Boyd slouches back in his chair. “It was only when Golding was acquired, that we decided to look a little closer into Yvette. We knew it would be only a matter of time before we needed inside help. We had to find leverage.”
“I was never happy working for Roscoe, but he made it clear that I could never leave,” says Yvette. “When Boyd approached me about Isaac, and potentially helping the EVO to escape, I knew I had to jump at the chance.”
“That, and the money, eh?” says Maggie.
There is a collective intake of breath. I don’t react to Maggie’s comment in the same way. I want to high five her for speaking the truth. It is all about the money with Yvette. Her sob story won’t fly with me.
“I need to disappear just like the rest of you. How far will I get on buttons?” snaps Yvette. She neither blushes nor shrinks away from Maggie’s comment. Her eyes blaze into Maggie before shifting to Isaac.
“Oh, so you haven’t got yourself up to your eyeballs in debt?” Maggie adds. “Like Boyd said, we needed leverage.”
Yvette sucks her teeth, her anger flaring. Maggie’s lips twitch at the corners. The beef between them is certainly entertaining if nothing else. I feel like I should be eating popcorn.
Isaac stands up and claps his hands. “The whys and the wherefores don’t matter now. Yvette got you out and that should be respected.”
A text message beep startles me.
Isaac pulls a basic, pay as you go mobile out of his pocket, reads a message, and smiles. “We’re on the home straight, guys. We’ve got a chartered plane to Spain tomorrow night.”
Boyd slaps him on the shoulder. “How much does Jimbo want?”
“Two hundred grand,” Isaac replies, but he’s still smiling.
Boyd whistles his shock, and Maggie’s face reflects my own, her mouth gaping.
“Spain?” asks Yana.
Isaac nods. “I know it’s a lot to get your heads around, but we need to disappear.”
“Surely Roscoe will find other EVO. Why would he bother wasting energy hunting us?” asks Haydn.
“Roscoe will never stop until he gets his grade three. Besides, we’re not just running from Roscoe,” Isaac says. “The E.N.C is on to us. They have been watching Facility One and will know about the escape.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Golding’s cup slips through his grip and its contents spills across the table. Yvette shrieks as a torrent of coffee spills over the edge and onto her lap. Everyone starts wiping up the mess with napkins, but Golding sprints from the room.
Isaac has a pained look on his face, and Norah shakes her head at him, her own eyes shining from tears, yet neither of them looks to follow Golding. Isaac stands in the doorway, his frame filling the space. He steps aside, allowing me to pass. Our eyes meet briefly, and he nods his approval, not that I want or need it.
The sounds of destruction fill the landing. The wall is physically shaking from the inside, and Golding almost screams with frustration. I think about giving him some time alone, but from what I know about Golding, he needs reassurance, someone to care.
I knock. “Gold, it’s me,” I say.
The wall stops shaking, and gasping cries replace the angered groans.
Opening the door, I pop my head around and see Golding with his knuckles red, his head hung, and his back heaving through sobs. He looks vulnerable and young. He sags against the wall like a rag doll.
I wrap my arms around him. “What is the E.N.C?” I ask him.
“The EVO Nation Corp,” he sniffs. “They’re a cult of EVO supremacists who believe that EVO are the next link in the evolution of mankind or some crap. They believe that this entitles them to dominate anyone who hasn’t been ‘gifted’. They recruit EVO with the aim to create some kind of super army and get themselves into power.”
I could laugh at how ridiculous he sounds, but I know there is more to it. “Okay, but that still doesn’t explain your reaction,” I say.
He wipes his eyes on his sleeve, spreading his eye make-up across his face. “The E.N.C has been trying to find us for years,” he says.
“By us, you mean, Isaac, Norah, and you?”
He shakes his head. “Not Norah, she isn’t EVO. Just Uncle Isaac and I, but we’ve kept under the radar. Uncle Isaac made sure that Norah and I were safe, and he’d check in every so often. I thought they would have given up trying to find us. Why won’t he just leave us alone?”
