“How are we supposed to find them?” Adam asks.
“With Emily’s map; there are four others, and we have a pretty good idea where they might be.”
“Hopefully my son will cross your path,” Emily says. “If he is still out there, then he might still be searching, too.”
Uncle Henry nods his agreement and sits up on the desk. “This is how everything is going to play out.”
Adam leans next to him, his eyes still fixed on the map as my uncle explains to us what we’ll need to do. I try to focus on what he’s saying, but my mind keeps taking me to my parents and my brothers. This past month, all I wanted was to find out about my past, my biological parents—but today, I would give my life to go back in time to the day in the vision, the day that my parents held me in their arms and their tears were tears of happiness.
The quote dancing in my head right now is so common that it needs no source: “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it”.
33 Adam
I left the barn an hour ago and my chest is still tight with pain. Last night, the idea of leaving town was almost appealing. I didn’t have time to consider all that I was going to leave behind. Saying goodbye to Bader was harder than I could have imagined.
I get out of the shower and dress myself up for the dance. I have half an hour until I have to leave to pick up Livia and only a little longer until we’re gone. I didn’t sleep much last night and I’m exhausted. This morning I woke up early and went to the school to help out with the decorations for the dance. I’m keeping to my routine as Emily advised us to, but I didn’t see Livia at the school. I wonder how she’s doing; she didn’t look very good when I dropped her off at her home last night.
I’m trying to ignore my feelings; it will be easier that way. I tried to spend some quality time with my brothers today—we played Wii together, and I didn’t pick on them like I normally do. I’ll miss out on so much of their lives and I won’t see what kind of men they’ll become. I wish I had given them more attention while I could.
“Hey, look at you!” Mom says, walking into my bedroom. “Do you need help with that tie?”
“Please,” I tell her, even though I can do it perfectly without help. Little moments like this are what I will need to remember when I’ve left.
“I just talked to Laura on the phone. She said Livia is almost ready.” She looks at me and her eyes are filled with tears. “Please take pictures for me while you’re there.”
“I will, Mom.” I hug her and she kisses my forehead. “I love you.”
“Oh, Adam, stop or you’ll make me cry!” she says, smiling. Her eyes sparkle.
Before I leave, she snaps a couple of pictures and I give her one last hug before heading to the Jeep. I’ve already packed my backpack with as many as clothes I could fit, as Henry instructed us to, and I stowed it in the back seat under a blanket this morning so Mom wouldn’t see it. But just as I’m about to pull out of my driveway for the last time, Dad pulls in.
“Adam, wait,” he calls. “You look sharp!”
I get out of the car and lean on his open window. “Thanks. Uh, look, I wanted you to know I understand why you did what you did, and I’m not mad at you.”
He drags his hand down his face and gets out of the car. “Adam, what I did was wrong and I should never have—”
“Things happen for a reason, Dad, and I think what you did may not have been the right thing, but it saved my life.”
I give him a hug before heading back to the Jeep. Mom walks outside and stands next to my dad. He puts his arms around her as I drive away.
I arrive at Livia’s house and her dad answers the door. “Hi, Mr. Berwick, I’m here to pick up Livia.”
“Hey, Adam, come on in. She’ll be down in a second!”
“Hello, Adam,” her uncle says as I walk into the living room. “How’s everything going?”
“As planned,” I say. I hear Livia coming down the stairs, and the sight of her makes my heart skip a beat. She’s in a long red dress, her hair loose in curls that cascade down on her shoulders. She looks more beautiful than she already is, if that is even possible. She smiles at me, but behind her smile, I see sadness.
This is not how today was supposed to go. I wanted it be special. I wanted us to be carefree and happy, and I wanted to walk into that dance and make her night magical. Now, I just want us to get out of there alive.
She walks up to me and I realize I was frozen in place, staring at her. I give her the corsage I bought her this morning, a tiny thing made with red and white roses. “It means you and I are one—we stand united.” I place it around her wrist and hold her close. After all, united is what we’ll have to be.
“Thank you,” she whispers. “It’s beautiful.”
I smile. “Not as beautiful as you.”
“Livia, let us take a picture of you two!” her mom says, holding a camera. We pose for a few pictures and I can feel Livia shaking a bit. I hold her hand in mine. She looks at me, and I can almost see the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
When Mrs. Berwick’s camera has run out of room for any more photos, my face is sore from holding up a convincing fake smile. Livia walks closer to her Mom and gives her a lingering hug. “I love you, Mom.” Her mom smiles into her daughter’s hair, but only I can see Livia’s face—she looks heartbroken.
“I love you too, honey. Have fun tonight!”
When her Dad approaches, Livia can’t contain her tears, and she hugs him hard.
“It’s just a dance, Livia,” Henry jokes. The joke stings.
“Thanks, Dad, for everything you have done for me,” she says, and I look at Henry, who’s staring at Livia in disapproval—she sounds like she’s saying goodbye.
“Livia! Don’t cry, or you’ll ruin your makeup,” her mom fusses, approaching her with a tissue. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just, you guys are great.” Livia barely gets the words out; she can barely keep her smile up, too.
