Dark Masks by SAVAGE I

Author:SAVAGE, I.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Improvisation News, LLC / IN Studios
Published: 2023-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

Room 402

10:10 p.m.

Vickie stole glances at Julie, befuddled that anyone would spend so much time getting ready to sleep. With every stroke of the brush through her long blonde hair, Julie’s white satin nightgown swayed. She used the tiny oval mirror hanging by the light switch to help guide her strokes. Vickie smoothed her own hair with two quick swipes on each side when Julie wasn’t looking, only to have it pop back into the same position.

Julie put her brush down gently on the dresser. Both girls walked to the head of their beds and turned back their covers. Julie was methodical, taking one corner at a time and folding them back into an even right triangle. Vickie, on the other hand, threw the covers back and slid under them in one fluid swoop. She immediately turned her body away from Julie and faced the wall.

“Hey, did Linda have a boyfriend here?” Julie asked.

“Who are you talking to?” Vickie asked, not bothering to turn over to look at Julie.

“There’s no one else in here. So, you.” Annie had excused herself to the communal restroom just before.

This was none of her business, and Vickie could have argued the point or refused to answer her altogether, but sometimes the fight wasn’t worth it. “No,” Vickie said dismissively.

“Are you sure?” Julie asked.

Vickie rolled over to face Julie and shut her down with a stare, but when she turned over, Julie handed her a book, The Masque of the Red Death, open to a page.

“There are messages back and forth in this book in two different handwritings. They talk about meeting,” Julie said.

The message read: Once you’re out, we won’t have to keep things a secret any longer.

And the response in Linda’s handwriting: I can’t wait.

Vickie put the book down, staring at the floor, then picked it up again, reading the lines over and over, each time deflating just a little more.

How had she missed this? Secret messages?

A wave of heat rushed all over her, pulling her into the earth with the weight of the guilt squeezing her chest, as she realized she had overlooked something right in front of her. Again. She wasn’t mad at Linda. How could she be mad at a dead girl? She was just confused, like a surprise tackle when you thought no one was anywhere near you.

A romance? With whom? Was this the secret Linda never divulged? Was it Eagen?

Her lip curled at the thought of it.

Her mind swirled like a slushie machine, but on the outside, she remained cold as steel. Vickie turned her back to Julie, pulling the covers up over her and staring at the wall.

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