Violent Delights

by Boggs, Hannah;

  Zeke smiled but she could tell it was a nervous one. “Sure thing. I’ll take you right to her.”

  He finally stepped aside and let her into their gloriously air conditioned home. She sighed quietly and ran her fingers through her hair to make herself more presentable. The hallways were almost familiar to her, but she couldn’t get the feeling out of her that they were always growing and changing like a labyrinth. Some of the decor had changed but they were mostly subtle things like the color and type of flowers.

  Most of the heavy wooden doors were closed as they passed by them but Odette tried to keep her attention forward in any case. She didn’t want to be looking around and accidentally see him lounging on a couch, reading.

  Her hand still hurt and was a light shade of green. She could even make out where his fingers had been on one side. Thankfully, her mother and father hadn’t noticed anything. If they did, she’d probably tell them she got it when she had almost been shot.

  Zeke led her past the dining room that she had eaten in when she first came to the Mages’ house, and through another seemingly never-ending hallway. At the very end of it, the sound of girls’ voices were becoming clearer by the second. He stood by the door where the voices were coming from and rapt on it a few times.

  Greer opened the door with a glare. “Yes?” she hissed.

  Zeke didn’t even blink. “Miss Odette is here.”

  The brunette finally noticed Odette who was standing slightly behind Zeke. Her glare let up instantly and she smiled, her hands snatching up Odette’s quickly. Odette tried not to wince as she pressed onto the bruise.

  “Odette! I’m so happy to see you.” Greer hugged her, forcing Odette’s face into her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you if I was coming sooner. I didn’t know if I could myself.” Odette was released from the other girl and pulled into the room. The room was what she guessed was called a sunroom. It was nearly all glass and it looked out at a small garden. There were small green plants that hung around over them, but the main features were the three long couches that ran the length of the room. A table had been set up with an array of sweet breakfast-like foods and what she assumed was orange juice in fancy glasses, but, knowing Greer, it could have been a mimosa.

  Bonnie and Nadia were lounging on one couch, a small plate with a single croissant resting on each of their laps. They were watching her with an expression that could only be described as predatory. It was the same look those women at the church were giving her. They wanted to know about Grayson.

  Odette smiled at them politely. “Hey, guys.”

  Greer must have done something behind her back because they stared down at their plates rather sheepishly. Bonnie busied herself by picking her French pastry and nibbling on it, not even looking at her friend.

  “Come over here, you must be hungry,” Greer said. She loaded Odette’s plate up with an assortment of the foods that were there, some of which Odette knew she wouldn’t eat but she didn’t want to say anything.

  Greer practically shoved Odette onto an unoccupied couch and the food was placed into her hands in a hurry.

  “Drink?” she offered.

  “No thanks.”

  Greer perched herself on the edge of the same couch she was on, smiling at her. “So, how have you been?”

  Heavily medicated. “Pretty good. The concussion is going away.”

  “Grayson—” Bonnie started but she was cut off by a sharp jab in the stomach by Nadia. The red head coughed and sputtered but flushed as she realized her error.

  “It’s okay,” Odette said. She turned to Greer. “How’s his injury?” Not that I actually care.

  Greer had a funny look on her face. “He’s healing. Grays has always had a high tolerance for pain, so it doesn’t bother him much. You wouldn’t believe all of the get-well-soon cards and bears that have been sent to the house by his fangirls. It’s nauseating.”

  Odette tilted her head, she wondered if Greer was trying to make her feel jealous. “They care about him,” she said simply.

  Greer laughed. “They care about his pretty face. They care about getting noticed.”

  Odette shrugged, chewing on a grape. She didn’t have any more to say on the subject.

  “Is he still locked up in his room?” Nadia asked. She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and looked like she was ready to sprint up to his room if given the chance.

  “Psssh, you make it sound like it wasn’t voluntary,” Greer said, sipping her still questionable orange drink. “Yes, he is. But I won’t be surprised if he comes out for a five-minute break. After all, his favorite person in the world is here.”

