Page 41 of Room Twenty-One: Our Little Kitten

He studied at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine as if he were looking for something he wasn’t sure was there.

“Despite the shock of it all,” he began. “I can’t seem to get it, or you, out of my mind.”

I was taken aback, unsure how to respond. I could only meet his gaze, waiting for him to say something more.

“But you’re right, we don’t need to talk about it. Things have a way of rectifying themselves with time.”

Something about the sly tone he used made me feel like he wasn’t letting go of the incident any time soon.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

KAT

Aweek after the ordeal with my stepdad, I’d put it behind me. I was thankful Father Mason insisted I call Officer Garcia to inform her of the intrusion and his attack. That would go against him in court if he went ahead and sued me. In reality, I was just glad he was gone.

The cool evening air bit at my skin. The institute’s yard was lit up with the warm glow of a large campfire, the crackling flames dancing in the evening sky. The other girls and I were sitting around the fire in an oversized circle on wooden logs, and their chatter filled the night like cicadas. I kept twisting my marshmallow roasting on my skewer. The Fathers decided we all needed a night outdoors, especially after the drama of my stepdad and everyone talking about it nonstop, along with how easily he accessed the institute. Evidently, the front gate had been left unlocked, but Father Mason assured us it wouldn’t happen again.

Next to me, Lily was meticulously toasting her marshmallow, her face scrunched up in concentration. On the other side of the fire, Louise was staring at me through the flickering flames, an odd expression on her face. She’d tried to sit near me earlier, but the log seat was made for only two. She hadn’t given up on the whole being my best friend, but I could tolerate her as long as she kept her mouth shut.

“What’s the deal with Louise?” Lily’s eyebrow raised curiously.

“Deal?” I feigned ignorance, rolling a marshmallow between my fingers.

“She’s been calling you ‘bestie’ like a broken record all week,” Lily responded, popping a marshmallow into her mouth, her gaze on me with curiosity.

“Oh, that.” I shrugged. “She kind of bribed me into being my friend.”

“She did what now?” Lily’s eyes widened in surprise, almost comical.

“I made her do one of my chores, and now she thinks we’re pals,” I clarified, needing to leave out the specifics.

“That’s... weird,” Lily concluded. “She’s desperate for a friend, huh?”

“I guess,” I replied. “Everyone wants to fit in somewhere, right? I think she’s harmless, just a little... intense.”

Leaning in closer, Lily cast a sly glance toward Louise, who was observing us with obvious curiosity. Dropping her voice to a whisper, Lily confessed, “You know, she was once caught sneaking into Father Logan’s room at night, undressing, and attempting to slip into his bed.”

My jaw practically hit the ground with surprise. I knew the girls had crushes on the priests, but this was extreme. “You’re kidding, right? She didn’t really…”

“Oh, she did.” Lily nodded, her expression dead serious. “Caused such an uproar, they ended up sectioning off parts of the institute as a result. Girl’s got a pretty intense crush on Father Logan. Not that I can blame her. All the Fathers seem to have that effect on most people here.” She giggled, then busied herself constructing another s’more.

“Wow,” was all I could manage, my mind racing. It suddenly clicked why she’d tried to warn me off Logan when I first arrived. It also made a lot more sense why Father Mason asked to leave the priests’ section of the institute so quickly when I’d inadvertently wandered into that area.

“The difference is that most of us can control ourselves, and in truth, after my ex dropped me after we got busted breaking into the 7-Eleven, I’m not ready for any kind of relationship right now. When he comes back to me once I get out, like he always crawls back, he’ll be sorry he ever crossed me.”

“Go you,” I cheered her on, then ate my s’more, the delicious sweetness spreading over my tongue. It was heaven, but I kept thinking about how everyone in the institute had their own demons to deal with. Maybe that was why I seemed to fit in so well.

“But on a different note, you know what sucks?” she said, poking at the fire with a stick. “Not being able to call people outside of here. I mean, even prisons let inmates make calls.”

“Yeah, that does seem a bit extreme.”

“We used to be able to, you know, back when Father Michael was here, but things changed with the new Fathers.”

That made me curious. “Really? I wonder why they changed it.”

Lily shrugged. “Who knows?”

“On the bright side, we get s’mores out by a fire. Bet no inmates in prisons get this.” I nudged my shoulder into Lily’s, both of us breaking into a giggle just as the chatter fell silent.

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