Hush - Anne Malcom Page 0,23

day. Orion’s disappearance did that also. But then her father. Her brother. She hadn’t been strong enough to survive in this world alone. She couldn’t handle it. Orion could only laugh at the thought. Outsiders might’ve believed this story of a saddened mother, dying of a broken heart because all her family was gone.

Orion knew better.

Her mother’s love for her had died long before the cancer ate her up.

Orion forced herself into the clean, cheap clothes. Underwear that were simple and a little too big. They weren’t anything special. Cotton, plain. Probably from Walmart. But to Orion, they were precious.

She hadn’t worn underwear in ten years. A reminder that even the most basic necessity wasn’t hers.

She emerged from the bathroom to the smell of grease, of food, of that hotel cleaning solution. They had been given the opportunity to order whatever they wanted for dinner. Eric had showed them his phone—this rectangle with a color screen was a fucking phone somehow—and pulled up something called UberEats and had let them choose the restaurant.

It should’ve been a gift, that choice. But for three women deprived of choices for so long, it was cruel. Shelby likely had more experience with technology than Jaclyn and Orion, but she wasn’t exactly in her right mind. Eric hadn’t meant it to be cruel, of course. He was trying to do a good thing. Good things were lost on them, though. And the list of restaurants, of foods that they didn’t recognize—what the fuck was kale?—was too much for them. It had caused them all to retreat back to The Cell.

Shelby had started to shake uncontrollably, looking to Jaclyn for help. The strong woman just blinked at the screen, as if she were a robot malfunctioning.

Orion tried to speak, tried to save them all from looking like pathetic victims who couldn’t figure out which fucking food to eat. But the words were jammed in her throat, stuck like she remembered a potato chip might be.

She gave Eric credit, it didn’t take him long to clock his mistake. A handful of seconds, really. Which was long enough.

“You know, how about I just get you a bunch of my favorites?” he said, moving the phone back, tapping at the screen. “I’m an expert at this stuff since I can’t cook. My job doesn’t give me time to go grocery shopping, and, well, I’m lazy.” He winked.

Orion knew it was a lie. A man with clothes that pressed and muscles that sculpted was anything but lazy.

But he was kind.

He ordered them a bunch of food they wouldn’t be able to get through in a week before disappearing. Maddox wasn’t with him. He’d left them once they arrived at the hotel, giving Orion a look that had words of his own jammed in his throat. Their reunion had been awkward and weird.

She was glad he was gone.

Shelby was picking at a donut amongst the fast food graveyard. Pizzas, burgers, pasta, soda, milkshakes, and fried chicken. Each thing more delicious than the last. The women had gorged themselves, hence Orion retreating to the shower, to wash off the grease in her pores.

Jaclyn stood from the bed, hand to her stomach. “I think I’m dying,” she declared, cradling her bloated stomach.

Orion chuckled. “That’s what happens when you eat an entire a burger that has donuts for buns,” she said, shaking her head.

Jaclyn glared. “Don’t be all high and mighty, I was just trying to be polite. Not waste food.”

They went silent, looking at the buffet amongst them. Even now, the scraps that were left were more than they got in a week combined. Once, Orion had been sick. From the air. From the abuse. From the half-rotted food, she hadn’t been sure. But The Cell had stank of vomit and her stomach clenched when Thing One brought in the food. She gagged at the smell. Couldn’t even look at it.

She soon was taught what wasting food meant in The Cell.

She jerked back into the room. Both Jaclyn and Shelby’s eyes were far away too. Despite the hotel room. The shower. The food. The beds, sheets, clothes, underwear. They were still there. Parts of them would always be there.

“Can I talk to you both about something?” Orion asked.

Jaclyn rubbed her stomach but reached for a milkshake on the nightstand.

Orion shook her head, cracking a smile.

Jaclyn flipped her the bird. “Spit it out.”

“I saw Bob at the hospital,” Orion muttered, her face going pale.

Both women froze, Jaclyn with her lips still around the milkshake