  With that, Nadia visibly wilted. Odette wished she had one of Greer’s drinks now. She put a cheese cube in her mouth and chewed on it angrily. It wasn’t her fault that Grayson acted so … weird! She didn’t even know what to call it—extremely possessive, maybe? Abusive? That seemed too harsh, but …

  “Don’t sweat it, Odette, we are your friends. We won’t let him near you if you don’t want to be,” Greer reassured her but there was a mocking undertone to her voice. All the same, Greer didn’t look like she was teasing her. Her smile was sincere but she had seen how Grayson had so easily faked being nice.

  “Thanks.”

  Greer wasn’t Grayson. She wouldn’t do anything like that.

  “He wouldn’t tell me anything when he came home,” she explained. “So, I don’t know what’s going on between you two but you can talk to us. We’ll listen and help if you need us to. Or, if you don’t want to talk, then that’s fine too. I just want you to be happy.”

  Odette just wanted her to drop the subject. “We just … I don’t even know. It’s complicated.”

  Bonnie leaned forward on her elbows, her plate was crushed underneath the weight but she paid little mind to it. “Complicated how?”

  “Odette doesn’t have to tell us if she doesn’t want to,” Greer cut in. “It could be that she’s just not ready or that she doesn’t want to burden us with her problems.”

  “You wouldn’t be burdening us,” Bonnie replied. Her elbow was now coated in butter and her croissant had a large hole in it.

  Odette toyed with her fingers, her face stuck in a grimace. “It’s really nothing I want to get into today.”

  Bonnie sniffed indignity and shriveled up like her friend. They both almost seemed like twins with their matching expressions and the similar colors of their dresses. Greer didn’t care about her friends’ change in attitude, though, and acted like nothing was wrong.

  “I think it’s almost time for our games, girls.”

  The “games” were never explained to Odette even though she asked. Greer only laughed, her headband twinkling in the sunlight while she shook her head.

  “It’s nothing to worry about,” she said. “Only simple party games. It’ll be fun.”

  It would be even more fun if the games were explained. Odette had only eaten a fourth of what was on her plate, but she wasn’t questioned by the other girls weather she was finished or not. They all seemed eager to start whatever Greer had planned, which only made her more anxious.

  “So, what are we playing?” Odette asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

  Greer motioned for Bonnie and Nadia to take away the empty cups and plates before she answered. “Just a little game of truth or dare.”

  Odette’s nose scrunched up. “Isn’t that a little … juvenile?” she asked.

  “Maybe,” Greer said, amused. “But we play it in a more extreme way. No petty tricks or truths. After all, we’re all big girls here, aren’t we?”

  Odette shrunk back. The way Greer said that sent unpleasant chills down her spine. These dares—or truths, for that matter—could be anything.

  Nadia sat down beside her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll start out easy for you.”

  It wasn’t all that comforting, if Odette was being honest with herself.

  Greer
started the game and she chose Bonnie as her victim. Bonnie picked truth and had to tell the group about her first kiss. For the moment, Odette was rather calm because nothing seemed too extreme.

  They pretty much avoided Odette altogether, except for Nadia who wanted to know if she and Grayson had kissed. Nadia had been rather disappointed to find out that the answer to that question was “yes” but Odette had made up for it by adding in details. Apparently, Nadia appreciated it and Odette was happy to be of service.

  Greer had been dared to steal a fifty from her grandfather who was, apparently, sleeping upstairs in his room. She came back a little less than ten minutes later with a very crisp-looking dollar bill in her fist and a smug look on her face.

  Bonnie had been dared to strip down to her underwear and run the length of the house. Odette had expected her to say no but instead got a dress in the face before hearing the sound of Bonnie running out of the room at top speed.

  “What happens if you don’t do the dare? Are there any consequences?” Odette asked. The girls had their noses pressed up against the glass and were waiting for a half-naked Bonnie to run past them at any second.

