Chapter 8 Selene #3
The difference was subtle, but I had taken note of it.
“Why did you write that note asking me to meet you in New York?” I asked him, pulling off my hat. I tried to straighten my bangs with my fingers, despite the fact that there were more important things to be done in that moment. Namely, listening to Neil.
“Because you can’t say that you’re willing to accept me or be with me if you don’t know everything about me,” he answered shortly. He shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it onto the sofa with a sigh.
He thought that I didn’t know him? Was he kidding me?
“I know a lot about you, though,” I replied, and he gave me a cynical smile.
“Oh, really?” he asked derisively. “What do you know, besides how I fuck and that I got raped?” he challenged me. He stood before me, hands clenched into fists and his stare sharper than any blade.
“I know you have a fixation on bodily hygiene and on blond women…” I stepped forward, and Neil watched me warily, like an animal preparing to attack, but I didn’t back down.
“I know you love to draw. That time I snuck into your room without permission, I took a peek at your notebook and saw that you are really into architectural drafting. You love The Neighbourhood; they’re your favorite band.
When we were living in the same house, I heard their music coming from your room all the time.
” I smiled and moved closer to him, just a little bit.
“You’re a reader, and you really, really like pistachios, but I’ve already told you that, just like I’ve told you about all the things I’ve noticed about you…
and I won’t deny that I am dying to learn even more,” I finished, drawing close enough for his scent to invade my space.
His golden eyes scrutinized me closely while giving away nothing themselves. Neil had shut me out again.
I couldn’t enter his world; he only ever let me in when he chose.
All at once, Neil took a step back, staring at me as though he didn’t know who I was.
Why did he do that? Why did he always seem to lose the thread whenever I tried to extend a hand to him?
Suddenly, a cell phone ringtone resounded in the air around us, breaking the tension. I quickly realized it wasn’t mine as Neil reached into his jacket pocket for his phone and answered it.
“What do you want, Jen?” he snapped.
It occurred to me then that all his other lovers lived around here.
I had no idea whether their number had decreased or increased since I’d left.
One thing I did know, however, was that my homicidal urges would have spiked off the charts if I had to see Jennifer again.
I hated her the most out of all of them.
“Okay, I’ll be there tonight,” he answered, undoubtedly because Jennifer had asked him to go out.
And what about me? Was I supposed to stay here by myself?
Neil ended the call without another word and heaved a sigh, putting his phone back in his pocket. Then he stepped back and watched me with a scornful look on his face.
“Put on something decent and ditch those terrible little boots,” he ordered me firmly, and I winced at his tone. Then he walked toward the door, and I just stood there, stunned and confused.
“Why?” I asked him, bewildered.
Neil turned and gave me a flat look. “Because you’re going out with me tonight.
And the shitheads where we’re going lose their minds over good girls like you, so put on something a little bit racy, something that makes you look more like a grown woman and less like a student.
” He turned the apartment key over and over in his hand while he assessed my outfit.
He wanted to go out with me? More importantly…would the whole Krew be there?
“Are Alexia and Jennifer going to be there?” I said their names with all the disdain I would have reserved for my arch nemeses.
“Yeah,” he said, turning his back to me and moving toward the door again.
“Where…where are you going?” I asked again, only feeling more adrift.
Neil turned around, looking impatient. “I’ll come get you again in a few hours. I need to shower and change. I don’t have clothes here. Make yourself at home.”
I looked down at the key he had clutched in one hand, and his apparent kindness took a back seat to my concern.
“So what are you going to do? Just leave me here?” I ventured, though I thought that was probably an absurd suggestion.
Instead, Neil grinned at me, pleased and proud. I couldn’t believe it…
I moved to stop him, but Neil was faster than me, and he left before I could reach him. I heard the sound of the key turning and the lock clicking into place.
Dammit.
“Neil?” Anxiety began gnawing at me. I opened the door to see him waiting nonchalantly for the elevator.
“Don’t go wandering around the city without my permission. See you later, Tinkerbell,” he said, sounding amused.
