Demi Lovato Imagines

The Retreat

Kate hadn't noticed the steep cliff edge when she'd first arrived but, looking out over the balcony, the sheer drop beneath her made her heart thud to her feet. 

"Is this safe?"

"Oh, perfectly, Miss Giles," Chen said from over her shoulder. Kate felt like everything this man has told her since she arrived had been over her shoulder, under his breath, behind a door. As if what he really meant was concealed by his gleaming white smile and crisply ironed smock with the crest of the company embroidered on the breast. "All infrastructure is maintained externally once a month. There's nothing to fear."

Kate could swear she felt a cool gust on the back of her neck. 

"Ready to meet the other guests?"

"Other guests?"

"Why, yes, Miss Giles. The rejuvenation programme is dependent on group activity. You didn't think you'd be here all alone, did you?"

Kate's toes curled at the insinuation of her error. 

"No, I didn't, it's not--"

She breathed in through her nose, then out again. 

"I think I just need a little time by myself. In my room. I don't think I can handle meeting anyone right now."

Memories of the cab ride flash on the back of her eyelids each time she blinked. Her stomach lurched at the thought of the smell and the careening swerve the driver made when he almost missed the turn-off. Her fingers still ached from gripping onto the seatbelt the whole way from the airport. 

"I appreciate that, Miss Giles, but I'm afraid it's all part of the itinerary. A swift tour of the house before regrouping down in the atrium. Your fellow rejuvenators will be there waiting for you now!"

He used the term as if they were all a group of girl guides, readying themselves for an evening of selling cookies. 

"Seriously," she said, placing her hand on the soft part of her abdomen, "I think I'll pass."

"Miss Giles--"

"You can't force me, you know. I can leave whenever I like. And with a full refund, I'll have you know."

Kate didn't know the refund policy of the rejuvenation programme at Dollar House but she was sure she could claim something. She hadn't used, eaten, or drank anything. The only thing they have provided was the cab ride here and she was sure if she could find out the name and conviction history of the driver (that she was sure existed), she could claim that back, too. But Chen didn't appear worried at this threat. He just smiled curtly, the same way he had done since he'd met her on the front steps, handed her the wrist band with her identification number, and led her seamlessly through the front doors. 'House' was the wrong word. This place was a mansion and then some. Kate wondered if the smile was because he knew there was no way she'd find the exit again. 

"No one leaves the rejuvenation programme, Miss Giles," he said. 

"They can though, right?" she asked falteringly. The heat from the sun shining through the windows beat upon her back. Chen's cheeks appled a little more. 

"No one wants to leave the rejuvenation programme." The correction felt forced as if it were being squeezed out of an already empty toothpaste tube. "Now, follow me."

Kate's feet were moving before she could even order them to do otherwise, trailing silently after the man in his rubber shoes. When they emerged out onto the marble landing, her chest constricted as she immediately caught sight of the group milling about at the bottom of the stairs. As they descended, she kept her eyes to the floor, to where her cropped jeans rose up slightly, exposing the purplish hue underneath.