HOSTEL
Chapter Six — Getting Familiar
Wub wub wub wub wub wub wub
The bass was relentless. Whatever the DJ was spinning, it seemed to go on forever, creating a steady stream of dancers exiting and entering the dance floor as they caught their breath and jumped back in. At the bar, Peter was dashing back and forth. He had an assistant for the night, a pleasant round-faced brunette, and Rebecca briefly wondered if she’d gotten her gig the old-fashioned way or through Alice’s brainwashing machine.
Wub wub wub wub wub wub wub
“Hey, I don’t think she’s coming.” Celeste placed her hands over Rebecca’s eyes, blindfolding her. “Unless she comes through the door riiiiiiiiight now! Spoiler, she didn’t.”
Rebecca shook herself free and gave the brunette a quick kiss. “I should have known. I didn’t have enough time, Celeste. Another couple of minutes to make the suggestion stick. That stupid boyfriend ruined everything.”
“Aw, please don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault. I should have… maybe I could have distracted him somehow.” Celeste tugged at her shiny, tight dress, showing off even more of her already impressive cleavage. “I’m sure I could have found a way. Somehow.”
Rebecca laughed at that. “Slut!” She pressed up against the girl’s body, enjoying the heat coming off her smooth skin, the feel of the dress fabric, the loose strands of brown hair that landed on her face. She felt loved. She felt powerful.
“I really do love you, Rebecca,” said Celeste. The smile left her face as she studied Rebecca with an intense, serious stare. “I’m hopelessly in love with you. I want to be with you forever. Tonight, tomorrow… always. You’re my everything now.”
Because you’re brainwashed to think that way, Rebecca thought. Then again, hadn’t Alice hypnotized all of them? The idea of going back home and back to her old life was growing dimmer by the day. Emily would never understand, of course. They’d meet up at the airport as planned, share a flight home, Rebecca unsuccessfully trying to explain herself the entire way. Then maybe a week to take care of loose ends before it was back on the plane to Berlin. Back to Alice. Back to Celeste. Sweet, beautiful Celeste.
And Jessica. And Phoebe. And Olivia. You can have them all.
But not Elke the shopgirl, who was clearly not going to show up tonight. Too resistant, too hesitant. All it would take would be a few discouraging words from her boyfriend and the spell would be broken for good. Maybe she could return to the shop, hypnotize them both, break them up and…
No. Never. Never.
“Mmmm… Euro for your thoughts.” Celeste gently nibbled on her ear. Her voice was hot and husky, and surprising loud against the ongoing wub wub wub. “My thoughts are all dirty ones about you.”
Rebecca tugged hard, and the brunette fell into her lap with the cutest yelp. Her head weighed heavily on Rebecca’s aching, yearning crotch. She looked down at that sweet, eager face. Soft. Caring. Loving. Devoted. Mine. “Fuck this place,” she said. “Let’s go make those dirty thoughts into reality.”
“Yes, my wonderful Mistress.”
“Stop that.” They abandoned their half-finished drinks and headed for the door. “You make me feel silly.”
Celeste pulled Rebecca to a stop just before the door. She brought her hands around Rebecca’s face and dived in for a long, passionate kiss. “I can make you feel more than silly,” she said.
Rebecca swooned. Genuinely swooned. Smartphones in the crowd recorded their hot kiss for posterity. More than one pair of wide, mesmerized eyes watched their every move. It was a perfect moment. It was a perfect night. “Mmmmm,” said Rebecca. “I’m gonna make you pay for that.”
They walked out into the chilly evening, arm-in-arm.
“You just need to say the words ‘sorrows are best forgotten’ to her. Remember that. Don’t write it down, just remember it. What do you say to her?”
“Sorrows are best forgotten.”
“Exactly. That’ll let her know what you’re there for. You get two hours with her.”
“She will do everything I want?”
“Anything you can think of, mate. Any sex act you can dream of. Probably a few that you can’t. Or have her do your laundry, it’s all the same to her. Your girl, your time. Just don’t go do anything stupid like try to get her phone number or follow her round town, understood? Bad things will happen.”
“Ja, sehr klar. Very clear.”
“Best money you’ll spend tonight, mate. She’s worth it.”
“Look at me, Celeste. Look into my eyes. You are my slave. Say it.”
