Heat flared on my cheeks. Maybe my mind was weak. Maybe I wasn’t meant to do any of this. I glared at Jonas.
“What can we do differently?” Jack asked, his voice calm.
“For one thing,” Jonas started, “you can stop babying her. She needs tougher training. She needs to be able to fight even when people are in her head, especially the dangerous ones. She needs to be able to multi-task. She needs—”
“Stop! Stop with the ‘she needs.’” I rotated my shoulders back and looked up into Jack’s eyes. “I said I was sorry.” I turned to Jonas. “You have no idea what I need, so stop pretending to know me. You. Don’t. Own. Me.” I spun on my heels and stormed out of the room.
~~~~~
The cool water soothed my sore muscles and hurt feelings from the earlier training session with Jack. I glided through the deep end of the swimming pool after pushing off the wall with my legs. This was my kind of workout. The water was the perfect temperature. I was alone. And I needed an escape. An escape to a time when I was just a senior in high school planning which college to attend next year, which boy I hoped would take me to prom, or what movie to see this weekend.
Swimming relaxed me. But even the hardest workout wouldn’t expunge the memories of the last few days. And forgetting wouldn’t prepare me to face Sandra.
I would confront Sandra. It was just a matter of time. And it was important that I be prepared.
I touched the wall, out of breath. I had been swimming for over an hour. I ripped my goggles and swim cap off my head and threw them up on the deck. Eyes closed, I ducked back under the water and smoothed my hair back. When I surfaced and reopened my eyes, I stared at bare feet in front of me.
Glancing up the length of the legs and body above me, I found Jack staring down at me. I leaned my head back in the water to get a better angle on his incredible body and smiled. “Up for a swim?”
He didn’t smile back.
He turned and kicked his shoes off and away from the pool. Next, he pulled his shirt over his head, providing me with quite a show of his ripped upper body. Facing me, he yanked the snap of his jeans and pushed them down, stepping out of them and tossing them aside so that they joined his shoes and T-shirt.
Wearing only his boxers, he walked the few steps to the edge of the pool and sat. His legs dangled in front of me.
Slowly, I ran my hand along his ankle, up the length of his shin, and around to his calf. Holding on to both calves, I positioned my body between his two legs.
He stared down at me, but still hadn’t spoken. I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay. That I loved him. That when this was over, we would go on to graduate from high school, go off to college, and just be together. But I couldn’t tell him those things. I wouldn’t make promises I might have to break.
I looked away from him. We were alone in the aquatic center.
He reached out and placed his palm on my cheek. Closing my eyes, I leaned into his gentle touch. Cool air touched my cheek when he pulled his hand away. He used his hands to shift and ease his body into the water.
We were face to face—me in a swimsuit and he in his boxers. The strong scent of his shampoo mixed with the smell of chlorine. My hand shook as I reached out and touched the hair on his forehead. His other arm snaked around my waist and pulled me to him. My face was inches from his. His breath was hot against my lips. He held me so tightly I was sure he could feel my heart beat against his chest. My eyes were glued to his. My mind—blank.
I saw and experienced nothing but the beautiful person in front of me.
He leaned in and kissed me just under my earlobe. Electric impulses traveled from that spot and spread down my arms, my chest, and into my stomach.
His hand began to roam up my back until his fingers spread wide, two of them slipping under one of my straps.
“I love you,” he whispered in my ear. “That will never change.”
I pulled my head back and looked at him. At the emotion in his eyes. His hand roamed further up my body until it was intertwined in my hair. Then, all at once, he crushed his lips against mine. The electric current running through us exploded like a thousand active neurons.
We stayed like that until we both needed a breath. He trailed additional kisses along my jawbone until he breathed into the crook of my neck. My hand roamed his back and massaged the base of his neck.
Eventually, he loosened his hold and pulled his head back to gaze at me. “You’re shaking,” he said.
“Am I?”
He nodded, his face serious. “You’re cold. Let’s get you into a hot shower.”
After climbing out of the pool, Jack wrapped me in a large towel.
I stared at the gold specks in the blue of his eyes. “Where will we be in eight months?”
His brows furrowed, casting a dark shadow over his face. “I’ll be wherever you are, and you’ll be wherever I am.”
I smiled a little at that. His face remained as serious as it had been when he’d entered the pool.
He grasped at terry cloth with both hands and brought me closer. He leaned in and kissed me with soft lips. Once. Twice. Three times. Then, he let me go. “Shower. I’ll see you at lunch.”
“Come with me?” I asked with a distinct playfulness.
Finally, he smiled. Closing the distance between us again, he whispered against my cheek, “That’s not what you really want. Timing is off.”
“No, but it got you to smile.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The dining hall was empty compared to a normal day. Most of the noise came from the workers trying to keep a routine for the frightened students who remained on campus—other cloned humans who I assumed were unaware of how they were created. Seth claimed he would be talking with them soon. I recognized most from Dad’s list.
They were young. Seventh and eighth graders, mostly. I couldn’t help but wonder if they had spoken to their parents. Would their parents tell them the truth about being clones?
I massaged the bridge of my nose. As much as I wanted to do something to help the unsuspecting students left at Wellington, I couldn’t. I had to concentrate on Dani and Addison. They needed my help more at the moment. Maybe by helping them, I would also do something good for the others.
I continued to look around. A few teachers huddled at their usual table, no doubt discussing the bombing. How much did they know? Cathy, Dean Fisher, and Dr. Wellington weren’t present. And I hadn’t seen Jack’s dad since before the art gala.
Over by the windows was my target group: Kyle, Jonas, Briana, and Jack.
Jack was already staring at me when I made eye contact. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Not like the smile I got out of him after our “swim.” Turning in his seat, he reached behind him, grabbed a chair, and brought it to the table beside him.
Briana and Kyle appeared to be having their own private conversation at the other end of the table.
I sensed Jonas in my head. Hi, Lexi, he said without even turning to see me. I concentrated hard on finding his presence on the outer perimeter of my mind where he liked to hang out. As if my hand could reach inside my head, I imagined wrapping my fingers around that presence, and I squeezed hard with all the rage I could muster. Then I expelled him from my mind.
Jonas flinched in his seat. He turned and looked at me, serious at first. Then a lazy grin spread across his face. “Very good.”
I closed the remaining distance between me and the group. I leaned down next to Jonas, my mouth next to his ear. “Stay out of my head, Jonas, or I will make it my mission to learn to use a gun next. I’m getting tired of your constant invasion. You never know when I might just snap.” As I said the last word, I snapped my fingers for dramatic effect.
Jonas laughed.
Asshole.
Language, Lexi, Jonas scolded.
I took my seat next to Jack.
“Did you eat anything yet?” When I shook my head, he stood. “I’ll get you something.” He glanced over
toward Briana, then back at me. She could use a friend.
Briana looked like she had been crying, something I had never seen. I know. I’ll try.
Jack walked toward the lunch line. Out of the corner of my eye, I knew Jonas was watching me. I jerked my head in his direction. “What?”
He leaned forward in his chair and spoke softly. “If you continue with this pissy attitude and never-ending anger, we’ll get nowhere.”
I studied Jonas’s eyes. The amber specks flickered in the dark brown, producing a warmth I wasn’t used to with him. He looked nothing like the woman who produced him. Or like me, I guessed, since we didn’t share a single ounce of DNA. My heart, which had felt frigid before my swim, thawed slightly. Amazing how a good workout calmed me, especially one in the water, where I could be alone and shut out the rest of the world.
Jack returned with a cheeseburger and fries for me though I had zero appetite. Despite the earlier swim and make-out session, reality had flooded back the moment I had entered the dining hall. Jack sat and placed a palm on my knee. I covered his hand, sliding my fingers between his. I glanced between Jack and Jonas, then mindspoke so they could both hear me. I’m sorry for earlier today. This is going to be harder than I thought.
That’s why you’re not going to do it alone, Jonas said.
Jack leaned in and kissed the side of my head. “Now eat. You need strength.”
Briana and Kyle slid down closer to us. I poured ketchup on my burger and all over my fries. Briana squinched her nose up in disgust, which made me want to eat the entire plate.
“Bree knows everything,” Kyle announced.
Bree leaned in, her arms tucked under the table. “How could my parents keep this from me?”
“I had a decent relationship with my dad, knew he worked with stem cells, and even knew he once cloned a goat, and I still didn’t have a clue what I was.” I took a bite of my burger, suddenly realizing I was starving. After swallowing, I added, “How long has it been since you took the pills?”
“I ran out a couple of weeks ago, and forgot to get more.”
That explained how she was able to enhance her appearance by the pool. The small pills were all the evidence I needed to know that Dr. Wellington, President Fisher, and who knows how many others knew everything about the clones at this school well before I’d discovered the truth. The school doctors prescribed the pills to me under the pretense of helping me with chronic headaches and nosebleeds. In reality, the pills suppressed my healing abilities and the strength of my mind-altering capabilities. “What did you think you were taking them for?”
She glanced nervously around the table. “I thought they were regulating my periods.”
The boys smartly stayed silent.
“Bree, what do your parents do?” I asked.
She shifted in her seat. The whole conversation was making her uncomfortable. “My dad owns several restaurants around Lexington, and my mom owns thoroughbred racehorses.”
I had never heard that. It didn’t sound very high-profile. Danielle’s dad also worked with thoroughbreds. Maybe they knew each other.
Can you hear my mindspeak, Bree? I took another bite of my cheeseburger.
Jonas looked curiously from me to Bree, as did Jack. Kyle didn’t seem to catch on, but I hadn’t directed the words at him.
Instead of a quick jerk, Bree’s head rose slowly, her eyes a vibrant color through a layer of moisture that never fell. “Oh. My. Gosh.”
“Well, that answers that,” I said, and took another bite of my burger.
“Answers what?” Kyle asked. The other two laughed.
We didn’t all have the same powers or abilities, yet many of our mind capabilities overlapped. And so far, I had yet to witness the same healing powers in the others that Jack and I had. Unless I counted Jonas’s ability to ease pain and sickness.
“Where are Fred and Georgia?” I asked.
“Georgia freaked after the incident at The Program on UK’s campus,” Jonas said. “She and Fred left the morning after I brought you back to the house.”
“What do you mean? What happened on campus?” Bree asked.
Jonas’s lips quirked on one side. “Let’s just say Lexi and I had a power struggle, and Georgia had to step in.”
“Ahhh. I totally get that. Lexi and I have a power struggle on a regular basis.” She threw a mischievous grin my way.
Just like that, Bree cut through the tension with brutal honesty. The whole table laughed. Except me.
I think I’m gonna like her, Jonas said.
I had a strong sense that he already knew he liked her. Good. Maybe you can get inside her head for a while.
Anyone ever tell you you’re no fun?
I chuckled. All the time.
~~~~~
“They said to meet them in Room 201. That’s all I know.” I linked my arm with Jack’s. His anxiety level had grown since lunch. We were all a little on edge. “I wanted to visit Danielle first, but Kyle insisted I didn’t have time.”
“We’ll see her after,” he reassured me.
All of Wellington Boarding School had been transformed in less than twenty-four hours into The Program—a school for the genetically enhanced human cloned. According to Jack, his mother and Dr. Wellington were planning to hire additional science teachers to add to the extensive curriculum for all of the students who remained at Wellington and needed an education into whom they were designed to be. This was what Cathy DeWeese and Roger Wellington had desired all along, I supposed, but I still wanted to understand why.
While school personnel scheduled meetings and classes for the younger students, Seth and Coach Williams had arranged for a special presentation for me, Jack, Jonas, Kyle, and Briana.
Apparently, with the majority of the students gone from the school, we were able to spread out into a classroom building that had not been damaged in the explosion.
Jack and I entered the room to discover a variety of different guns strewn about two large tables. My heart constricted. I should have seen this coming.
The first person I saw was Danielle. She wore her signature yoga pants and a pretty wrap-around cardigan. Her blond hair was tied into a loose ponytail that hung down her back, covering the incision at the base of her neck. I let go of Jack’s arm and crossed the room. Throwing my arms around Danielle’s neck, I pulled her into a giant hug. “Hey,” I whispered. “I’m so glad you’re here. How’re you feeling?”
Kyle turned his head toward us, smiling. That was why he’d discouraged me from seeing her. He knew she’d be here.
“I feel fine. No different, really.” She stepped back. “Kyle and Jonas have explained a lot of crazy things to me.”
“Have you noticed anything… strange?”
“You mean have I felt someone invade my mind and turn me into a robot?” She wrung her hands in front of her. “No.”
“Good. I’m glad.” I hugged her tightly again. “I’m going to get that thing out of you.”
“I hope so. Kyle explained some of the things you’ve been learning.” She cocked her head at me. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were going through?”
The others standing around us had gone quiet. “I… I don’t know.” I glanced nervously around the room. Briana was watching me expectantly. This was all new to her, too. “Well, because I’ve really struggled to grasp the magnitude of what it all means. And until recently, I had no idea how many of us there were. It all happened so fast, you know?”
She nodded. “And your father? He had something to do with cloning you and Jack? And Kyle, Jonas, and Briana?”
“It would appear he knew about it. I’m still trying to understand just how much. Although I’m not sure it matters anymore. He’s not responsible for the predicament we’re in now.” No, we had others to thank for that. “I think he was trying to protect those of us that he could. So much so that he got himself killed in the process.”
“Okay,” Seth interrupted. “Let’s begin. Everyone have a sea
t. Coach Williams is going to get us started.”
We all sat. Jack scooted his chair close to me. It suddenly dawned on me that he was constantly touching me. And I didn’t mean by holding my hand, or placing his palm in the small of my back. It was less obvious than that. Sometimes, if we were sitting, he would position himself so that our knees knocked together, or he would interlock his ankle around mine. If we sat at a table, his pinky finger would graze mine ever so lightly.
Are you purposely touching me every chance you get? I asked him.
He met my gaze. Well, yeah, of course. That’s what guys do when they like girls.
I smiled. That’s not why you’re touching me, though, is it? You’re shielding me.
I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now pay attention.
I faced Coach. He was going on and on about gun safety and why one gun was better than another for various reasons. How he and Seth planned to teach us to protect ourselves, but more than anything, how to be safe.
I raised my hand. “What other options are there?” Everyone looked at me strangely. “What?” I shrugged. “I am not going to use a gun.”
Jonas looked up at the ceiling and sighed loudly. You’re killing me, Sarah.
Don’t call me that. My name is Lexi. “Why does that surprise you? You saw how I reacted to a gun.”
Jack watched Jonas and me. But if the blank look on his face was any indication, I wasn’t sure he was listening to the conversation.
“What do you think?” I asked Jack.
“About what?”
Are you even paying attention? Are you planning to carry a gun around?
I already do. He shrugged. Sometimes.
I stared at him. How did I not know that he carried a gun?
That was when I felt it. I had pretty much blocked Jack from reading my thoughts and I trusted him with my life, so I had stopped watching for his presence inside my head. But there he was, hanging out along the edges of my mind.
I moved my leg away from him, breaking his contact with my body. I stared across the room at Jonas. He cocked his head.
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