Chapter One
Waiting in my cell is pure torture. Perched on a rock-hard cot, I stare at the door, hunting for any sign of movement. Four hours down.
Finally, the jingle of keys shatters the silence. I look up. Right on schedule, Bertha the Cross-Eyed makes her entrance, faithful to her role as the ultimate pain. She's wearing a uniform that's way too tight, topped off with the usual crime against humanity, smeared eyeliner.
"Théa. Time to go."
I take my time standing up, following her to a cramped room where she shoves a plastic bag of my belongings into my hands. I savor the moment, slowly reinserting my ear piercings, sliding on my rings, and adjusting my pendant.
"Hope this is the last time we see you here, got it?"
I give her a blank stare. Her lecture bounces right off me. Digging through my black shoulder bag, I find my pack of cigarettes. I wedge one between my lips, itching to light it.
"I'm not joking, Théa. This is your third time..."
I ignore her, popping my earbuds in. She sighs, annoyed, and escorts me out without another word.
The sun hits me, after months indoors. I pull out my black heart-shaped sunglasses and slide them on with a theatrical flourish. Once outside, I finally light up. The first drag pulls a sigh of relief from my lungs, but a car horn yanks me back to reality. I lower my glasses slightly, intrigued.
A woman is waving at me from the driver's seat of a convertible, way too enthusiastically. She's rocking an immaculate sky-blue shirt and matching white pants, her long blonde hair whipping in the wind. She's screaming my name like I'm miles away. I tilt my head back and let out an exasperated sigh.
"Why me?"
Reluctantly, I trudge toward the car. The woman, who I guess is in her forties, jumps out and immediately tries to hug me. I stand there, stiff as a board. Touchy-feely stuff? Hard pass.
"Mom, I'm starving and the girls are waiting..."
The whiny voice finally tips me off to the teenager slouching in the back seat. She looks like a younger, angrier version of the woman currently crushing my ribs. Her long legs are draped carelessly over the open door.
The woman turns with an annoyed sigh. "Lily, please. At least say hi to Théa."
Lily rolls her eyes, offering a barely polite wave.
Undeterred, the mother turns back to me, bursting with almost contagious enthusiasm. "I'm so happy to finally see you, honey! Everyone's been waiting for you..."
"You've been waiting, Mom," Lily mutters.
The mom ignores the jab, her smile tight. "Come on, get in. You must be starving. Alice made a meal, and trust me, her meat is the best in town."
She hops back behind the wheel. I slide into the passenger seat in silence, my cigarette still dangling from my fingers. I take a slow drag, savoring the brief reprieve.
She shoots me a sideways glance, her tone falsely cheerful. "Well, lucky the top is down, right?"
I stay silent, staring into the distance.
"By the way, I'm Juliette. But you can call me Juju if you want."
In the back, Lily grimaces with dramatic intensity. "Please, Théa. Don't ever do that."
A fleeting smile touches my lips. Juliette starts the engine, oblivious to the tension, and we take off.
After what feels like an eternity, the car stops in front of a massive house surrounded by majestic trees. The kind of place you see in magazines, never in real life. A small army of gardeners is busy trimming hedges to perfection and meticulously watering flower beds.
Juliette practically bounces out of the car. Lily drags herself out behind her.
I step out, taking one last drag before crushing my cigarette against a pristine white wall. Stepping inside, I'm hit by the sheer scale of the place. It's a mix of grandeur and ostentatious luxury. Chandeliers hanging from ceilings so high they could touch the sky, marble floors gleaming, every detail curated to impress.
I push my sunglasses up onto my head, glancing around, slightly disoriented.
"So? What do you think of the decor?" Juliette's voice rings out, bubbly, as if expecting applause.
I stay silent. Impressed despite myself, but determined not to give her the satisfaction.
"Come on, follow me. I'll give you the tour."
Juliette doesn't wait for an answer, guiding me through the house with boundless energy. We start with a massive living room, all immaculate white, so clean you'd hesitate to step foot in it. Then she drags me to the back, where an oversized garden stretches out endlessly. A pool glitters under the sun, flanked by a luxurious jacuzzi and lounge chairs.
"Impressive, right?" she adds proudly, not waiting for a response.
We head down to the basement, where a fully equipped game room sits with a built-in bar and a brand-new pool table. "My husband loves hosting his friends down here."
Upstairs, she points out the bedroom doors without stopping. Lily's is impossible to miss, plastered with posters and stickers. Ethan's, her son's, is stark and bare, just a plain white door. Finally, she indicates mine, which looks perfectly tidy from the outside. Then, she halts in front of a closed, varnished wooden door nearby.
