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Sep. 15th, 2017 09:12 pmShe'd known as soon as Nick explained to her what was going on that this was going to be fucked up, but it is really, really fucked up. Michelle hadn't been kidding or exaggerating, though, when she told Nick that was something she was used to, that she could deal with. As strange as all of this is, at least she hasn't woken up chained to a wall this time. Besides, survival is a skill she learned young. How to fight instead of run is something she's only just starting to get a handle on, but this is still the sort of thing she's dealt with intermittently since she was a kid — first with her father, and then, later, with Howard, trying to do and say whatever will sound best and draw the least attention to her, to blend in, to agree readily with whatever's being said.
Right now, she thinks she probably deserves a goddamn Oscar, but that's beside the point. If her performance was convincing enough, it's only because she had a good script, parroting Howard's lines as if they were her own, as if she gets it, even while feeling so on edge that it's like she's coming out of her skin.
It would be a hell of a lot worse, anyway, without Nick with her, vouching for her, sticking to the outline of a story they came up with. She's pretty sure they sold it. She doesn't want to know what would have happened if they hadn't, remembering too well the crack of a gun when Howard put a bullet through Emmett's head. The people behind this place, she thinks, might be just about as distrusting.
She's marginally less concerned with what they think about all of this than what Nick's family does, but it is the more pressing concern.
It's a relief, then, to be on their own, heading back to the shell of a house where they first woke up here. Michelle lets out a breath like she's been holding it, then says, her voice lowered slightly, just in case, "These people are fucking insane."
Right now, she thinks she probably deserves a goddamn Oscar, but that's beside the point. If her performance was convincing enough, it's only because she had a good script, parroting Howard's lines as if they were her own, as if she gets it, even while feeling so on edge that it's like she's coming out of her skin.
It would be a hell of a lot worse, anyway, without Nick with her, vouching for her, sticking to the outline of a story they came up with. She's pretty sure they sold it. She doesn't want to know what would have happened if they hadn't, remembering too well the crack of a gun when Howard put a bullet through Emmett's head. The people behind this place, she thinks, might be just about as distrusting.
She's marginally less concerned with what they think about all of this than what Nick's family does, but it is the more pressing concern.
It's a relief, then, to be on their own, heading back to the shell of a house where they first woke up here. Michelle lets out a breath like she's been holding it, then says, her voice lowered slightly, just in case, "These people are fucking insane."
