Chapter Nine
Everest
“Not much of a warning, huh?” I ask Thorne as I start packing all my things back into my luggage bag.
“Unfortunately, that’s the name of the game. Expect the unexpected.”
I roll my eyes as I grab all my stuff and turn around to face him.
He gives me a conflicted expression before turning on his heels and leading the way out of my room.
No more pool. No more kitchen. Most importantly…
no more Axel. We’re officially being separated, and we’re going to be fending for ourselves the remainder of our time here.
It’s going to be a huge adjustment for us because we’ve depended on each other for as long as I can remember.
Thorne leads me down the hallway and around a few corners that I don’t bother paying attention to.
I won’t be able to leave my new room unless they’re escorting me, anyway.
When he opens the door, my jaw literally drops in shock.
The differences between where we were and this room are pretty freaking apparent.
We were essentially in a penthouse and now I’m going to be stuck in a room that’s the size of a prison cell.
I get it, they’re acclimating us, but jeez.
At least it has a private bathroom attached to it.
Although, it’s barely big enough to take your clothes off in.
I’ve spent the night in seedy motels off the longest stretches of highway with fancier bathrooms than this.
“Well, just throw us in the deep end, why don’t you?” I ask as I toss my bag onto one of the tiny beds in the corner.
“I know it seems bad, but Wilder is an expert. He knows what he’s doing.” He answers regretfully as he pulls the chair in the corner out, spins it around, and sits down.
I hate that Thorne always seems like he feels bad about making me do the things that Wilder has planned.
I know that everything we do is something that Wilder probably spent weeks methodically putting together, but Thorne never really seems to agree with any of it.
It’s almost as if it hurts his precious little heart, which I’ve learned that Thorne definitely has. He’s the biggest softie.
“I can’t blame you, or Wilde. I signed up for this.
I just enjoy complaining, is all.” I rub my palms against my jeans as I talk.
Sometimes I do that when I’m nervous, which I am right now.
Very much so. There’s no telling what they have in store for us over the next few days, but I know that whatever it is, it isn’t going to be fun.
“Tell me, Thorne, what’s next?” I plop down onto the cardboard thin mattress as I wait for him to answer.
“Separation.”
I eye him suspiciously. “What do you mean separation? We’re separated.” I wave my finger around the room to point out my obvious isolation.
“Not just physically. Mentally. We’ll be plucking at the strings of your relationship and teaching both of you that survival is only possible when you trust no one.”
I scoff as I scoot down the bed until my head rests against the pillow. “We’ve been inseparable since we were toddlers, I don’t know how well that’s going to work.”
“It won’t matter,” he replies with conviction.
“Wilder has been observing the two of you around the clock. He knows all your weaknesses now, and he’s going to exploit them.
Just remember that all of this is a game to him.
We’re conditioning you to thrive inside a place like this, among the kinds of people that call it their home.
There’s going to be betrayal and deception if you let people close, and it’ll cut really fucking deep if you let it.
Think of Axel as someone else from now on. You left your Axel back home.”
I glance over at Thorne as I worry my lip between my teeth.
He’s helped me through a lot of these little challenges, and he’s definitely proven to be wise beyond his years.
They keep saying that they don’t want us to bond with anyone, but the trust I have in Thorne is ironclad.
I never doubt that he’s putting my wellbeing first.
Thorne acts like he’s being personally attacked whenever Wilde pulls some bullshit that affects me during tests, and he makes a big deal about Wilder keeping him in the loop with what’s happening next time.
Not that Wilder ever listens to him. Thorne also searches for loopholes and little ways to bend Wilder’s rules to my advantage with every trial.
He will happily take the blunt end of Wilder’s wrath for me without a second thought. My faith in him is unyielding.
The bond we have isn’t just related to how he treats me on the days of chaos either.
Our down time started as Axel and I avoiding Wilder and Thorne as much as possible, sticking to spending time only with one another.
With every day that passed, we grew closer to them.
