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Before—Neven Lee
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Neven started his car and left Perrie’s house in a rush. He hauled ass to Oak Street, pissed off at Perrie. Why couldn’t he just let the girl go? She was obviously out of her damn mind. She’d been in a delusional state over something that never happened.
He took several long minutes to think about how she was with August, and he slapped his hand against the leather steering wheel. It was different. She looked at August with a completely different intensity than she’d ever looked at him. She may not be aware of it, but he was.
In a way, the day’s events had helped him understand after all that had happened between them, they could just be friends. Now, if only she would talk to him. Just the other day he’d thought they were the real deal, but everything had changed. He would prove he’d never cheated on her, though. That situation was a fucking mess that boiled the blood beneath his skin every time he thought about it.
Neven turned down Oak Street to confirm to himself that, yes, there was a museum, and David and the other guys were full of shit.
He sped down the street and came to an abrupt stop when he spotted August’s silver car. “What the hell?”
August’s blond head moved closer toward the stone building. The squeal of Neven’s tires caught August’s attention—he stopped in his tracks, turning his head back to Neven with an expressionless face.
A run-in with August these days was a bucket full of fucking fun, and this was one encounter Neven didn’t want to deal with. August used to be cool, but ever since he’d thought Neven cheated on Perrie, that had changed. Then again, if the situation was reversed, and he’d heard August cheated on Perrie, he’d be damn angry, too.
Hopping out of his car, Neven slammed the door shut and jogged up to August. “What are you doing here?”
August lifted a blond brow. “I could ask you the same thing, Lee.”
Neven and August stared at each other for several seconds, neither saying a word. “Okay, this is dumb as shit,” Neven said to cut the tension. “We know we’re both here for the same reason.”
A crease appeared on August’s forehead. “We do?”
Standing out here with August was getting Neven nowhere. “Yes, we do.” He shifted closer to August, hovering over him.
August’s lips twitched and pulled into a smirk. “Lee, you have no idea.”
“Moving on.” Neven shook his head, stepped back, and pointed straight at the wooden door. “You see this building? Where the hell did it come from? And why did it appear out of nowhere?”
August cocked his head as if thinking really hard about the building. “You think I know these answers?”
Neven let out a long, exasperated sigh. “No. I don’t think you know the answers, but I thought you might’ve drawn a better conclusion than I could’ve. The guys I asked at school haven’t seen this place.”
“We can go inside and take a look.” August shrugged and strolled toward the door.
“I already came here this morning. The door was locked, so I can guarantee you right now it’s still going to be,” Neven said, following closely behind.
Once they stood in front of the door, August brought his fist to the wood—a loud bang that screamed to whoever was inside.
“What are you doing?” Neven yanked August’s hand back.
“I’m seeing if anyone is here. Isn’t that obvious?” If Neven could’ve punched August, he would’ve, but it would only piss Perrie and Maisie off.
They waited around for about a minute, and no one answered. August twisted the knob, and the door opened without making a single sound.
“I guess it isn’t locked,” August said with a cocky smile. Neven rolled his eyes, vowing to himself that he would punch the jackass later.
“I guess it’s unlocked now, but it wasn’t this morning,” Neven mumbled.
“Do you want to go in, or do you want to go back to your car?”
Ignoring August’s sarcasm, Neven brushed past him with two long strides. “I’m going in.”
“Your choice.” August closed the door, his words trailing behind Neven.
Coming to an abrupt stop, Neven turned around to face August. “Enough already, okay? I get it. You think I cheated on Perrie, and I didn’t.” Neven marched toward August and poked his index finger to the idiot’s chest. “Even if she doesn’t completely know it, I see how she looks at you. She never looked at me like that, so I’m done trying to be with her, but I’m going to get my friend back.”
August stared him down with that stupid blank expression again. “I understand.”
Neven shook his head and continued down the carpeted hallway filled with lanterns. “Now that we have that settled, we can maybe get some sort of answer around here about why this place came out of nowhere.”
“Good idea,” August called from behind.
The lanterns’ shadows swayed along the walls as Neven walked to the end of the hall, then turned down another. A single line of chandeliers hung from the ceiling in the new hallway. He ignored the rest of the decor and proceeded down the corridor when, eventually, he needed to take a turn to another long hallway.
“Feeling lost yet?” August asked.
Neven glanced over his shoulder at August and shot him a glare. “How can I feel lost if the hallways are leading me in what direction to go?”
August let out a dark laugh, and Neven chose to ignore that too. The end of the hallway neared, and he entered a room filled with displays of some sort. He moved at a quicker pace until he stood in the center of the room, able to view the details more clearly.
“What is all this shit?” Neven asked more to himself than to August. Everywhere he looked, there were statues made of glass. He strode to a display with a crooked sign that read: Beware the Black Plague. Inside rested two glass statues. One of the man’s arms was missing, while a blackness spread from fingertip to elbow on the other.
“This is strange,” Neven said as he faced August, but he was no longer there. “August?” Neven stepped away and scanned the different scenes, as if August would creep out of one of the displays.
“August? This isn’t funny, man.” Neven observed the new scene before him for a moment, wondering what the hell to do. Before him stood a glass statue of a man wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks, positioned with his back to Neven—an empty medical table at his side. He turned away from the scene to search for August, when something tugged his shirt.
“Cut it out, August. That was stupid of...” His words trailed off as his gaze connected with no one except for the statue. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek, knowing it was time to bolt. Whirling around, he lunged forward but was thrown back with one forceful pull from an invisible wind. He flew through the air, landing hard on his back against the rough floor inside the display.
Groaning, Neven stared at the ceiling for a second as pain radiated through the length of his spine. He brought himself to a sitting position and studied the display, his chest heaving. No, not a display, a cage. Heart pounding, he rose to his feet and ran toward the metal bars. He shook the door, making it bang throughout the entire room.
The sound of squeaky wheels rolling down the hall echoed against the walls. Neven paused, his hands still gripping the bars. August strolled toward him, pushing a silver tray on wheels. He now wore black slacks and a white shirt with ruffles down the center.
“When did you have time to change?” That was the best thing Neven could think to say because he had no idea what the fuck was going on as confusion swirled within him.
August’s upper lip curled. “I am going to avoid that question, but I will answer one from earlier. I know you did not cheat on Perrie because that was all me.”
Neven stilled. He felt like all the reasons for the strange things happening were about to be revealed, and shit was about to hit the fan.
“First, I’m going to explain it all to you.” August glided his hand over a set of tools on the tray before lifting a pair of medical scissors. “Then, we are going to have a little fun.”