“Who?”
“My dad, Gabe Kersey. He is the leader of the E.N.C.”
I’m trying to make sense of what I’m hearing. Nothing in this past week and a half has made sense, so I know it’s pointless, but still I try. Roscoe wants us to make EVO-TORO for his super army, and the E.N.C wants to create an EVO super army to get into power. It’s a no-win situation.
“But why would he bother if you’re not interested in joining?” I ask.
“That doesn’t bother them. Uncle Isaac reckons they probably have Influencers, Manipulators, and Telepaths. They can make you do what they want. Plus, Gabe is a Negator, so abilities are useless around him.”
“He’s your father, surely he wouldn’t hurt you?”
Golding’s lip trembles again. “He killed my mother. He killed her because she stood up to him and his beliefs. He is... he is crazy. Mum told me he had a harsh upbringing with Non-EVO parents. That’s where his crazy stems from... He killed my Mum, Teds.”
I pull him to me and hold him close. I know his hurt. I know it with every fibre of my body. “Here’s what we’re going to do?” I say. “We’re going to get to Spain and leave all this crap behind us. Okay?”
Golding smiles, and I wipe at his face with my sleeve. There is a knock on the door, and Yana steps into the room, followed by Haydn and Adam.
“Isaac just told us about the E.N.C,” she says. She wraps her arms around the both of us, her soft hair tickling my cheek. “I just want to put it out there that I’m happy to go anywhere – Spain, Africa, the moon, as long as I’m with you guys. As far as I’m concerned, you are my family now.”
“Mine too,” says Haydn, bringing us all into a bear hug.
Adam wraps his arms around the four of us, lifting Golding and me off our feet. “Mine three,” he says, and we all burst out laughing.
“Thanks guys. So, are you sure you’re okay with the whole ‘my Dad is the leader of a crack pot EVO cult and is hunting us as we speak’ situation?”
We laugh again. Only this time we laugh until we can’t breathe. I don’t know if it’s just me, but when you’ve got people who have your back, you kind of feel a little bit, a tad, invincible.
***
We opt out of Golding’s box room in favour of my room. We lounge around on the sleeping bag, and I slump against Adam’s chest. No one has mentioned our sudden change in relationship. Perhaps, it was as inevitable to them as it was to us. It’s nice to talk about ordinary things and do ordinary things. I’m forcing myself to enjoy this moment, forget about what may or may not happen tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, and just focus on the right now. I’ve never had friends before. It is as sad as it sounds. I never trusted myself to get close to anyone for the simple fact that I was scared I would hurt them or worse- kill them. I feel stronger now.
Isaac pops his head into the room. “I thought you’d appreciate these,” he says, brandishing a box of beers and a radio. “You okay, Buddy?” he asks Golding.
“I am now,” Golding says, jumping up to take the gifts.
Isaac slaps his shoulder, giving it an affectionate shake. “Enjoy guys,” he says, looking over his shoulder at me.
Golding tears open the box and hands us all a bottle. I’m not t-total, I’ve had alcohol before, but I’ve never been drunk before and I doubt I ever will. The sight of the bottle, and the smell of its contents, flood my brain with memories of Shana. Taking a long swig, I try to shake her loose from me.
“I’ll share them out,” says Haydn, rolling more bottles towards us as if he were dealing cards.
“Do you want mine?” I ask Adam, standing the bottles side by side.
He smiles, but shakes his head. “You’re allowed to enjoy yourself, Teddie,” he whispers. “You’re not your mother.”
How does he know exactly what to say? I kiss him, enjoying the tang of beer on his lips. The radio bursts into life, scaring the life out of all of us, but Adam pulls me back to him, kissing me some more.
Golding grapples with the volume control to turn it down, and then flops onto the floor beside us. “Get a room,” he says with a wink.
“This is my room. You’re just jealous that I get to kiss the dishy TORO.”
