XV

At Lighthouse of Christ, it seemed that every person there heard of what happened to Odette, specifically, her being in the hospital after the date with Grayson. Their concern was sweet but that wasn’t the main focus. They wanted the gossip. How her relationship with the great celebrity Grayson Mages was going. Odette was surprised at how, each time she came to this church, it got more and more uncomfortable.

“My granddaughter saw a picture of Grayson on that smartphone of hers and she said that he had a girl with him!” exclaimed one lady, Ida, who had grabbed ahold of Odette. “I said, ‘who is it’ and she said that she didn’t know, but I recognized your picture, yes I did. You looked so pretty and he looked so handsome. I was so devastated to hear that the date ended with the both of you in the hospital and all these rumors going around about what happened.

“And then I hear from Anne Landry, the sheriff’s mother who is my next-door neighbor, that a young girl has found a dead body in her backyard. I was mortified and I asked her what the name of the young lady was and imagine my surprise when I learned that it was you again. Poor girl, you can’t seem to catch a break, can you?”

Odette smiled, You have no idea. She opened her mouth to try and excuse herself but it seemed like Ms. Ida wasn’t done talking yet and held her there with her wrinkly hand.

“So, how are you and Grayson? He’s a very nice boy, yes, yes. How did you two meet? Is he good to you?” Ida asked, her beady brown eyes glittering greedily for all of the gossip.

Where the heck is my mother?! Odette screamed in her mind.

“U-um, well, we met at one of their magic shows … but the Mages family is actually our next-door neighbors, so that’s how we formally met. I’m friends with his sister and he and I just got closer.” Until he tried to break my wrist yesterday, but, other than that, we are peachy. Real husband material.

Odette turned her head to the side, craning her neck to see if she spotted either of her parents. Unfortunately for her, neither of them were in the sanctuary, but a lot of other older women were and they all stared at Odette like vultures. They all wanted to console her but they also wanted to know about her “boyfriend.” Maybe she should just tell them all that they aren’t technically together at the moment and hope that they lose interest.

A flash of silver caught her attention in the sea of silver-haired grandmothers. Instead of this one showing age, this silver hair was like a halo of liquid metal. She was surprised no one else had looked at this person.

“Excuse me, please. I have to go find my parents,” Odette said suddenly. She smiled as sweetly as she could and spun on her heel, following the shiny-headed person.

She exited through the arched door of the church, the muggy summer air hitting her full force. She squinted against the sun, looking around the parking lot for the mystery parishioner. She recognized him; the guy had been popping up lately but she couldn’t put her finger on how she knew him. It was very irritating.

A cold hand wrapped around her upper bicep, pulling her behind a wall. Odette squeaked, ready to kick whoever it was in between the legs. She whirled around and came face-to-face with the hair of the guy she was looking for.

“You!” she cried. “Who are you?! I know that we must have met before.”

“I-it doesn’t m-matter, m-miss,” the man stuttered.

Odette frowned and shrugged his hands off of her. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the guy. “Well, you can’t just pull me into a random corner without telling me who you are. Can I see your face?”

Just talking to someone’s hair was off the wall. Not to mention, a little rude.

“NO!”

A strong wave of déjà vu washed over her. Odette bent forward and squinted. She tried to make out his features through his bowed head and thick strands of hair. “Pine? No, that’s not even close,” she murmured to herself. “T-Toren? Thorn! Thorn, that’s your name, right? You help with the Mages’ shows?”

The man’s shoulders tensed. “Y-yes m-miss.”

“I think I’ve had a dream about you before,” Odette thought out loud. “Sorry, that probably sounds weird. Why are you here?”

Thorn hesitated before he talked. “Y-you’re in g-g-grave d-danger, miss. Yo-you need t-to leave Sunwick Grove b-before i-it’s too late.”

The hot breeze brought goose bumps to Odette’s arms. A strange reaction but she was certain that it was caused by his words rather than the wind.

“I’m sorry?” Odette laughed nervously at his vague warning. “I can’t just pack up and leave, you know that, right? I’m still a minor and I wouldn’t go anywhere without my parents. I don’t even have any money.”