We spent a lot of nights lounging around as a group, the four of us, but the last few days we’ve spent a lot of time alone with Thorne and Wilder.
Axel and I never really had other friends, but we were used to being able to spend time apart to decompress, and it was really difficult to get that when we were staying in the same space, but I digress.
Thorne and I have been spending a lot of our free time with one another, and I’ve grown to really enjoy his company.
He’s not that much older than me, but he’s extremely experienced in life.
I don’t know where he came from, or what he used to do, but he has far more knowledge than the average person.
There hasn’t been a single thing that we’ve discussed where I haven’t learned something valuable from him.
It doesn’t matter if it’s regarding work, love, depression, anything really.
He seems to always know the right things to say exactly when I need to hear it.
“Thanks, Thorne. You’re a nice guy, you know? How’d you end up here, anyway?”
“It’s a long story that I’m legally unable to share with you. It doesn’t matter though, because I don’t think I could be happy anywhere else.”
I chew on that for a few minutes, letting his words sink in.
How relatable that uncomfortable admission really is.
I had everything back home. The house, a nice car, a good job, and my sister close by.
Somehow, it still didn’t feel like I was home.
There’s not been a moment of my life where I was content, and it had slowly started to make me restless.
I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly it is that was missing from my life, but the absence of it was becoming impossible to ignore.
“I know what you mean. I’m not happy with where I was before either.” I admit as I close my eyes.
“Then why stay so long?”
“Axel and my sister,” I admit on a deep exhale. It’s a truth that I wouldn’t be able to share with anyone else in my life. It’s a burden I’ve been forced to carry alone.
“Ahh. Wouldn’t they prefer to see you happy, though?“ He asks as he shifts in the uncomfortable chair he’s perched in.
I chuckle as I think about what the honest answer to that is. “Axel probably would. My sister, on the other hand, might threaten to kill me. She may only be five foot five, but she’s pretty frightening.”
Thorne lets out a raspy laugh, and I glance over at him. He doesn’t laugh very often, so I can’t help but indulge in the moments where he’s actually enjoying himself.
“Women are scary in general.”
I point a finger at him dramatically. “That I can agree with.”
He gives me a weak smile before an expression of serious thought takes over his face. “Do you date? What’s your type?”
I scrunch my brows together in confusion.
“Boy, that’s a topic change,” I roll over on my side and prop my head up to look at him.
“I don’t really date much anymore. My type though?
Let’s see… Physically, I would say someone similar to Axel.
Tattoos, muscular, and intelligent. He’s a little too docile for me though. He tends to be very passive.”
“You two have never been together?”
“Definitely not,” I shake my head. “Never even thought about it. He’s good looking, but we’re too much like siblings. So, what’s your type?”
“Wilder, but… less Wilder. If that even makes sense.”
I laugh because it shouldn’t mean anything, but it absolutely does. “When your name can also be used as an adjective, there might be a problem.”
“No kidding,” he mumbles under his breath as he stares down at where his shoe is rubbing circles on the floor.
“So, you’re attracted to more feminine men, but with a little less… exuberance?”
“Yeah, I suppose. I kind of just want someone that doesn’t think they can take the world on alone. Someone I can take care of and pamper,” he says as he stands up and pushes the chair back against the wall. “Anyway, I should probably let you get some rest.”
“Right…” I swing my legs over the edge of the bed so I can get ready to take a shower before I fall asleep.
He glances back over his shoulder at me. “Just don’t forget what I said. Cut off everything you knew about yourself and Axel from now on. You’re both someone else in here. Okay?”
“Got it,” I reply with a nod. “Thanks, Thorne.”
He nods back as he heads out the door. I grab some clothes from my bag, not bothering to unpack anything else yet, and take a quick shower.
As I crawl under the covers, I realize what Thorne was doing.
He distracted me just long enough for me to get comfortable.
To not miss Axel. Hopefully Wilder did the same thing for him.