The brunette did as she was told. “I am your slave, Rebecca. Please command me.” She pushed forward, burying Rebecca’s face in her cleavage. “I live only to serve you.”
They were pressed up against the bedroom door, Celeste happily grinding away at her new and eager lover, smothering her with deep and passionate kisses that left Rebecca gasping for air. Occasionally, they would hear footsteps and conversation on the other side of the door; each time, Rebecca would briefly panic before reminding herself that none of the girls in the hostel were going to remember much of anything once they went home. She could make love to Celeste in the kitchen in full view of everyone and it wouldn’t make a difference.
“Mfff mmmm ommm mmm…” She pulled her face free and admired, again, the brunette’s impressive chest. “Go down on me, slave.”
“Yes, Rebecca.” Celeste instantly fell to her knees. The door rattled as Rebecca fell heavily against it, legs spread and dripping wet.
“And call me Mistress again, slave.” She braced herself for the intoxicating response.
“Yes, Mistress.”
Nnnnnggggggodddddyyyyessss…. She reached up and grabbed her own tits, rubbing her fingers over her nipples as Celeste’s tongue gently met her lips. “Donnnnnnnnnstop…”
“Oh God oh God yes yes yes!! Oh yes Celeste don’t stop!”
Then Celeste reached her clit, and she stopped thinking about anything else.
Helene stifled a giggle and gave Juliette a sharp poke in the ribs. They both stopped in front of Rebecca’s room, sharing a knowing glance as the door shook and clunked. More moans and cries followed.
“Tu es une belle cochonne, Rebecca,” Helene whispered.
“Tu l’es aussi,” Juliette whispered back.
They snickered and poked each other playfully as they abandoned the free show and headed for the kitchen. Behind them, the moaning and yelling continued.
“Oh my God ohmygod ohmygod Rebecca RebeccaRebeccaRebeccaaaaaaaa!”
Emily ran to the middle of their room and began twirling in circles, arms high in the air. “Rebeccaaaaa! You will NEVER guess what happened to me just now!”
Rebecca put down her O-Chem book and shrugged. Lots of things happened to Emily. She got excited about nearly all of them. Guessing was mostly pointless. “Not gonna try, Em. What is it?”
The redhead continued to spin, adding enthusiastic foot-stomping to her impromptu dance routine. “Roger Thorpe, Roger Thorpe! ROGER Thorrrrrpe! I was coming out of Brown Hall and I ran into him, and said hello, and he was like ‘do you want to go to Beachfest with me’ and I said yes!”
“Wait, you said yes?”
“I said YEEEESSSSSSSSSS!” She danced her way to Rebecca’s bed, jumping up and down as she closed the distance. “Oh my God, right?”
Rebecca reached into her pocket.
“Oh fuck me, that felt good.” Rebecca leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes. Her body was still tingling all over, especially below her waist, and she settled into a happy post-coital bliss. “Oxytocin’s a hell of a drug,” she mused to no one, as she scrunched her body into a comfortable sleeping position.
The door opened. Celeste poked her head in. “I’m back,” she said, letting her bathrobe fall to the floor. “Mind if I climb in? It’s cold in here.”
“It’s cold everywhere in this hostel. Alice says that she’s going to replace the- ooof!” She caught a grazing blow to the face as the brunette tumbled onto her like a felled tree. “Aah! Hey!”
“Look out beloooooooow,” Celeste said, wiggling as she forced her way into Rebecca’s embrace. “I used to torture my sister with that when we were kids. We would…. oh. Well, shit. That’s a childhood memory that I’ve ruined forever!” She reached down and tickled Rebecca’s thigh.
“Hey!” Rebecca’s leg jerked out, sending a pile of underwear to the floor. “You’re feeling saucy!” She pinched the brunette’s arm, eliciting a happy squeal in response. “You know, you’re supposed to be deeply hypnotized and totally under my control.”
Those hazel eyes dimmed a bit. “I am very deeply hypnotized, Rebecca. And I love you. I’m so happy right now! That was the greatest sex I’ve ever had in my entire life. I’ve never cummed that hard with any of my other… er… conquests? What do you call yours? The people you’ve slept with?”
“Conquests? You mean like hypnotizing a beautiful woman in a bar and making her into your love slave? Hmmm, dunno about that.”