"And this is my husband's office. No one is allowed in, not even me." Her tone is light, but I catch a hint of discomfort. She shows me the master suite, a room so big it could be an apartment on its own.
We head back down to the kitchen, where a woman I assume is Alice is busy with dishes. Her apron is spotted with food, but her expression is focused, like she's in her own world. We move on to the dining room, where an impressive banquet awaits on a massive wooden table, covered in mouth-watering dishes.
"Come on, sit down. You must want to taste everything!"
I comply, intrigued. Despite the size of the house and the mention of family, it's just the two of us at this huge table.
"You must be wondering where the rest of the family is, right?" she starts, as if reading my mind. "Well, Lily went out to eat with friends, Ethan is with his girlfriend, and my husband is tied up with a business meeting."
Her voice wavers slightly, betraying a hint of sadness she tries to mask with a smile. "Let's eat."
She sits across from me, her eyes sparkling with slightly forced enthusiasm, and serves me a bit of everything.
By the time the meal winds down, I've refilled my plate countless times, but I can't eat another bite. Juliette wasn't lying, that meat was the best I've ever had. I stand up, hesitant.
"Can I go to my room?"
She looks up, surprised, but her smile returns instantly. "Oh, of course! Make yourself at home, honey."
I offer a forced smile in thanks and leave the dining room. I climb the stairs slowly. Once upstairs, I realize I don't remember which door is mine. They all look identical in the long hallway, except for Lily's. I hesitate between the two plain doors, then take a guess and push one open.
What I find on the other side is the last thing I wanted to see. A boy I assume is Ethan is in the middle of hooking up with a brunette girl who's letting out uncontrollable moans. Suddenly, their furious eyes lock onto me.
"Get out!"
His voice echoes in the room. Before I can react, he grabs something and hurls it at my face. I stumble back, slamming the door shut. My heart is pounding, and I shake my head, trying desperately to scrub the image from my mind.
I head to the second door, more cautious this time. Opening it, a sigh of relief escapes me. This is the one. My stuff is piled at the foot of a massive bed. I do a quick scan and spot an en-suite bathroom. Exhausted, I walk to the edge of the bed and collapse, instantly plunging into a deep sleep.
I open my eyes in the dark, disoriented. The room is silent. I turn my head to see the nightstand clock glowing. 2:00 AM.
I sit up, rubbing my face with a weary hand. The fatigue is still there, but I know sleep won't come back. I get up and walk to the window. The view overlooks the vast garden, bathed in pale moonlight.
My gaze lands on the pool, the water steaming slightly from the heat. I head to the large wardrobe and open it. A row of neatly arranged clothes awaits me, except every single piece is pink. I frown, exasperated, before resignedly grabbing a two-piece swimsuit. I tuck my cigarette pack between my hip and the bikini strap and slip out of the room silently.
I creep down the stairs and step outside, where the cool night air makes me shiver. The pool calls to me. Without hesitation, I toss my cigarettes aside and dive into the warm water. The sensation is instantly soothing. The water wraps around me like a cocoon, chasing away any intrusive thoughts. I do a few laps before leaning back against the edge, face turned toward the stars.
I reach for my cigarette pack left nearby, pull one out, wedge it between my lips, and light it. I take a long drag, letting the nicotine mix with the tranquility of the night. For the first time in a long time, I'm not thinking about anything but the present moment.
Suddenly, a splash shatters my peace. Someone jumped into the pool, way too close for it to be an accident. I look at my soaked cigarette with a grimace before checking the pack. Luckily, the rest seems dry. I pull out another, light it, and wait patiently for the person to surface.
Juliette's son's head emerges, dripping wet, a satisfied smile stretching his lips.
"That's for disturbing me earlier," he says triumphantly.
I take a drag, annoyed. "You could've locked your door," I snap.
He starts swimming, crossing the pool with nonchalant fluidity. "True," he says, turning slightly toward me with a smirk. "But there's something exciting about getting caught."
I say nothing, blowing a cloud of smoke as I watch him continue his laps. But on his third pass, he changes course and slowly swims toward me. When he reaches my side, he rests his arms on the edge next to me. Silence settles between us, punctuated by the gentle lapping of water. I feel his gaze on me and turn my head, uncomfortable. He finally laughs, splashing my cigarette again before climbing out.
"I think you and I are going to get along just fine," he says as he walks away.
