✓ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 ↣ 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧

PART: 14

I stare into my brown eyes in the mirror. They look down to the rest of my body. I try to look for any difference with all the toning up I've been doing.

I pinch my arms and feel the muscle building underneath my olive skin.

Nice.

It has been two weeks and two days. I don't know whether to find it comforting that we haven't had an attack or frightening.

It was very frightening from the attack on campus. That thought reminded me of Pete. I go to the phone outside the Meeting Room.  Around the hook is lit up with rainbow lights. The phone is white itself with no cord attached. It changed color when I dial Pete's number. It rings on for seconds then sends me to voice mail.

"Hey, this is Pete. Leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can," he says cheerfully. The line beeps and I say, "Pete! It's me, Rowen. I'm so sorry I haven't called you. You must have been going crazy. I'm okay. I'm staying somewhere and I'm totally safe. Please call me when you get a chance. I miss you. Bye."

I put the phone back on the holder.

Dammit.

I feel completely isolated. Pete was my only outside friend. Hell, I would take Jack or Raven to talk too. I hate to say it, but I hope those assholes are okay too. Jack and Raven are probably spray painting as we speak. I leave my hand on the phone hoping Pete will call back immediately.

He doesn't.

**********

"Can we leave out of the facility?" I ask Chloe on the way to lunch. Her brown hair is left down today. It suits her better.

"You mean out out?" she says.

"Yes. Out out." The sliding doors open for us. The sweet aroma of pizza is all I can smell.

"You can leave. They don't keep us captive here. You still have your freedom. The contract only said you don't mention it to anyone," she says.

I think back when she told me about her parents. "But how are you parents allowed to know?" I asked her.

"My parents know Charles," she says as we pick up our plates.

"Then how do you think the other teens were able to get away from home?" Chloe grabs her and I a Gatorade out the freezer. I know the two adults don't have to explain very much.

We sit down at the table. I nearly stuff the pizza down my throat. I have also strategized on how to eat lunch before training. Eat it fast so that way you have the rest of the lunch period for the food to settle.

Chloe shruggs. "Cifer is a runaway," she says. I've seen her and the dark headed boy talking a lot at training. He is sitting at a table with two other boys. One is very overweight and the other one is short with big framed glasses.

Cifer being a runaway made it easy for him. I just wonder how the other kids snuck it by their parents. If we can go outside, how do they explain where they have been staying. Chloe said the youngest one here is fourteen and his name is Ryan. Now he has to be a great liar to sneak that by his family.

Kelly comes by with her posse. She sneers her eyes at me.

What the fuck?

Page is oblivious talking to some other boy. Kelly cuts the sneer when the automatic doors open.

"Did you see that?" I ask Chloe.

"Yeah. Did you do something to piss her off too," she jokes.