Split Second (Pivot Point) (17 page)

Addie:
Should I feel bad about forcing a hot guy into a small box with me?

If possible, the box was smaller than it seemed when my grandfather and I were in here. Then again, Trevor was thicker than my grandpa.

“Too bad there aren’t chairs in here,” I said.

“I don’t think two chairs would fit in here.”

“True.”

A bruise was forming on the side of his face where Duke had hit him. I reached out and ran a finger softly over it. “Are you okay? Do you want some ice for that?”

“I’m fine.”

“I thought you said you didn’t punch someone unless you said something nice first.”

“I figured I owed him one.” He stretched out the fingers on his right hand. “I’m sorry I did that in front of you.”

“He deserved it.” Being this close to him was hard. It made me miss him. My heart wouldn’t give me a break as it fluttered away. “Do you want to sit?”

“If you do.”

I did. I had a feeling this might take a while, because I was willing to stay in the box until he loved me again. He joined me on the floor, and our knees touched. “Tell me what you think you know, and we’ll go from there.”

“What I think I know is crazy.”

“Try me.”

“I think Duke and his teammates have some sort of powers and they purposely injured my shoulder.”

I nodded.

“So are you saying that’s true?”

“Yes.”

He took a short breath through his nose. “And you. You have powers too?”

It probably took about an hour to explain to Trevor about the Compound and what I could do. Unlike when I’d revealed myself last time, this time Trevor had pieced clues together on his own over time, so it wasn’t as shocking.

“So you can move really fast.”

“No. I can manipulate time. Slow it down and move through it. That’s why it looks like I’m moving fast. I can also see forward in time.”

“See the future?”

“Kind of. If I’m given a choice, I can see the outcome of both possibilities. And that’s how I know you. You were part of a path I wasn’t able to take. So I have memories of you. Very vivid and real memories of a life with you. I still have them because you made me promise I wouldn’t Erase you.”

“So you were given a choice, and in one version of that choice, you ended up with me. And the other was the one you picked . . . the one where you ended up with him?” He gestured toward the apartment with his head.

“No. I mean, yes, but it wasn’t about him. If I had stayed here in this life with you, Laila would’ve died. I had to choose the other path.”

“So you know me.”

I closed my eyes and drew in a breath. “I know you.” I opened my eyes and met his. He seemed skeptical. I needed to prove it. “You draw amazingly well, but you don’t think so. You’re hard on yourself. You have a trash can and car full of just how hard on yourself you are. Your mom’s name is DeAnn, and whenever she meets a new person she has them tell her about themselves. It embarrasses you, but you love her, so you let her get away with it. Your brother, Brody, idolizes you. He wants to be you when he grows up.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“He does. Believe me. And you are so good with him. If anything were to happen to him, your world would end.”

His jaw tightened, and I knew I’d gotten that one right.

“Up until last year all you wanted to do was play football, and
now you’re not sure what you want to do.” I wondered if this part was still right. Maybe without me here he had figured out what he wanted to do. “You’re a little lost, searching for a path you want to take and hoping beyond anything that one exists that feels as right as football did.”

He intently studied his palms. “You know me.” His voice was smoky, like it always was when he tried to hold back emotion.

I reached out and touched his bruised cheek again. This time he put his hand over mine. “Are you sure you don’t want ice for that?”

“Addison.”

“Yes?”

“But I don’t know you that well.”

I choked back a sob. “I know.” It was so ironic. Last time he only saw me and not my ability. This time, he only knew me for my ability.

“Please don’t cry. I want—”

The sliding glass door banged shut, interrupting him midsentence. “We have company,” Laila said. “Make room.”

Suddenly, both she and Duke were in the box with us. We stood to make room, but it was cramped.

I swiped at my eyes to make sure they were dry. “Who’s here?”

“I don’t know. We heard the door being unlocked and came out here.”

“It’s probably just my grandfather.”