Thorn looked up as much as he could, his whole demeanor agitated and uncomfortable. “M-miss—”

“I’m not in any danger either,” Odette added. “Except the danger of more hospital bills.”

“There-there is n-not much th-that can b-be done for you now, miss,” Thorn stated. “I-I just ho-hope you can s-survive i-it.”

Odette pinched her eyebrows together. She glanced behind her, surveying the area before she spoke again. “What are you warning me from?”

The churchyard had gone unusually quiet despite the number of cars still present outside. Most parishioners, Odette reflected, liked to talk outside when the service was over. It was cooler out in the open than it was inside the stuffy building, so what were they all still doing in there?

She turned her attention back to the man in front of her who seemed to be near tears. Odette stepped back a fraction, surprised. Thorn sounded like he was one wrong word away from crying the whole time they were talking, but actually watching his shoulders shake and hearing the whimpers startled her.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Thorn shook harder, whimpering like a dog. “I-I-I can’t s-s-say!”

“If you can’t say then why did you bother coming to warn me at all?” She was beginning to become fed up with the man but she would give him the benefit of the doubt. Odette reached out to give him a reassuring pat on the arm but the man recoiled. “Did Grayson send you to scare me?”

“N-no, miss, m-my m-masters have no-no idea that I-I’m here,” he sobbed. “M-master G-Grayson came h-home s-so a-angry and-and sad yesterday. He still w-won’t leave his room.”

Odette frowned. “Well, that was his own fault. If you know what happened and have come here with some convoluted plan to get me to run back into his arms, it won’t work. If there’s any danger around here, it’s probably him.”

Thorn whimpered again, the sound high-pitched and grating against her eardrums.

“Odette?”

The girl whirled around a little too fast and saw her parents walking out of the doors of the church. For some reason, she was worried about them seeing Thorn. She wanted to turn around and tell him to leave like she was keeping him like some big secret, but she wasn’t, and Thorn was just another person that she was talking to. Her mother would probably be thankful that she was talking to someone else besides the Mages.

Pamela smiled, her eye darting between her daughter and the fleeing man. “Who was that?”

Odette looked back and was surprised that Thorn was gone. “Oh, he was just someone who wanted to know how I was doing.”

“Oh. What was his name?”

“Didn’t catch it. He had a stutter and it was a little hard to understand him.” Odette smiled slightly and walked towards where they had their car parked.

In the car, Odette sat in the back seat and played with the seat belt that ran across her chest. Her father started the car and looked up at her through the mirror. “Have you heard from Greer lately?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Odette could see her mother’s face in the mirror. She remained passive but Odette knew that her mom wouldn’t rat her out if she lied. After all, Odette really wasn’t feeling like going to see the Mages anyway. And yet, Odette couldn’t make herself come up with a story. “Um, I have. She has a brunch thing going on today but I don’t know if I’m up to it.” It wasn’t a complete lie, being inside of that church had drained her of her energy. She didn’t feel like having to go into the mansion where he lived and run the risk of seeing him, but Greer was her friend and she couldn’t avoid her forever.

Jonah’s face hardened. “C’mon Odette, not this. These are your friends. Do you not want to be friends with them anymore, is that it?”

“What? No! That’s not it at all, Dad. I’m really tired and I don’t think I can do it. I’ll still have plenty of opportunities to see her after this,” Odette insisted. The car was starting to feel too hot for her and the scrutinizing glare from her father wasn’t helping matters.

“You’re not going to have any friends if you keep ditching them.”

Odette wanted to snort. Keep? When have I avoided them up until now?! “I’m not avoiding her and I haven’t avoided her. Pushing me to go isn’t going to make me gain the energy to go, nor is it going to make me want to.”

“Too bad.” With that, he slammed his foot on the gas and sped off in the direction of the Mages’ mansion. Her father quite literally kicked her to the curb once they reached their destination. He didn’t bother pulling in the wide open wrought iron gates, but idled just outside of them. Her mother offered her no assistance out of this situation even though she herself wanted to avoid it and watched as Odette was forced out of the car.

