by Sarah Noffke
Breathless, Aiden stares down at me. “Is my plan all right with you?”
I yank him back and laugh into his chest. Giddy.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He laughs. “All right, tomorrow we’ll go public. Tonight though, I need you to come down to my lab. I have something to show you. Will you meet me there in an hour?”
I nod, then pull him down toward me again, this time until we’re only separated by a breath. “I love you, Dr. Livingston.”
Chapter Fifty
A few minutes to six o’clock, I board the elevator and hit the button for the fifth level. Just when the doors are about to close an arm shoots through, halting them. They spring open again. Joseph’s pale and sunken face floats into the elevator. Knees responsible for holding me upright give slightly. I steady myself on the steel wall. The cold hardly registers under my fingertips because all I feel is his intense pain, like a vise grip around my chest. All day I’ve been looking for this face and now I stand speechless, gawking at it. His features are wrong. Hollowed cheeks make his green eyes seem oversized. Lips so chapped they’ve split open in multiple places. “Hey, Stark,” he says, in a guttural voice that shouldn’t be his.
“Joseph?” I say, sounding wounded. “Are you okay?” The urge to wrap my arms around him, to hold him up because I sense he needs it, courses through me.
“I’m fine.”
Instinctively I know he’s lying. I reach out for his forearm, needing to know his skin is warm and his pulse is beating. He bats me off. “Leave me alone,” he says, staring straight ahead.
“Trey says you might be mixed up in something lethal.”
His eyes go wide with shock. He turns and looks at me for the first time. “You talked to him about me!? How dare you.”
“I’m worried, and can you blame me? Look at you!”
“You may not understand what’s goin’ on with me right now, but that doesn’t make it wrong.”
“Joseph—”
“I don’t know why you won’t trust me.” He twitches slightly.
“Have you lost your mind? Why would I trust you? Look at yourself. I can’t be the only person who’s telling you something is seriously wrong with you.”
“Damn it, Stark!” Joseph roars, stepping into my face. “You’re not the only one who can save the world. I might just have something to offer the Institute, if given half the f-ing chance.”
I don’t stand down or wipe his spit off my face. “Is that what this is about?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Well, yes, but it’s not like that. I want you to give me a chance to prove that what I’m workin’ on is worthy.”
When the elevator doors spring open, I stalk off for Aiden’s lab. Joseph follows. “I don’t understand why it has to be a secret. Trey said…and it makes me worry.”
“Sometimes you worry too much.” His voice is bitter.
“Sometimes you’re too flippant.”
“Well, sometimes you act like you know it all,” he fumes at me as we walk briskly.
“Well, sometimes you act like a selfish asshole!” I shoot back at him.
“Well, sometimes you can be a real bitch!” he yells as we round the corner into Aiden’s lab.
A dozen puzzled faces stare back at us. “Surprise!” they say after a moment, not quite in unison. The intended enthusiasm is muffled by embarrassment.
Joseph and I freeze next to each other. Nerves hum in my chest as I take in the faces in front of me. Most mask the awkwardness behind a fake smile. I take a step backward and think about running away. But then the singing starts. “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Joseph and Roya. Happy birthday to you!”
Birthday? Oh, that’s right.
I can’t believe my friends threw a birthday party for us. That they remembered…when I didn’t. Sentimental warmth radiates around my heart. Still I haven’t moved, only let a smile form on my face. Joseph is better at this kind of thing. He holds up his arms, covered by his large leather jacket, and rocks his head back and forth.
“Yeah!” he says, pumping his fist in the air. “Thank you!”
The group goes wild. The party officially starts. Friends rush at us taking turns giving us hugs. First Samara, then an awkward one from George, then Trent, then Patrick, and then my arms almost wrap around Aiden but I pause. A nervous bubble rises in my throat when he looks at me.
Most of the group has swarmed into the center of the lab, which has a long buffet set up in the middle. Peacock and osprey feathers arranged in blue vases are sprinkled around the lab. Dozens of strands of Christmas lights hang vertically from floor to ceiling around the perimeter of the room. Overhead plays a song I don’t recognize but instantly love. And playing on the TV over Aiden’s main workstation is a Bruce Lee movie. The work that must have been put into this…and all before our conversation earlier. Aiden really wasn’t ignoring me. How long had he been working on this? And with everything else he has going on? This explains why his eyes are rimmed red, although still carrying their usual excitement. God, I love this guy. For everything he’s done and everything he’s willing to do. And because a single look from him uncages the crazy monster inside me. I love when that monster roams free, sending flurries to my stomach and tightening my chest with excitement.
“Did you do this?” I point to him.
“Well…I had help,” he says, taking my hand and spinning me around.
“Doesn’t this kind of gesture expose us before you’ve talked to Trey?” I say, looking at him sideways.
“Not really. I believe this is a party for a girl and a boy,” he says, with a half-smile.
I watch from the corner of my vision as Joseph chats with a white coat. Even with Aiden soaking up my attention right now I’m reluctant to take my eyes off my brother. He can’t disappear again.