“Well, we love you, too!” Her dad kisses her forehead, still seeming baffled, and she slips away from them to walk to the door. I follow her outside.
We get in the Jeep and she waves goodbye to her family. As I drive away, Livia is no longer holding her tears in. She’s sobbing like a lost child. I pull up on the side of the road and hold her in my arms.
“It’s going to be okay. I know it’s hard, but it’s for their own good.”
“I know,” she gasps.
I hold her until she gains control of herself. She pulls away, looking at me. I stroke my hand down her cheek and she leans into my palm. She puts her hand around my neck and draws me closer and kisses me. It feels like a kiss goodbye. Her breathing gets heavier as her grip on my shoulder tightens. I pull back from her and hold her steady. She holds my gaze and, for a moment, we don’t say anything. In her eyes, I see she fears the same thing I do.
“I won’t let anything happen to us,” I say. “I promise we are staying together.”
“My uncle said that if they catch us, they’ll take our memories away.” She has no guard up anymore. I can see it: she’s absolutely terrified.
“They won’t take us. We will run and hide like he told us to do. We’ll train and get stronger, and one day we’ll take them down, one by one. I promise.”
We enter the school cafeteria. It doesn’t look like the place I eat every day. Tonight is meant to be a romantic homecoming dance, and the dance committee did a great job decorating the place. Instead of the plain white floor of the cafeteria, I’m standing on metallic paper. The walls are covered in dark blue with purple curtains hanging from the ceiling. As we walk in, we pass through a pair of arches where pictures are being taken. Above the arches is a sign that reads, “A Night to Remember”.
“How ironic is that?” I ask.
“I want a picture of us!” Livia says, pulling me with her into the line for photos. When it is our turn, instead of looking into the cameras, she looks in my eyes and smiles. �
�You make me happy, and looking at you is the only way I can smile,” she says, and I return her soft expression. The camera flashes, and when we turn to leave, she’s no longer smiling.
I spot Kyle on the other side of the cafeteria, standing by the drink table with Matt and Brianna. I hold Livia’s hand as we cross the room, but before we can make it to our friends, someone blocks our way.
“I’m glad you made it,” Ms. Johnson—or Camilla—appears in front of me. Livia gasps. “Don’t be afraid, my dear. You still have tonight to enjoy yourselves. I’ll see you in the morning.” Livia and I both struggle to keep our composure as she glides away.
“What was that all about?” Kyle asks, coming up next to me.
“She was just saying hi,” I say. The less Kyle knows, the safer he is.
But he’s watching her go with narrowed eyes. “Yeah, I bet she was.”
We walk toward the dance floor where everyone else is already getting into the party, but Livia and I stand on the outside. She’s watching everyone dance, but her mind is someplace else. “We’re here,” I say. “We might as well enjoy it.”
“I can’t.” She sighs. “I want to, but I can’t stop thinking. I’m too afraid.”
“There is nothing we can do about it, Livia.”
“It’s not that simple!” she snaps. “I don’t want to leave my family, and I don’t want to run for the rest of my life like I’ve done something wrong. I have the right to freedom,” she declares, and I feel her anger flaring. She turns to leave, but I hold her hand to stop her.
“Where are you going?”
“To the restroom.” She loosens her hand from my grip and walks away.
I don’t go after her. She needs space, and I don’t want her blaming all of this mess on me. It’s been harder on her—I guess I am more accepting of things that I can’t change. If this is what I’ll have to do to survive, then I’ll run. For now this is my only option, and I have to be content with it.
“Where’s Livia?” Brianna asks, appearing out of thin air.
“She went to the restroom. Would you go check on her for me? She’s not having a good day.”
“Sure thing.” She dashes toward the restroom without another word.
I find Matt standing by the punch bowl, filling his cup. He smiles wide when he sees me approaching. “Hey, dude, care for some spiked punch?”
“Oh, so that’s what you’re doing?”
“It’ll help you with your king’s speech.”
“Nah, I better be sober for that,” I say. “But thanks.”
“Adam,” Brianna calls, hurrying up to us. “I didn’t see her in the bathroom. Are you sure she went that way?”
My muscles tense as each word sinks in. I take a look around but I don’t see her anywhere.
“I’ll go look for her,” I say, already walking away, and before I can catch myself, I’m running across the room and bursting through the double doors that lead me outside. I close my eyes in search of Livia’s voice, but there’s too many voices noise inside to sift through for me to be able to find hers.
I head inside through the back doors, which will lead me straight to the restrooms. I stop at the girls’ door and I call out for Livia; no answer. As I walk down on the hallway, I see Daniel standing at the bottom of the stairs, gesturing at someone. The voice I hear is not his—it’s Livia’s.
“Stop following me!”
“I have to talk to you.”
I run to where she is, cutting in front of Daniel. “Get out of here now!” I snarl, and he takes one step back. “We have ’til morning, so leave us alone until then!”
“I’m not here to hurt her.”
“The ultimatum you gave us was enough!” I shout, and Daniel frowns.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Adam, I think he’s telling the truth,” Livia says.
But I can’t stop shaking; I can’t stop being angry and frustrated. “I don’t trust him.”