“Enjoy yourself. Text us when you’re done.” Jonah’s words were final and brought angry tears to her eyes.

Odette gritted her teeth and walked with her head held high through the gates, not looking back at either of her parents. In her head, she had some more colorful names for them but she refrained from showing more anger than she already was. After all, it would be kind of rude to show up to Greer’s house saying, “Hi, my stupid parents made me come. How are you? I’m starved. Please keep your brothers at least three floors away from me.”

The ugly knocker seemed to sympathize with her today but she still didn’t bother to use it. “Don’t worry,” she murmured. “When I grow an extra two feet, I’ll use you.”

The knocker laughed silently at her joke.

Moments later, the front door was opened by Zeke. He was very surprised to see her standing there. “Hey, dude! How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” A lie. “It’s nice to see you again, Zeke.”

“Yeah, you too. Are you here for Grayson?” he asked.

Odette made a face and Zeke winced; obviously, he knew of his bad mood too.

“Ah, not really. Greer. She invited me to a brunch thing. I wasn’t sure if I was coming until today …”

Odette rocked back and forth on her feet, suddenly very aware of how much of a mess she probably looked like. Her sundress was clinging to her uncomfortably and her hair was too frizzy to be considered cute, but she shouldn’t be worried about that. She should be worried about leaving as soon as possible.

Zeke smiled but she could tell it was a nervous one. “Sure thing. I’ll take you right to her.”

He finally stepped aside and let her into their gloriously air conditioned home. She sighed quietly and ran her fingers through her hair to make herself more presentable. The hallways were almost familiar to her, but she couldn’t get the feeling out of her that they were always growing and changing like a labyrinth. Some of the decor had changed but they were mostly subtle things like the color and type of flowers.

Most of the heavy wooden doors were closed as they passed by them but Odette tried to keep her attention forward in any case. She didn’t want to be looking around and accidentally see him lounging on a couch, reading.

Her hand still hurt and was a light shade of green. She could even make out where his fingers had been on one side. Thankfully, her mother and father hadn’t noticed anything. If they did, she’d probably tell them she got it when she had almost been shot.

Zeke led her past the dining room that she had eaten in when she first came to the Mages’ house, and through another seemingly never-ending hallway. At the very end of it, the sound of girls’ voices were becoming clearer by the second. He stood by the door where the voices were coming from and rapt on it a few times.

Greer opened the door with a glare. “Yes?” she hissed.

Zeke didn’t even blink. “Miss Odette is here.”

The brunette finally noticed Odette who was standing slightly behind Zeke. Her glare let up instantly and she smiled, her hands snatching up Odette’s quickly. Odette tried not to wince as she pressed onto the bruise.

“Odette! I’m so happy to see you.” Greer hugged her, forcing Odette’s face into her shoulder.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you if I was coming sooner. I didn’t know if I could myself.” Odette was released from the other girl and pulled into the room. The room was what she guessed was called a sunroom. It was nearly all glass and it looked out at a small garden. There were small green plants that hung around over them, but the main features were the three long couches that ran the length of the room. A table had been set up with an array of sweet breakfast-like foods and what she assumed was orange juice in fancy glasses, but, knowing Greer, it could have been a mimosa.

Bonnie and Nadia were lounging on one couch, a small plate with a single croissant resting on each of their laps. They were watching her with an expression that could only be described as predatory. It was the same look those women at the church were giving her. They wanted to know about Grayson.

Odette smiled at them politely. “Hey, guys.”

Greer must have done something behind her back because they stared down at their plates rather sheepishly. Bonnie busied herself by picking her French pastry and nibbling on it, not even looking at her friend.

“Come over here, you must be hungry,” Greer said. She loaded Odette’s plate up with an assortment of the foods that were there, some of which Odette knew she wouldn’t eat but she didn’t want to say anything.

Greer practically shoved Odette onto an unoccupied couch and the food was placed into her hands in a hurry.

“Drink?” she offered.

