A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3) (22 page)

“Just go, Erik. Leave us alone. Please.” I continued to push him away.

“I’m going. But you better know what you’re doing, Sam, bringing her here. You could be putting us all in danger.” He went in his room and slammed the door shut.

“Sorry about that, Allie. He’s just upset. He normally doesn’t act like that. Let’s go to my room and talk so we don’t get interrupted again.”

I led her to the side bedroom. Allie sat down on the bed, looking depressed. “I didn’t know everyone would hate me so much. I feel horrible.”

“They just freak out when someone new comes over. We’ve learned that we can’t trust anyone. But they’ll get over it once they realize you’re only trying to help.”

“Was Erik telling the truth about my mom?”

“Well, she did say that you were never friends with me. She said it was all a big setup so she could keep an eye on me all those years.”

Allie hugged me. “It’s not true, Sam. I promise you. I would never be friends with someone because my mom told me to. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah. But your mom was really convincing, so I bought it at first. And you and I are so different that it kind of made sense.”

“It doesn’t matter that we’re different. You’re my best friend, Sam, and you have been for as long as I can remember. I’m so sorry my mom said that stuff to you. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

“It’s all right. I never should’ve believed her.”

“What did Erik mean about a pregnancy?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.”

She gave me a strange look. “Sam, are you pregnant?”
 

“No. I just thought I was because of what your mom said.”

I could see Allie’s mind trying to make sense of the whole thing. “Why would my mom say that? I don’t understand. Why would you believe her if you hadn’t done anything? Wait, was Colin at GlobalLife, too? Or did you think you got pregnant before GlobalLife took you? But then how would you and Colin—”

“It had nothing to do with Colin, okay? Just forget it.”

“So you thought you were pregnant but—” she stopped, finally figuring it out. “That guy I just met? Erik? You and Erik?”

I remained quiet, which was basically an answer.
 

“No way! When did this happen?”
 

“It was nothing. It never should’ve happened. Well, nothing really
did
happen. Okay, a few things happened.”

“Sam! You cheated on Colin?” She whispered it even though the door was closed.

“Erik and I, well, we took things a little too far, but we didn’t have sex. At least I don’t think we did. I guess I don’t know for sure, but I definitely don’t remember doing anything.”

“Then why did you think you were pregnant?”

“Because Erik and I had too much to drink one night and we couldn’t remember what happened. And then your mom said I was pregnant.”

“I can’t believe you cheated on Colin!”

“Yeah, me either. But at the time, I didn’t think I’d ever see Colin again. And they made Erik and me spend every minute together. We even shared the same room. The same bed!”

“Seriously? Well, that’s not even fair. Who could resist that guy? That body. That smile. Those eyes. I’d totally cheat, too!”

“It’s no excuse, Allie. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“Does Colin know?”

“Yes. That’s why we’re not together anymore.”

“He broke up with you?”

“Of course he did! You know him. He’s all about trust, and I broke that. I lied to him about the whole thing. I acted like nothing happened, then he overheard me telling Dave about the pregnancy. I’m trying to get Colin back, but it’s going to take a while. It probably won’t even happen. He still doesn’t trust me. And now he’s hanging out with this Emily girl.”

I explained the role Colin was playing in locating the alien genes and how it meant that he had to befriend Emily.

“He can’t date her, Sam. It’s all just to get information.”

“Maybe. But he’s really into her. He talks about her constantly.”

“How did so much happen in just a few months?”

The door opened and Brittany walked in. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”

Allie’s jaw dropped when she saw Brittany. She wasn’t prepared for how similar Brittany and I looked.
 

“Brittany, this is my friend, Allie. I told you about her. We were friends in Minnesota.”

“Hi.” Brittany glanced at Allie, not at all surprised she was there. Colin must have told her about us going to get Allie. “Sam, Dave wants to talk to you and then we’re having dinner.”

“Okay. We’ll be right out.”

Brittany left and Allie woke from her shock. “She looks exactly like you. That is so weird.”

“Well, she
is
my identical twin.”
 

