Page 153 of Ink Deep Devotion

Her brow arches.

“Thanks for the gloss.”

Chapter 55

Mila

It was all a lie.

I don’t know what I expect. Avery can’t pull this off. The room is packed, security is more layered than the paint on the old walls.

“Mila Michelson!” The school president calls my name and the audience erupts into applauds.

“Go!” The assistant gives me a shove onto the stage. The clapping and shouting dull to a buzzing sound as I nod and walk towards the outstretched hand holding my diploma. By the time I blink it is over. I’m walking off stage with my diploma trembling in my shaking fingers. I’m ushered behind the stage and placed in front of a photographer, a backdrop with fresh flowers and the university’s logo is waiting for me to stand in front of it.

I wait my turn as more students are called. After this picture, I’ll go back and watch the rest of the ceremony. My father and Dash will have their eyes locked on me, and there is absolutely no way we will escape.

“Your turn.” I’m nudged in front of the camera, as the photographer’s assistant fixes my hair and then arranges how I should hold my diploma. She steps back and grabs a large light reflection sheet the size of a small child, holding it in front of the line of eager students to be photographed.

“Make sure to smile.”

My breath is stolen! Avery is behind the camera, grinning widely. Her black hat partially conceals her, but I know her voice. When she clicks the camera, shock mixes with a blinding white light as it floods my vision. Then it all happens so fast. Gentle hands tug me back behind the curtain, and another girl who looks similar to me takes my spot as she grabs the diploma from my hand.

Time to think doesn’t exist. A wave of blond hair covers the face of the person who is leading me toward my new life. She bends down and lifts a hidden compartment that goes under the stage.

“Hurry.” Her peppy voice is so sugary that it tickles my throat. She flips her hair back, and my eyes widen.

“Barbie?” I gasp. Barbie is the definition of, well, the Barbie doll our parents crave women to be. She is poised, perfectly assembled, not a hair out of place, and listens to everything her parents demand of her. She is the head of the student council here, the shining example of what is idolized. Tall and blonde, she is always wearing pink, smiling, and never talking back.

She’s the perfect traitor; no one in our world would ever suspect her to lead a rebellion.

“In the flesh, but if you stall, it won’t be for much longer. Hurry up, you’re not the only girl we are saving today.” She points to the hole and then jumps down. I follow, but it’s so low we have to duck. The loud steps of people above us shake thepillars holding up the elevated stage. A slightly sour scent drifts down from the crowd above as it brushes over the sheen of sweat covering my forehead.

We reach another trap door hidden on the first floor of the auditorium.“Just follow me.” Barbie jumps down again, but this time, it’s into total darkness.

The air smells like unmoving dust trapped in the pages of a book long forgotten. Barbie squeezes my right hand as she walks carefully so I don’t trip.“Five years ago, the blueprints of the school were altered.” She navigates the black tunnel with ease.“We erased this tunnel and waited till new students arrive, this way their security had no idea about the changed blueprints. This tunnel was never used previously, so in time, it was forgotten by the teachers. It was the perfect escape route.”

“Where does it lead to?”

“Outside just beyond the entrance. There is a car waiting for us. We have two more girls after you. Avery will take the last. Then we will split up, going by car and then plane to our final destinations.”

“You’re running to?”

“It’s time.”

“Are you scared?” My voice echoes off the wall, peppering me with my own questions.

“I’d be a fool not to be, but I trust Avery; she has…resources that the other families don’t.”

“You mean The Rites of Passage.”

Barbie falters for the first time.“Yes,” she whispers, the tremble in her voice is as thick and consuming as the darkness.

“Do you think they will catch us?”

I hear her swallow,“I…I think the world is a small place, but parts of it are often overlooked. You know the saying, ‘hiding right under your nose.’ Our parents don’t like to look down, Mila; they look ahead. That’s all I can hope for, to fly under the radar for as long as possible. A moment of freedom is all I want. I’m not going to lie; we might not make it to the plane. Maybe they all know and will be waiting for us, but right now, in this tunnel, I feel free. I am free. That’s all that matters.” Her feet slow, her hand drops mine as she brushes it over the wall until, click! A door opens, and light floods my eyes. The heavy scent of pine and car exhaust makes my stomach squeeze. Four cars are waiting just beyond the door.

Barbie takes my hand again.“Make sure you live whatever life you find to the fullest.” She smiles a perfect smile a Hollywood dentist would bow down and praise.

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