“Hey, Eve.” He sounded relaxed. “How was the blood test?”
“Um.” I looked up at him. He was just standing there casually, his hands in his pockets, his face as relaxed as his voice sounded. I looked back toward the Starbucks, but his friend had disappeared. “It was fine. Didn’t hurt at all.”
“That’s good. What are you up to now?”
“Did you wait for me?” I was relieved he didn’t seem worried about my awkward staring, but it had suddenly occurred to me that his behavior was beginning to border on stalkerish.
“What?” He chuckled, flashing his dimples. “I bumped into my friend and we got talking. I think you saw me standing with him . . .” There was a hint of humor in his voice—so, he’d noticed me staring after all.
“Right. Sorry. Um, I’m meeting some friends for lunch soon, so . . .” I was ready to be away from this whole awkward encounter.
“OK, OK.” He chuckled again but stepped out of my path. “I won’t keep you from your super early lunch. I just wanted to invite you to my party. It’s next weekend.”
“I don’t know . . .” I hadn’t been to a party since my wild streak in Nampa. Considering I was here on a scholarship, my focus should probably be on my studies, not getting drunk with frat boys. Not that there were any fraternities or sororities at Bradford Hills Institute.
“It’s just a party at my place, and it will mostly just be Bradford students. You can bring your friends too, if you want.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me, my fingers closing around the sleek black rectangle reflexively. “Put your number in there, and I’ll send you the details.”
I watched him for a moment, standing there with his mischievous eyes and his big arms and his confident personality. I quickly put my number in his phone, muttering as I typed, “I’ll think about it.”
“Sweet!” He put the phone back in his pocket and beamed at me. “See you there.”
“I said I’d think about it, Kid.” I laughed despite myself.
“What? Can’t hear you!” He started to walk away in the opposite direction. Apparently he had somewhere to be, now that he’d completed his mission of inserting himself into my life. “I’ll see you at my party! Bye!”
I caught one more glimpse of his brilliant smile before turning away, shaking my head.
I decided to risk getting lost after all and took a walk around campus, sending a message to Tyler to let him know I had done the blood test. His reply was almost instant:
Finally! That was slower than a reaction between covalent compounds.
I snorted at the lame joke before replying.
Me: Chemistry humor. Really?
Tyler: Be thankful it wasn’t a pun.
Me: Haha! Good point.
Tyler: I’ll let you know when the results arrive and we can set a meeting to discuss.
It would be a boring meeting with nothing to discuss, but I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to spend some time with Tyler Gabriel. I put my phone away and headed to the cafeteria.
Halfway through our tacos, as Zara and Beth were chatting about their morning classes, my phone went off. Before I could wipe the salsa off my fingers, Beth unashamedly leaned over to read what the message said.
“Party next Sat at 1175 Oakwood Cres. Bring your friends! Hope to . . . Hey! I was reading that.” Beth sounded outraged as I swiped the phone away, but there was a big smile on her face.
“God, you two have no boundaries.” They really didn’t. They were constantly walking into my room without knocking, barging into the bathroom to ask me things while I was in the shower, reading my messages, borrowing my things, and just generally getting all up in my business. They acted the same way with each other. I guess it was nice that they were treating me like one of their own, but it was taking some getting used to.
“Who needs boundaries when you have friends like us?” Beth tried to grab the phone, but I held it out at arm’s length. Of course, that put it in Zara’s range, and she yanked it right out of my hand.
“Hope to see you there.” She picked up where Beth had left off, tucking her sleek red hair behind her ear. “Winky face.” Her face scrunched up in disgust as I flopped back in my chair, giving up.
“Who’s inviting you to a party?” Beth asked at the same time Zara demanded in much growlier voice, “Why is Ethan Paul inviting you to a party?”
“Kid invited you to his party?” Beth bounced in her seat, but this time I was the one who spoke over her.
“How do you know it’s from him?”
Zara rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know his address. We’re not going.”
“Oh my god, can we please go?” Beth pleaded, hanging off my arm and leaning into me. “Zara never wants to go to these things, and I never get invited. Please!”
“Look, I only just met him properly this morning, and he invited me. I haven’t decided if I’m going yet.”
“These elitist things are just another excuse for that crowd to reinforce their own inflated sense of importance. Beth never gets invited because she’s a Dime. I always get invited because technically I have Variant DNA and my parents run in these god-awful Variant society circles. You’re invited because they’re not sure what you are yet, and they want to keep you on their side in case your blood test comes back positive.”
Beth groaned as Zara completed her diatribe, and I stared at her, stunned. Here I was thinking it was just a party.
“Or maybe I don’t get invited because I don’t know Kid or his friends, and Eve got invited because he likes her?” Beth was clearly trying to sound firm, but she always seemed to come across as gentle and polite. “Please, Eve, can we go?”
She gave me her puppy dog eyes, the freckles on her nose only adding to the innocent act. I rolled my eyes, and before I could even voice my agreement, she was thanking me and hugging me from the side.