They paused to snuggle and kiss. Celeste closed her eyes. “Mmmm. I’m so glad that you hypnotized me, Rebecca. My life is so much better now. I will always go deep into trance for you whenever you want. You’re the only thing I think about now. I mean, there’s school and stuff, but it all seems… kinda secondary at this point.”
“He’s all I can think about, Rebecca! Fuck, even if it’s a shitshow... even if he sucks in bed or tries to murder me, I at least said yes, right? I had my chance and I took it! Eeeee! Oh my God, I’m going to have to buy a new dress. Something hot. Not slutty, just hot. Wanna come? Watson’s is having a sale and you could always… pick up… something… for… your… ssssellffff…”
“Watch the crystal, Emily. Back and forth. Watch the pretty crystal. Listen to my voice. My pretty voice. Down and down, down the stairs, from one hundred to one, count down with me. One hundred.”
Dull brown eyes swung left to right and back again. “One... hundred… ninety… nine…”
“What are you thinking about, Rebecca?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re drifting off, like you’re going into a trance. Mmm, it’s so nice. It feels sooooo good.” She pulled a thick comforter up from the bottom of the bed and covered them both with it. “You should let Alice hypnotize you. Put you into a deep trance. A deep, relaxing trance… so deep… sinking… so heavy…” She yawned. “So, so heavy. I’m so…” yawn “I’m… so… sleepy.”
Rebecca gently kissed Celeste’s cheek as they both drifted off to sleep.
“Are you ready for today?”
“Yes.”
Kyle massaged her shoulders, pushing forward with each gentle pass, pushing her ever so slightly closer to the mesmerizing spiral that sat before her. “You’re deeper than you’ve ever been. Deeper than ever before. Deeper into hypnotic trance. Deeper into the spiral.”
“Deeper,” she said. By this point in the process, she had no idea what the word ‘deeper’ even meant, only that she was now Very Deep, and that Kyle had ordered her to go even deeper. Into the spiral, into trance. To somehow empty her blank, vacant mind a little bit more.
His hand dropped to her chest and closed around her pert breasts, groping and caressing them as carefully as he’d worked her shoulders. “My voice is pleasure. Obeying is pleasure. Obedience is pleasure. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Satisfied, he pulled away and admired his newest subject. “Stand up.”
“Yes.”
She was submissive. He liked that in his subjects. It made them easy to program; it also made it easy to program them with extra instructions that only he knew about. An overwhelming urge to fuck, a deep-seated loyalty to the sound of his voice, or even, in the best cases, an entirely new personality that was utterly devoted to him. A puppet with strings that only he knew about. With this girl, and her open mind, and Arthur’s incredible collection of black market drugs...
But there was no time left. The contract was nearly over. He’d already been paid. The only thing left to do was to finish the job, and leave the girl to her fate. He tossed her shirt to her. “Remain deep in trance. Get dressed. We’re going out.”
“Yes.”
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend, thank you for asking! I barely have time for term papers, never mind dating. I’m sure that makes you proud of me.”
Arthur settled back in his booth and laid his napkin on the table. He stretched and let out a happy groan. “Well, I won’t pry too much. I wouldn’t want to spoil our lunch. This was such a wonderful surprise, Hayley! I never thought I’d see you here. You never let me know when you’re in town.”
The young woman across from him set down her fork and brushed a loose strand of blonde hair from her face. “I never know when you’re in town. Why don’t you visit me more often? Hamburg is just two hours by train. You could make a day trip of it.”
“I would find a way to embarrass you. The old man in front of his daughter’s university friends, trying desperately to recapture his youth. Imagine the scandal.”
“I’m sure that you’d be a perfect gentleman,” she laughed. She leaned back and let her hands drop into her lap. “Anyway, it’s only two hours. And I don’t mind coming here on a quick lunch trip. I know how busy you are with your investment properties and your meetings. Think of it as me coming to rescue you.”
“I’m your father,” he protested. “I’m supposed to be rescuing you. Not the other way around.”
“We’ll take turns, then,” she said with a playful smirk. “And next time I’ll pick up the cheque. I’m not completely poor, you know.”
“You will do no such thing, Hayley! We can discuss your finances... after I get back from the toilet.” He slid his empty plate forward, more out of habit than of necessity, and began to inch his way out of the deep-padded booth.
She reached out unexpectedly, placing her hand over his and pressing down firmly. “Actually, you should stay seated.”
Arthur tugged at his trapped hand, expecting Hayley to let him go, but she persisted. If anything, she pressed down harder. “Really, Hayley! I’m just going to wash my hands. Now let me go! You’re getting awfully willful in your adult years, I must say.”
“I’m holding a gun underneath the table, and I’m pointing it straight at you. Don’t look, just sit. There’s something that I need to say to you.”
“Hayley?”
“Don’t. Don’t say a word. Don’t shout or try to run. I will do what I must.”
Her voice was cold and clinical. Her eyes were cold and… not clinical. Just empty. Blank. Lifeless. Just like the girls that… oh God. He sank into the booth, helpless and confused.
“Alice has something very important to say, daddy. It is very important that you listen to what she has to tell you.” She drifted off for a moment, eyelids fluttering. Her head tilted to one side, as if trying to recall a long-lost memory. Suddenly she sat upright, shoulders thrown back, chest pushed forward. Her eyes locked onto his own, and her mouth opened. Words- clearly not her own- began to spill out.
“Your daughter is very beautiful, Arthur. You should be quite proud of her. Beautiful and smart, just like her mother. It would be a terrible loss if something were to happen to her, wouldn’t it? So you’re going to listen very carefully to me now. Don’t do anything rash. The poor girl is quite out of her mind at the moment.”
“What... “ he bit his lip. A sudden urge to look underneath the table swept over him. Hayley doesn’t own a gun. She hates guns. She couldn’t…
Then he thought of the girl in the chair, thoughtless and blank, eagerly accepting whatever new orders Kyle placed into her pliant mind. How easily she’d gone under. How easily she’d been turned. And now Hayley. He wondered how long his daughter had managed to last before finally breaking.
“You see, Arthur, I know that you’ve been tampering with my girls again. Trying to pry inside their pretty little heads and steal them for yourself. It simply won’t do, dear. They’re my property, and I work hard for my things. So I’ve sent your lovely daughter here to give you a choice. She can shoot you. Mind you, once she does, she’ll wake up with the full knowledge of what she’s just done, and she’s programmed to take the blame and confess to the police. But that’s messy, and I simply cannot stand messes.”
Arthur caught a glimpse of motion at the edge of his vision. An approaching figure. At first he assumed that it was Alice, or perhaps another one of her drones. Then the figure held up a notepad, and his stomach turned. The waitress! No. No. No. Go away! Go away! A corner of his brain screamed as hard as it could, begging his body to turn away from his daughter for just a moment, to wave off the waitress before she saw anything. Surely Alice would allow him that. But deep down, he knew that she would not. You’re either a tool, or a person who uses tools.
It was too late. The woman stood next to the table, staring down at them. “Can I get you two anything?”
Hayley casually glanced to her right. “We’re fine, thank you. We’d like to stay for a little bit to talk, if that’s alright with you.”
The waitress nodded. “Let me know if you need anything.” Then she was gone.
Hayley calmly returned her empty gaze to her father. “Or, dear, you can take my generous offer.”
She looked and moved like a robot. Like a possessed girl from a horror movie, head ready to keep slowly turning until it faced the back of her seat. Hayley, his precious Hayley, possessed by evil and under a demon’s control. Warm liquid tickled his upper thigh as he struggled to find his voice. “Off… offer?”
Another head tilt, barely noticeable this time. “My generous offer is this. You’re going to ring your associates and tell them to call off whatever little plan you’ve set into motion. You’re going to send that girl back to me, and have her identify herself as your agent. Then you’re going to stop interfering in my business, leave town, and never come back. Understood? Good. Hayley will be counting down in her mind from a number I’ve given her- oh, let’s leave what it is a mystery, why not- and if you’re not on the phone by then, she’s going to do what she must. Goodbye, Arthur.”
Hayley’s mouth fell open and stayed that way, white teeth just visible behind her ruby lips. Her eyes never left his.
Kyle made sure to escort the girl all the way to the hostel. She was far too deep in trance to make the journey alone, and besides, it allowed him to have a front-row seat for what was to come next. With any luck, he’d hear the bitch’s terrible screams as the life ran out of her. He ran his hand under her long, dark hair and rested it on the back of her neck. “You know what to do, Olivia.”
