Page 44 of Infinity Chronicles 1
“What’s wrong?” My voice is thick with sleep. Kicking the blanket from my legs I push my feet to the floor and rise. The bed is low to the ground and covered in a heavy black comforter. That’s about all I have time to notice before Dante is in the room, stalking over to the bed and giving Ares’s back a shove. He grunts in response, still sleeping deeply.
“What the hell, why is he still sleeping?” Dante’s eyes search mine. “What were you guys doing that he’s still passed out?” Realization dawns, I know what he’s implying. I cross my arms over my stomach, hurt by his assumption.
This isn’t the first time Dante has assumed I’m an easy lay. I don’t bother giving him an answer, he wouldn’t believe me, but more importantly, I don’t owe him one.
“I’m so tired of your wishy-washy back and forth crap Dante. That’s twice you’ve treated me like a whore,” I growl at him through my teeth, uncaring if I wake up Ares or not.
His mouth pops open like I’ve shocked him. Did he think because I choose to go unnoticed at school that I was some wallflower? The thud of fast footsteps draws his attention to the hall. Ollie slides to a stop next to Dante, his eyes go from me to the bed, then up to Dante, then jerk back to the bed.
I look down too, Ares’s naked back is on full display. A little of the wind leaves my sails. I don’t know when he took his shirt off, but maybe Dante isn’t completely to blame for his assumption. Looking away I jut my chin out. It’s none of his business either way.
“Fuck off Dante,” Ares mumbles from the bed. All eyes watch as he pulls the pillow I was using over his head, covering it with his arm. I narrow my eyes—how long has he been awake and listening, and why didn’t he say something sooner?
When no one else bothers to say anything, I shove past Dante and Ollie. I take a few steps and stall. I have no idea where I’m going. It was way too dark last night to venture a guess at which way the kitchen is.
I spin on my heel. “Don’t we need to get to school? Why are you guys just standing there?”
A door opens across the room revealing a youngish dark-haired woman. Her legs look impossibly long in a pair of black stiletto trousers. A cream fitted sweater with a wide neck falls to just above her hips. My back straightens, and I run my hand over my messy hair. I’m caught in the middle. I don’t feel comfortable going back to Dante and I can’t walk past her either, she obviously belongs here and knows exactly where she is. I, on the other hand, can’t even find the door to get the hell out of here.
The mystery woman does a double take at my appearance. Her eyes linger on my bare feet and then at the door behind me.
“I came in early today. I couldn’t make the trip with Ares yesterday when he returned.” Her voice is soft and sweet, there’s a tiny hint of an accent, but nothing I could place. “Rather quickly,” she adds, her eyes narrowing on me.
Milo chooses that moment to come through from another archway. He pulls a carton of yogurt and spoon away from his mouth. “Hi Mia.” A small smile lifts his lips, he likes her. Maybe even really likes her. He takes a few steps and ends up standing right in front of me. “Haven’t seen you in a while, how ya been?”
Ollie steps up beside me and wraps his fingers over mine, with a tilt of his head he beckons me in a different direction. “Will your guest be here long Ollie? I need to know what to tell the others,” Mia calls as we’re making our way to the door. I drop my head; I know Ollie was trying to get rid of me before she could ask any questions. Milo was the distraction.
“Don’t worry about her,” Milo dismisses me easily. I tug my hand free from Ollie’s. These guys only see me as one thing, a battery.
“I want to go home now, please.” The pleasantry tastes like ash on my tongue.
Sixteen
Instead of taking me to the car, Ollie ushers me up the stairs to Dante’s studio above the garage. The brief time we spent outside clues me in that we’re late for school since the sun is high in the sky. It’s probably closer to noon.
Once upstairs I close myself in the bathroom, I need to pee. But more importantly, I need a few seconds without the weight of everyone’s expectations. Looking in the mirror I wince, my face is flushed, the loose ponytail I was wearing yesterday is gone, leaving my hair matted. I finger brush it as best as I can to tame some of the mess. There’s a bottle of mouthwash on the counter, which reminds me I didn’t brush last night.
I look over at the door confirming it’s locked and slowly open a few of the drawers as quietly as possible. I hit the jackpot on the first try, there’s a half full tube of toothpaste. After washing my hands, I squeeze a thin line of paste on my finger and scrub my teeth, I even tip the bottle of mouthwash up, making sure the bottle doesn’t touch my lips. A few swooshes later I’m as fresh as I’m going to get.
Even though I’m tempted, I don’t search through the other drawers. I found what I needed.
I’ve stalled as long as possible. I need to head out there and demand answers, then I need to get home. I’ve already missed too much school today to bother going in at all, besides, I need to get ready for work tonight.
When I open the door, I expect to find Ollie, maybe even Dante, but the place is empty. After peering over the railing to see if anyone was on the stairs, I make my way over to the kitchen sink to get a drink of water. How long do they expect me to stay hidden away up here? My stomach rumbles when I catch sight of the open pizza boxes, all that food gone to waste. We should have put it away last night.
The lower door opens and I spin, putting my back against the counter while still holding the blue plastic cup I found in the cabinet. Milo’s mop of light brown hair crests the railing. His eyes search around until they land on me, and Ollie is right on his heels.
“I need to get home.” My voice comes out a little softer than I intended, so I clear my throat.
“What’s the rush, your mom probably thinks you’re at school, unless you make a habit of staying out all night and skipping school?” Ollie tries to play his question off as a joke, but the lightness in his tone is off, forced.
“Can you give me a ride or not?” I put my cup into the empty sink and cross my arms over my stomach. I’m tired of these guys thinking they’re running the show. I haven’t had anyone but my mother to answer to, and that doesn’t even really count. My mom is so out of it half the time she can’t remember if I’ve even been home.
Milo looks over at Ollie then begins to explain, “We need to wait for Dante, it’s his car.” He’s not looking at me, in fact it’s like he’s avoiding me. I narrow my eyes, I’m about twenty seconds from demanding they drive me home, or just walking to get the hell away from them. It would take me an hour or two, but it’s not like I haven’t walked that far before.
I look around and I see this studio for what it really is. It’s their hangout, an older version of a fort or clubhouse. All the expensive toys, like the big screen TV and gaming systems, are just entertainment. I’ve been kidding myself, I don’t belong here. Never have, never will.
Where the hell do Milo and Ollie even live and why is Dante the only one with a car? I get that they are always together but give me a break. That’s a bit extreme.
