Altered
Page 34
We’d been staying in a motel in the Upper Peninsula the last few weeks while Sam healed, but we’d checked out yesterday. Stopping in Port Cadia on the way south had been Sam’s idea. “To give you closure,” he’d said, and now that I was here, I was thankful for it, but being in this town made me uneasy.
“We’ll find a place to settle for a while,” Sam said. “Something more permanent so we can sort through the rest of the information on the flash drive. We need to know if there are others out there like us, and if so, what the Branch plans to do with them.”
We’d started digging into the files immediately after we escaped the Branch. Already we’d gathered information on the Altered drug, as it was referred to in the files, and how it affected all of us. But there were hundreds of files. It’d take us a while to organize everything.
“And you’re sure that I’m not putting you in danger?”
Sam tilted his head to the side and gave me a look that said I was being absolutely ridiculous.
“Well”—I shrugged—“I wanted to ask rather than assume. With everything we learned, Nick wasn’t so far off. I am a liability, and maybe it’d be safer—”
“Stop.” He climbed to his feet.
I said a silent good-bye to my parents as Sam offered me his hand and hoisted me up. But even when I stood firmly on the ground, he didn’t let go.
“You’re not a liability. I read through the treatment file a dozen times. The control elements aren’t permanent.”
“But we don’t know how long they’ll last. Don’t you worry that the Branch might get to me and use me against you?”
He started walking and took me with him, our hands still entwined. “Even more reason for us to stick together. You’re the only person I trust. That’s not something you waste.”
I smiled. “You trust me more than Cas?”
“Cas would choose a case of beer over me.”
My laughter echoed through the cemetery. “That’s not true!” I brushed the hair from my face. “The others have your back.”
“Yet you were the one who saved my life.”
A warm feeling, like sunshine on bare skin, filled me. He was right, of course. I couldn’t argue that. I’d always cared for him, loved him even, but risking your life for someone changes things. It wasn’t just love. It was a million other things all woven together. Emotions I couldn’t even name.
When I said I would die for him, I meant it. And now I knew he’d risk his life for me, too.
A breeze kicked up, scattering leaves across our path. The snow was no longer soft but steely as it hit our faces. I moved closer to Sam. My hand grazed the hem of his jacket.
When we reached the end of a row of headstones, he slowed. We bumped shoulders. I felt him watching me. “What color would you use?”
A grin spread across my face as I glanced at him.
My gaze swept the sky. “Titanium white. A white so pure you can—”
He stopped midstride and nudged me toward him. With a brush of his finger, he tilted my chin up. Only the span of a few inches hovered between us. Snow melted on my face. The wind didn’t seem so cold anymore.
“Almost taste it?”
The gap closed between us and he pressed his lips against mine.
“We’ll find a place to settle for a while,” Sam said. “Something more permanent so we can sort through the rest of the information on the flash drive. We need to know if there are others out there like us, and if so, what the Branch plans to do with them.”
We’d started digging into the files immediately after we escaped the Branch. Already we’d gathered information on the Altered drug, as it was referred to in the files, and how it affected all of us. But there were hundreds of files. It’d take us a while to organize everything.
“And you’re sure that I’m not putting you in danger?”
Sam tilted his head to the side and gave me a look that said I was being absolutely ridiculous.
“Well”—I shrugged—“I wanted to ask rather than assume. With everything we learned, Nick wasn’t so far off. I am a liability, and maybe it’d be safer—”
“Stop.” He climbed to his feet.
I said a silent good-bye to my parents as Sam offered me his hand and hoisted me up. But even when I stood firmly on the ground, he didn’t let go.
“You’re not a liability. I read through the treatment file a dozen times. The control elements aren’t permanent.”
“But we don’t know how long they’ll last. Don’t you worry that the Branch might get to me and use me against you?”
He started walking and took me with him, our hands still entwined. “Even more reason for us to stick together. You’re the only person I trust. That’s not something you waste.”
I smiled. “You trust me more than Cas?”
“Cas would choose a case of beer over me.”
My laughter echoed through the cemetery. “That’s not true!” I brushed the hair from my face. “The others have your back.”
“Yet you were the one who saved my life.”
A warm feeling, like sunshine on bare skin, filled me. He was right, of course. I couldn’t argue that. I’d always cared for him, loved him even, but risking your life for someone changes things. It wasn’t just love. It was a million other things all woven together. Emotions I couldn’t even name.
When I said I would die for him, I meant it. And now I knew he’d risk his life for me, too.
A breeze kicked up, scattering leaves across our path. The snow was no longer soft but steely as it hit our faces. I moved closer to Sam. My hand grazed the hem of his jacket.
When we reached the end of a row of headstones, he slowed. We bumped shoulders. I felt him watching me. “What color would you use?”
A grin spread across my face as I glanced at him.
My gaze swept the sky. “Titanium white. A white so pure you can—”
He stopped midstride and nudged me toward him. With a brush of his finger, he tilted my chin up. Only the span of a few inches hovered between us. Snow melted on my face. The wind didn’t seem so cold anymore.
“Almost taste it?”
The gap closed between us and he pressed his lips against mine.