“No thanks.”

Greer perched herself on the edge of the same couch she was on, smiling at her. “So, how have you been?”

Heavily medicated. “Pretty good. The concussion is going away.”

“Grayson—” Bonnie started but she was cut off by a sharp jab in the stomach by Nadia. The red head coughed and sputtered but flushed as she realized her error.

“It’s okay,” Odette said. She turned to Greer. “How’s his injury?” Not that I actually care.

Greer had a funny look on her face. “He’s healing. Grays has always had a high tolerance for pain, so it doesn’t bother him much. You wouldn’t believe all of the get-well-soon cards and bears that have been sent to the house by his fangirls. It’s nauseating.”

Odette tilted her head, she wondered if Greer was trying to make her feel jealous. “They care about him,” she said simply.

Greer laughed. “They care about his pretty face. They care about getting noticed.”

Odette shrugged, chewing on a grape. She didn’t have any more to say on the subject.

“Is he still locked up in his room?” Nadia asked. She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and looked like she was ready to sprint up to his room if given the chance.

“Psssh, you make it sound like it wasn’t voluntary,” Greer said, sipping her still questionable orange drink. “Yes, he is. But I won’t be surprised if he comes out for a five-minute break. After all, his favorite person in the world is here.”

With that, Nadia visibly wilted. Odette wished she had one of Greer’s drinks now. She put a cheese cube in her mouth and chewed on it angrily. It wasn’t her fault that Grayson acted so … weird! She didn’t even know what to call it—extremely possessive, maybe? Abusive? That seemed too harsh, but …

“Don’t sweat it, Odette, we are your friends. We won’t let him near you if you don’t want to be,” Greer reassured her but there was a mocking undertone to her voice. All the same, Greer didn’t look like she was teasing her. Her smile was sincere but she had seen how Grayson had so easily faked being nice.

“Thanks.”

Greer wasn’t Grayson. She wouldn’t do anything like that.

“He wouldn’t tell me anything when he came home,” she explained. “So, I don’t know what’s going on between you two but you can talk to us. We’ll listen and help if you need us to. Or, if you don’t want to talk, then that’s fine too. I just want you to be happy.”

Odette just wanted her to drop the subject. “We just … I don’t even know. It’s complicated.”

Bonnie leaned forward on her elbows, her plate was crushed underneath the weight but she paid little mind to it. “Complicated how?”

“Odette doesn’t have to tell us if she doesn’t want to,” Greer cut in. “It could be that she’s just not ready or that she doesn’t want to burden us with her problems.”

“You wouldn’t be burdening us,” Bonnie replied. Her elbow was now coated in butter and her croissant had a large hole in it.

Odette toyed with her fingers, her face stuck in a grimace. “It’s really nothing I want to get into today.”

Bonnie sniffed indignity and shriveled up like her friend. They both almost seemed like twins with their matching expressions and the similar colors of their dresses. Greer didn’t care about her friends’ change in attitude, though, and acted like nothing was wrong.

“I think it’s almost time for our games, girls.”

The “games” were never explained to Odette even though she asked. Greer only laughed, her headband twinkling in the sunlight while she shook her head.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” she said. “Only simple party games. It’ll be fun.”

It would be even more fun if the games were explained. Odette had only eaten a fourth of what was on her plate, but she wasn’t questioned by the other girls weather she was finished or not. They all seemed eager to start whatever Greer had planned, which only made her more anxious.

“So, what are we playing?” Odette asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

Greer motioned for Bonnie and Nadia to take away the empty cups and plates before she answered. “Just a little game of truth or dare.”

Odette’s nose scrunched up. “Isn’t that a little … juvenile?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Greer said, amused. “But we play it in a more extreme way. No petty tricks or truths. After all, we’re all big girls here, aren’t we?”

Odette shrunk back. The way Greer said that sent unpleasant chills down her spine. These dares—or truths, for that matter—could be anything.

Nadia sat down beside her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll start out easy for you.”

It wasn’t all that comforting, if Odette was being honest with herself.

