“It has been a week and I haven’t heard anything,” Thea said, leaning back in the patio chair and closing her eyes against her headache.
Jessica was picking at her nails while sitting on the grass. “I don’t know what to tell you babe. Usually, we would have heard from him by now. He’s not a patient man.”
“He isn’t a man.” It always bothered Thea that she had to remind Jessica of this. The monster was too good at pretending to be one of them, but she wouldn’t let him get one over on her.
“Whatever he is he clearly isn’t interested in you.”
Thea cringed. She knew that Jessica was just pointing out what they all knew but it still hurt. What had she done to fail so badly at this task? All she had to do was get close to him. She had been given the perfect opportunity to win him over when they met, and she had thought it had gone well. Apparently not. The others were going to be so disappointed when they came for an update, and she had nothing to give them. The thought alone made her feel sick.
She needed to do something. Maybe if she went to his home again then he would see her and remember that they were supposed to meet. Yeah because he’s forgotten, a voice in her head mocked, that was the problem.
“There has to be some way to get his attention.” Thea got up and started for the door.
“I dunno babe, be careful. There are a lot of guards here that keep an eye on him.”
Thea was well aware of that, but she had to do something. Besides, maybe if she got arrested he would notice her. God she hated being the kind of girl who was vying for a man’s attention even if it was for a just cause.
She stormed out onto the front lawn when a voice stopped her in her tracks.
“You’re going to spy on him again I take it?”
Thea whirled to find Sharron watching her. The other girl was leaned on the wall and giving her a hard stare. Thea was pretty sure she never blinked, and it freaked her out.
“I’m not spying on anyone.” Technically she was trying to get his attention. The spying part would come later.
Sharron scoffed and glared. “Do you think I’m blind or stupid?”
“I don’t have time for this,” Thea said. The last thing she needed to be doing right now was spending her time trying to make friends with the most aggressive girl she has ever met. What did it matter if Sharron didn’t like her anyway?
Walking away she almost relaxed until she heard the thudding of steps following her own.
“Whatever you think you are doing here I would advise you to quit now.”
Thea rolled her eyes. When would this girl get off telling her what to do? “Thanks for the advice but all I’m trying to do is go for a walk.” Hoping to lose her in the narrow-ruined streets Thea picked up her pace.
“If that’s the best lying you can do then I won’t have to put up with you for long.”
Thea grit her teeth. Sharron’s voice was clear enough to tell her she was keeping up no problem. Great.
“Don’t you have anything better to do? Stop following me.” Thea wove her way through the thin crowd. Most of the people she passed were bleary eyed and groaning about headaches.
“I’m trying to protect Jessica.” Sharron suddenly grabbed her arm in an iron grip and spun her around. Thea staggered away from her and tensed. If this girl wanted a fight then she would give her one to remember.
“Don’t touch me.”
Sharron’s lips drew back with disgust, and she took her time scanning Thea head to toe. “Don’t worry I don’t have any interest in you. Unfortunately, Jessica has somehow gotten wrapped up in whatever nonsense you are involved with. She is my friend, so you have her to thank for this warning.”
“What would I ever do without the two of you?” Thea knew she was behaving like a child, but she was under a lot of stress, and she didn’t need this bitch breathing down her neck.
“I’m not the only one keeping an eye on you, moron.” Sharron threw a look around them, as if someone was waiting in the shadows of the ruined buildings. “There are guards everywhere and they have noticed your odd behaviour and obsession with meeting Marcus.”
“I’m not obsessed.”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter what you think. They have noticed you lingering around his house. That’s likely where you were going now.”
Thea pressed her lips together. It proved nothing that she had guessed that.
“Look, I won’t pretend that I’m looking out for you, I could care less what happens to you. But Jessica is my friend, and you are linked to her now. You are a stranger who is interested in the leader for some reason they cannot guess. You were caught lingering around his home, and you don’t party like the rest of us, you just watch. It’s too obvious that you are up to something.”
“Maybe I only party with the right people.”