“I’ve lost my appetite. I’ll see you guys later.” Zara didn’t wait for a response before scraping her chair back and hurrying out of the building.
Beth and I shared a look, and then she leaned forward. “Bradford Hills Institute and other Variant-affiliated organizations hold regular events. Things like luncheons, fundraising balls, and socials. The goal is to facilitate as many Variant introductions as possible in the hopes of finding a Variant-Vital match. Zara grew up going to these things, and she used to enjoy them, but as time went on and her ability never manifested, she felt more and more pressure from her parents, and she started to resent even being invited anymore. She’s just over it.”
Beth really cared deeply for Zara. She sighed before continuing. “Most abilities manifest by age thirteen. Zara’s nineteen and still nothing. It’s likely she has the dormant gene and her parents are real assholes about it. They make her feel like a disappointment over something she has no control over.”
“OK. I can understand that. But what does it have to do with Kid’s party? It’s not like it’s an official Bradford Hills event.”
“Yeah, it is, but a lot of younger people use parties—especially Kid’s parties, because they’re legendary—as an informal way of doing the same thing, trying to find a Vital. All it really means is that people there are more likely to talk to someone they don’t know than they are at a regular party, but for Zara it just turns the knife—reminds her that she’s a failure in her parents’ eyes.”
“Well, if it means so much to her, we don’t have to go. I’m not huge on parties anyway.”
“Oh, we are going to this party. You already agreed. It’s happening!” The excited smile was back. “Don’t worry about Zara. She just needs to cool off. She’ll be fine.”
I reluctantly agreed, figuring Beth knew Zara better than I did, and allowed myself to get a little excited about the prospect of a party. Plus it was making Beth ridiculously happy.
True to Beth’s word, when we all got back to our res hall after classes, Zara apologized for how she’d reacted at lunch and seemed to b
e in a much better mood. I breathed a sigh of relief as Beth pulled me into a lengthy conversation about what to wear, while Zara rolled her eyes at us and shut herself in her bedroom.
Six
People streamed past me in every direction as I stood in front of the admin building, looking up and down between my trusty map and what felt like an infinite number of possible paths to take. Several lanes wide enough to accommodate two cars, as well branching veins of narrower walkways, wound away from me on all sides.
My destination was the Variant History Museum on the other side of campus, but I had seriously underestimated my bad sense of direction. While most of the lecture halls and study rooms were grouped at the east end of campus, near the residential buildings, the rest of campus was an unfamiliar maze of various office buildings, research labs, and three separate libraries. Three!
I took a deep breath of fresh air, fighting back frustration.
My only lecture had been canceled, and I had the morning off. With nowhere to be until lunch with the Reds, I’d ventured out into the sunshine in nothing more than leggings and a long T-shirt, loose around my hips, hoping to explore my new home a little bit.
The enormous campus was just one of a million things I still needed to figure out in this crazy elite world. Still, there were many things I was enjoying.
The Reds topped the list. Yes, Zara had her moments, but she was the most honest and open person I had ever met. Beth was the perfect counterbalance, always giving people the benefit of the doubt, effortlessly caring and thoughtful, though never hesitating to call Zara out on her shit. Those two had clearly been friends for a long time, and although that should have left me feeling left out, it didn’t. I was already beginning to feel as if I belonged with them.
It was an odd feeling—belonging. Even when I’d made friends with Harvey and his sister in Australia, it hadn’t happened this fast or this effortlessly.
I was really enjoying my classes too. Chemistry was my favorite by far, and I was even considering applying for a lab assistant position with the research lab on campus. It would allow me to earn some extra cash, and I would be making even more of a contribution to Bradford Hills, cementing my place here.
I was turning my map every which way, trying to figure out which path was correct, when Tyler stepped into my field of vision.
“Lost?” he asked with a soft smile on his face. He was dressed similarly to when I’d first met him—gray pants and a navy shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He slung his messenger bag over his shoulder, then had to swipe his messy hair out of his eyes.
So adorable!
“Nope! I’m all good.” I didn’t want to admit I couldn’t read a simple campus map, so I tucked the offending piece of paper into my bag.
“Liar.” He chuckled and then raised his eyebrows, waiting for something.
How could I have forgotten his ability?
“Right. Human lie detector.” I wasn’t sure if I was more embarrassed about being lost or lying to him about it. “That’s really not fair, you know. I’m so embarrassed. Give me a partial differential equation and I’m all over it. Ask me to read a map . . . Well, just don’t ask me to read maps, OK?”
“Fairness is subjective, and I can’t turn my ability off, so that’s a moot point. But don’t be embarrassed about being lost. This campus is massive, and it can be confusing. Where are you going?”
I was grateful he didn’t tease me and glad to have someone point me in the right direction. I was doubly glad it was Tyler. This was only the second time I’d met him. The first time he’d encouraged my curiosity, and now he was quickly dispelling my embarrassment over not being able to do a simple task. Trying to resist liking this guy was beginning to feel futile.
“I was trying to get to the Variant Museum.”
