Free Everyone's Favorite Girl by Steph Sweeney

happened to the originals?” I asked, though whatever lie Patton told her didn’t interest me.  I knew enough about the family dynamic to figure it out for myself.  Patton took exotic vacation after exotic vacation, meeting, seducing, and luring girls onto a plane, bringing them back to headquarters, where, upon Mr. Shriver’s observation and approval, Brian most likely harvested their usable genetic material, after which, wounded from surgery, the girls were handed over to Sean for rape and murder.  At that point Clifton came to collect the remains.  Perhaps the Favorite Girl prototypes were the original reason for the installation of the incinerator.
    I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t hear Flora’s answer to my question, but by the look on her face, she didn’t put much stock in Patton’s lie either.
    “When do we get to the part where I feel better about Patton?”
    I bit my lip.  That sounded snarky.
    But Flora was smiling.
    “You haven’t heard the end of the story.”
    “Let’s hear it then.”
    “We have Frog, Vampire, Doll, Diamond, Giggle, Glow, and Flora—”
    “What does Patton say the Floras represent?  You never told me that.”
    Her shoulders drew up to her ears.  “He says we’re the kind, generous, and honest ones.  He also says we’re the ones burdened with intelligence.  That we’re the ones who know something isn’t quite right, and unlike the other girls, we grow up worrying.   But after that—after he describes all the Favorite Girls—he says, ‘There’s still one group missing.  I just haven’t found the right girl.’”
    “What’s she like?”
    “That’s exactly what I asked!”  Her eyes were alight, a blue so deep she could compete with Patton for a mesmerizing stare.  “Patton said the final Favorite Girl is like a combination of all the other girls.  She can be kind and compassionate but vindictive when necessary.  She’s intelligent, but she puts herself in harmful situations.  She has a lot of hate inside her, but she has a lot of love, too.  Does that sound like anyone you know?”
    “Are you talking about me?”
    “Of course.”
    “So Patton’s going to clone me, too?”
    She shook her head gravely.  “He said when he finds the final Favorite Girl, he’s going to marry her himself.  It’s you, Melissa.  He chose you.  He’s somewhere right now figuring out a way to help us.  You have to believe it.  He loves us.”
     

-Step One-
     
    I WASN’T sure how I felt about Flora’s story, but it left me ready to do what I needed to do right now.  This was it.  Once I made the decision, there was no going back.
    Flora stayed on the couch while I picked through the food cart, selecting items I though James might be most likely to eat, start ing, of course, with the remaining banana.  I had no choice but to peel it open slightly so I could dab a little Love on the tip.  Now that I knew which eyelet secreted which drug from the device, I easily laced several food items with the Love Drug, not taking much care to regulate dosage.  I had no idea how much to use anyway.
    “Come here,” I told Flora, who obediently tiptoed over to me.  The floor was always so cold, and I was pretty sure someone was remote c ontrolling the thermostat.  The whole room felt like a meat locker lately.
    I studied Flora in her white dress.
    “Take it off.”
    She put her hands to her chest, looking down at herself.  “My dress?”
    I headed to the closet, where I found her a thin red sweater.  When I returned, she had a confused look on her face, but the dress was around her ankles.  I gave her the sweater and she slipped it on immediately, the seam falling to her hips, just short enough that the crotch of her white panties showed.  Perfect.
    “ I have to wear this when he comes?”
    “ It’s to distract him.”
    That was a lie.  It was really to distract her .  To give her a reason to be nervous when James arrived.
    “He’ ll see my