“You shouldn’t stay out here,” she started. “The cameras will arrive soon enough. Lochie, would you like to stay for dinner?”
“I wouldn’t be imposing?” Lochie asked, stealing a glance at me to make sure I was okay with it. After all the time we had spent apart, I didn’t care if he never left the house.
“It’s not an imposition, no. If you are going to insist on hanging around our daughter, I figure we should get to know you better.”
“Dinner sounds great,” he said with another lip-shattering smile. She pulled the door open wider, making it clear we were to follow her inside.
I already had a bad feeling about having dinner with my parents, Garrick, and Lochie. Two federal agents, one alien, and one teenage boy, the combination was frightening.
CHAPTER 13
I always knew Lochie was charming, I had seen that time and time again with all the bimbos he used to chase around. Or the ones that chased him, I would prefer to think. However, my parents were completely oblivious to his charm.
“Are you thinking about college?” Dad said, his millionth question. “You aren’t far from graduating, you need to have a plan for your future.”
“I have a few options still in consideration,” Lochie replied respectfully.
“And you play basketball? Are you any good?”
“Our team made it to the national finals. I’d like to think I had something to do with that.”
“So you’re a bit of a player, huh?” Dad continued. Garrick snorted at the question. He was enjoying every moment of the interrogation. He didn’t need to say a word.
“On the court, yes.”
“What are your intentions toward our daughter?”
Lochie actually seemed taken aback by that particular question. He looked at me, hoping I would save him. If only my parents knew what we had done together already, they would have had the torture devices out.
I couldn’t let him suffer for too long, even though I was kind of enjoying seeing him squirm. “Dad, how about you lay off the questions for a while?”
“It is important we know this boy’s intentions,” Dad replied to me before turning his attention back to Lochie. He raised a curious eyebrow at him, not wanting to repeat the question and still demanding an answer.
Lochie shifted in his seat, pushing his peas around his plate. “I only have the best of intentions toward your daughter, I can promise you that.”
Dad chortled a kind of disbelieving chuckle. “That didn’t answer the question.”
“Dad,” I begged.
“My intention with Amery is to treat her right, protect her from anyone that wants to hurt her, and to take her to prom. That’s my plan,” Lochie finally replied quickly. He stole a glance at me, seeing the stupid grin on my face he had put there. All I could think of was that I was going to prom.
Dad still didn’t seem satisfied, but what did he want from him? Fingerprints and DNA? “I was a teenage boy once, I know what goes on in your mind. I’m going to be watching you closely. Very closely.”
“Enough of that,” Mom interrupted. “I personally don’t want to know what goes on in a teenage boy’s mind and I’m sure Amery doesn’t either. Lochie, why don’t you tell us more about your family? Amery says your brother is doing well.”
Thank goodness for mothers. Lochie’s face lit up when he told them about Jordan and his Mom. I knew most of it already, giving me a chance to study everyone else’s reactions.
Mom seemed to like Lochie, Dad was still suspicious. Their body language wasn’t as hostile as it started out as though, that had to be a good sign.
Garrick was his usual closed self. He reeked of distain for Lochie but even that seemed to have subsided a little. Maybe both of them getting beaten up together actually helped bring them closer. I hoped so, everything would be so much easier if they got along. Neither was going to be leaving anytime soon.
The torturous dinner finally ended with dessert and we were excused from the table afterwards. I walked Lochie to the door, it was starting to get late.
“Sorry about my parents, they are FBI,” I said, grimacing. Lochie just laughed.
“They’re parents, I think they’re supposed to act like that. FBI or not.” He pulled me closer so we were hip to hip. “I can handle it. I’d do anything for you.”
I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. “Anything? That’s a big call.”
He leant down, his lips just a breath away from mine. “You’re worth it.”
He kissed me, his lips finally reaching mine. I had waited for that impact all night and it was just as good as I remembered it was. I never wanted Lochie further away from me than what he was right then. Our bodies belonged together, not apart.
“Goodnight, Lochie.” Mom’s voice interrupted our perfect moment as we quickly jumped away from each other. Mom opened the door, signaling the end of our evening in a not so subtle way.
Lochie took the hint. “Goodnight Mrs. Jones, thank you for dinner. See you tomorrow, Ame.”
The moment he was through the door, Mom closed it so I couldn’t stand there and swoon as he left like an idiot. Which was a pity, because that’s what I really wanted to do.
“I think we need to talk,” Mom stated. “Your room, now.”
I followed her upstairs, dread creeping into each part of my body. When Mom wanted to talk, it was never a good thing. I had thought she might be a bit more lenient with the rules considering what we’d all gone through over the past two months. Apparently I thought wrong.
We entered my bedroom and she closed the door. Sitting on my bed, she patted the spot next to her. I sat down, my body as tense as an ironing board. “What’s up?” I asked casually, not really pulling it off.
“Lochie’s a nice boy,” she stated simply. That’s what she had to tell me? She had to be leading me somewhere darker.
“He is. He’s really nice.”
“You know it’s against the rules to date until you are eighteen. I know you told us you liked him and were a couple, but I didn’t realize you were so serious.”