She stared at the front entrance. “Yes. I know what to do.”
“You will go upstairs and kill your target. You will go upstairs and kill Alice. You will go upstairs and kill. Obey.” He could feel her muscles beneath the palm of his hand. They were completely relaxed and loose.
“I obey. I will go upstairs and kill.”
He pulled a knife from his leather satchel. “I’m going to give you the weapon you will use to kill Alice. I’m going to give it to you now. You will use it to kill. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I understand.”
A short beep in his headset caused him to jump in surprise. Cursing himself for being so nervous, he slipped the knife back into the satchel and grabbed Olivia’s hand. “Wait.”
“Yes.”
He pressed the function button and tried not to melt down right there on the sidewalk. “What the hell are you calling about? Go back to your lunch, and I’ll call you when it’s over!”
“Lower your damn voice, Kyle! I’ve got you on speakerphone!”
What the hell is this idiot doing? Now, of all times? “Why do hell do you have us on—”
“Call it off. Now We’re calling it off.”
Of all the things the older man could have said, this… call it off? was the last possible thing that Kyle expected to hear. “Arthur, I’m at the front door! We’ve spent weeks on this! This is our chance! We are—”
“We are calling it off, Kyle. Tell Olivia to go inside and report to Alice. And that’s all she’s going to do, understood?”
Kyle looked at the girl, at the entrance, at the knife in the satchel, mean and shiny and sharp. “Is it money? Did she buy you off?”
“Speakerphone, Kyle! You’ll get your cut. I’m booking you a flight back to the States. Let me know when you’re safely back in Freeport. We’re all finished here today.”
“Arthur. If you just think about this for a minute...”
“DO IT, Mulroney! NOW.”
Arthur stabbed at the phone with his finger, hard enough to send waves of pain back up his hand and into his arm. The shock of it caused him to jump back instinctively, and he looked up at Hayley to see how she would react. To his surprise, she was fumbling with her purse. After a moment, she handed it to him. “Take this, dear,” she said. “Fetch what’s inside and give it back to her.”
He placed the pink leather bag on the seat next to him and peered inside. Oversized sunglasses, makeup, a paperback with a German title, keys and phone. Together with a nasty-looking Glock 26, which he carefully palmed and slipped into a jacket pocket. He snapped the top closed and handed the bag back to his waiting daughter, who calmly slipped it over her left shoulder.
“If you’re hearing this, dear, you’ve done the right thing. Your daughter’s going to wake up with no memory of this little discussion of ours. Feel free to deprogram her at your leisure. I’ve left very little in the way of commands that need to be cleared away. But do remember that you’ve a lovely, beautiful wife at home. Plenty of very suggestible friends, neighbors, coworkers. I’m sure you get the point. The next time you steal from me, you’ll not get a warning.”
“I understand,” he said. Marion. She took that holiday to Greece all alone last month. The Smiths said that they went to Ireland for Christmas, but…
“Understand what, daddy?”
He looked up again to find two beautiful, caring, loving eyes watching him with concern. “Daddy, are you alright? You look pale!”
“It’s… it’s just… probably something I ate.”
“Come on. Let’s get you some fresh air.” She reached for his hand again, and he jerked it away. But her face remained the same, sweet and happy and a shade lighter as her worries about his immediate health settled in.
He returned his hand to the table and eagerly let her surround it with her own.
The sunlight forced its way through Rebecca’s eyelids, and she scrunched her eyes and moaned in response. Next to her, shaded by Rebecca’s body, Celeste was still peacefully asleep. Her chest rose and fell in a hypnotic rhythm, and for a moment Rebecca found herself mesmerized by the sight of it. Her lover looked completely, utterly, wonderfully content. Whether that was because of the amazing sex or because of Alice’s programming was a question that neither of them could ever really answer.
She gently eased her way out of the tangle of limbs and set her feet on the cold floor, cringing with every creak of the bed frame. Celeste was simply too beautiful to wake up. Just a quick bathroom break, and then she could come back and draw the curtains. Climb back into bed, intertwine herself with that lovely body, and drift off again. This is my life now, I guess.