It’s my turn to embarrass Golding. His cheeks blush and he snorts into his drink. I wish I had a mild blush like that, and not my blotchy, cheeks on fire, blush that everyone thinks is highly amusing.
Adam cringes. “Do you have to call me that? At least call me dishy Adam.”
Golding sits on his knees. “Okay, dishy Adam, seeing as there isn’t much else to do, are you up for a game of ‘Two Truths, One Lie’?”
Adam sits a little straighter and agrees. I’ve not heard of it before, and I think Adam and Yana are in the same boat as me. Haydn’s sudden motivation must mean he’s acquainted with the concept.
“You have to tell three statements about yourself-. Two must be true and one a lie. We have to guess what one is the lie. If we guess right, you have to take a swig. If not, we do,” says Haydn. Trust him to take the role of game master. “I’ll go first,” he says.
My heart starts to race a little faster. This can either be great fun, or a great, embarrassing disaster. I’ve not got much to tell and what I do is dire.
“Number one- when I was a kid I broke my nose playing rugby. Number two- I saw a woman giving birth on the tube and passed out. Number three- I used to regularly go for a full body wax.”
I crawl over and have a look down his top, much to Golding’s amusement. He rolls on the floor in soundless laughter.
“Very sparse,” I say, giving the others a wink. “I’m guessing number one is the lie.”
“Yeah, I agree,” says Yana, giving Haydn an apologetic kiss.
His shoulders sag. “What’s so unbelievable about me playing rugby?”
Golding has a drink to curb his laughter. “It’s just that the other two are soooo compelling.”
Haydn sits in silence with a mildly irritated look on his face, and then takes a swig of his drink.
“Yes, get in,” shouts Golding. The drink is already having an effect on him. He sits up straighter to take his turn. “Number one- I entered a disco dancing competition and won. Number two- I’ve got 15 piercings. Number three- I attempted to light my own fart to impress some friends and ended up setting fire to my pubes.”
I can hardly breathe from laughing.
“To impress some friends?” Adam says, laughing. It is a deep, honeyed sound and feels like treacle spreading over my skin.
Yana rubs her chin. “Well, you have got lots of piercings, and I can see you lighting your own farts. Number one is the lie,” she says.
He holds his can to his lips, and then lowers it to the floor. “Drink up, biatches. I’ve only got 14 piercings.”
“You won a dance competition?” asks Haydn.
“Hell, yes, I did. I can’t believe that shocks you more than my great balls of fire,” says Golding.
Haydn shrugs, raising his eyebrows.
“Show us what you got,” I say, turning up the radio and dragging him to his feet.
He starts to move. Old man dancing at a wedding springs to mind. Before I can sit back down, he takes my hands and pulls me into his weird two step shuffle. I join in, throwing a couple of head rolls. Yana jumps on my back, and I dance around with her waving her arms like a loon above my head.
“Come on, Adam,” says Golding.
Yana pulls him to standing, almost toppling me over in the process. My arm twinges, but I don’t care. I’m not tipsy, but I’m buzzed and I can tell they are too.
“Disco dancing isn’t my style,” Adam jokes.
“Well, what is your style?” Golding asks, as the song finishes and is replaced by the ‘Teach me how to Dougie’ song.
Adam starts to Dougie, and he’s pretty good. Haydn hops up, attempting to copy him, but it isn’t quite the same with his jaunty movements and limp. Yana saves him from his embarrassment by jumping off of my back and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Where’d you learn to do that?” I ask Adam.
He stops suddenly and his face goes blank. A thousand thoughts run behind those green eyes. “Wheeler...” he says. His face is void.
I slide my arms around his neck. “Adam, what is it?” I say into his ear.
The others stand statue still, waiting and concerned. His face turns into mine, the fog in his eyes clears, and he becomes more animated. I wait patiently for him to speak.
“My mate, Wheeler,” he says. “I remember us doing the Dougie.” His eyes hold a vibrant glow at the memory.