“Krom and everyone know about it, they are fine with it. Kyle said it might help the project at this stage,” I explained, not lying. I had okayed it with both of them and they liked Lochie. They said he was an asset to the cause. And also handy to have around the bunker when things went wrong and needed fixing.
“That might be all well and good, but your father and I are worried you are getting too close. You’re still so young, you have so much living to do yet.”
“Mom, I’m not marrying him. We’re just hanging out.”
“Teenage boys don’t just hang out.”
“Well, we do.”
Her forehead wrinkled with concern. “What happens when he starts feeling the same ostracism as you? There are people that will never accept a human/alien relationship.”
I shrugged, not having the answers. I had already seen the start of that kind of racism earlier and it made me sick to the stomach. “I guess we’ll just have to deal with it.”
“Does he deserve to be pulled into it?”
My head shot up to meet her eyes. “Are you saying it’s my fault that people have a problem with it?”
She placed her arm on mine. “No, other people’s prejudices are never your fault. However, if you let him go, he won’t have to suffer that fate.”
I let her words sink in. Was I being selfish being with Lochie? Should I force him to leave me alone? The thought of breaking up with him was impossible. Lochie was headstrong, stubborn, and determined. All things that used to annoy me to no end. There was no way he would just walk away. He had tried it already and still came back for more.
“I don’t think he’d accept breaking up if that was the reason,” I answered quietly. I already knew what she would say to that.
“Maybe you should give him a better reason then? Something he would accept?”
I couldn’t believe my mother was telling me to lie to my boyfriend
. To invent some excuse for him to walk away from me forever. Was being with me so terrible I had to scare him away? Was my fate going to be so awful I had to face it alone? I didn’t want answers, I didn’t think I would welcome the truth.
Mom stood, moving her hand to my shoulder. “You don’t have to decide now, but I want you to think about it. Just don’t leave it too late so he can’t recover from the pain it will bring him. Boy’s hearts are just as fragile as ours, even if they won’t admit to it.”
I couldn’t move until she had left and I was alone in the room. My mind whirled with everything she said, everything she thought I should do.
I wanted to hold onto Lochie so badly, I saw my future with him. But was that being selfish? Perhaps my future wasn’t mine to dream about. Being back home had given me a false sense everything was okay, it had allowed me to dream again. It was stupid. I wasn’t like everyone else, I didn’t have the right to a future. I didn’t belong here.
I lay back on the bed, feeling more depressed than I had been since being in the complex. I thought then my future had been taken from me and it was the same again now. All that time in between was just fooling myself.
I heard the door creak open so I closed my eyes, not wanting to talk to anyone. The bed dinted beside me. I snuck a look, trying to open my eyes just a smidge so I could see who it was. Then I could pretend I was asleep or dead or something.
“I know you’re awake,” Garrick said, about a second after I saw him.
I groaned, sitting back up again. “Have you come to remind me how messed up my life is too?”
He grinned, actually smiling at my pain. Good to know he found my misery so amusing. “Your life isn’t messed up. It’s just… bumpy at the moment.”
“Bumpy? There are mountains in our way.”
“It doesn’t have to be like that.”
I raised an eyebrow in question, reminding myself of my dad. “Tell me, oh wise one, how could it possibly be any different?”
“We could go to Trucon,” Garrick stated easily. He continued on quickly before I could interrupt. “We wouldn’t have to deal with any of the bull going on down here. No more school, no more running, no more hostility. We would be going back to people who love and accept us. We’d be preparing them for when they had to come here. We’d be doing a good thing.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. All we have to do is go to Krom and it’s done. He’d have our butts out of here so fast we wouldn’t have time for second thoughts.”
It was fine for Garrick, he didn’t have anything keeping him here. His family had disowned him, he wasn’t in love with anyone. He wouldn’t have one person to miss if he was thousands of miles away. I would miss… everyone.
The heart of the matter was that I felt so much more human than alien. It shredded me with guilt, it was like turning my back on who I was biologically. It was like letting all the people from Trucon down.
But I hadn’t asked for this life. I was a baby, given up for the cause of our people. Nothing I had done caused this to happen to me. They had wanted me to integrate into the community and be human. Well, guess what, it worked. Just too well.
“You’re quiet,” Garrick mumbled.
“I don’t know if I can leave,” I confessed.
He grabbed my hands, pulling them to his chest so I didn’t have a choice except to look at him. “Just think how easy it would be there. We’d get to see our planet, our home. Aren’t you curious? Even a little?”
“Of course I’m curious. I’d love to know where I came from. But this is my home. Earth is my home.”
Garrick sighed. “I’m only going to go if you come with me.”
“Garrick, don’t do that to me. It’s your decision, just like mine belongs to me.”
“You don’t understand, I want you to come with me. I still want you to stay with me.”
I so badly wanted to pull my hands back, I was sure they were sweating in his hands. My mind flashed back to the first time he had said those words to me. They were as clear as day in my head, they followed the moment when he kissed me. I had been just as confused then as I was now.
As much as I loved Lochie, what my mom and Garrick said was right. It would be so much easier lying to Lochie, force him to leave me alone, and then run away with Garrick. All my problems would be dealt with, all the world’s problems would be someone else’s worry.