“Ugh,” she whispered. The floor was cold. The room was cold. She tugged at her robe, wrapping it as tightly as she could around her body. After a moment, she quietly slid the comforter off of the empty bed across from her and added that to her impromptu layering. Satisfied, she crept to the door.
There was a sheet of notebook paper at the bottom of it, slipped in from the hallway. Curious, she bent down and examined it.
Rebecca dear, come see me when you read this. I’ll be down in the basement. I’ve got a project I’d like to show you.
Celeste, just reading this sentence has put you into a deep and obedient trance. You will read these words and obey them. You have picked up this note by mistake. You will give it to Rebecca and then forget all about it. Do it now.
Rebecca reluctantly shrugged off the warm comforter and headed out.
The door to what she’d come to know as The Brainwashing Room was always locked, but Alice had given her a key on the day that they decided… that Alice decided, anyway… to become business partners. Behind the door was a short hallway that led to the building’s back staircase, old and ornate and completely unused. Alice believed it to be the old servant’s staircase from when the building had been an apartment building, but its history didn’t matter much now. All Rebecca knew was that it led down to the basement, and The Brainwashing Room.
She’d been down these stairs herself not long ago. Once while completely lost in trance. Once while helping a dazed and tipsy Celeste to navigate the uneven stone steps. Every guest at the hostel made the journey at least once. Alice, of course, knew them by heart. Rebecca wondered just how many times she would make the journey before the week was out. Perhaps one day she would be the one leading sleepy girls like herself into the bowels of the building, ready to be turned into happy and loyal guests. Eager to be told to forget, or obey, or make out. Or fall in love.
A metal fire door at the bottom of the stairs led into the storage room, and beyond that, Alice’s playground. Presently it opened, and Rebecca jumped back in surprise. She’d never been down here alone. Alice emerged and, after a moment, gently escorted a pretty olive-skinned girl into the stairwell. “That’s it dearie. You’ve had a long and tiring day. So very sleepy. So very tired. It’s time to rest. Sleep. Soon, you’ll be deeply asleep.”
Rebecca felt her own eyelids start to droop, and she shook her head to clear the cobwebs. “Hey, Alice.” She eyes the other girl. “Hey, Olivia.”
Olivia looked at her and tilted her head, spilling long dark hair over her bare shoulder. “Huh? Who’s.. I’m not… huh?”
Alice brushed the hair back and lightly patted Olivia’s shoulder. “There there, dearie. Rebecca here is just a little confused, that’s all. Tell her your name.”
Olivia stiffened, and stared at Rebecca. “My name Angela Delarino,” she declared.
“Excellent. And where are you from?”
“Richmond, Virginia.” There was a twang in her voice that hadn’t existed before. Southern. Genteel, even.
“Have you met Rebecca before?”
“Yes. Rebecca works here. She’s very nice. I will obey her without question.”
Rebecca’s knees wobbled, and she sought the support of the handrail. “What the… fuck? Alice. What the fuck did you do to her?”
“Well I’ve had quite the day, I can tell you!” Alice chuckled as she began stroking Olivia’s- Angela’s hair. “This one got herself mixed up with a rather awful man named Arthur Davies. He got into her head and tried to turn her against me. Now I will tolerate a lot of things, dearie, but not that! Suffice to say that the problem took care of itself. And here we are.”
The explanation may as well have been delivered in Chinese, for all the sense it made to Rebecca. “But why is she calling herself Angela… whatever now? Where did that come from?”
Alice sighed. Her eyes lowered to the floor. “I’m afraid that Arthur is a nasty piece of work. He’s not a skilled hypnotist like you or I, so he resorts to brute force. Drugs and more drugs, from what I understand. I got her body back in one piece, but her mind… it’s more or less a wreck. It’s simply not possible to let her back on the streets like that, so… you might say that I hit the reset button. Started from scratch and rebuilt her. Angela, when were you born?”
“February 28th, 1997.”
“Yes, and who are your parents?”
“George and Christina. They died in a car accident when I was twelve.”
“Well I’m very sorry to hear that, dearie.”
“Yes, Alice.”
