21. Lilah
LILAH
Mason’s question hung in the air between us. The gentle lapping of the water against the pool’s edge and the hum of the heaters trying to turn crisp November air into spring should have been relaxing, but everything was eclipsed by the heavy thud of my heart.
But I didn’t shrug his coat off or have the urge to push him into the pool. Did I want to go home? To what? My stomach grumbled, but I wasn’t ready to go back in there to the parade of “Mason’s so sorry” lines everyone had locked and loaded.
“I needed a minute.”
“I didn’t put them up to saying anything to you.”
“They wanted to help you out. They care about you.” A twist right behind my sternum. I glanced back at the house. “You’re lucky.” A sad smile creased my lips.
“What do you need?”
I searched his face in case I’d find my answer there, but the intensity in his eyes reflecting back at me like the shimmering pool threw my stomach into a fluttery somersault.
The question drew me toward him and made me want to give in all over again.
But I didn’t even know how to answer that question.
What did I need? And what could I possibly need from Mason? So, I went with that easiest answer.
I tugged his jacket tighter around my shoulders and looked over the glittering water. “Some of those bacon-wrapped asparagus.”
He stared like he didn’t think that would be enough, but with a sharp nod of his head, he stepped back. “Be right back.”
The strategically placed heaters around the pool kept me from freezing.
When my toes didn’t turn to little ice cubes, I bent and rested my hand on the unassuming stone.
Of course, it was heated. I hadn’t even known that was an option.
Then again, there were a lot of things I’d been introduced to since moving to Hawthorne Prep that I wouldn’t have been able to fathom before.
Why not heat your whole outdoors instead of just your pool?
Mason came back with two plates, a rolled napkin and silverware. There was a whole plate of the asparagus along with another plate piled high with little bits of the other dishes from the spread.
He set them both on a small table between two sun loungers.
“You don’t have to stay outside with me.” I slipped my arms fully into his jacket.
“I’ll stay wherever you are.”
“What about Zoe?”
“She kicked me out. Galen’s house manager volunteered for babysitting duty. They’re building a massive blanket fort tunnel system right now on the basement level.”
“Between that and the chocolate fountain, I can see why she was excited to come.” I chuckled. “Is that your plate?”
“No, I got it all for you.”
“I can’t eat all this! Have some.” I extended the fork to him and used my fingers for the asparagus, careful to keep any drips on the plate.
He took the fork from me, letting his fingers linger on mine.
I tried to keep my cool, but I was also so hungry, and the food smelled too good to wait. I bit into the asparagus. Crispy bacon with a sweet drizzle wrapped around the grilled green spear. I groaned—it felt disrespectful not to—savored the flavor coating my tongue, and licked my lips.
Mason’s fork clattered to the plate.
My eyes popped open. “You okay?”
He cleared his throat.
“Erik and Calder were right. This is one the of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.”
Mason made a wheezing sound and thumped on his chest with his fist.
I switched to his sun lounger, careful of my bacony fingers, and patted his back. “You okay?”
He coughed. “Fine.”
We ate side by side, trading the fork back and forth. Not quite feeding each other, but I couldn’t help feeling we’d crossed another threshold. My head was always so future-focused. What did this mean? What came next?
I continued shoveling more food into my mouth to keep myself from thinking about it. With the plate almost clean, I didn’t let myself feel self-conscious about how much I’d eaten. How could I pass up excellent food?
“The party’s nice. Everyone eats some more and then goes home?”
“Not exactly.” He speared a crispy maple brussels sprout. “There’s more.”
“That didn’t sound ominous at all.”
“Time for a little Havoc!” Erik had both hands cupped around his mouth as he stood on top of the ledge overlooking the sunken area with the pool.
“That’s more.” Mason grinned and took my hand. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fun.”
Inside the house, everyone surrounded Galen, who stood at the center of the foyer beneath the massive blue-and-green glass chandelier.
As I looked at it again, I thought it might have been an alien tentacle creature trying to escape from a different dimension or an abstract interpretation of the sea.
Under the chandelier was a round table with a small blue box at the center.
“The rules are simple. Complete your task. Don’t let the zombies catch you. You’ll have a three-minute head start on the zombies. And avoid taking a dip in the pool.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I looked for Mason, who’d disappeared. Zombies? Who the hell were the zombies? And the pool? As in the one I’d stayed well clear of, so I didn’t fall in, even with the steam rising from it.