“Yeah, but since your grandfather doesn’t know me or Duke,
I figured it was best that we come out here. Considering he’s the one who made that weird toaster on the coffee table, I didn’t know what he’d do when he walked into a room full of strangers.”

“Good point.”

I opened the box a crack and looked through it. The apartment was lit up, so I could see inside perfectly as a man who was most definitely not my grandfather searched the place. But I did recognize the man. It was Agent Miller—one of the CC agents who had come to my house last week. “It’s not him.”

“It’s not?” Duke asked. “Great.”

“I wonder what he’s looking for.”

“Us?” Laila said. “Just a wild guess.”

“Let’s hope not, because we’ve packaged ourselves handily,” Duke said.

Panic gripped my chest. “Do you think they’ve done something to my grandpa, then? They seemed to ignore him for ten years, but now this. Do you think he’s in trouble for talking to me? Telling me all his theories about the Compound?” I’d just gotten him back in my life. I wasn’t ready to lose him again.

A warm hand grabbed mine, and I looked down to see it was Trevor’s. My heart exploded.

“Your grandfather is probably fine. Like you said, they’ve ignored him for ten years,” Duke said. “We’ll just hang out here until that guy gets what he wants and leaves.”

We were too cramped for Duke to notice my hand in Trevor’s, and I was glad because I didn’t want him to ruin it.

“So how does it feel?” Duke asked, looking at Trevor.

His hand tightened on mine, as if that was what Duke was asking about and he wasn’t going to let go. “How does what feel?”

“To know there are advanced minds in the world and that you aren’t one of them.”

I forgot what a jerk Duke could be. “Duke.”

“I’m just wondering. I always wondered how Norms would feel if they knew about us. Does it make you feel like less of a person?”

“Not at all. What about you? How does it feel to know that even though you have an advanced mind, the girl you love wants me?”

My eyes widened, and I almost laughed. Trevor wasn’t known for being rude, but that was a pretty low blow.

Laila raised her hand. “Could I request a no-fist-fighting-in-the-box rule? It’s too crowded. As soon as we’re free, please, carry on.”

Outside the box, the agent sat on my grandpa’s couch and picked up some of his handmade devices on the table.

“Maybe if you had kept your mouth shut,” Duke said to Trevor, “the CC wouldn’t be so interested in you.”

Trevor had angled himself slightly between Duke and me. “I actually started suspecting because you and your teammates couldn’t keep your mouths shut in the locker room.”

“No, seriously,” Laila said. “If someone ends up hitting me by mistake, I will wipe them clean and won’t even care.”

“He’s getting on the phone,” I said. All of us fell silent, and I knew Duke and Laila were advancing their hearing along with me.

“Yes, he’s taken care of.” He paused, and I took a small sip of air. “No. I have it under control. No, I’m not monitoring the apartment. No one is here.” He listened.

I looked up and around at the mention of the monitors. Had I missed them before? I waited for some sort of light to come on indicating we were now being monitored. Nothing changed.

“I thought we’d decided she’s all but passed. Her compassion indicators are high. She has respect for authority.” He paused. “No, she didn’t tell the boy.” The agent turned in a big deliberate circle. “I’m standing in the apartment right now. No one is here.”

“Can you read his lips?” Trevor asked.

“Shut up,” Duke said. “We’re trying to listen.”

“Don’t tell him to shut up,” I said.

“Shh,” Laila hissed. “I think he’s leaving.”

I concentrated.

“I’ll fill out a report. I’ll send it on Monday.” He put the small black box he had picked up back on the table. “No. I don’t know.” Suddenly, his eyes darted to the sliding glass door, to the box. I let out a small gasp.

“What’s the plan if he comes back here?” Duke asked.

“Addison can slow down time and we can run,” Trevor said.

“Duke can soothe him, I can Erase him, and yes, Addie slows down time and we run,” Laila said as we all prepared to be discovered.

Agent Miller walked slowly to the door. His hand gripped the handle, but instead of opening it, he locked it. “Yes. We’re good. Email me any questions.” He headed for the front door, opened it, and flipped off the lights. The apartment went black.

