“Please, sit,” she says, gesturing to the couch, the gun no longer in her hand.
I take a seat, but as far from her as possible.
“Frey cannot know any of this,” she says, pacing in front of me. “I will get rid of the body, but you have to promise me you won’t tell Frey what happened.”
All I can do is stare at her. I’m still trying to process everything.
“Promise me,” she says louder.
I nod.
She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “All right, now that we have that settled, there’s something we need to discuss.” Nan sits in the chair by the window trying to calm herself down even more. “When you get back to Thrace Tower, you need to do everything you can to get to the event.”
I’m shocked by her request since she thought I could be as dangerous as my mother.
“Even if that means killing your friends,” she adds.
“Why?” I ask, trying to sound like I’m in control of my voice, which I’m not.
“Our survival depends upon it.”
“Why?!” I shout, standing. “What the hell is going on that everyone is saying they need me? I’m just an orphan from the Outer Limits. I’m nothing special.”
“Yes, Max, you are. If only I could explain it to you…but we’re running out of time.” She looks down at her watch, which displays something else that I can’t quite see. “Just trust me, please Max.”
I don’t have time to respond before Frey walks through the front door. Nan quickly conceals her agitation with a smile. She gets up and gives Frey a hug before heading back towards the bedrooms. He steps down into the common room and places his hand on my shoulder, while his other hand lifts my face towards his.
“You all right?” he asks, a concerned look on his face. This one looks genuine.
“Is there another place we can stay for the next two days?”
“Yes, but why? What happened?”
I’m trying to think of a lie, but one isn’t coming fast enough.
“Max, you’re shaking.” Frey pulls me into his chest and I wrap my arms around him, holding on tightly.
“I don’t feel safe here,” is all I can say.
He kisses the top of my forehead, releases me, and goes into the kitchen. I sit down on the couch, trying to think of a better story to tell when he returns, which isn’t for some time. When he does come back he tells me to go pack. I hesitate walking down the hallway, knowing what lies on the other side of the bedroom door. But when I open it, the room is empty. I grab the duffle, stuff both my clean and dirty clothes into the bag, and go down to Frey’s room. I make sure to close my bedroom door since I don’t want Frey noticing the large bloodstain next to the bed.
“Where are we going?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t say Troy’s place.
“Addie’s house. She’s excited to see you.”
I let out my breath not realizing I’d been holding it. When we exit the house, I’m surprised there isn’t a carriage waiting for us. I ask Frey about it.
“I don’t want it recorded.”
I give him a questioning look.
“Every pickup that the carriages make are automatically recorded. Don’t they do that in the Outer Limits?”
Since I only repaired them, I never noticed if they recorded anything. But I don’t remember seeing any such thing in the carriages, so I doubt it. Why would Leader Fallon want to know where every carriage in Tarsus has been, unless it’s the Patrician that wants to know? Frey takes my hand and we walk casually down the street. It’s mid-morning, so most of the houses are empty. We have to cross several blocks, almost as if we were going to Lok’s house, but we move past that street and turn right. It’s another ten minutes before we get to Addie’s street. She has the door wide open before we’re even near the path to her house. She runs out and throws her arms around me, hugging me tightly.
“I’m so glad you came,” she says, releasing me. “Come on in, I’ve got everything situated.”
Addie’s house is much smaller than Frey’s, and not as well maintained. The walls are plastered in soft blue wallpaper. Scuffed hardwood covers most of the floor. The common room is small as is the kitchen. We follow her down the hall to the bedrooms. Addie says I can bunk with her and Frey can stay in the spare room. Her parent’s room is across the hall next to the lone bathroom. I set my bag at the foot of the bed. I’m not sure how the two of us are going to fit on such a small mattress, but I don’t comment and smile instead.
“I know this place isn’t as nice as Frey’s, but it’s home,” she says, plopping down on the bed. “So, what do you want to do for the next two days?”
I hadn’t really thought about it. I just wanted to get away from Nan. In reality, I would just like to do nothing.
“What do you recommend?” I ask, sitting next to her.
“Well, there’s the Arcade that opens later this evening. It’s so much fun.”
“What is?” Frey asks, entering the room.
“Going to the Arcade,” Addie says.
“I haven’t done that in years, so sure why not?”
We retreat to the common room and spend most of the day watching music videos and munching on food. I don’t pay the display much attention, unlike Frey and Addie. There are certain videos they can’t keep their eyes off of, almost like they’re in a trance. Those are the ones that hurt my head the most – mainly because the scenes move too fast for my mind to process. I excuse myself and go back to Addie’s room to lie down. The end tables next to her bed both have the same dragon statues as Frey’s sister’s room.
How am I going to
