Escape Read Online Free

usual perfectly coiffed dancer’s bun. But there was simply nothing usual about the seating. What was she doing on “the Platform”? The platform that was practically reserved for the FOHs? She wasn’t grimacing with fear and loathing. . . she was smiling politely. She wasn’t buried in the hard frozen tundra; she was sitting in one of the biggest cushy chairs, right next to Ed, surrounded by a giant circle of attentive rich girls from hell. Okay, Tatiana and Ed was a normal sight. Ed and the FOHs was not an entirely abnormal sight. He had, after all, gone out with Heather for quite some time back in another life. But Tatiana and the FOHs?
    Shake it off, Gaia. You’re seeing things. Either she was hallucinating, or else she was just experiencing an explosive attack of misperception. She stepped closer to try and correct her skewed vision. But stepping closer only made it worse. Seeing this bizarre congregation of individuals was one thing. But actually hearing what they were all discussing was a whole other level of disturbing.
    â€œSo, like. . . how blind is she?” Megan Stein asked, scrunching her face into her best approximation ofseriousness. She had probably learned the expression by studying her favorite model-turned-news reporters on TV. “I mean, is she, like, sort of blind, or is she, like, totally blind?”
    Heather. They were quizzing Ed and Tatiana about Heather. No, not just quizzing. Grilling.
    â€œShe’s completely blind,” Ed explained patiently.
    â€œBut I mean, what did it to her?” Tammie Deegan followed up, keeping her head tilted to the left to accentuate the swoop in her hair. “Was she taking drugs?”
    â€œNo,” Ed replied.
    â€œWas it some kind of symptom of bulimia or something?”
    â€œNo,” Ed puffed with frustration.
    â€œWell, can she put on her own clothes and makeup?” Tammie’s brown eyes filled with concern. “I mean, how does she pick her clothes now?”
    â€œI, uh. . .” Ed shrugged slightly and shook his head, most likely as awed as Gaia by the inane and hopeless priorities of the Friends of Heather. The question was not how Heather was coping. The question was what Heather was wearing.
    On one hand, Gaia supposed it made sense for them to be asking all these rapid-fire questions. After all, they really hadn’t gotten any real time with Heather before she’d headed off for her semester of training at a school for the blind. But the truth was, Heather hadn’t really wanted to make that time for her“friends.” She’d known that all her loyal subjects would react to her blindness the exact way they were right now. Like it was another sensational piece of juicy gossip to sink their teeth into and devour.
    Watching it all go down was making Gaia queasy. She could tell that Ed was just trying to be kind and informative, but what the hell was Tatiana doing there? Gaia had told Tatiana a fair amount about what had happened with Heather, but did she have to share it so shamelessly with the gossip-hungry hordes? Had she ever even spoken to these people before?
    â€œI really don’t think you need to worry about her,” Tatiana assured them.
    How did she know whether or not they needed to worry?
    â€œYeah,” Ed agreed. “In fact, Heather has been so strong through this whole thing, I wouldn’t be surprised if she bounced right back from—”
    â€œOh my God!” Megan suddenly leapt out of her chair like she’d just discovered the cure for cancer. “I just had the best idea.”
    â€œWhat?” the FOHs sang, seemingly in unison.
    â€œI totally know how we can help Heather,” Megan announced, nearly falling forward with enthusiasm. She scanned the faces of the entire group, peering at them like she was about to impart the secrets of life. Her entire posse froze with anticipation.
    Megan slid the professionally