We were all silent for a while. Then Duke said, “We’re locked out here.”

I exited the box, needing some air, and everyone followed. “They took care of him? What does that mean? Did they hurt him? What should we do?”

“First we should get off this balcony,” Duke said.

Trevor took me gently by the arms. “Do you have your grandpa’s cell phone number? Maybe we can start there.”

“No . . . ,” I started to say, but then remembered that I did have his info from when I took it off my dad’s phone. I scrolled through my contacts and found it listed under Brett. Was that my dad’s code name for him or something? I dialed.

On the fourth ring he picked up. “Hello?”

I let out a huge breath of air. “Grandpa? It’s Addie.”

“Hi, Addie. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Are you?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“I think I messed up. The CC was at your apartment tonight, and it was my fault. They must’ve followed me there last time.”

“Or me,” Trevor said from next to me.

My grandpa sighed. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry. This is my fault.” It couldn’t be a coincidence that my grandpa had managed to avoid them for years and the
moment I found him, they’re suddenly interested too.

“It’s fine. I’m just in their system now. They check up on me.”

“You gave them free access to your apartment?”

“Were they inside?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

“I saw them.”

“Where are you?”

I started to say,
On your back patio
, but thought better of it. If the CC was monitoring my grandpa’s apartment, I needed to be careful here. “With some friends. I’ll come see you in a few days, okay?”

“Perfect.”

“Be careful, Grandpa, okay? Don’t trust them.”

He chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me that.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon, then. Bye.”

We hung up.

“Now that we know Grandpa is okay, can we get out of here?” Duke asked, trying the door and proving it was still locked. He looked like a caged animal, pacing the small balcony.

“So if my grandpa is okay, then what did ‘he’s taken care of’ mean?”

Laila nodded her head to Trevor. “Maybe they meant him.”

“Oh. Right.” I had almost forgotten Trevor’s memories had been Erased.

“Can we discuss this when we are off this tiny balcony?” Duke asked.

“We have two options out of here,” Trevor spoke up. “Down two balconies . . .” He pointed over the edge to the balcony below us. “Or over one.” He nodded to the balcony of the lady we had lied to earlier.

“I don’t think Short-Skirt is going to let us in again,” Laila said. “Well, she’d let Duke in, but that won’t help us. Plus, I saw the way Trevor got over here, and I don’t think I’d make it.”

“Addison,” Trevor said. “Which way will work?”

“Oh.” A choice. Why didn’t I think of that? I quickly Searched the two options. “Down. Duke first. Trevor last. One balcony at a time.”

“Perfect,” Trevor said, trusting my answer completely.

Duke walked to the rail and Laila followed, directing him where to place his feet. As he climbed over, he looked directly at me. “I still don’t believe you told him. Not smart.” Then he dropped down.

“Can you get in trouble?” Trevor asked me.

“Yes.”

He nodded, then stepped up to the railing. Duke was already on the balcony below us, and Laila was climbing over. Trevor took her hands and helped lower her down. Then he looked at me. “You ready?”

I stepped up to the railing, and he put his hands on my waist to help me over. An energy buzzed through my body, and I had to stop myself from hugging him. I had to remind myself he didn’t remember our other life. I climbed over the railing, standing on the small ledge on the outside of the metal bars. Below
me Duke held his hands up, waiting to grab onto my legs. In front of me, Trevor placed his hands between mine on the metal rail.

“I want to know you,” he said, finishing the sentence that was interrupted in the box. “I need to.”

Laila:
Everyone is falling apart.

I knocked on Connor’s door. We had about six hours to make it home before we risked a citation. We had only applied for a weekend pass. Why wasn’t he ready?

He opened his door, sleepy eyed. His hair stuck out at odd angles, and the room behind him was dark.

“You were asleep? It’s almost noon.”

“Is it?” He ran a hand down his face.

“We need to go.”