“So your parents never knew about her? How is that possible?”

“I’ll tell you about it later. We should go out there so I can get yelled at again.”

“Sorry to cause so much trouble, Sam. Maybe I shouldn’t have tried contacting you. But I wasn’t sure what else to do. And I seriously didn’t even think it would work.”

“It’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Did I actually hear you say not to worry? You’ve really changed, Sam. Like completely changed.” She smiled at me as we left the room. “I like the new you.”

We went to the kitchen and found Colin and Brittany making dinner. “You’re supposed to go downstairs, Sam.” Brittany kept her eyes on Allie. “Is she staying?”

“Yes, she’s staying overnight,” Colin answered.
 

I went to the basement. Jack and Dave were sitting next to each other. Erik was across from them, his arms crossed.
 

“Is Erik in trouble, too?” I took a seat next to him.

“This isn’t about you sneaking out today,” Dave said. “And Erik is here because he was bleeding earlier, just like you did.”

Erik turned to me. “I had a nosebleed. Big deal.”
 

“It is a big deal, Erik,” Jack said, “and it means that you probably did some damage to your brain. Sam, Erik said that you two shared a mind connection yesterday with your friend, Allie.”

“Why didn’t you wait so we could both tell them?”
I thought to Erik.

“Because they saw the blood and freaked out,”
he thought back.
“They assumed that’s what I was doing. I tried to deny it, but then you brought that girl here, so I had to tell them.”

Jack continued. “He said that you were the one controlling Allie.”

“I’m not sure. I mean, I guess I was. I made her head turn to look out the window. That’s it.”

“So no headaches, Sam? No nosebleeds?”

“No. Nothing.”

Dave didn’t seem to believe me. “Well, you’re both going to get another scan tomorrow. First thing in the morning. I just contacted Abigail and told her what happened. She’s getting everything set up. And until we know you’re okay, you both need to avoid using telepathy.”

“Okay. Was that it? They’re waiting for us upstairs.” I got up to leave.

“No. We need to talk to you both about something else.”

Jack looked at Dave. “Maybe we should wait, Dave, until Abigail’s here. They might have questions.”

“Yes. That’s a good idea. Okay. We’ll talk about it later. Let’s go have dinner.”

“Do you know what they’re talking about?”
I thought to Erik as we went upstairs.

“No clue,”
he thought back.
“Maybe we should read their thoughts.”

“We’re not supposed to be doing that, remember?”

“Now you want to follow the rules, Sam? I just heard how you snuck out today to get that girl.”

Dave grabbed my shoulder as we sat down at the dinner table. “Hey, are you two—”
 

“No,” I lied.
 

“So, Allie, where’s your mom?” Erik asked, still not trusting her. “Won’t she be worried that you’re not home?”

“She’s in Europe right now at the—” she stopped, not wanting to mention GlobalLife.

“At the GlobalLife headquarters?” Dave asked. “In Sweden?”

Allie kept her eyes on her dinner plate. “Yes. She said there’s some big meeting there with a bunch of investors. She seemed really stressed out. Even more than usual.”

“Did she say anything else about it?”
 

“She said that something happened with the project. She didn’t say what project, but I assumed it was this whole thing with Sam.” She glanced up at me.

“What did she say happened?” Jack asked.

“She said some of the investors were pulling their money out and that she had to go there to convince them not to do it. That’s all she said. She didn’t mention any specifics.”

“So the investors are starting to learn that the project isn’t going as planned.” Jack smiled as if he finally realized that Allie might be helpful after all.
 

Allie’s news confirmed that the rumors planted by the rebel group were spreading. Someone had seen those negative studies and articles on the Internet. The Founders were starting to ask questions. It was the first step in putting an end to The Samantha Project.

Allie seemed eager to get off the topic of her mother. “So were you able to open the files I gave you?” she asked Dave.

“Not yet.” He looked at Jack. “We should tell them what we found so far in those files from Owens.”

“Are you sure?” Jack glanced over at Allie.

