The Mute and the Liar (57 page)

Kaylie
doing
the
same.
I
don't
want
her
anywhere
near
me.

Mel
and
Tyra
follow
carrying
two
large
boxes
each.
Kaylie
appears
to
know
exactly
where
she
is
going
and
leads
me
straight
to
my
room,
and
gestures
me
to
sit
on
the
stool
by
the
white
vanity
table.
Whilst
I
go
to
sit
down,
Mel
and
Tyra
put
the
boxes
on
the
bed
and
Kaylie
goes
over
and
begins
pulling
out
various
beauty
tools,
some
of
which
look
more
like
medieval torture weapons.

She
turns
around
brandishing
curling
tongs,
then
sits
down
on
the
bed
behind
me
and
begins
pulling
my
hair.
By
the
merciless
way
she
yanks
my
hair
back
and
nearly
rips
out
strands
of
my
hair,
it's
not
hard
to
tell
she
wishes they weren't curling tongs at all but tasers.

*****

4:05
PM

“
How's
it
going?
”
I
look
up.
It's
Jayce,
who
has
just
popped
his
head
around
the
door.

It
has
been
torture.
I'm
not
just
over-exaggerating.
They've
played
colouring-in
with
the
eyeliner
around
my
eyes.
They
have
given
me
a
facemask
of
foundation.
They've
plucked
my
eyebrows
like
a
butcher
would
pluck
a
dead
chicken.
And
now
Kaylie
has
begun
grilling
my
hair
again,
probably in
the hope
that
curling
it
too
many
times
will
make it
all fall out.

“
Really
good
thank
you!
”
and
there
it
is.
One
of
Kaylie's
infamous,
nearly
extinct
smiles,
reserved
only
for
Jayce.

Jayce
faces
me
with
a
gaze
like
that
of
strobe
lights;
it
leaves
me
feeling
exposed
and
vulnerable.
He's
judging
me,
judging
whether
all
this
eyeliner
actually
does
anything
to
my
eyes,
whether
this
gunk
plastered
on
my
face
would
ever
fool
anyone
into
believing
I
was
pretty.
My
cheeks
are
burning.
I
hate
it.
I
just
want
him
to
look
away.
There
is
a
small
pause,
a
shift
in
the
air,
the
only
thing
moving
being
Kaylie
as
she
tennis-ball-watches
Jayce,
then
me,
then
Jayce again.

“
You
look
lovely,
”
he
eventually
mumbles.
I
feel
my
face
turning
red.
He
said
I
looked
lovely!
Something
flutters
in
my
chest
and
I
can't help but
smile at him.

He
moves
to
sit
on the
bed
on
the only space
not
consumed
by boxes. He
takes
his
phone
out
of
his
pocket
and
appears
to
be
texting
someone.
Kaylie
continues
grilling
my
hair,
although
a
lot
less
forcefully,
almost
stroking
it.
Certainly
a
change
from
the
way
she
was
nearly
tearing
it
out
before.
I
guess
this
is
all
part
of
the
façade
to
impress
Jayce,
the
one-woman-show
about
how lovely and amazing she is, the show she
only puts
on
for him.

Mel
and
Tyra
left
the
room
about
half
an
hour
ago.
Tyra
insisted
she
wanted
to
help
do
my
eye
make
up
but
Kaylie
snapped
saying
that
she
would
do
it
by
herself,
and
so
they
hunched
off
in
a
strop.
It's
a
stupid
thing
to
fall
out over, but
I
get the feeling this
happens
all the
time.

Jayce
stands
up
and
goes
to
the
door
again,
his
arm
stretching
out
for
the
doorknob. That's
when
he
appears
to
remember
something
he
needed
to
do.

“
Hey,
Kaylie,
can
I
speak
to
you
for
a
moment?
”
she's
already
jumped
up
before
he's
finished
his
question.
He
disappears
behind
the
door
and
she
practically
runs
after
him.

Alone
again.

At
least
now
I
can breathe
a
little easier.

Ding.

I
could have sworn
I
heard
a
sound,
something beeping.
My God.
Is
that…

I
can't
believe
it!
It
is!
Jayce
has
left
his
phone
on
the
bed!
This
is
my
chance!

Enter
passcode.

Damn.

Wait…
It
couldn't
be…

Well
isn't
this
interesting.
Jayce
has
slipped
up.

He's
forgotten
something
very
important.
He's
forgotten
I've
got
to
know
him
a
lot
in
the
past
few
days.
I'm
starting
to
see
how
his
mind
works.
The
labyrinth
isn't
as
complicated
as
it
seemed
before,
and
quite
a
few
of
the
twisting
pathways
actually
end
up in the
same
place.

Confidently,
I
tap in
four
numbers. 0303.
The date
today.
My
birthday.
Bingo.

The
phone
unlocks
with
a
pleasing
click
and
up
pops
the
message
from
someone
named
'Sasha
Rabinovich.'
It
isn't
a
text
message,
but
a
private
message from
some
kind
of
social
networking
site.