Sharron growled and balled her hands into fists by her sides. “You don’t get it. If you get caught doing something wrong then Jessica will be punished as well. She brought you in.”
“What do you suggest then? I get drunk?”
“I don’t know because I don’t know what you are trying to do.” Sharron had lowered her voice and came closer to Thea. Silence extended between them as she watched Thea intently. Was this supposed to be the moment when she told her everything? Thea would rather die than share her mission with someone who so willingly submits to the monsters who stole the world from them. People like Sharron didn’t even bother to fight back. They lived in the regions like spoiled fat cats, willing to do anything to stay on the good side of their masters. If Thea told her about the plan and where she had come from then she would likely run to Marcus and tell him everything to earn brownie points with the king. No, no matter what Thea couldn’t trust anyone in here. She wasn’t even sure that Jessica would keep her secret, she didn’t need more risks involved with the mission. Although she would have to change her tactic if Sharron was right, and the guards were watching her. Drawing attention to herself was the last thing she wanted to do. There had to be another way to get Marcus to warm to her. She shivered at the immediate thoughts that came into her head. No way was she going that far for the cause. But maybe the idea behind it held some merit, maybe if he thought she was interested in him like that he would lower his guard. It all depended on whether she could stop herself from vomiting while flirting with him.
Sharron shook her shoulder roughly. “Are you brain damaged?”
Remembering that she was supposed to be responding to her Thea painted on her best smirk. “I’m not up to anything. I’m going for a walk.”
Clenching her jaw and digging her nails painfully into Thea’s shoulder, Sharron practically snarled in her face. “Fine, don’t tell me. I will figure it out on my own. Just do me a favour and don’t get caught until I know how to protect Jessica. After that you can go and die for all I care.”
Spittle followed her final words and landed on Thea’s face. Unwilling to give her the satisfaction of watching her wipe it off, Thea waited until Sharron stormed away before she cleared her face. So, she was angry and gross, good to know. If nothing else she had given Thea some valuable information. She was being watched and she needed to give them a reason they could believe for her being so interested in Marcus. It just so happened that she might have an idea of where to start.
“Well, if you are trying to get into his bedroom this is a good way to do it.” Jessica was laid out on the metal frame bed and thin mattress. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun, and she was wearing a white dress with yellow flowers on it. She had a brooch over a section on the top left, it was covering a small blood stain.
Thea was in the middle of the room. They were on the second floor in what must have been a bedroom at some point. To the right there was a large bucket with water dripping into it through a hole in the roof. The gentle tapping of it was almost as fast as Thea’s heart was hammering.
She was looking at herself in the makeshift mirror Jessica said had been a gift from Freddie. It was an assortment of wingmirrors arranged together on the wall. The result was many fragments of her image reflected back at her. The red leather trousers she had on were faded and torn at the knees. The only top that Jessica had found that fit her was a tight tube top with a low neckline and lace near her cleavage. Thea hated how the outfit made her look. Very little was left to the imagination. It wasn’t that she was insecure, she hadn’t ever had enough food to put on significant weight, but she didn’t like the idea of flaunting herself like this in front of a man. Especially one who was more monster than man.
“She looks fab. Plus, if she is trying to catch his eye then this will certainly work. She will defo be picked at the end of the night.” Cora was scrapping the inside of an eyeshadow pallet. Thea was fairly sure there was nothing left in it, but the other girl must be finding something because she occasionally lifted her finger and smudged it over her eyelid.
“Picked?” Thea’s blood ran cold at the implication.
Cora paused with her smudging. “Yea. You didn’t know that? Every night after the party Marcus picks some girls to go back to his room. If you are looking hot and make it clear that you like him then you are a shoe in.”
Bile climbed up Thea’s throat. He chose one of them, like dolls in a shop, and they were meant to be grateful to have his time. A great swell of pity washed over her as she surveyed the girls in the room. They thought this was okay, worse they seemed to think it was fun. Her face paled when she regarded her reflection again. She looked like she was trying too hard in her opinion.