“Of course, we still need to be careful until after my meeting tomorrow,” Aiden says, turning, following my line of vision. “I probably shouldn’t have kissed you in the hallway earlier. I couldn’t help myself. This is a delicate situation and I need to handle it that way. I don’t want Trey to find out from anyone else but me since I suspect he’ll have concerns.”
“It’s stupid that he’d have concerns about something that isn’t his business.”
“The Institute is his business, and we both work for it. So, Roya,” Aiden says, in a different tone, “I’ve got a question I’ve been dying to ask you.”
I pull my attention away from watching Joseph and look at him directly.
“The modifier. You used it,” he taunts.
The sigh is automatic. “Are you serious?”
“Well, I think you know the conversation had to come up sooner or later.” His hand reaches out for mine, but halfway to me he catches himself and drops it back to his side.
“I had no choice but to use the modifier. It was the only way to survive long enough at the Grotte. And then later it was the only way to survive long enough to get home.”
“Hmm,” Aiden says, rocking on his toes and then his heels, looking cunning.
“Dr. Livingston, gloating doesn’t suit you.”
“Whether it does or doesn’t, I’m still relishing this one. You should expect no less after you chastised me for working on the device and now...” He lets the sentence hang in the air, a mischievous grin on his face.
“So you’re saying I can’t count on you to be the bigger person in these situations?”
He huffs. “Absolutely not. Physically I’ll be the bigger person in our relationship. You’ll have to be it in all other senses of the word.”
Our relationship. Those words wrap around my heart like vines.
“Oh, you’re going to try my patience, aren’t you?”
“Every chance I get,” he retorts.
“Well,” I say, a little defeated, “I realize now the moral issues surrounding the modifier aren’t black and white.” A triumphant smile lights up his face. “Try and contain yourself until
I’m done,” I warn.
He holds up his hands like surrendering. “Continue.”
“I’m not saying that I condone the modifier entirely, but I understand certain times warrant its use. I realize now that I’d cast a hasty judgment on you and for that I apologize.”
“You continue to amaze me. If I could, I’d kiss you right now.” I hold his gaze and smile politely, like he’s just told a bad knock-knock joke. “Speaking of kissing you,” he says casually. “I’ve already set up my meeting with Trey for tomorrow. I’ll come and find you afterward and let you know how it went.”
“Are you sure you still want to do this?”
He pauses for too long. If he says no right now it will be like being shot all over again, but this time I won’t make a full recovery. “Sometimes we don’t want to do something,” he says, punctuating each word with a stroke of his hand, “but it’s the only way to get us to where we want to be. And life is too short for regrets.”
He holds out his hand. I shake it. Our last secret gesture. It fills me with desire and anticipation of what our life will look like tomorrow.
“To no regrets,” I say.
Trent throws his arm around my shoulder. “Have I told you two how incredibly talented I am?”
“It’s being published in all the Lucidite newsfeeds,” Aiden tells him.
“As. It. Should,” Trent says. “Seriously though, after only a little while working in the Strategic department, I’ve already been promoted.”
“Wow!” Aiden says. “That’s really incredible.” His eyes stay focused on me.
“How’s it working with Ren?” I ask Trent.
“About like you’d imagine. He inspires with fear, bullies us, and never offers praise. But hey, the pay is worth it,” Trent says.
“There’s not enough money in the world,” I say.
Aiden winks at me. “Good to know you can’t be bought.”
“Yeah, Roya might have integrity, but that don’t buy you a mansion in the Hollywood Hills.” Trent chuckles.
“Well, if you’ll excuse me I need to go grab something.” Aiden bows low to both of us before leaving.
“So you and Aiden, huh?” Trent says, watching him stroll away. “Or is it you and George? I’m confused.”
Blood rushes to my face. “Well…” How can one word be laced with so much guilt?
“Girl, I’m not judging. Just asking.”
“Maybe I should get rid of both of them and take you up on all your offers.”
“That’s probably a poor decision on your part. I like to flirt but if I’m honest you’re not my type.”
“I can change,” I say, a laugh in my voice. “What’s your type?”
“Shorter hair for starters.”
“Hair can be cut.”
“And I like ’em taller too.”
I snap my fingers and swing them through the air. “Oh well, I can’t do anything about that. Maybe Samara’s your match, if she chops her hair that is.”
“And switches her gender,” Trent says, poking me in the ribs with his elbow.
“What?” I gasp. “I had no idea. You’re always flirting with the ladies.”
“Yeah, well I’m thinking about coming out. Tired of living a lie,” he says, seeming distracted as he scans the room, looking for someone maybe?
“I know exactly what you mean,” I say, a new pride in my voice.
An angry growl rumbles in my stomach. “Hey, I’ll see you around, Trent. I haven’t eaten all day.”
The spread is incredible, far better than the offerings in the main hall, which is impressive. Trays of Thai, Greek, Lebanese, Persian, and Mexican food line the table. A satisfied grin spreads across my face. No meat in sight. Aiden must have known that just its presence might upset my taste buds. God, I love that guy.