Greer started the game and she chose Bonnie as her victim. Bonnie picked truth and had to tell the group about her first kiss. For the moment, Odette was rather calm because nothing seemed too extreme.

They pretty much avoided Odette altogether, except for Nadia who wanted to know if she and Grayson had kissed. Nadia had been rather disappointed to find out that the answer to that question was “yes” but Odette had made up for it by adding in details. Apparently, Nadia appreciated it and Odette was happy to be of service.

Greer had been dared to steal a fifty from her grandfather who was, apparently, sleeping upstairs in his room. She came back a little less than ten minutes later with a very crisp-looking dollar bill in her fist and a smug look on her face.

Bonnie had been dared to strip down to her underwear and run the length of the house. Odette had expected her to say no but instead got a dress in the face before hearing the sound of Bonnie running out of the room at top speed.

“What happens if you don’t do the dare? Are there any consequences?” Odette asked. The girls had their noses pressed up against the glass and were waiting for a half-naked Bonnie to run past them at any second.

“That’s up to the person who gives the dare,” replied Greer. “But everyone does theirs.”

Nadia had been dared by Bonnie—several turns after her run—to go upstairs to Grayson’s room and confess her feelings to Grayson. The girl looked so afraid and she couldn’t help but fearfully look to Odette like she would be upset with her.

“Nadia, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. That just sounds mean,” Odette quickly interjected.

This didn’t help Nadia at all as she turned a faint shade of green. Bonnie snickered, saying something about payback for her dare but this was nowhere close. Greer did nothing to help.

Nadia finally did stand up on two shaky legs, reminding Odette of a baby deer, and walked out of the room. It was quiet, too quiet, and Odette could hear her heart thumping loudly.

“How will we know if she does it or not?” Bonnie asked.

Greer shrugged, still acting unperturbed. “It’s your own fault you didn’t think about asking for proof.”

Bonnie cursed and the three girls waited for what seemed like hours for the other girl to come back. When the door finally did open, Nadia wasn’t green anymore. She actually looked calm, which tipped off the darer that something wasn’t right.

“You didn’t actually go to him, did you?” Bonnie questioned, poking the shorter girl in the chest.

Nadia blushed but she shook her head. “No, I did. I knocked on his door and he told me to go away. He said he didn’t want to be involved in any of our games.”

The turns kept going and going until Greer turned to Odette. “Truth or dare?”

It was an obvious choice, Odette was going to keep everything safe and choose truth. However, when she opened her mouth to say it, all that came out was, “Dare.”

Her own voice sounded foreign in her ears but she didn’t feel like correcting herself. She didn’t think the girls would let her anyway.

The other girls oohed, smiling deviously. Their dares had been pretty bad but it had only been those two doing the daring. Greer hadn’t shown how “extreme” she could make the game and Odette had a feeling she would find out.

“Follow me.”

Never the good words you want to hear when you’re being dared.

Odette stood obediently, smoothing out her sundress as she did so. Bonnie and Nadia were elbowing each other and stood up too. They stayed out of Odette’s direct line of sight but she could hear them giggling and whispering. Greer led them out of the sunroom and down the winding halls until they were back by the front door. She continued walking and didn’t look back once, her heels clicking haughtily against the floor.

The next room that they came across actually shocked Odette. She thought to herself that she shouldn’t be too surprised considering they were wealthy; still, she had never seen anyone actually have an indoor pool before. It wasn’t in use at the moment, Odette realized as she walked inside. The pool cover was pulled taut over the pool and to the sides, but it was a clear plastic that allowed the girls to see the water underneath. The cover was stretched so tight that it looked like a trampoline and she could see where the hooks were straining to hold it.

“What do you want me to do?” Odette asked quietly but her voice still echoed throughout the room.

Greer watched her slyly. “I want you to walk across the pool cover.”

It suddenly felt like the air had been sucked from the room. “What? Are you kidding? No! Greer, people die from doing things like that.” Her hands started to shake just from the thought of being forced onto the cover.

“Oh please. Do you think that I would let you die? It’s perfectly safe.” Greer stepped closer to the edge of the pool, the toe of her strappy stiletto teasing the flap of the plastic.

“I’m s-serious, that thing won’t hold my weight and I’ll sink. The cover will come up around me and suffocate me.” She was sure that the girls could see her trembling by now. Odette didn’t care about the game, what the girls would think of her, or what her father would say—she wanted to go home.

Instead of answering her or telling her that it was a joke and that wasn’t her dare, Greer came to stand beside her. She looked her up and down for a minute, deep in thought. “I’m pretty sure you’re lighter than me. Watch this.”

She practically leapt onto the plastic cover, her back straight and chin up. Odette actually screamed, reaching her arm out. She knew that, any second, one of the ends that held the cover down would come flying off and Greer would sink … or the heel of her stiletto would pop a hole in it.

“Greer no! Get off, you’ll hurt yourself!” Her voice was shrill and the echo made it sound even higher pitched than it was.

Still, the girl didn’t look back. She walked down the length of the pool with confidence, like it was a runway. Odette became certain at that moment that those amulets must be magic, or else that girl would have been swallowed up by the plastic already. It must have been some kind of crazy trust exercise to see if Odette could hang out with them, like a hazing or something.

Greer hopped off of the pool cover—safely—on the opposite side. She didn’t look panicked in the slightest, so she must have known that nothing was going to happen. If she said that, then Odette should believe it too. Greer hadn’t led her astray yet.

“Well?” Greer called, placing her hand on her hip.

Odette’s heart was beating even harder and she could feel it in her legs. She swallowed hard, her mouth dry from fright. The edge of the water was teasing her, splashing up on the concrete.

Tentatively, Odette placed one flat-clad foot on the cover. It did not feel sturdy at all, but this was about trust, right? Like a bizarre girl mafia and Greer was the Don. Her other foot was on the cover now and she stumbled forward, her arms outstretched.

She tried to think of this as nothing but another ballet exercise, something that required her to use her core and balance. She couldn’t look down, she was shaky enough as it was. Odette watched the ceiling, pursing her lips to make her feel like she was closer to it than the water.

She took a moment to glance at Greer, noticing that she was about halfway across the pool by that point, when she felt that she was a sinking like a rock.

Odette barely had time to scream before she was sucked downwards, her arms flailing. She grasped at the air, hoping that something would magically appear to save her from her fate. The plastic closed around her like a vice, suctioning to her limbs, and blocking her leg’s frantic kicking. She screamed and screamed, panicking more than she should have been. Odette had remembered that, if something like this were to ever happen to her, she shouldn’t be panicking in order to conserve her air or something like that. Obviously, she didn’t listen to logic. She was in a cocoon of her worst fear, the plastic becoming tighter and tighter as the seconds passed.

A strange thought wormed its way inside her mind while she thrashed around in her prison. She thought that it should be dark, like nighttime. Instead, it was too bright and her eyes were wide open. She could see through the clear plastic and into the light blue water. She could make out the figures of the panicked girls above her … at least she thought they were panicked. It could have just been the ripples of the water. Odette could feel the telltale signs of a fainting spell coming—the abnormally hard heartbeat, lightheadedness, and the weakness in her muscles.

NO! HELP ME, PLEASE!

Her body stopped its movements despite her inward protests. She could feel how drained she was, how much energy it took to fight, and yet she was still full of adrenaline. She was trapped, she concluded, in her own body and couldn’t stop it when her eyes closed.

The plastic had completely wrapped itself around her to the point where she didn’t know where it stopped and where her body began. It ghosted over her skin in some areas and, in others, it was tighter than a noose. Noose—the image of the dead man flashed into her mind and she understood that she would be like him soon. There was no stopping the inevitable.

Odette’s vision turned black but she was still somewhat aware of everything around her, like the water rushing into her lungs. While her body started to convulse lightly, she could feel her consciousness dying out. Everything was on fire, which was such an odd thing to feel while dying in water. Her lungs burned, her throat burned, her eyes burned, but she only sank and sank until she hit the bottom of the pool.