Chapter Eight
Everest
“Good morning. Breakfast is ready.” Thorne says as he strides into my bedroom. I groan as I roll over to glare at him. He lets out a raspy chuckle before strolling over and throwing the curtains open.
“Was that really necessary?” I whine as I throw the blanket off of myself.
“We want you guys to have some time to relax after we finish everything we have scheduled today. That means we have to get moving. Now.” Thorne says as he heads back to the door.
“If you aren’t in the kitchen in five minutes, I’ll be coming back to throw you over my shoulder and carry you there myself. ”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” I mumble under my breath sarcastically as I start digging through my bag of clothes on the floor.
“I heard that. Five minutes. I’m serious.” He says before closing the door and leaving me to get ready.
Since I showered last night and I have no idea what we’re going to be doing today, I don’t bother with showering again. I just need to brush my teeth and get dressed before gathering with everyone else in the kitchen.
It doesn’t surprise me that Axel is already in the kitchen with Wilder and Thorne when I finally drag myself there. He’s much more of a morning person than I am, which is something I had not considered when volunteering to become a temporary prisoner.
I hate mornings.
Wilder goes over our ridiculous list of things we have to do today, which seems like it’s going to be impossible to complete.
There are tons of tests. Tons. He reads off each one, and the only thing I even recognize the name of is an IQ test. I don’t know why they need that, but I assume it has to do with our placement once the quarantine is over, so I just leave it at that.
It doesn’t really matter to me, because I’ll be staying either way.
“I know they sound complicated, but most of them are rather short. I’ve printed off a list of them for you two to keep for your research since you won’t be able to take any photos during the testing. I hope that’s okay.” Wilder explains as he slides each of us a piece of paper.
“That’s– Wow. That’s very thoughtful of you, Wilde. Thank you,” I say with a genuine smile. I didn’t expect them to help us, but I’m extremely grateful that they are. There’s no way that I would’ve remembered the names of all these tests even if I wanted to write about them.
I look at Wilder and he gives me a little nod but quickly turns his attention to Axel.
It’s clear that he wants the same praise from him, but Axel is in his own world reading over the paper he gave us.
He’s completely clueless to the giant crush that his new friend is developing for him.
He’s always been a little bit oblivious in the social department, especially when it comes to the dating aspect.
Mostly, I just feel sorry for Wilder because he seems like a great guy, and he’s set his eyes on the absolute wrong guy.
Axel has never once mentioned guys. He doesn’t really do dating in general, honestly.
In fact, the last person I remember Axel talking about was in high school.
Even that was a stretch though, because I had to literally help Becca drag him to prom.
She had to invite him to go in the first place, and that was their one and only date.
He just isn’t interested, and that’s none of my business.
Wilder doesn’t seem to let the lack of attention that he’s receiving get to him, he jumps right back into his morning spiel.
Once we’ve all eaten, they split us off to our individual rooms so that we can use our desks in private to complete the tests.
Based on the fact that I can still hear shuffling around in the other room, I’m pretty sure that they’re staying out in the living area while they wait on us.
I tried to take my time and be as thorough as possible with each test, but I was also very interested in finishing them all up as quickly as possible so that we could get some relaxation in today.
That pool has been calling my name since we got here.
I don’t know exactly where we’re at, but the weather is absolutely perfect.
I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I hadn’t even realized how much time had passed. I was a little startled when Thorne came in to bring me lunch. We weren’t allowed to eat in the kitchen together, because they didn’t want us discussing the tests.
After I finally finished everything and wandered out to the living area with all my papers in hand, no one was there.
I was about to head into Axel’s room to check for him when I caught a glimpse of movement outside on the patio.
I guess Thorne spotted me and started walking back inside while Axel and Wilder goof off with each other in the pool.
As Thorne slides the glass door open, I can hear Wilder laughing freely as Axel splashes water at him.
It’s nice to see Axel having fun, because he really doesn’t smile very often.
