Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Soon our whole family will be together again. The FEA has kept us apart for long enough. Once we convince your mother to join us and free my brother, everything will be well.”
I pulled back with a sad smile. “I don’t think Mom will ever agree to join us. She told me that she hated being a Variant, that all she wanted was a normal life.”
His expression darkened. “Normal life. Who’s to say what’s normal and what’s not?”
I shrugged.
“The FEA has destroyed many lives,” he said bitterly. He shook his head and gave me a bright smile. “I shouldn’t bring this day down with my feelings.”
“But you’re right,” I said quietly. Sadness overwhelmed me. “In the last three years, Major used me, made me feel like I was safe, only to break my trust. Everything I believed in was taken away.”
It still hurt thinking about it. It hurt a lot. I wrapped my arms around my chest as if that could help hold me together. Zach had been picking at the pancakes that were piled up on the kitchen counter, but now he came over to us.
Abel touched my cheek tenderly. “You went through a lot. Your life until FEA had been full of heartbreak and neglect, and then when you finally felt safe for the first time in your life, they took that away too. I hate to see you suffering. That’s too much of a burden for someone as young as you. I’ll help you. We’ll make it all better.”
I stared into his turquoise eyes, trying to determine what he meant. Zach moved closer and brought his fingertips up to my right temple. I tensed briefly, but the look in my father’s eyes banished my worries.
I could feel a tug at my memories. They flashed through my mind as Zach browsed through them like a catalog. Alec and I watching a movie, laughing, kissing. Kate telling me about Alec’s Dual Variation. Alec admitting he’d lied. Major giving me the pills. My mother having a shouting match with one of her boyfriends. The files with the notes about me. One by one, they all turned murky. The images were coming quicker, blurring in my mind. My mother’s face when I helped her shower, the brief flash of tenderness on her face.
Zach’s touch loosened for a second, but then his fingers pressed against my temple again. Alec kissing Kate. Alec telling me it was complicated. Major telling me I’d have to go to the loony bin. My memories started trickling away. I felt better already. But what would be left of me if all the horrible experiences from my past were gone? Who would I be? Alec always said that his past made him who he was. Who would I be once my past was taken away from me? I searched Zach’s eyes. I could see my own memories reflected in them as he swallowed them up. My head began throbbing and emptiness spread through me, and with it came a bone-chilling cold.
“Hold on,” Zach said softly. “Sometimes cold is a side effect. It’ll be over soon.”
My teeth started chattering, but I trusted his voice. He hadn’t betrayed me. More scenes flashed in Zach’s eyes. There was a funeral. There was the house in Livingston, and a boy with blond hair who lay in a puddle of blood. There was fog and a boy with a knife. There was a guy with gray eyes and a dragon tattoo on his shoulder. But I didn’t know who he was.
“You’ll feel better soon,” Zach whispered. Images followed his words.
Memories—happy memories—snuck into the empty corners of my mind, filling them with warmth and light. There was a boy running through a sprinkler in underpants, yowling as the water hit him, and a toddler in diapers, a few feet away, sitting on the grass laughing. There was a Christmas tree with multicolored lights that bathed the room in rainbow colors. There was Dad carrying me on his arm, setting me down on the ground, handing me a small present. My small fingers ripped at the wrapping paper. Zach kneeled beside the baby, beside me, and unwrapped his own present. There was laughter and warmth and smiles and hope. I blinked. The memories crowded my brain, filled me with a sensation of wholeness, of belonging.
The fingertips dropped from my temples. Someone stroked my cheek. I turned my head and stared at a man with turquoise eyes. His hand cupped my head and warmth flooded me. I leaned into the arm that held me. Slowly, my vision cleared, and I focused on the face in front of me.
“Tessa?” said a familiar voice. A good voice.
I smiled. “Dad?”
“I’m so glad you’re back.”
“Welcome home,” said another voice. Zach. He was smiling too.
I relaxed.
Home.
I was home.
To Be Continued…