“Hmmm.” I studied the curves of Brantley’s features. He had grown a lot over the past couple of years, aging into his new body gracefully. He was fourteen but looked more like sixteen. Lucan always had him busy doing family business things. I never knew what that was because I was never allowed out of this house unless accompanied by Brantley and only Brantley. Never a guard, just Brantley. He hid me, too. Never let me come out of my bedroom when his friends would come over. I didn’t mind.
“Medusa,” I said, smiling.
“You studying Greek mythology or some shit?” he asked, his thick brows curving inward.
I nodded, peeking into the glass. “Yeah, that’s why.”
I didn’t want to tell him that it was because he also reminded me of one of the Greek statues. Cold, pale, and lifeless.
I bring Medusa up to my face, searching her tiny beady eyes. She’s a little weird and always wants to eat. If I go too long without feeding her, she will try to eat me, and if that doesn’t work, she’ll try to eat herself.
So dramatic.
She’s my best friend. Well, she and Kore.
“Should I go down this time?” I whisper. I was highly disappointed when I found out Parcel Tongue was, in fact, not a legitimate language. I watch Medusa closely, as if waiting for her to answer while remaining far enough away from my face so she doesn’t snap at my cheek.
Standing from my bed, I move across the room and put her back inside her enclosure. “You just ate. Stop being greedy.” Her silky body slides over my arm as she slithers her way onto one of the small branches. I designed the inside of it just like this home. There’s a small mansion that’s made of steel which sits in the middle. The design is actually the house from The Addams Family. I just thought it looked similar to the manor and bought it off Etsy.
I turn and lean against the enclosure, finding Kore curled up on my bed, sound asleep with Hades beside her. Hades is Brantley’s dog and Kore is mine. Both Dobermans usually sleep outside my door, but when people are over, they’re in my bedroom. My white bedding will have black fur sprinkled over it in no time. Should I go down? I make my way to the mirror that’s built into the door of my closet. I could go. Brantley would probably get upset, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. A big part of me used to wonder why he never let me meet his friends, but then I remember this was Brantley. He still to this day controlled my every movement.
And I owe him.
I owe him so much.
I take in my appearance.
Yellow sundress with thin spaghetti straps. Not too loose, but fitted enough to show the curve of my hips. My hair falls over my shoulders in sleek waves, like an avalanche spilling over mountains, while my face appears far too pale for the heat that’s rushing around inside of me. I reach forward and touch the mirror. “Screw it.”
Picking up my white Converse shoes, I slip them on and make my way to my bedroom door. My fingers flex over the knob as Kore and Hades stir on the bed.
They know I shouldn’t be doing this as much as I know I shouldn’t be doing this.
I pull the door open and step outside, walking toward the first staircase which then leads to the main one. I pace myself as I make my way down, my eyes fixed on the floor and my fingers grazing over the aged wooden rails.
Silence cuts through the chatter and I know I’ve been spotted.
I bring my eyes up to face everyone. “Hi. I’m Saint.”
They look around at each other; some confused, others not so much. There has to be around ten people in here, along with a couple of adults.
“Ahh, I think this is our cue to leave,” an older man says. His hair is slicked back, with a spray of salt and pepper strands that cling to shaved sides. Tattoos crawl all over his hands and neck—so many tattoos. He takes the hand of the woman next to him and slowly escorts her out of the room. Just before they round the corner, they both cast a tight smile toward me. Pinched lips and droopy eyes. Strange. Yet both oddly attractive.
“What the fuck are you doing down here?” Brantley growls, taking the first few steps toward me all while snapping the awkward silence that clings in the air with an iron fist.
“Bran Bran!” A girl, the same one I saw in the gym not too long ago, interrupts him, her long pink hair tucked behind her ears. “It’s time.”
She knew about me? My cheeks heat. In fact, none of them seem really surprised to see me.