  “That’s up to the person who gives the dare,” replied Greer. “But everyone does theirs.”

  Nadia had been dared by Bonnie—several turns after her run—to go upstairs to Grayson’s room and confess her feelings to Grayson. The girl looked so afraid and she couldn’t help but fearfully look to Odette like she would be upset with her.

  “Nadia, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. That just sounds mean,” Odette quickly interjected.

  This didn’t help Nadia at all as she turned a faint shade of green. Bonnie snickered, saying something about payback for her dare but this was nowhere close. Greer did nothing to help.

  Nadia finally did stand up on two shaky legs, reminding Odette of a baby deer, and walked out of the room. It was quiet, too quiet, and Odette could hear her heart thumping loudly.

  “How will we know if she does it or not?” Bonnie asked.

  Greer shrugged, still acting unperturbed. “It’s your own fault you didn’t think about asking for proof.”

  Bonnie cursed and the three girls waited for what seemed like hours for the other girl to come back. When the door finally did open, Nadia wasn’t green anymore. She actually looked calm, which tipped off the darer that something wasn’t right.

  “You didn’t actually go to him, did you?” Bonnie questioned, poking the shorter girl in the chest.

  Nadia blushed but she shook her head. “No, I did. I knocked on his door and he told me to go away. He said he didn’t want to be involved in any of our games.”

  The turns kept going and going until Greer turned to Odette. “Truth or dare?”

  It was an obvious choice, Odette was going to keep everything safe and choose truth. However, when she opened her mouth to say it, all that came out was, “Dare.”

  Her own voice sounded foreign in her ears but she didn’t feel like correcting herself. She didn’t think the girls would let her anyway.

  The other girls oohed, smiling deviously. Their dares had been pretty bad but it had only been those two doing the daring. Greer hadn’t shown how “extreme” she could make the game and Odette had a feeling she would find out.

  “Follow me.”

  Never the good words you want to hear when you’re being dared.

  Odette stood obediently, smoothing out her sundress as she did so. Bonnie and Nadia were elbowing each other and stood up too. They stayed out of Odette’s direct line of sight but she could hear them giggling and whispering. Greer led them out of the sunroom and down the winding halls until they were back by the front door. She continued walking and didn’t look back once, her heels clicking haughtily against the floor.

  The next room that they came across actually shocked Odette. She thought to herself that she shouldn’t be too surprised considering they were wealthy; still, she had never seen anyone actually have an indoor pool before. It wasn’t in use at the moment, Odette realized as she walked inside. The pool cover was pulled taut over the pool and to the sides, but it was a clear plastic that allowed the girls to see the water underneath. The cover was stretched so tight that it looked like a trampoline and she could see where the hooks were straining to hold it.

  “What do you want me to do?” Odette asked quietly but her voice still echoed throughout the room.

  Greer watched her slyly. “I want you to walk across the pool cover.”

  It suddenly felt like the air had been sucked from the room. “What? Are you kidding? No! Greer, people die from doing things like that.” Her hands started to shake just from the thought of being forced onto the cover.

  “Oh please. Do you think that I would let you die? It’s perfectly safe.” Greer stepped closer to the edge of the pool, the toe of her strappy stiletto teasing the flap of the plastic.

  “I’m s-serious, that thing won’t hold my weight and I’ll sink. The cover will come up around me and suffocate me.” She was sure that the girls could see her trembling by now. Odette didn’t care about the game, what the girls would think of her, or what her father would say—she wanted to go home.

  Instead of answering her or telling her that it was a joke and that wasn’t her dare, Greer came to stand beside her. She looked her up and down for a minute, deep in thought. “I’m pretty sure you’re lighter than me. Watch this.”

  She practically leapt onto the plastic cover, her back straight and chin up. Odette actually screamed, reaching her arm out. She knew that, any second, one of the ends that held the cover down would come flying off and Greer would sink … or the heel of her stiletto would pop a hole in it.