“I know a few people who can create any identity out of whole cloth.” Alice was looking at Rebecca again, no longer sad; if anything, she was extremely proud of herself. “She’ll have a passport and an ID with all of the correct information. I’m afraid she’ll never travel to Berlin again, though. Poor dear’s about to develop a rather nasty case of flight anxiety. Once she steps off the plane in Bangkok, she’ll never leave the country.”
“But Alice…” Rebecca sat down on the lowest step. “She’s still Olivia. Doesn’t she have real parents? Siblings? Friends? Grandparents? Jesus, you can’t… they’re gonna want to know where she went. They’ll track her to here. The police will. They’ll find out about everything!”
“I cover my tracks quite well, Rebecca. Angela here has already told everyone she knows that she’s decided to stay in Europe. Perhaps a girl like her was seen at the airport, perhaps boarding a train to Vienna… all rumors, of course. She’ll be erased.”
“Alice, you can’t. Please. You can’t just…”
Alice took the mesmerized girl by the arm and began the climb back to the hostel. “I can’t what, dearie? Bend people? Is that it?”
“I think we both can, Rebecca. And sometimes, we have to.”
She opened the door to find Emily sitting cross-legged on her bed, staring off into space. The sundress they’d picked out together at Watson’s hung on the closet door, still in its plastic bag. A pair of red heels lay in a pile next to the room door, and Rebecca quietly picked them up and moved them out of the way. Scuff marks on the door indicated the force at which both shoes had been thrown.
“Hey,” she began. “What’s up? I figured that you’d be gone by now. Did Roger stand you up?”
“No, it’s… it’s okay. I’m just… thinking. Don’t worry about me, Colonel Sanders. I’m… okay.”
“Those red eyes and used tissues don’t spell ‘okay’ to me, Em. Come on, what’s up?” She took a seat on Emily’s bed, far enough away to avoid contact. It wasn’t time for that yet. Be her friend, ease her down, get her to relax. Tell her it’ll all be okay. “It’ll all be okay, no matter what, okay? I’m here for you. Roomies stick together.”
Emily turned her head, and her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what to do, Rebecca. I want to go tonight, but I… don’t. A part of me doesn’t. I can’t explain it. I...”
She was perfectly programmed. “Okay, then don’t go. Why beat yourself up over something you don’t want to do? Come on, we’ll order pizza and watch Harry Potter until we fall into a food coma. Girls night in.”
“Noooooooo…. No!” The tears swelled and fell onto her face as her lips quivered. “Rebecca, no! I want to go! I do! It’s just… every time I think of Roger, I… I mean… I want to go!”
“Hey.” She inched closer, until they were nearly- but not- touching. “It’s okay if you’re having second thoughts about Roger. You don’t know him that well, right? Maybe this is your gut telling you something.”
Emily fell back onto the bed without saying a word. Her eyes fixated on the ceiling, on the little glow-in-the-dark stars that Rebecca put up on their first weekend in the dorms. “Roger’s so nice to me, Rebecca. The way he looks at me… he wants my body. He wants me. I think he’s in love with me. But every time I see him… oh God, Rebecca. This is embarrassing and stupid.”
“What?” Rebecca knew exactly what. She played her best poker face and waited.
“It’s just… whenever I think of kissing him, I think of kissing… you. And I don’t… oh my God I’m so fucking embarrassed right now! I don’t even! I can’t even! Rebecca, please! I’m so sorry! I don’t know what to do! I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I want him and I don’t want you and I’m so sorry and I’m stupid and worthless and I…” Her voice curled into a pathetic whimper. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to doooooo…” She brought her knees up to her chest and held them there, feet kicking in frustration. “Nnnnnnnnnaaaaaah! Why?”
Rebecca frowned. She had fucked things up. Somehow the suggestion to dislike Roger had gotten tangled up with the suggestion to think of Rebecca whenever Emily saw a hot guy. Roger wasn’t a hot guy, not in Rebecca’s mind, but to Emily…
Instead of ditching him at the dance and running home to Rebecca as planned, Emily was frozen on her bed, completely confused and scared. Devastated. Heartbroken. And it was all Rebecca’s fault. Her best friend, curled up in a ball and bawling.
Rebecca’s hand closed around the pendant in her pocket. “I can fix this,” she said out loud. “I can fix anything. I’m sorry, Em. I can fix this.”
Emily, drowning in her tears and anguish, heard none of it.