It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen him this happy, and that’s kind of discouraging.
I don’t know when we stopped living and just started… surviving.
“You done?” Thorne asks as he steps inside and closes the door behind him.
“Yeah,” I reply as I glance up at him before looking back out at Axel.
Axel picks Wilder up over his shoulder and tosses him out into the deep end.
He shakes the excess water from his hair like a dog as he waits for Wilder to come back after him.
I’ve known Axel for such a long time, and I have never once given a flying fuck about his sexual orientation or who he preferred to date, but for the first time I find myself wishing that he was gay.
Wilder seems to have something special in him that brings out a completely different side of Axel, and I think they would be absolutely perfect together.
Thorne watches me closely. “You love him?”
“What?” I ask as I look up at him. “Oh. Axel? Of course. We’re best friends.”
“Just friends?” He reiterates with a raised brow.
“Only ever friends.” I answer as I nod. “I told you, he’s not into guys.”
Thorne looks over his shoulder at Axel and Wilder in the pool and then looks back at me. “Mhmm. I’m gonna go put these away. I’ll be right back. You can head outside if you like or grab a snack. Whatever you feel like doing.”
I check the time on my phone and realize that we still have hours before nightfall.
Thorne watches me closely as I glance back out at Axel.
Even though I was looking forward to swimming, that desire seems to have faded away.
I’m afraid that if I go out there, Axel is going to start acting differently because he feels like having fun with someone else will somehow affect me negatively.
I don’t want to be the thing that holds him back anymore, and if I want things to be different, then I’m gonna have to make some really difficult choices soon.
“As much as I really want to swim, those tests mentally exhausted me. I think I might grab a quick nap before I head out to the pool.” I reply as I turn back toward the hallway.
The burner phone that they gave us after we arrived blares out into the room.
I made sure to put it on max volume so that I could hear it from practically anywhere.
I wipe the sleep from my eyes as I pat around on the nightstand for it.
The light from the screen blinds me as I check the time.
Midnight. God, I must have been more exhausted than I thought. Traveling always does that to me.
“He–Hello.” My voice crackles as I answer the phone.
“It’s time for your next test, Everest. I need you to get dressed. Quickly. Meet me in the hallway when you’re ready.”
I clear my throat before speaking again. “What do I need to wear? Comfortable or athletic wear?”
“Hm. I’m not sure if I am supposed to say,” It sounds like he shuffles through some papers, looking for an answer. “It doesn’t specify that I can’t. So, out of those options, I’d suggest athletic wear.”
I smile. “Thanks, Thorne. See you in a minute.” I say before I hang up.
I wonder if Axel got the same heads up. Hell, I don’t even know if he’s doing the same test as me right now since Thorne called on the phone instead of the intercom.
Maybe we’ll be doing this separate or at different times.
I go through a thousand different scenarios in my head as I throw on some comfortable shorts that aren’t too long, and a shirt with the sleeves cut off.
Thorne is patiently waiting for me in the hallway, and gestures in the direction that we’re going to start walking. I follow beside him, ready to take in whatever information he’s willing to give me.
“So, what are we doing today? Err… tonight?”
“A series of physical and mental tests, meant to be taken with minimal sleep, but you were fortunate enough that when I checked on you for dinner that you didn’t want dinner.
“ He air quotes the fact that I didn’t want dinner, which sounds a lot like he never asked me if I wanted dinner, and let me sleep longer on purpose.
“You’ll have a leg up with a little extra rest than the normal circumstances would allow. ”
I wrap my hand around his elbow, and tug on him playfully. “Are you helping me cheat, Thorne?”
“There is no cheating, Everest. I can’t help you with these kinds of tests, unfortunately.”
“Letting me sleep longer sounds a lot like cheating,” I mumble as I watch him carefully.
I want to know what Thorne is up to, and why he’s decided that he wants to help me.
He hasn’t talked to or interacted with Axel very much since the moment he picked us up, so I’m starting to think that maybe he has a soft spot for me.