he called down. "I've made us a nice meal."
She weakly walked up the stairs, heavily relying on the wooden railing for support.
"I'm sorry. I-It won't happen again," she cried.
"It's for your own good Me-uh Oh-my-uh." He pulls her close to his chest, stroking her hair.
Amelia didn't dare to resist for the fear that he would get mad at her. Instead, she cried into his chest, wetting his shirt.
Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind and he led her to the kitchen sink where he had the first aid kit and gently cleaned her wounds with the care of a parent.
It made Mia sick to think about how he was the one who did that to her.
"Will you be better now?" he asked, lifting her chin so she had no choice but to stare into his deceitful eyes. He offered her no apologies, no kind words; he simply asked her if she would be 'better.'
What kind of monster was he?
"Yes," came the hoarse whisper. "I'm sorry for talking to him. It won't happen again."
Amelia hated herself for falling under his control, but if she didn't do what he said, there would be worse consequences than the ones she had just endured.