What the hell is happening

My House My Rules

I stare down at him blankly, not answering his question. Noah moves past me trying to help him up. "Why the hell are you helping him? He could be the one behind all of this." Ribera hisses at him.

I help Noah carry the dude onto the whitest living room I've ever seen. Literally. I notice a small devil symbol tattoo on his neck as I lay him down. He notices me looking and stares back. Maybe he expected that I would get flustered and look away,but I didn't care. I was curious. I move away when I'm completely done examining him. I head to the kitchen to look for a first aid kit and that's when I see my reflection for the first time. There's still blood on my face my hair, clinging on to my braids. I spent nine hours doing them.  I snap back to reality when Dani walks in.

"Yeah, you look bad as shit. But in a good way. Kind of a 'don't fuck with me' vibe." She leans against the door frame.

I give her a faint smile. "You don't look so bad yourself. Very 80s horror movie, 3rd victim vibe."

"Dang I was aiming for 4th."

We laugh lightly, but it dies quickly. This situation is creepy as hell.

"What are you looking for?"

"First aid kit. Kind of wish Julie threw that on me rather than every utensil known to mankind."

She opens the closest cabinet to her, and it was there. She raises a proudful eyebrow as in I am your supreme.

"Lucky guess." I smile at her before walking back into the living room.

I sit across from the now shirtless stranger. I enjoy the view but make sure my eyes showed no emotion. They're dark brown to the point where they look black.  I take out everything I need out of the kit. My mother's a doctor and from all the "bedtime" stories she told me about her day at work. I'm practically a certified surgeon. 

He had more bruises than the rest of us. He had a big slash on his stomach but luckily it wasn't deep so he wasn't bleeding a lot. I tend to it, completely focused , but if we're being completely honest, the groans he was letting out as I cleaned his wounds were distracting. My eyes may be cold but I have to bite down on my cheek to stop myself from smirking. After about thirty minutes, I finally finished taking care of all his wounds. When I step back he glances at me, and even though his eyes are as dead as can be ,I can tell that he's thanking me. I turn around and help my friends with their wounds. Ribera steps up thinking it's his turn to play patient. He only had a small scratch on his forehead. I look him up and down and press the kit against his chest. "Deal with it yourself," is all I say to him.

After tending my own wounds and washing away some blood, I sit down at the floor closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I'm barely on my fourth breath when a voice echoes throughout the whole house. "Greetings everyone."

I open my eyes surprised by the robotic voice coming the the ceiling. I look around and they're all scared shitless. Except for him. He seems completely unfazed. You'd think it's suspicious but in the end, I was too.

"Hope all of you are getting accustomed to your new home." The voice returns.

"New what now!" Julie yells.

"Sweet, do we get to renovate though? Because this white isn't really doing it for me." Dani says but I sense the fear behind her sarcasm.

"There will be no redecorating taking place, but you do get to pick your sleeping arrangement, once approved by the house leader." The voice answers back.

"Who the fuck is the house leader, and who the fuck are you? I swear to god if you don't let us out right no-"

Ribera's one-man show is interrupted by the monotoned robotic voice " There will be no leaving till further notice; however, don't be alarmed. Your living arrangements have been completely taken care of. As for the house leader, Ribera, Noah, Julie, Dani, and Haniel-" so his name is Haniel "-your house leader is Lilith." They all look at me stunned. So am I, but I don't show it. "You will be following her rules as she will represent this house."

He continues. " The rules are to be set by Lilith as she selects from a number of options." A wide black screen suddenly appears. " Whatever she chooses will affect the living conditions of this household."

"This is bullshit." Ribera says. Guess who's sleeping in the basement I joke to myself, and before I can help it, a smile comes up to my lips. I turn to see if anyone caught me. Only one person did. Leaning back on the couch, still shirtless for some reason. I see a smirk trying to reach his lips but he looks away before it does.

I'm redirected by the robot ceiling thingy. " There are 7 house rules to be set. The first one is regarding the sleeping arrangements." Three options pop up on the screen:

1- Each member of the household sleeps in their own separate room while the leader sleeps in the attic. (not happening)

2- Each two members must share a bed while leader sleeps alone in suite (tempting)

3- All house members sleep in separate rooms while team leader shares suite with person of her choice. (I guess we have a winner)

"Third option," I announce to the ceiling.

"Very well. And who will be accompanying you to your suite?"

I was going to pick Julie or Dani but  the screen beat me to it.

1- Ribera

2- Noah

3- Haniel

I glance at Dani, and she's both surprised and amused. No way in hell was I picking Ribera. I'd choke him in his sleep. I thought about Noah, but I knew the thought of us sharing a room would kill Julie. So guess what.

"Haniel," I announce to the ceiling again.

He looks over at me, completely impassive, and says nothing. A part of me relaxes. It's better when men don't talk.