“Dammit, Cora do you have any lipstick left?” Jessica propped herself up and squinted into one of the mirrors. Her lashes were stained black, and she was pinching her cheeks, giving them a rosy quality.
“Sorry, I used the last of it a week ago.”
Thea turned this way and that. “I don’t know why you guys bother. Boys don’t paint their faces for us. Besides, its so hard to find any makeup now that most of the stuff is old and hard to work with anyway.” Thea didn’t have much knowledge on makeup, she had never owned any, but a woman who used to live in the camp had told her that there was a time when women would have worn it every day. Too bad she froze last winter; she could have shed a little more light on the subject.
Jessica flipped her hair and laughed. “You think we put this on for the boys?”
“You don’t?”
Cora sighed and discarded the pallet on the dusty floor. There was a litany of rubbish there for it fall on to so it hardly made a sound.
“Babe! I told you not to throw things on the ground anymore. Dig a hole for them or something,” Jessica said to Cora. Turning back to Thea she smiled sweetly. “We don’t do it for them, we do it because its fun. Its just a happy coincidence that it can also make us look fabulous.” The two girls giggled and winked at each other.
A strange feeling started in Thea’s gut along with an irrational angry at them for being so close. Didn’t they know it was the end of the world? There was no time for best friends. That’s why Thea didn’t have one, right? Maybe Greta could count but they had never been like these two were with each other. They were both more sensible than that.
Something in her face must have given away her distain because Jessica cleared her throat and went on to justify herself, thinking Thea was focusing on the makeup thing.
“We need to find things that are fun now more than ever. The world is not like it used to be so why not do our makeup and party like fools?”
Thea didn’t think she wanted an answer to that. There were plenty of reasons. The main one being that they could better spend their time fighting back against the monsters that had stolen the world from them. Being complacent never got anyone anywhere. If they really thought about it surely they would see that leaving the regions and siding with the remaining humans was the better option. Apart from anything else it meant not abandoning your entire race.
Taking another long look at herself in the grimy mirrors Thea wondered again how far she would go to help humanity. But she couldn’t think about that right now.
When Thea was almost at the stairs Cora took hold of her hand. It was so sudden that Thea whipped free of her and spun, fists raised. Cora didn’t notice her, instead she was peeking over the banister at the hall below. Jessica met her eyes and shook her head. It clearly meant there was no need for violence.
Cora stood up on her tiptoes and yelled down the stairs. “We are ready!”
Thea rolled the tension out of her shoulders and glanced at Jessica. “Why don’t we just go and get them?”
Before Jessica could speak Cora whirled to face them, her mouth dropped open. “Because they need to see our grand entrance!”
Grand entrance?
Jessica adjusted her hair and lined up at the top of the stairs. Thea seriously hoped they didn’t intend to go down in a procession. There were several steps missing and rubble obscured most of the way down.
Footsteps downstairs let Thea know that someone had come into the hall.
“We’re here. Let’s get this show on the road,” Freddie yelled. Thea didn’t like the idea of putting on a show for Freddie. She got the feeling he was already getting the wrong impression of what their relationship might be. She made a mental note not to even meet his eyes when she got to the bottom of the stairs. Jessica went first, Freddie whooping and cheering the entire time. A mumbled voice came from somewhere nearby, but it was too low for Thea to hear what it said.
Next was Cora. Fluffing her hair, she strode over the broken steps like a model on the runway. It was amazing that she didn’t even break stride when she hit the huge rocks, instead stepping over them like a pro.
“I know, I look fabulous!” she said.
Thea took a shaky breath. It was strange that she should be dreading walking down some steps so much. She had lived in danger for her entire life and while she had been scared then it seemed like this should be easy by comparison. Still, her stomach was doing somersaults and a chilly sweat dripped down her spine.
Swallowing hard she reminded herself that she was going to have to get used to making a show of herself if she hoped to catch Marcus’s attention. He was surrounded by women who would throw themselves at his feet. She had to stand out somehow.
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