Twenty-One
My head swamwith too much information. An hour ago, I walked into the park expecting to meet the other teens, explain why I’ve been kept a secret, and move on together as friends.
Nope. The world twisted off its axis, again.
“Don’t freak out.” Gavin reached over and took my hand.
“It’s a bit hard not to.” I stared at the street, needing the predictability of the stripes and lights to block out the turmoil inside.
“We’ll figure this out. We always do.”
“You didn’t know about this? Your parents never mentioned anything?” Tessa and Daniel always seemed like the type of parents to treat their son like an equal. They kept him informed and allowed him to form his own opinion and add input.
Not this time.
“No, I would have remembered something like this. I haven’t heard about any attacks or killings, besides Robert’s.” He turned, and I met his eyes. “You don’t think?”
He didn’t have to finish the sentence for me to understand. What if the Society was sending me and Sky into a trap? If the AS was behind his attack, which now seemed far more plausible, then were we walking straight into danger? I always knew there was some level of risk with their missions and tasks, but it felt different now.
“They said it’s all been in South America and Asia.” Gavin squeezed my hand. “It’s probably unrelated.”
I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. The burning need to uncover the truth about Juliet intensified to an inferno. If she was affiliated, like I believed her to be, then I was in danger. All the guys were.
Maybe being sent away to a school or estate wouldn’t be the worst idea.
I didn’t want to leave my dad. That was the only thing stopping me from leaving and letting him live his happily ever after with Juliet, but I might have to. She didn’t have any reason to hurt him, and with me out of the picture, it wouldn’t matter. He wouldn’t even have to know who she really was.
“I feel like you’re spiraling,” Gavin murmured.
“I know.” I appreciated him trying to prevent my anxiety from getting worse, but I wasn't sure anything would help right now.
“We aren’t going to solve anything right now. You have to find a way to accept that and be okay with it. That doesn’t mean we won’t work tirelessly until we do. Just be patient. None of us want to be sent away, and I certainly don’t want to be separated. We’ll all confront our parents and compare what they say.”
He had a plan already forming. I clung to that and rested my head. The situation validated my normal sense of impending doom, but I couldn’t let it control me. Nothing was going to happen tomorrow, this week, or even in the next month. Maybe the Society could deal with this before any of us had to go anywhere. I had to trust in my friends’ parents. They would want to protect us, and Mandy or Tessa would never want to send their children away if they had any other option.
“What do I do next?” I whispered the words, not expecting him to have an answer.
“You should talk to your dad.”
I pursed my lips and closed my eyes. I wasn't ready for that conversation. How was I supposed to navigate the questions I had without raising any suspicions? What if he was with her? What if he wasn’t home? Could I ask these kinds of questions over the phone? Maybe that would be better. He wouldn’t be able to see the worry on my face. It was easier to get my voice to lie than my body.
“Don’t tell him what we found. Not yet. But at least check in and see if there’s anything he wants to share. Any piece of information might be a lead without him knowing it.”
I nodded and resumed my study of the black asphalt and tensed when I recognized our street. How were we already home? The drive that seemed to take forever on the way there passed in a blink.
Gavin pulled up to my house, and I stared up at it before sighing.
“It’s going to be okay.” He leaned over and gently kissed me once before pulling away.
I smiled at him and got out. I went to the garage rather than the front door. Dad’s car was parked next to mine. I checked over my shoulder, and Gavin was already pulling into his garage. I hurried to my car and got in, grateful I had my keys on me, and drove away from the house. Without consciously thinking of a destination, I was pulling into my mom’s childhood neighborhood in minutes.
One day, I would think of it as my own. It was too hard to call it my grandparents’ place. I hated knowing I was a few years shy of meeting them. The more time and distance I could pretend existed, the easier it was, and so it was my mom’s old house even if she hadn’t lived there in seventeen years.
I sat in the drive and picked up my phone. There was one person I wanted to talk to. I wasn’t sure how much I could trust her given her relationship with the Society, but I needed someone that understood.
It was a quick call, lasting only two minutes. That was all it took for her to tell me she was on her way.
I waited inside, walking through the main floor to see if anything needed cleaning, but we tidied up after the last sleepover so there was nothing for me to do. I went to the fridge and pulled out two chilled sodas and moved out to the living room to wait.