Page 17 of Dare To Fall

“It’s Lacy. She’s unlocking her door,” he whispers.

The minute of waiting feels like hours, and I’m shaking with nerves over the thought of getting caught.

“Go.” Miles’ hand on my back surges me forward out into the hallway. “See you later.”

I rush along the hallway and almost drop my key when I fish it out of my pocket. Unlocking the door, I slip inside and lock it behind me. There’s a long black dress bag draped over my bed and a pile of makeup beside it. A shoe box is on the floor. I dump my armful of clothes on top of the chair beside the desk and find the phone Sin gave me. I text Eli.

Me: I’m back in my room.

Sin: Alright. We’ll see you tonight.

Once I’ve read his reply, I turn to the bed and pick up the dress bag. I unzip it and reveal a white dress inside. The makeup I’ve been left with is in neutral, natural shades. The shoe box contains strappy white heels.

Why white?

I’d been expecting something slutty and outrageous. They’ve gone out of their way to humiliate and use me, so why is the outfit so subtle?

My other phone pings. I pull it out of my pocket and swipe the screen with my finger, bracing myself for whatever is waiting for me.

Unknown number: You have everything you need. We want you to wear your hair up exactly like this. Copy the makeup. We expect it to be perfect. Do not disappoint us.

A photo appears under the message. I stare down at the image of a blonde girl in a white dress.

Chapter 9

Eli

“I don’t like it.” I spin to face Kellan, who’s lying on his bed, ankles crossed and playing on his cell.

“I know. You’ve said so five times now.”

“You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed the similarities.”

He sighs, sets his phone on the mattress, and looks at me. “Yes, I’ve noticed them. “

“Then why the fuck are you just sitting there?”

“Because there’s nothing else I can do right now.” He stands. “Look, I know it’s hard for you to just watch and not do anything, but you need to keep it together. If whoever it is gets wind of the fact you know what they’re doing, it’s going to put Arabella in danger.”

What he wasn’t saying hung between us like a heavy weight. Our eyes meet and jerk away.

“It’s different this time, Eli. We know this part of the pattern. We can predict some of what’s coming.”

“Can we?”

“Have you sorted your clothes out?”

I glare at him.

“Eli. They want her to flirt with you. If you’re not there, she can’t do that, and that means they’ll tell her to do something else.” His voice is patient, like he hasn’t already said this a thousand times already. “We can control this as long as we know what they want.” He crosses to the closet and throws open the door. “Hmm. I forgot most of your clothes were destroyed. You’ll have to use mine.” He pulls out a pair of black dress pants and a just-as-black shirt. “Here. These will do. Go shower, then try them on, while I work out what we can use as masks.”

“Masks?”

“Masquerade Ball, Eli.” His voice is muffled as he ducks and rummages through the closet.

I take the clothes he holds out to me, grab underwear from the dresser, and retreat into the bathroom.

I don’t want to go to the party tonight. I have a really bad feeling about it. We’ve been here before. Getting ready for a party, a dare in play, and no idea how the evening is going to end.

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