Worry bubbled up in my chest as I looked down at my dress. My mom’s dress that I shouldn’t have worn tonight. My mom’s dress that would be ruined after a dunk in the pool. I scanned the room for Mason but didn’t see him in the dozens of faces who’d filled the house over the past hour.
Was Mason checking on Zoe? Would they miss one person slipping out? But it wasn’t like I could walk home. And I didn’t have the money to order a rideshare. Hell, my phone was so old that the app wouldn’t even download. Options raced through my head, but none of them were viable.
Galen kept talking, and I had no idea what information I’d missed.
“If you don’t evade capture, we’ve got these nice, fluffy robes in the pool house to identify the losers.
Once you’re done, you come up here, flip open the lid and press this button.
” He pointed to the box on the table. “You have one hour to complete your task, starting…” He stared down at his watch. “Now.”
People tore into their envelopes and tugged out the folded pieces of paper. Laughter, groans and gasps filled the hotel-like foyer. Deep breaths, Lilah. It’s just a game. They couldn’t be serious about the pool.
Just in case, and with fingers a little shaky, I pulled on the ribbon, freeing the wax seal.
Fill your zoo with at least four animals. (Hint: bedrooms might be a good place to start)
Sprinting bodies darted across the house. There were four hallways leading from the entryway.
Looked like I wasn’t the only one not wanting a dip in the pool. They couldn’t actually be tossing people into the pool, right? Right?
Animals? In the bedroom? Was this a sex thing or was I going to walk into a bedroom with freaking live animals in there? I wasn’t sure which was worse.
I rushed to the first of four hallways with so many doors. One was filled top to bottom with gift wrapping paper, bows and ribbons. What the hell? But no animals.
I raced back out of another dud room. On the hallway wall, every family picture looked like a royal portrait, but the face of each one that I assumed was Galen was covered with a cartoon sticker of a trash can. Okaaaayy.
A girl jumped out of a room with a sticker sheet in hand. She yelped, almost running into me. “Have you seen any more pictures with Galen?” she said, out of breath and looking panicked.
“No, I’m just starting. I haven’t even gotten my first thing yet.”
“Shit!”
“Are they really throwing people in the pool?”
From the end of the hallway, a sharp yelp and scream ended with a cannonball-sized splash into the water.
There was my answer.
“It’s not so bad. The pool’s heated. And it’s not like I care about my clothes if it means I get to get naked in Galen’s house.” She gestured down at her cashmere drop waist dress. “But the winner gets a favor.”
“A favor? All this for an IOU?”
“God, I want Galen to give me his jersey for the next game or an invite to prom. I don’t even care if he takes another date.” She got a little dreamy-eyed. “Or to be locked in a closet with him for ten minutes. I’m easy that way.”
I brushed past that one. “But what about the zombies? Who are they?”
“They’re whoever’s gotten caught already, so it gets harder as the hour goes on and more people get caught.”
Footsteps sounded at the end of the hall.
“Good luck.” She took off.
The house had so many doors. I found a room with enough fiber optics and cables to be NASA supercomputer storage.
But finally, I found the first bedroom. Inside, there was a larger than king-sized bed, complete with a dark gray blanket draped over the corner, social media-post style.
An armchair sat in one corner and its ottoman was shaped like a whale.
How the hell was I supposed to take that with me?
The twin blue-gray wall sconces on the bedside tables illuminated the little figures on the surface. Whales in decreasing sizes starting from the size of my whole hand to one no bigger than my thumb. I snatched up the smallest one and tucked it into my pocket.
With a quick peek out of the door, I checked the hallway for zombies.
Working toward my goal, I added a tiger and a hippo to my collection, then had to dodge one of the dripping, robe-wearing senior girls who’d complimented my dress by ducking into a linen closet bigger my house.
More splashing, laughter and screaming came from outside and inside. The squeaks and splats of wet feet along the tile and wood floors had my heart pounding in my throat.
Giving fifty high school seniors access to my house would be nightmare city.
Not that I’d ever have a house like this.
How did Galen know nothing would get damaged?
Or stolen? Or destroyed beyond repair? I guess he wasn’t exactly worried about having anything go missing, especially not when he was literally tasking us with grabbing stuff from rooms or defacing photos or who the hell else knew in the house.
Rooms away, glass shattered.