His eyes were bloodshot, and he rubbed at them. “I’ll be ready in five.”

I took a step back, ready to walk away, but forced myself
to ask, “Are you okay?”

He offered a fake smile. “Perfect.”

The car ride home was quiet—tense, even. His silence was so loud it made me want to scream just to make noise. I caught him glancing over at me and used it as an excuse to talk.

“What happened yesterday?”

“Absolutely nothing,” he said softly.

I was trying to understand what he meant by that when I saw his bloodshot eyes again. “Are you hungover?” That would explain a lot.

“No. I’m not.”

I wondered if Connor ever told me the truth. “I won’t judge you if you are,” I mumbled.

“I’m not.”

“Fine. Whatever. I mean, you left all day yesterday. You weren’t around when we got home. If you were out partying or something, that would at least explain what you were doing.”

He sounded tired when he said, “I didn’t realize I was under investigation, but it sounds like you gave me an alibi.”

I curled my hands into fists. “Connor. I was just asking a question. I didn’t know your life was top secret. Excuse me for being curious.”

We were both quiet for a while when he finally said, “That’s the problem, isn’t it?”

I sighed. Now I was tired. “What’s the problem?”

“The only reason you want to know is to satisfy your curiosity.
You can’t stand not knowing something.”

“Well, I’m glad you know me so well.” I crossed my arms and stared out the window for the rest of the trip, my throat tight. I didn’t need to know anything about him. That was fine with me. When he stopped in front of my house, I slammed the door to his truck. If I never saw him again, I’d be happy. Not thinking about him ever again would make me even happier but seemed impossible. He constantly circled through my mind. Between thoughts of him and worrying about Addie, my mind was constantly occupied.

On my third day home from Addie’s, my brain wouldn’t shut up about what the CC would do to Addie if they found out we’d told Trevor. Would they, like the stupid DAA, think it was because she was unstable like Bobby? Did they think that meant she’d blab to the world about the Compound? The thought made me angry. Addie was the opposite of Bobby in all ways. I tried to calm myself. We had all made a pact not to talk about it. The CC thought Trevor was Erased, and they said Addie had all but passed whatever lame test of loyalty they were administering. Sure, they were monitoring her grandfather now, but he seemed extremely careful. It would be fine. My preoccupied mind didn’t register how eerily quiet my house was when I first stepped inside, arms full of groceries. It wasn’t until I put the milk away and shut the refrigerator door that it hit me.

“Hello?” I called out. “Where is everyone?”

I checked my dad’s room. He wasn’t there. Then I went to
my brothers’ room. It was empty. Just as I was about to walk out, though, I heard whimpering in the closet.

I slid open the door to find Eli, cowering in the corner. I cursed under my breath. “What’s wrong?” I dropped to my knees and crawled into the closet with him. “What is it, Eli? Talk to me.”

“Stop. Go away.”

“No. I’m here now. You’re going to be fine. Did he hurt you? Look at me, let me see your face. Do you need ice?”

“Stop.”

I tried to pull his hands away from his face. I was going to kill my dad.

“Stop it! Stop thinking! Don’t think anymore!”

“What?”

“I don’t want to be in your head. I don’t want to be in his head. I want to be alone. Leave me alone.” He took a pillow from the floor and pushed it over his face and ears. “Please,” he whimpered. “Stop thinking.”

I tried to make my mind go blank like I often did when my dad was around. Nothing. A blank canvas. An empty screen. A gray night.

“I can hear that. Go away.” He started rocking back and forth, whimpering again.

“You didn’t get off the new program?” I asked, pulling the pillow away and forcing him to look at me. His eyes were haunted. “Eli. Look at me.”

He blinked and focused on my eyes.

“Have you been doing the new program? The one I gave you?”

He nodded over and over.

“Where is it? Where is your card?”