The Styrofoam plate threatens to break from the contents I’ve loaded onto it. I slip another plate underneath for reinforcement. Creamy hummus on a soft pita slice has just greeted my tongue when Joseph hoarsely whispers in my ear. “Hey, Trey wants us in his office at seven.”
I turn to look at him. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” There’s a bite to the word. “He sent a message down here along with his best wishes.”
I cram an olive in my mouth and shrug, unable to hide my satisfaction. Trey’s going to put a stop to Joseph’s project. Everything is going to work out.
“Try not to look so smug, would you? It’s pissing me off.”
“You’ll be pissed off no matter what,” I say in between bites of food.
“And would you eat like a lady, Stark? You’ve got tzatziki sauce dripping down your chin.”
“I’m starving. Spent my whole day looking for you,” I say, running the napkin across my face.
“Well, you found me,” he says, storming off.
From the far corner of the room I feel George’s eyes watching me. His penetrating gaze is unmistakable. Must be part of his gift. He maneuvers around Samara and Trent, his path no doubt headed for me. Suddenly I’m not hungry at all. Actually the contents of my stomach churn with dread. I drop my plate on a table. George is six feet away when the lights dim in the lab and two cakes blazing with candles roll out on carts pushed by kitchen staff.
Unabashed glee rips through the tension that was mounting. Again the crowd serenades us with another round of “Happy Birthday” and by the time the song is over I’m in front of the first cake. It’s in the shape of a peacock. Joseph is beside me standing in front of his cake, an osprey. I chance a glance at him, but as I suspected he’s not looking at me. He’s already blowing out his candles. Leaning forward I suck in a breath and release it with my wish. Seventeen candles are extinguished immediately, their wax splattering onto the blue and green frosting. Again I steal a look at Joseph. I feel like we should say something, make a speech maybe. Thankfully, Aiden interrupts any of these plans forming in my head.
“Thank you all for joining us to celebrate Joseph and Roya’s s seventeenth birthday. I owe these two people so much. For that matter I owe the whole rescue team my life. They’re not getting it, but regardless I owe it to them. Please join me on center stage, Samara, George, and Trent. I have something I’d like to give all of you who risked your life to save mine.”
When we’re all gathered around Aiden, he lays a small box, about an inch and half in diameter, in each of our hands. “These gifts are to show my appreciation for your efforts. It’s not much, but it is a token of my gratitude.”
The velvet-lined box makes a popping sound when I open it. Inside sits a silver ring with a small round black disk.
“You’ve heard of mood rings, right?” Aiden says. “Well, those work off of body temperature. Here in your hands you have what could actually be considered a real mood ring. Thanks to George I’ve been able to accurately detect real moods using an advanced technology. With this ring you will know your own mood and be able to warn those around you. Won’t that be fun!?” he sings. Everyone laughs.
I pluck the ring from its box and place it on my finger. It automatically turns gray. Pasted to the bottom of the box is a legend. I scan it. Gray means anxious. That’s about right.
“Thanks, Aiden,” Trent says, looking at his ring, which is currently purple. “I’ve never ever wanted something like this and I think it’s completely useless.”
Aiden smiles. His blue eyes dazzle. “You’re absolutely welcome.”
Pulling off the ring I stuff it into my pocket and flinch when George leans over my shoulder. “Rumor is you can’t leave the Institute as planned.”
I scrutinize him for a second. “Yeah, Trey won’t let me leave. Not sure how he found out about it though.”
“You’ve been avoiding me,” George says, ignoring the accusation overloading my tone.
I bristle. “No I haven’t.” Thankfully the others have moved off to cut and distribute the cakes.
“Roya,” he says, a warning in his voice. His eyes are sharp, like they were cut from stone.
“At the moment?” he challenges.
My gaze falls to the ground and as it does I catch notice of George’s ring on his finger. It’s black. Stressed.
“Fine, all the time, but especially right now.” I look straight at him. “The truth is I have been avoiding you. I was really confused when I kissed you. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not sorry. I just wished you’d do it when you weren’t so confused.”
“Well, maybe at some point life will stop being so confusing for once and then maybe I’ll get everything all figured out.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he says coldly.
Over his shoulder I check the clock. It’s almost time to meet Trey. “Look, we need to talk, but I have to go right now.”
George scans my eyes. I haven’t wanted to hide anything from him recently and so I’m slow to throw up my shield. His eyes narrow. “Roya, when I gave you permission to hurt me, I didn’t mean right now. I meant after we’d been together for a long time. Like years.”
Why does he have to make this so pathetically painful?
“George, I’m not going to hurt you.” That’s a lie. “We just need to talk about something. It’s no big deal.” Another lie. “But I can’t get into right now. I’ve got to go.” Truth.
I search for Joseph. It’s like my new hobby. Surprisingly he’s actually already waiting by the doorway for me. I’m halfway down the corridor when I hear footsteps racing behind me. I turn around just as Aiden pulls up.
“Hey,” he says, panting softly.
“Hey.”
“I wanted to say happy birthday, Roya.”