His face brightened and he smiled wider. “Great! I can guide you there myself. I’m heading that way.”
He gestured to a path leading in the complete opposite direction I was going to take and took off at a leisurely pace.
“Right. This is the way I was going to go too.” I stepped up next to him, matching his slow pace.
“Liar!” This time he did laugh, but it wasn’t mocking—more amused and lighthearted.
“Dammit!” I laughed too, letting the ease of his presence and the warm sun melt my embarrassment away.
The occasional tree provided shade as we walked down the narrow, fern-lined path, chatting easily. He asked about how I was settling in, and I thanked him profusely for his care package. He waved it off as nothing and asked about my classes; I was loving them all. He seemed pleased to hear that and began recommending articles I might find interesting.
“It was written in the mid-nineties, but it’s still widely regarded as the beginning of serious Variant genetics research. It’s a good starting point for the basics if you want to know more.”
Tyler was telling me about an old research paper when we emerged into another bustling square. It was nowhere near as busy as the area around the admin building, but there were plenty of people milling about—albeit more suits and high heels than T-shirts and backpacks. Three low buildings edged the sides of the square, and at the base of the one directly opposite us was a café, outdoor seating scattered around its doors.
Standing near the café, facing us, was a man dressed in all black—long-sleeved top, pants, and boots. He was with a short girl with long black hair and a tall boy with short black hair.
I watched him closely as we emerged from the path.
Tyler pulled up short. “Oh, whoops. We’ve actually gone past where you need to turn off for the museum, but if you just—”
“Holy shit!” I cut him off midsentence as realization hit me. I couldn’t believe my widening eyes.
I knew that man. I had been looking for that man for over a year.
That was my honey-voiced stranger.
“Eve?” I could feel Tyler watching me, concern leaking into his voice, but I had no attention to spare for him. I couldn’t take my eyes off the stranger. Maybe he wasn’t really there, and if I looked away, he would disappear again. Just as he’d done in the hospital.
He looked up, his eyes landing on Tyler first, his hand raising in greeting. Then his focus shifted to me, and a look of pure shock crossed his face.
He was real!
I launched myself across the square and straight for him. His eyes widened, the shock replaced by horror.
I didn’t stop to contemplate his reaction, or the alarm in Tyler’s voice as he called my name again, or all the people who were no doubt giving me strange looks as I barreled through their quiet day.
I pulled up right in front of him, staring into his face to make sure it was really him. Ice-blue eyes stared back. There was the strong jaw, the scar through the right eyebrow, the closely cropped hair.
“Holy shit, it’s really you!” I declared at an inappropriate volume as I wrapped my arms around his middle, pressing my cheek to his firm chest.
He froze, holding his arms out and going stiff. Several people gasped, and the level of background noise considerably lessened. Was that me drowning out the noise, completely in the moment, overjoyed at finally finding my stranger? Or had everything really gone silent?
“Eve.” This time there was a hint of panic in Tyler’s voice when he said my name. He placed a firm hand on my shoulder, and I let him pull me backward. The stranger was not returning my hug. I looked around slowly at the silent onlookers’ faces—at the looks of shock, worry, or amazement.
My stranger just looked pissed off.
Did they frown on hugging here? I could have sworn I had seen people hug.
“I can’t believe you’re really here,” I said at a more normal volume.
The stranger spoke at the same time, his hushed tone discernible only to our weird little group. “How the hell did you find me? I’ve been blocking your annoyingly persistent attempts for over a year.”
Life was resuming its regular rhythm
around us—general chitchat, footsteps, chairs scraping on concrete. Whatever the crowd had poised itself to witness hadn’t happened, and they were all moving on with their day.
“Wait. What? You knew I was looking for you?”
“Looking” was an understatement. I had called Melior Group repeatedly, even though they never gave me any new information. I had trawled the Internet, read through pages and pages of redacted documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, sifted through paranoid conspiracy theories on forums, frequented some of the darkest corners online. I had done all I could think to do for a whole year to find any scrap of information that would lead me to him.
And there he stood, telling me he knew I’d been looking for him and had actively blocked me.
He pressed his lips together and crossed his arms over his chest, taking a step back. “It’s kind of my job to know things.”
“What?” None of this was making sense. “Why? I just wanted to thank you.” To begin with. I wanted to thank him profusely, and then I wanted to ask a million questions. Perhaps I had been naive to think someone who worked for Melior Group would be willing to answer them.
The two people he had been standing with, who looked like brother and sister, started laughing softly. As if it were absurd that anyone would want to thank him for anything.
“Do you two know each other?” Tyler cut into our conversation, sounding incredulous, but we both ignored him.
“There’s no need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”
“That’s not your decision to make. Whether or not I need something is my business.” I matched his stance, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance. I had been overjoyed when I first saw him standing across the square, but that had quickly turned to frustration. What was his problem?
“Answer the question. How did you find me?” We were standing off against each other, him determined to get answers to his paranoid question, me getting more and more angry as he ruined a moment I’d been thinking about for more than a year.
Variant Lost (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 1) Page 7