Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) (16 page)

Rising, Gabby turns her back on Principal Tony and slams the door behind her.

What an unsettling thought. The entire future could depend on one man’s ability to lie.

“Do you think we can trust Principal Tony?” I can barely hear myself over the clanging utensils and intense chewing that replaces the regular lunchtime yakkety yak.

Gabby shrugs. “Don’t get your hopes up. People look out for themselves. It’s as simple as that.”

I point at her empty tray. “Why aren’t you eating?”

She twirls her hair. “Not hungry. Haven’t been all day.”

“You really should eat.”

“I’ll be fine. Can you see Maddox anywhere?”

“Smooth change of topic.” I motion towards Dev who is charging through the cafeteria with her assignment in hand. “Nope, but I’ve found someone else.”

Dev slams her papers on the table. “An F? You have a hissy fit, so we
both
fail?! Do you know what you’ve done to me?!”

The cafeteria hushes. All eyes lock on us—students had their lunches, now they’re getting a free show.

“Oh well,” Gabby dismisses. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world…”

“Yes, it
is
!” Dev shrieks. “No one is exempt from failing!”

“And I’m sure turning into a doll with no memories of your past life would be pretty awful, hey,” I say, batting my eyes.

Dev locks her jaw. “What are you on about?”

“As if you don’t know,” Gabby murmurs. “Since when are
you
that obsessed with good grades? It’s sick that your own family doesn’t make you exempt from the rule.”

Dev purses her lips. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“If you’re going to lie, lie well.” Shaking her head, Gabby stands and heads for the exit, knocking into Dev’s shoulder purposely. She sighs when Robyn blocks the cafeteria doorway, glowering.

“Hey, doll-crusher.”

“I’m sorry, Robyn,” Gabby says. “Really, I can’t explain it. I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

Robyn pulls Chelsea from her pocket, her face crushed and her hair matted. “How can I forgive you for
this
? Look at her! She’s
ruined
!”

“Ruined!” Chelsea echoes.

“They can fix her.”

“That costs more money! Money I bet
you
don’t have! You piece of trash!”

I barely had time to duck when Robyn reaches for Gabby’s hair, madly tugging on it.

“
Let go
!” Gabby shrieks, pulling at Robyn’s wrists.

“Let’s see how you like it when
your
hair is ruined! And your
face
!”

“Are you
crazy
?!” Giving up on removing Robyn’s hands, Gabby pokes her in the eye. Robyn immediately lets go and drops on her butt.

“You could’ve taken my eye out!”

“And
you
could’ve ruined my hairdo,” Gabby parries coolly. She smooths out her shirt and steps over Robyn, ignoring the icy stares. Outside of the cafeteria is Mr. Hathaway. He stands with his arms folded, chewing the insides of his mouth.

“Attacking students, now? So a doll wasn’t enough?”

“Hey!
She
assaulted
me
. It was self-defense.”

“If it were up to
me
,” he says through gritted teeth, “I would expel you from this school.”

“Well, luckily it’s not up to you, is it?”

“Gabby,” I warn. “Be nice. Always be the bigger person.”

Mr. Hathaway glances at me, snorts. “Fortunately for me, I
can
give you detention. Rest your writing hand, Gabrielle. It’s going to do more work today than your entire school year combined.”

Gabby shrugs. “Goes to show the level of work they produce here, hey.”

Mr. Hathaway’s face glows redder and redder with restrained fury. “I don’t care what the principal says! As far as I’m concerned, you’re expelled! You may as well clear out your locker.”

“For being a smartass?” she hesitates. “Nope, not expulsion worthy. You’re gonna have to put up with me a while longer.”

What’s gotten into her? She knows just as well as I do that today will probably be the last time she steps into the school. Once we head to New York, everything will change. Maybe that’s why she’s acting this way. It’s her final “screw-you.”

“I’ll see you in detention, Gabrielle.”

“Don’t hold your breath.” Turning on her heel, Gabby walks away, making a beeline for the exit.

“You’re having too much fun,” I whisper. “Where are you going?”

“Sianne’s. I’m done with this place. Forever.”

“We can’t go home! We’re to stay at school until Sianne is ready…”

“Uh-uh. Tired of taking orders. From now on, I’m doing things my way. And that’s final.”

Sighing, I latch onto her ear, her strides rocky. Thank goodness I’ll never be a teenager.

h God, this isn’t happening!” Gabby tugs at her hair. “No, no, no! Not again!”

“Maybe Sianne left the door open when she went for a walk?”

“Oh, don’t you pull this, ‘I’m naïve dolly’ shtick! You and I both know what happened here!”

“Well, yeah, but what do we do? Do we go in?”

Gabby checks over her shoulder, scouts the cul de sac. “I don’t see any cars. Maybe they’re gone.”

“If they’re professional abductors, I think they’d know how to conceal a car.”