He pointed to his dresser. I backed out of the closet and saw his tablet sitting on the dresser. I took the card out of the slot and unclipped the small chip, sliding it into my pocket. “I’ll be back in a while.” I started to leave but then went back to the closet, pulled him into a tight hug, and whispered, “I’m going to fix this. You’re going to be okay.”

I stood and walked out. Was this why everyone had left? To give him space? I stumbled back to my truck, rolling my ankle when my heel sank in the grass. I tripped forward, grabbing the door handle to keep me from falling. A sob escaped from my tight-pressed lips. How could I have done this to my little brother? I was supposed to look out for him. Another sob came, and I pressed my forehead to the truck window.

No. I couldn’t lose it now. I had to help him. I clenched my teeth and climbed into my truck.

It took me ten minutes to get to Face’s house, ignoring the traffic signs that seemed more like suggestions today and stopping only when it was absolutely necessary. I pounded on his door until a teenage boy answered. His dark hair was spiked, he wore a white tank with holey jeans, and he held a lidded Styrofoam cup with a chewed-up straw sticking out the top. When he saw me, he raised an eyebrow and put one hand high on the door frame.

I almost asked for Face, because I didn’t see the blurry spot on his neck, but then he said, “Laila.”

So this was his real face. He was so young. “What is this?” I asked through my teeth, holding up the chip.

“It’s everything you asked for and more,” he said in the same voice all his faces used.

“I didn’t ask for the more. My brother is sick. Very sick.”

“Sick how?”

“He’s overwhelmed. His ability came on too fast. He doesn’t know how to deal with it. And he’s getting more than he should. Everything.”

Face smiled. His real face was distracting. Too young. Too attractive. Too something. “You’re welcome. I just gave your brother his full ability.”

“He shouldn’t have his full ability yet. That’s something he should grow into.”

“Not true. The DAA tries to administer an ability slowly with blocks and suppressors. I gave it to him all at once. The natural way is somewhere in the middle. Now your brother is at his full power and can learn how to deal with that with his young mind. The DAA thinks their way is better. I would argue my way is better.”

“Right now all I care about is making my brother better. So give me something to help him.”

“You have cash?”

“Face. Seriously. Help him.”

He sucked air between his teeth. “Yeah. Not gonna happen.”
He took a drink from his chewed-up straw and then let the door slide shut between us.

I punched it, immediately regretting that action. My hand throbbed. “Please, Face,” I begged. “Please just help me.” I sank to the step and dropped my head to my knees.

Standing outside Connor’s door, I had to swallow my pride. He was the last person I wanted to ask for help but the only person I knew who might be able to. I knocked. A big man answered who looked nothing like Connor. Probably his stepdad.

“Is Connor in?”

“No. Connor is not in. He has not been in for three days. If you find him, tell him to get his sorry butt home and apologize to his mother for causing her this much worry.”

Three days? He’d left right after we got back?

It wasn’t like I knew Connor’s habits or hangouts, but if he wasn’t at Face’s and he wasn’t in his garage, there was only one other place I could think of that he might be.

It was closing in on dusk when I got there. Founders Square looked even more antiquated in the dark. I walked by the statues, passed by the motorcycles, then headed for the train.

The metal door to the train that had been opened last time was shut. I pulled myself up by the vertical rail next to the door and stood on a small metal step. Then I knocked. No answer. No sound. Nothing.

I knocked again and tried to open the door, but it must’ve
been locked from the inside, because it wouldn’t budge. I started banging with the side of my fist, calling his name. The sound echoed through the night.

I stopped and listened after a few minutes. Just when I was ready to start my pounding again, I heard the sound of footsteps and the scrape of metal against metal. The door slid open half a foot and Connor stood inside, hair a mess, pajama bottoms resting just below his hips, chest bare. My heart raced to life at the sight of him. It felt like I hadn’t seen him in forever.

He sighed. “You must need something.”

I held back a curse. I did need something. More than I’d needed anything else before this moment.

“That’s what I thought.” He moved to shut the door, and I stuck my leg inside.

“I don’t know who else to go to.”