“You dick!” I shouted at him. He started laughing like an asshole and stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed on his still-laughing face. My rage only grew, and I called after him one more time.
By that point, certain that I had been left alone with only my fear and panic to keep me company, I tried to breathe and turned around to face the enormous apartment before me.
I felt adrift in an unfamiliar environment, in a faraway city, removed from my mother and all my friends. For all I knew, Neil was going to leave me here all night. Maybe he’d just go out with the Krew instead and wouldn’t show up again until the next morning.
I felt short of breath. I wasn’t used to sleeping all alone and certainly not in some apartment I’d never been to before.
“Okay, calm down, Selene. Breathe.” I tried to get centered while I took off my coat.
I was sweating from all the agitation, so I tossed it on the sofa before sitting down myself to take in my luxurious surroundings.
I could have gone snooping around the place, but I felt too much like an intruder.
Even worse, guilt rose up in my chest. I regretted lying to my mother; she didn’t deserve that.
Most of all, I regretted this whole clusterfuck—going along with Neil and his goddamned note.
Why had he even asked me to come see him? Was it a game? Was he messing with me?
“Relax,” I told myself, massaging my forehead. My fingers passed over my scar, and I thought about my accident, about the puzzles, and about Player.
What if he went after me again?
What if, somehow, he learned about my presence in New York?
I was getting paranoid.
“That’s dumb, knock it off.” I threw up my hands and got back to my feet. I had an extremely luxurious apartment at my disposal, and though I wasn’t in the habit of sneaking into other people’s spaces, I decided I was going to take advantage of it with a hot shower. To start.
Except, where was the bathroom? Big problem.
I picked up my bag and headed down the long hallway, which had various rooms branching off it. I opened a random door, and my mouth fell open.
The room inside could only be described as fit for a king.
A huge bed lorded over the middle of the room with two modernist bedside tables flanking it.
A bookcase stuffed with books stretched up to the ceiling, and a large window offered the same view as in the living room.
The atmosphere was welcoming, and the bedspread smelled nice; there was the scent of vanilla in the air.
There wasn’t so much as a speck of dust on the furniture, and the windows gleamed.
Mia must have hired someone to keep up the place.
Maybe it was even Anna, the housekeeper at Matt’s place. Who knew?
Either way, the apartment was clearly neither abandoned nor neglected.
I set my bag down next to the bed and got out a clean set of white lace lingerie, one I hadn’t worn yet. It was bold but not vulgar. Once I determined that, unfortunately, there was no bathroom in that room, I started wandering around again until I found one just a little bit farther down the hall.
As soon as I entered, I saw that pomp and luxury were also the order of the day in here.
The gilded marble with white finishing on the decor was particularly eye-catching.
I undressed and laid my clothes neatly on the countertop next to the sink before glancing at my reflection.
The bite mark on my lip was still visible, as were the various other marks on my body, having turned from a burnt umber to an awful shade of yellow.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I stepped into the shower.
I found various bath soaps located there and selected the one that smelled like almonds.
No coconut; not this time.
I soaped myself up in small circles and then rinsed carefully, trying to relax in the warm spray of the shower.
When I was done, I found a fresh towel hanging nearby and wrapped it around myself.
I stepped out, still dripping all over. I wrung the water out of my long hair with a huff.
I needed to get it cut one of these days.
I spent an hour drying my hair and, miraculously, achieved the desired effect. It ended up looking soft and sleek. My bangs had migrated to one side of my head, but since they covered my scar completely, I decided to leave them there.
I didn’t get dressed right away and instead explored the apartment in my underwear.
I was alone, after all, and no one was going to bother me.
Occasionally, I would stop to adjust the panties, which kept giving me wedgies.
I wasn’t used to wearing such a tiny pair, and I cursed myself for being an idiot when I had to admit that I’d worn them for Neil.
That asshole didn’t deserve a single thing from me.
He was probably already hanging out with Jennifer, pregaming in the pool house before they met up with the other members of the Krew. Meanwhile, I just hung around here waiting for him.
What the hell had I been thinking?
I should have just stayed at home.
My period of solitary confinement was long and slow.