My Stepbrother Silenced Me for 72 Hours, Then Begged Me to Talk novel · Chapter 23 of 24
Chapter 23: Seventy-Two Seconds
On the last afternoon of camp, Marlene made me sit in a folding chair on the auditorium stage with my hands in my lap.
"You're not allowed to get up," Marlene said, "and you're not allowed to ask what's happening."
"What's happening?"
"Reed typed up a program. It has your name on it."
She put a laminated card in my hand.
It was titled CLOSING CEREMONY, and the only item on it said SEVENTY-TWO SECONDS (L. FENN).
"What does that mean?"
"You'll see."
The red curtain went up, and four hundred campers were standing in the rows, in order, with their lanyards on.
The girl with the ponytail was in the front.
The hot dog man was at the back, in a clean apron, holding a cooler.
The nurse stood beside him, with a foil-wrapped loaf in both hands that I was positive was banana bread.
Reed stood at the side of the stage with his folder under his arm, and he did not smile, which meant he was nervous.
"Lucy Fenn," Marlene said into the microphone.
She wiped her glasses on her fleece.
"Reed's first list had four hundred and nine names on it. The real count, which he checked with a clipboard and three accomplices, is four hundred and twelve."
The girl with the ponytail held up a long white banner, and then two more people grabbed the ends.
It was a bedsheet.
It had four hundred and twelve names on it in marker, in four hundred and twelve handwritings.
At the bottom, in careful block capitals, someone had added one more.
REED LINDHOLM (413).
I put my hand over my mouth.
"We have one more thing," Marlene said. "You've talked to every one of us this month. You've told us your whole day, whether we asked or not. We'd like to give you something back."
Keep reading free with an account. Start My Stepbrother Silenced Me for 72 Hours, Then Begged Me to Talk from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend