Take Me Tomorrow

Chapter 32: Ready to Escape

Paper drawings covered the door, but not one included a sun. While I hesitated, Lily knocked, and the cheap decorations floated to the floor. "They used to have us make those for the holidays," Lily explained the paperwork. "Most of the girls burned them."

The door opened an inch, revealing a small girl with bright red hair. Her beady eyes moved over us. "What do you want?"

Lily smiled wide. "I'm looking for Harper."

She placed her hand on the doorframe. "That's me."

I stared at her thin arms. I could see the veins. All of them. She may have been unbelievably thin, but her wrist was bare, scarless. Harper wasn't Noah's little sister.

"Do you have a roommate?" I tried to sound calm, but failed.

Harper stilled; obviously, she had heard the fear in my voice

"I'm her sister," I lied.

Harper's eyebrows would've pushed together if she had any. "You don't look like Bri."

"Genetics." I laughed, momentarily believing myself, but my façade shattered.

A second voice broke into the conversation, "I don't have a sister."

The roommate stepped into view, behind Harper's bony shoulder. Bri had a black pixie cut and three piercings on both of her small ears. Her pale complexion was paper-white against her dark clothes and even darker eyes. Hadn't Rinley had blue eyes?  My mind raced, trying to remember the photo I'd seen of her, but I couldn't piece it together. I could barely continue staring. Her fierce glare made me want to walk away, to try to find Rinley somewhere else, but we had to explain ourselves. And now.

"Sorry, girls," Lily chirped, remaining bubbly and confident. "I'm new to working here, and I wanted to get to know some of the residents. I think we were confused on the room—"

Harper began to slam the door in our face. Bri rolled her eyes. When her brown eyes moved, blue irises peeked out from behind her colored contacts. It was only then that I noticed her blonde roots beneath her black hair dye.

Before I could contemplate what my body was doing, I grabbed Harper's red shirt and yanked her into the hallway. I used the momentum to pull myself into the room and slam the door behind me. I locked it, spinning so fast that I knocked the wind out of myself on the door.

Bri moved faster than me.

She lunged to her desk and latched onto a sharpened envelope opener.

I flicked my knife out of my jacket. "Don't try me."

Bri's eyes landed on my weapon. All of her anger zapped away. Unlike her brother, she looked terrified. "What do you want?" she asked, shaky.

"To get you out," I said. "Noah's here. He's waiting for you."

Rinley leapt forward and swung the envelope opener at my throat. I dodged it, tumbled to the ground, and dug my nails into the pressure point on her ankle. She collapsed to the floor. Her scream was coming. I flipped her over, covered her with my body, and shoved my arm into her open mouth. Her teeth latched down on my bare skin, piercing. I bit back my own scream.

"Let me in," Harper shouted from the hallway as she pounded on the weak door.

I focused on the girl below me as she continued to fight, scratching and biting. I pressed my knife to her throat, and her teeth released my arm. A sigh escaped my lips before I could hold it back. Knocks continued to echo around the small bedroom, if you could even call it that.