Page 13 of Shattered
I nodded. “Dahlia told me that I could sell my art here.”
I crossed my fingers that he would ask for a price, but when he didn’t say anything, my heart sagged a little. He sat on the plush black couch, and I sat across from him. I pulled out a copy of the Terms sheet from underneath the couch.
“This paper details what can be negotiated.” I jotted down my hourly rate at the top. “This is my base price. I’m free to do whatever is on the sheet. Even the—”
A knock sounded on the door. A familiar shadow was in the window. I had forgotten to hit the button to change the door’s light to occupied. I went to open it: Jake, one of my closest friends.
“Jake!” I said.
“Sorry, I was—” he stopped and did a double-take. “Holy crap, Mel! Dahlia let you out of the dog house?”
We embraced, and while I knew that I was cutting into my time with Garrett, I figured that this was as good of a time as any to test the new club member’s reactions. A friendly chat with one of the security guardswhilewe were in a Terrarium together, was not how most club members wanted to spend their time. They could be vocal about it, which told us how to proceed.
“Do you mind if we?” I asked Garrett, nodding at Jake.
Garrett held up the Terms sheet. “Pen?”
I grabbed one from under the couch and handed it to him, then I turned back to Jake. His ruffled brown hair looked particularly boyish, but the uniform made him fit the role of a security guard. He was not part of the mob paid toactuallyprotect us from the police (or prevent us from leaving), but he was part of the general house staff. The first line of action when bad things happened.
“I can’t believe what happened to Colin,” he said. “I’m so sorry, Mel.”
“I’m sorry too.” I shook my head. “But he was a little shit and you know it.”
“But no one deserves to die like that, you know?”
I wasn’t sure. Colin had done some pretty horrific things in his life. I had been smart enough to stay out of his way once I figured that out, but I’m sure that didn’t hold true for most people he knew. If Jake were half of the size he was now, I doubted Colin would have been as nice to him.
“Did the police come?” Jake asked.
I nodded. “They were there until almost five a.m.”
“Good thing you’re nocturnal,” Jake joked, hitting me on the back. “So did the killer really come to your house? Iris said something about it. I guess Dahlia told her?”
My eyes flicked down to the floor. “Yeah, he was there.”
“Did he hurt you?” Garrett interrupted.
He was sitting up now, the Terms paper folded at his side. Both hands rested on his knees, waiting for my response. Why did he care about whether or not I was hurt? He didn’t know me.
“No,” I said, rubbing my neck absentmindedly. “He just left.”
“You could’ve called me,” Jake said.
“It was over within seconds. It’s not like he stayed for tea.”
Jake shrugged. “You know what I mean.”
I hadn’t had the instinct to call Jake in a long time. He used to be the first person I called when I was down until I noticed an unusual pattern around him. We’d get drunk, and though I was usually pretty good with my liquor, when I was with him in that frame of mind, I always blacked out. He made sure to watch over me, even then, but sometimes, it seemed like he had a different intention.
Garrett remained seated, leaning against the couch as if it were his throne. At least now, I didn’t consider marriage as a way to escape the Dahlia District. I had a better head on my shoulders. Sugar daddies weren’t an option, because there was no real truth. Everyone was hiding something. Maybe even Jake. And Garrett.
Maybe the serial killer, that beloved Angel, was somehow more real than anyone I knew. He may have hidden behind a mask, but death itself was straight forward to him. In his eyes, they didn’t deserve life. So he took it.
Once Jake left, Garrett stood and handed me the form. “What is it thatyouwant to do on this list?”
I stared at him blankly. It wasn’t the first time a club member had tried to put the pressure of choosing activities on me, as if he actually cared about what I wanted, when he didn’t. It was usually another facade to get through, to make it seem like it was about my fantasies. It never was.
But I could play that game. It just took a little prying.