“Ella, I feel sick. Sianne is the one who knows what to do. She’s supposed to get us into the company.”

“Then, let me go in and check. Nothing can happen to me.”

Gabby bites into her lip. “No. This is deja vu. I’m not scared this time. I’m coming with. If those douche nozzles are inside, we’ll take them out. I’m tired of living in fear.”

Gabby is tired of a lot of things lately. Maybe, she needs more sleep.

“Okay.” I keep optimistic. “Let’s go in. You’ll see it’s nothing.”

When we climb the steps to the porch, I glance at the murky green goo on the boards. My jaw drops, and I frantically tap Gabby’s temple. “Look! The goo! Isn’t that the stuff my body floats in?”

Gabby crouches and examines it. She hesitantly sticks her finger in the puddle, squirming when it sticks to her nail. “That’s definitely tube water.”

“What’s it doing out here?” I wring my hands. “Is my body safe? If they’ve taken my body, they could do anything to me!” I pull on the strands of her hair. “Mush! Gabby, mush!”

“Stop it. I’m not a sled dog.”

With a determined stride, she charges into the house. Lights are left on, bookshelves are tipped over, and the goo trails all the way upstairs.

“Stay away from my body!” I warn, as Gabby cautiously inches upstairs. “Do you hear me, abductors? You’re not taking me anywhere!”

“Could you be quiet, please? We need to sneak up behind them if we want to catch them.”

“I don’t want to catch them. I want to rip their stupid hearts out of their stupid chests and shove them into their stupid mouths!”

Gabby halts and stares, bug-eyed. “Yikes.”

“Well, I’m angry!”

“But you’re still adorable. Clenching your little fists and snarling like that. Adorbs.”

I roll my eyes. “Just take me to the lab.”

The attic door is ripped off its hinges. Gabby peers around the corner. Nothing moves. Slowly, she slinks through the attic and into the lab. It’s completely ransacked. They left nary a beaker behind.

“No!” I cry, bounding from Gabby’s shoulder and towards the empty space that used to house my home… while at home. I burst into tears, mindful that my tummy is no longer filled with water, but with methylated spirits.

“Ha. Okay, so it’s a good thing we went to school,” Gabby murmurs. “We kept out of the line of fire.”

“But we could’ve stopped them!” I protest, the methylated spirits blurring my vision.

“We would’ve been outnumbered,” Gabby says softly, kneeling to wipe my face with her shirt.

“Well, we have to get it back!” I freeze when I remember Lisa’s not-so-little spiel. Could she be behind this? “We need to find Sianne.”

“Come on.” Gabby lifts me back onto her shoulder. Tiptoeing over the puddles of goo, she heads back downstairs, stopping at the kitchen counter. She slumps onto a chair and stares vacantly. “This isn’t even the beginning, is it?”

I frown, unnerved by her monotone voice. “What do you mean?”

“These abductions. The hard part is ahead of us.”

“A showdown.” I flick her ear. “But you forget I have upgrades now. I’m
unstoppable
!”

Gabby doesn’t even look when I puff out my spikes. She just stares into space. Glumly, I retract them and jolt when Sianne shuffles in, bobbing her head in time with whatever blares from her headset. She spots us and screams.

“Ahh! Jehovah Witnesses!”

“It’s just us.” I match Gabby’s grim state. “Didn’t you hear the intruders take my body?”

Sianne’s eyebrows arch. “Oh, that. I let them in. Not a concern, not a concern, so don’t ask questions. I’m the adult here! I have a birth certificate to prove it. Anyhoo, I’m packed for New York. I think I have everything I’m supposed to bring… hmm… although I always forget something… nope, I think I have it all. You girls ready?”

I can tell Gabby is itching to ask about the intruders, but there’s no point. Not with Sianne.

“Do you remember where to go?” I ask.

“I wrote it down.”

“That helps.” I glance at the distant Gabby. “Can you drive, Sianne?”

“I lost my license.”

“When?”

“Twenty years ago. It’s around here somewhere, I’m sure…”

“Right. Then how do we get to New York?”

Sianne unplugs the toaster and sits it on the ground, using it for a seat. She rubs her chin. “Daniel said the train station was bought out by the company. I guess we could ride the bus.”

I groan. “The bus? But there are crazier people than you on there!”

Sianne nods viciously. “Wait until you get to New York. It’s a city full of Siannes!”

Shoulders humped, Gabby pulls out her phone and searches for the bus schedule. She flicks it around to show Sianne, who leans in close and squints her eyes to read it.

“Three hours. All right then,” she announces.

“One, actually,” Gabby corrects. Tenderly, I stroke her cheek and cuddle her ear.

“One hour, three hours, it’s all the same. What is time? Just an opportunity to talk about the plan. The wonderful plan… and then, there’s a backup plan, which we hopefully won’t need… one million dollars… dollar-doos… that’s what you get for helping out a loon…”