“If she’s going to help us, yes.” Jack nodded for Dave to continue. “From the files, we’re almost certain that the alien genetic material is not stored at the GlobalLife Genetics facility like we thought. At least not the one that Rachel’s working at. It’s being stored at one of their other locations.”

My excitement over the rumors faded. I felt hopeless again. “But they have locations all over the world. We’ll never find it.”
 

“I’m sure my mom knows where it is,” Allie insisted. “I’ll find out, Sam. I promise.”

“So does that mean Colin doesn’t have to hang out with Emily anymore?” Brittany asked. I appreciated her sisterly support.
 

“No, he needs to keep seeing her,” Jack said. “Emily’s father knows where the genes are. We just need to see if Emily knows. It seems like she’s really starting to trust you, Colin. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah. She’s starting to tell me more about her dad. I talked to her today. She keeps asking me to come over to her house on Saturday night. Maybe I should go.”

I nudged Allie under the table. His comment was proof that this girl was trying to date him. And Colin almost sounded like he wanted to go out with her on Saturday.

Jack shook his head. “No. That’s too risky. You’ll have to decline.”

“Does this girl live in the city?” Allie asked Colin.

“Her dad has an apartment in the city, but she doesn’t live there. She lives in a town about 30 minutes from here. She goes to a private school called The Academy.”

“I know a girl who goes to The Academy. If you want me to get any information about Emily or her family, I can.”

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Dave said. “Colin seems to be doing fine on his own. Just see how far you can take this, Colin.”

Erik smiled. “I’m sure he will.”

Brittany punched him. Another act of sisterly support.

Jack got up. “I need to check on the status of those files.”

“Allie, can I have a word with you?” Dave asked.

Allie looked surprised. “Yeah, okay.”

Dave took Allie into the living room, giving me a look to butt out. They talked for a half hour while Erik, Brittany, Colin, and I cleaned up dinner. I could have listened in, but I wanted to give them privacy. When they were done, I saw Dave give Allie a hug. She looked like she’d been crying. Dave went downstairs and I followed him.

“What did you say to her?” I whispered to him. “You made her cry? She never cries.”

Dave sat down at his computer. “I knew Allie wasn’t telling us everything. I just had to see what she knew. It’s very hard to betray your own mother, Sam. Even if Allie is angry with her mom, it’s still difficult. But if Allie’s going to help us, she has to work against her mother. And I wasn’t sure if she was up for that.”

“So what did you find out?”

“She knows what you’ve gone through, Sam. She knows what GlobalLife did to you back in Minnesota. Even things I wasn’t aware of. Allie saw detailed reports in those files she found. Her mother’s name was on every one of those reports. Eve knew about your pain and suffering and did nothing to stop it.”

“Why didn’t Allie tell me this?”

“She’s ashamed. And she’s still trying to comprehend how her mother could be so evil. She can’t talk about this with you, Sam. It’s too difficult for her. She still loves her mother, as any child would, but she knows she can never trust her again.”

“Thanks for telling me this, Uncle Dave.”

“Don’t let her know what we talked about, okay? This is just between us. But I know now that she’s committed to this, even if it means bringing down her own mother.”

I went back upstairs. Colin and Allie were talking in the living room. “Sam, I was just telling Colin that my mom gets back tomorrow night. We should start planning what questions you want me to ask her.”
 

“Forget all that GlobalLife stuff.” I took a seat between Colin and Allie on the sofa. “Let’s just pretend we’re back in Minnesota hanging out in Colin’s basement watching movies on that giant floor TV that never worked.”

Colin smiled. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, Sam. My parents finally got a flat-screen TV for down there. It’s huge. They got it at Christmas, so you didn’t get to see it.”

“Sure, now they get a good TV. When your sisters are in college and you’re almost done with high school.”

He laughed. “I know, right? They said they didn’t want us kids to have the good stuff. But it was probably best that they waited. We always took over the basement. With us gone, they can finally use it themselves.”

Allie turned to face Colin and me. “Sam, remember last Halloween when Colin and Brad made us watch like four horror movies in a row in that stupid basement? I think your basement was haunted, Colin. It was always making strange sounds.”