Page 75 of Snake

She’s stronger than she looks. Maybe she was on the swimming team in high school, because her upper body strength is astonishing.

Then she punches me.

The ground slams into me, a sudden numbness in my jaw spreading through my face. There’s a buzz in my ears and a cool, tingling sensation working its way through my head. Eliza grabs the front of my dress and hauls me back onto my feet.

I stare vacantly at her as she props me up against the basin. Her narrow, foxy face is pinched with anger, white but for some spots of red.

And here I thought she wouldn’t dare touch me. Guess I am an idiot. Damn it, but I hate the fact that Eliza got it right.

Jackson clips open her purse and takes out lipstick. “You want to be the Queen so bad, Winters, then be the fucking Queen.” She smears the lipstick on my forehead, I’m assuming in a cross like hers. Again and again, like a kid scribbling on craft paper. When she’s done, the end of her lipstick is all smooshed. But she turns to the mirror and applies a fresh coat to her mouth anyway, ignoring the pieces that crumble off.

Someone knocks on the door, and Eliza lets out a cheery, “One minute, please.”

She snaps her purse closed and gives me one last glare. “You chose the wrong side,” she whispers before letting herself out.

A girl that might have been a freshman at the Academy comes in, takes one look at me, and hurriedly locks herself in a cubicle.

Wish I’d done that.

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