“Anyone else.”

“It’s my brother. He needs someone to help him. Maybe you can Heal him or something.”

“I’m not your personal Healer, Laila.”

“What’s your problem? Someone break your bike or force you to make a decision?”

His knuckles whitened from where they gripped the frame of the door, but his face remained calm, tired. “The only decision I need to make is how to most effectively get you to leave me alone.”

I knew I was being mean, but I needed to see some emotion from him. Get a rise out of him. Anything. It was like the life
had been drained out of him. And tired Connor wasn’t going to be motivated to help me at all. “Maybe if you weren’t half Norm, these decisions would come easier to you.”

He leaned forward a couple of inches so that his upper body breached the doorway and said in a low voice, “You’ve now used the three whole things you know about me to insult me. Do you feel better?”

I knew more things about him. Didn’t I? I racked my brain. He liked old things, which was because he was half Norm. He wanted someone to force him to leave the Compound, which was why he sold illegal mind expansion programs. Crap. I only knew three things about him. Two, really. He was generous in his summary. “You don’t tell me anything.”

I wanted to know him. He wouldn’t let me. But if I were being honest, I never tried very hard either. I was trying to keep him at a distance. If that was my goal, I knew way more than I should. I knew that he worked on his motorcycle more than anyone should want to. And I could tell now by the lack of grease marks on his face that he hadn’t worked on it in days, and that was probably driving him crazy.

I knew that despite his obsession with the past, he knew as much as any Bureau agent about technology. And I knew he cared about people, no matter how much he tried to hide it. That if he did leave this place he would miss it. And I knew he was exactly like me in that he wouldn’t let anyone in unless they showed some vulnerability. If I took down my guard and took him off the defense, he’d let me in. And that was the
problem—we both needed the other to act first.

He looked at my leg still in the door and then my hand still gripping the metal bar. I should’ve realized that meant he knew he could push my leg out without throwing me to the ground. But I didn’t realize that until he grabbed hold of my leg. Just as he almost successfully cleared it from the train, I threw my arms around his shoulders. This was a big mistake. He was using his weight to push me out, and without me supporting my own weight on the handle, he stumbled forward. I fell backward, out the open door.

My foot caught in the slat of the metal step and got lodged there while the rest of my body continued to fall. When I hit the ground I heard my ankle snap. Then I felt the pain, hot at first and then so intense I thought I might pass out. Connor landed on top of me but was off faster than I could register that he’d fallen too.

He freed my foot and scooped me up, saying something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like he was cursing me to a fiery death or at least an unsaved one. But then it changed to calling himself an idiot, which I completely agreed with.

He carried me into the train and onto one of the beds that folded out from the wall. The one he’d obviously been using, because there was a pillow and blanket on it that smelled just like him—a combination of soap, hair product, and musky deodorant.

He threw off my shoe and wrapped both his hands around my ankle. For a moment the pain was even more intense, and
as my eyes stung, I gripped the bed until the ache was replaced with a tingling warmth. Next he moved to my head and put one hand on the back of it.

“I’m good now. It’s fine,” I said, trying to sit up.

He pushed me back down by the shoulders. “Stay down for a minute; you’re bleeding.”

I felt it then—liquid seeping through my hair. But as soon as I felt the pain, it was soothed.

“Where else?” he asked, his eyes more alive than I’d seen them all night.

“Nowhere.”

His gaze traveled my entire body. “Will you just stop and feel for a second before you answer? Where else?”

A trail of blood ran down a cut from his temple that he must’ve received on the way out of the train. “You’re bleeding.”

He wiped it with the back side of his wrist and then looked at me like I still needed to tell him where to Heal me. The cut on his head slowly closed. He hovered above me, close, too close.

“I’m fine.” I sat up and swung my feet to the ground, then rotated my ankle around. It felt perfect.

He sat on the floor, leaned back against the wall, and grabbed a fistful of hair. “I swear, Laila.”

“Yeah, you do. A lot.”