Page 88 of Their Little Ghost

“Look…” I take a deep breath, deciding to play the only card I have left in my arsenal. “I didn’t want to say this, but if my father finds out?—”

“That you’re causing trouble?” she interrupts. “What will he do then? You may be a spoiled brat out in the real world, but here you’re all just vermin to me.”

I clench my fists. A rush of hateful fury surges through me. I give myself a mental shake and take a deep breath.Where are these feelings coming from?

“I’m only doing my job,” the woman continues, checking her watch. “You’re going to be late.”

I grit my teeth as the image of me bashing her head into her stupid desk pops into my mind. This place must be getting to me.I’m not sure what shocks me most, the violent imagery or the underlying satisfaction I feel from wiping that shit-eating grin off her face.

I suppress my urges and step out of the cubicle, covering myself with my hands. Outside the bathroom, there’s a flurry of activity. Instead of being empty, girls mill around chatting.

I hesitate for a moment.

“Hurry up,” the woman jostles me along. “Move!”

I step into the busy hall under the stark, unforgiving white lights. Instantly, everyone stops what they’re doing to stare. They point and cackle—obviously in no rush to get to their sessions.

“Look at the new girl,” Charlie, the girl who begged Aiden to come to bed with her, exclaims. “She can’t keep her clothes on!”

A camera flashes. Cell phones are banned in Sunnycrest, but contraband items seem insignificant compared to the twisted experiments my father’s conducting.

“Fucking slut!”

“Where is her ass?”

“Flat-chested freak!”

The insults keep coming. I keep my gaze fixed on the floor, praying that it will swallow me up to save me from the humiliation. It doesn’t take longer than thirty seconds to get to the laundry room, but it seems like hours.

After arguing with another grumbling staff member, I’m wearing a fresh uniform. It’s scruffy with faded red stains around the cuffs and torn hems, but it beats baring all for the entire asylum.

When I reemerge, three girls hang around, waiting for me. The boldest, Charlie, stomps in my direction. In the daylight, I get a better look at her. She’s stunning. Her dark shiny hair looks well-conditioned, and thick mascara frames her eyes.

“You.” She points, looking me up and down. Her nose wrinkles. “Come here.”

The rageful voice that’s started speaking in my head responds.I don’t have to do what you say, bitch.Yet, I keep my mouth shut and shuffle forward.

“I’m the one who makes the rules around here now,” she says. “Aiden and the others can’t protect you. Not anymore.”

“I’m not here to cause any t-trouble,” I stammer, regressing to the earlier version of myself who prefers to blend into the background.

“Yeah, right,” one of Charlie’s friends mutters sarcastically.

Charlie frowns in confusion. She mustn’t be used to someone acting amicably. Most disagreements in Sunnycrest are likely settled with a fight.

“You’re pathetic,” she says finally. “I don’t know what Aiden sees in you when he could have me.”

Maybe he doesn’t want a fucking psycho, the evil voice answers in my head, like a devil whispering in my ear.Perhaps he wants someone with class?

“We don’t know, Charlie,” her friend titters in agreement before turning to talk to the air. “Do we?” She shakes her head. “See? Hector doesn’t know either.”

“You can have Aiden,” I say hastily. “I don’t want him.”

“Fucking liar,” Charlie scoffs. “You have their mark tattooed on your neck.”

I reach for the sore spot on my neck. “I…”

“Watch your back, Little Ghost,” Charlie hisses.