𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 [𝟏𝟖+] ✔

14

Ainsley dresses me in one of her outfits since she claims that I have no taste, that my leggings and jeans are completely unacceptable attire for a nightclub.

Perhaps she has forgotten that we are trapped within a bloody glass dome.

The tight black dress clings to me like a wet cloth, the neckline dipping to a V between my breasts, causing my cleavage to be on full show. The look makes me feel uncomfortable. Even with my hair curled and a splash of makeup, Ainsley telling me how beautiful I am, I don't see it.

Maybe she's just trying to be nice.

And maybe the club will be dark. No one will notice the freckled ginger beside the tall dark-haired model, especially when said model finishes off her look with deep red lipstick.

"You ready?" she asks, smiling at me through her reflection.

I shake my head with wide eyes, but she grabs my hand, ignoring my obvious nervous refusal, dragging me from my bedroom.

Thankfully, my parents are in a meeting, most of the bodyguards are there, too. Eric has the weekend off, and the place is rather quiet. Ains promises God knows what to one of the new recruits, who lets us slip through the entranceway and down the path to the gates without being caught.

My tracker built into the band will only flag up where I am if it's activated, so hopefully, with my parents busy and Eric off, I can have a night of freedom.

I can already hear Eric yelling at us, to be honest. I'll deal with the consequences, if any—tomorrow.

It takes us about half an hour of walking until we reach our destination, a small building with steep stairs that go underground. I'm awfully nervous but glad that so far no-one has recognised me, slapped me, or yelled in my face because of the McClure blood that runs warm in my veins.

I scan our surroundings as we get to the bottom of the steps, concentrating on not going over my ankle in Ains' ridiculously high heels. The club is tiny. One room with a bar that only sells vodka, beer, and wine that were brought into the dome in bulk. We need to use our bands to pay with our points, most of the people in the dome work to get them, but my dad always has mine full. I have to find a way to hide the information on the system from my parents until it resets, which it does weekly.

There's dance music playing from the speakers in each corner, a mixture of genres from Shawn Mendes to Tiesto. A crowd has already taken the dancefloor, drunk, prancing around with their drinks in the air, singing along with the multicoloured lights flickering above them.

I just need to make sure that no one recognises me.

"There's Beth!" she calls out, grabbing my hand and dragging me to a booth opposite the bar. The blonde jumps out of her seat with a smile, kissing Ains on the lips then pulling me into an embrace. I've no idea what the two are saying, the music is extremely loud, so I stand with my hands awkwardly at my sides.

Looking around, I feel some relief that there are no eyes on us, that no one seems to recognise me. My shoulders relax, and I take a seat at the booth while Ains fawns over her new lover, thanking Beth's friend as she hands us all a drink.

Two hours later, the lights dim so we are basically in darkness, and Ainsley tells me that I shouldn't go on the dancefloor myself, to wait on her getting back from the bathroom. I listen, downing another drink and enjoying the buzz, the vibrations of the music in my bones making my head sway to the beat.

I need another drink.

Being normal is so fun.

I empty my glass and head for the bar, having to shove my way through the busy room, nearly toppling over when my heel decides to go horizontal, feeling a painless pop in my ankle.