I averted my eyes, preferring to look at the floor and unable to hold Garrick’s gaze any longer. It would be lying to say I didn’t have feelings for Garrick. I knew I loved him, it just wasn’t that passionate, all consuming love I felt for Lochie. Perhaps that was for the best? Maybe that kind of love eventually burns out, leaving two broken people? Maybe the slow burning affection was far better in the long run?
“Amery, it’s simple. We just go. We only come back when everything is fixed. No mess, no hurt, no hate. Simple.”
It did sound simple, far easier than the alternative. So why did it feel so hard to make that decision? Perhaps that was the payoff. To get on easy street, you had to take a difficult course.
“I have to think about it,” I finally replied. I was horrible with decisions and this was about the biggest one I could make. It would change my entire life. Even if I did believe Garrick that it would be for the best, I had to convince myself first.
He pulled me closer, still holding onto my hands, until he could place a gentle kiss on my lips. I didn’t turn away but I felt like crying. All I could think about was Lochie.
I pushed him away, equally as lightly as his kiss. “Garrick, I can’t do this. Lochie-”
“Lochie is going to get hurt either way. It’s just a matter of when. Why delay the inevitable?” He released my hands and stood, giving me one last look before leaving the room as quietly as he had come in.
I curled up on my bed, clutching hold of my pillow. I let the fluffy down muffle my sobs and tears.
CHAPTER 14
Speaker feedback shattered my eardrums, my hands flew up to cover them. Watching the Hooded Roses rehearse seemed like a safer option than eating lunch in the courtyard. Now, I wasn’t so sure. My ears were telling me otherwise.
I plastered on the smile anyway, nodding encouragingly toward Lola and the rest of the band. Asher was wailing on the guitar like he was a rock god. I could see what Lola saw in him, he was exactly her type. I was so glad she had someone, especially if it was only going to get harder on Earth.
When the microphone wasn’t going nuts and giving off feedback, the Hooded Roses actually sounded pretty good. They had improved since Lola joined the band – significantly. I was proud of her.
Mercifully, the song came to an end. “What do you think?” Lola asked, her voice echoing around the small auditorium.
I gave her two thumbs up which made her beam with happiness. The boys started packing up their instruments, Lola put the microphone away. She joined me in the aisle, linking her arm through mine as we started walking.
“I can totally picture you guys at Rockapalooza next year,” I gushed. “You’ll totally rock the place.”
“You really think so? I mean, I think we’re good but I’m a bit biased. I have no idea what we actually look like while performing. In my mind we look like total dweebs.”
I laughed, she was so adorable. Thank goodness she moved out of the emo phase and was in rocker chick mode now. Rocker chick was much happier, although she wore the same amount of black. “You don’t look like dweebs.”
“Good,” she said decidedly.
We left the auditorium and stepped out in the sunshine of the afternoon. The bright and happy day definitely didn’t reflect my mood. I was still wringing over my discussions with my mother and Garrick the previous night. No conclusion had yet been reached.
As we walked along, I ignored the looks from my peers. I wondered how long it would take to not notice them? A few months? Years? Decades? I hoped I had that long to get used to it.
&nbs
p; The girl walking in front of us, Dani – we were in the same Biology class – suddenly tripped over. She face planted into the concrete path. I knelt down, trying to help her.
“Are you okay?” I asked, seeing Lola crouch over on the other side.
The moment Dani realized it was me, she flinched and scooted away. Her eyes were nothing but fearful of me. I stood and recoiled myself.
“Get away from me, don’t touch me,” she stuttered out.
“She’s not going to hurt you, you idiot,” Lola chastised, giving her no sympathy whatsoever. She did, however, help her stand up again.
“Don’t come near me,” Dani continued.
“Did you do some damage to your brain when you fell over?” Lola asked.
“Lola, it’s okay,” I said.
I didn’t wait around to see Dani’s fear grow worse. I hurried off as fast as my legs could take me. Tears were already stinging my eyes and I didn’t want anybody to see me cry. We were supposed to be heartless drones, right? I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone.
I ran straight for the girls bathroom and locked myself in a stall. I pulled my legs onto the toilet seat, hugging them to me. I let the tears flow then. All the people were right, we weren’t supposed to be on this planet. We didn’t have a right to it, the agreement our leaders had struck up with the Department was gone. We were true aliens now, parasites on a planet that was not our own.
I sat there for a long time. Long enough to miss my afternoon classes. Lola came looking for me but I just stayed really quiet so she wouldn’t know it was me behind the door. She swore before leaving again.
Garrick’s voice filtered through my thoughts, telling me how easy it would be to leave. What a good thing we would be doing by helping our people. It was getting more and more attractive the longer I thought about it.
All I needed to do was tell him yes and he would arrange everything. One simple, three-letter word. It would be done, all I would have to do was follow him. Surely it wouldn’t be giving up if I was helping our people?
The door to the bathroom opened again. I held my breath, refusing to make any noise and willing the girl to leave again. I didn’t need any witnesses, they needed to just turn around and go. I sent thought waves their way to that effect.
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