  “Greer no! Get off, you’ll hurt yourself!” Her voice was shrill and the echo made it sound even higher pitched than it was.

  Still, the girl didn’t look back. She walked down the length of the pool with confidence, like it was a runway. Odette became certain at that moment that those amulets must be magic, or else that girl would have been swallowed up by the plastic already. It must have been some kind of crazy trust exercise to see if Odette could hang out with them, like a hazing or something.

  Greer hopped off of the pool cover—safely—on the opposite side. She didn’t look panicked in the slightest, so she must have known that nothing was going to happen. If she said that, then Odette should believe it too. Greer hadn’t led her astray yet.

  “Well?” Greer called, placing her hand on her hip.

  Odette’s heart was beating even harder and she could feel it in her legs. She swallowed hard, her mouth dry from fright. The edge of the water was teasing her, splashing up on the concrete.

  Tentatively, Odette placed one flat-clad foot on the cover. It did not feel sturdy at all, but this was about trust, right? Like a bizarre girl mafia and Greer was the Don. Her other foot was on the cover now and she stumbled forward, her arms outstretched.

  She tried to think of this as nothing but another ballet exercise, something that required her to use her core and balance. She couldn’t look down, she was shaky enough as it was. Odette watched the ceiling, pursing her lips to make her feel like she was closer to it than the water.

  She took a moment to glance at Greer, noticing that she was about halfway across the pool by that point, when she felt that she was a sinking like a rock.

  Odette barely had time to scream before she was sucked downwards, her arms flailing. She grasped at the air, hoping that something would magically appear to save her from her fate. The plastic closed around her like a vice, suctioning to her limbs, and blocking her leg’s frantic kicking. She screamed and screamed, panicking more than she should have been. Odette had remembered that, if something like this were to ever happen to her, she shouldn’t be panicking in order to conserve her air or something like that. Obviously, she didn’t listen to logic. She was in a cocoon of her worst fear, the plastic becoming tighter and tighter as the seconds passed.

  A strange thought wormed its way in
side her mind while she thrashed around in her prison. She thought that it should be dark, like nighttime. Instead, it was too bright and her eyes were wide open. She could see through the clear plastic and into the light blue water. She could make out the figures of the panicked girls above her … at least she thought they were panicked. It could have just been the ripples of the water. Odette could feel the telltale signs of a fainting spell coming—the abnormally hard heartbeat, lightheadedness, and the weakness in her muscles.

  NO! HELP ME, PLEASE!

  Her body stopped its movements despite her inward protests. She could feel how drained she was, how much energy it took to fight, and yet she was still full of adrenaline. She was trapped, she concluded, in her own body and couldn’t stop it when her eyes closed.

  The plastic had completely wrapped itself around her to the point where she didn’t know where it stopped and where her body began. It ghosted over her skin in some areas and, in others, it was tighter than a noose. Noose—the image of the dead man flashed into her mind and she understood that she would be like him soon. There was no stopping the inevitable.

  Odette’s vision turned black but she was still somewhat aware of everything around her, like the water rushing into her lungs. While her body started to convulse lightly, she could feel her consciousness dying out. Everything was on fire, which was such an odd thing to feel while dying in water. Her lungs burned, her throat burned, her eyes burned, but she only sank and sank until she hit the bottom of the pool.

  XVI

  Odette’s eyes burned and she hadn’t even opened them yet. Contrary to what happened with most people, she remembered exactly what happened the last time she was awake. She could still feel the water surrounding her and the plastic hindering her movements. Her body jerked violently, arms pulling against the plastic, and her legs flailing. She gasped, expecting to inhale more water from the pool like before, only to find out that she could actually breathe. Her eyes flew open and she came face-to-face with a scratchy white blanket. She wasn’t under water but being covered made her panic, so she kicked the blanket off of her as fast as she could.