“I’ll just go, okay?” Daniel says slowly as he starts to walk away. “I’m not here to cause problems.”
When he’s left, I turn to Livia. “What did he want?” I ask her as she looks after Daniel.
“I didn’t give him the chance to say. I noticed someone following me, so I ran and he caught up with me. He didn’t have an intention to hurt me, though, and his emotions were there—no fake shield or black hole like the others.”
“Okay, okay,” I shake my head. “What were you doing here anyway?”
“I needed some fresh air, so I went outside to find the car my uncle left here for us to use. I moved your backpack into it, and I saw the file folder he left in the glove box with tons of information and instructions. I started to look through it, and I felt someone watching me…”
“Here, take my hand,” I say as my fear spikes. “Let’s go back inside. They’ll crown the king and queen soon, and then we can get the hell out of here.”
She does so, and her touch is all I need. I know that if I have her with me, and I’ll have the strength to survive this.
I leave Livia at the dance floor with Brianna and the other girls so I can talk with the DJ. When I walk back to them, he has already started playing my request. As I approach Livia, I see her face changing as she recognizes the music. I watch as her lips curve up. Just one song and she’s glowing.
“Would you like to dance?” I ask, and she narrows her blue eyes at me.
“Did you request this song?” She holds my hand and I pull her closer.
“The Scientist; it’s your favorite, right?”
She laughs weakly and rests her head on my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Anything to see you smile.”
We slow dance. At this moment, nothing else matters. It’s just me and her, and the rest is a world apart. I hold her against me, wrapping my arms around her waist. She tilts her head up to look at me and I trace her face with my fingers. She closes her eyes.
“I want to remember this forever,” I say softly. “In the middle of this mess, we can find a moment that is just ours. As long as I have you, I’ll always have hope.”
“We’ll always have each other. I can’t make it through this without you.” She smiles wider, my heart beats faster, and butterflies flood my insides. I take a deep breath and look in her eyes when I say, “I love you.”
She moves her lips to respond, but a voice on the speakers cuts her off—Mr. Garth is on the stage.
“It’s time to crown our homecoming king and queen!” he announces to enthusiastic cheering and applause. “First, let’s get our king up here. He’s the person with the highest GPA in this school, always ready to help his peers, and he spent his entire summer volunteering at the local hospital; just a few of the many reasons why you, Adam Cooper, are our homecoming king!”
“Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I tell Livia before heading up to the stage.
Someone puts a crown on my head and is congratulating me, but I’m searching for Livia in the crowd; I find her with Kyle standing by her side. She’s biting her lower lip, and I’ve noticed she does that when she’s nervous. Mr. Garth calls an ecstatic Brianna up to crown her as the queen. When they call for the dance, I give Matt my crown, and he dances with Bri while I go to Livia.
I find her at the punchbowl. Kyle’s trying to give her a drink and calm her down.
“Hey, thanks for keeping an eye on her,” I tell him.
He faces me, and I’ve rarely seen him so grim. “You’re leaving now, aren’t you?” It’s hardly a question.
“Kyle, let me just say that the less you know, the safer you’ll be.”
He rolls his eyes. “To hell with that! You’re my brother, dude, and I’ll do anything to help you out.”
“You already have.” I smile lopsidedly. “You’ve always been there, since the beginning, and I’ll never forget that.” I give him a hug, hardly containing my own urge to cry.
“It’s almost ten,” Livia says close to
my ear. “We have to go now.”
I pull away and lock eyes with my best friend. “Kyle, keep an eye on my brothers. Don’t let them screw up their lives while I’m gone. Maybe one day, if needed, you can tell them the truth.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for them.” Kyle says and gives me a solemn handshake.
Livia holds my hand and we walk out of the room together. I take a quick look back—all my friends are dancing, laughing, and here I am, running for my life.
34 Livia
I pull Adam’s hand, urging him out of the crowded cafeteria. It seems that he’s frozen in time, watching his friends. For the first time today, I think I see him holding back tears. I can only imagine how this feels for him—I’m leaving my family, but he is leaving his world, and the friends that he’s had his entire life.
As we step outside into the parking lot, I feel Adam stiffen and at the same time that I see two bulky men by the school gates. “They are not giving us ’til morning,” I say and tighten my grip on his hand.
“They can hear us.” Adam frowns and his face settles into a cold expression I’ve never seen on him before.
“What are they saying?”
“That our time to decide is up.” His voice drops to a growl. “Just run to the car, and I’ll meet you there.”
“I’m not leaving your side.”
“Then let’s get back inside.”
Adam and I turn and run through the doors, only to be stopped by Camilla.
“You two are coming with—”
Before she can finish her sentence, Daniel has his arm wrapped around her neck, and in a blink of an eye, she’s lying on the floor. “Run!” he shouts and we dash to the south entry. As we get closer to the double doors, a man stands in front of it, blocking our exit. I saw that guy when we got to the school earlier; he’s the security guy the school hired for the dance, but he actually works for the agency; they’ve infiltrated everywhere.
Even so, I can sense his emotions, and he’s as nervous as I am.
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