I smile at how cute that sounds. “Do you remember anything else about him?” I press.
“I get the feeling we are close, but that’s about it,” he says. He talks about their relationship in the present tense. I don’t point it out- it might mean nothing. “I can see him, but his face is blank.”
“It’ll come to you.” I say.
His sudden space out is forgotten instantly. He grins at my words, and lifting me up, so I’m up at the same height as him, he kisses me and starts to Dougie with my arms around his neck. Golding turns the radio up louder still. I hang my head back and laugh, soaking in everything I can.
These guys are my family now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The rest of the game gets abandoned as we dance and chat and generally hang out. I stick to the one drink. Golding and Adam share my remainders, and Adam holds up surprisingly well considering how long it has been since he has drunk alcohol. Both he and Haydn have the advantage of being bigger builds.
Golding is a happy drunk and keeps telling us how much he loves us, until he falls asleep beside Yana who purrs, as opposed to snores, in my sleeping bag. The pair of them protest as Adam rouses them. He helps Golding down the corridor to his room, whilst Haydn carries Yana back to theirs. It’s about 4.30am and I’m wide awake from my sleep in the van.
Adam returns to help me fill the box with the empties. He straightens my sleeping bag, and I’m jolted into the reality of the situation I’m facing. We’re alone, and although I want to be with him, I feel sick with nerves. Does he think I’ve been with someone before? How experienced is he? Does he like experienced girls? Should I have told him from the get go that I’m a virgin?
He crosses the space between us in two easy strides. The sexual tension is at fever pitch. I slide my hands up his chest and press my lips to his. My head is a blur as blood rushes to my brain.
He moves his lips to my forehead. “I’ve had a great night,” he says.
Our eyes meet, and I’m not sure whether to take it further. I don’t want him to think I’m easy, yet I don’t want him to think I don’t want him either. He must sense my hesitancy because he kisses me gently on the lips once more, and then makes a move toward the door.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he says, just like he used to at Facility One, and then he’s gone.
I pace the length of the room, listening to him moving around next door. He’s right there; just some timber and plasterboard separate us and knowing that is torture. I have to be with him. Everything about him just feels right with me, and before I think myself out of it, I walk out of the door, stand outside his, and knock quietly.
As soon as the door opens, I kiss him. I don’t wait for him to react. I have a new sense of confidence, and he doesn’t miss a beat. His hands slide into my hair and down my spine to the small of my back. We stumble back into the room, half falling, half dropping onto his sleeping bag. My top rides up slightly and his hand finds my skin
. Should I tell him? Shouldn’t I tell him? It feels so good that I don’t want to stop him, but maybe if I drop a hint, he’ll know to be gentle.
“This is all new to me,” I say.
His lips skim my jaw bone and find the sweet spot just under my ear. “What do you mean?”
I have to tell him. It’ll be okay- it’s Adam. I take a deep breath and blurt out the words. “I mean… you’ll be my first.”
He pulls away. A sick feeling floods through the butterflies in my stomach, drowning them instantly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks. He sounds mad.
“I just did. And besides, I didn’t think it would matter.” I cross my arms over my torso, feeling vulnerable, embarrassed.
He shakes his head in disbelief. “Of course, it does, Teddie.”
I jump up from the sleeping bag, not knowing whether to scream, cry, or slap him. I’m about to hyperventilate through sheer humiliation, and his eyes burn into my blood flushed face.
Turning away from his stare, I run from his room and into my own, locking the door behind me. The wood is cold and hard against my back. Blinking back tears, I try to make sense of what has just happened.
“Let me in, Teddie.” His voice holds that soft, sincere tone he has. “I’m not going to talk to you through a door,” he says, trying the handle.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I say.
He sighs, and then there is nothing. I listen against the door and hear the creak of the floorboards- he is still there. My heart lifts.
“I should have said that it doesn’t bother me, but yes, of course, it matters. I hoped you’d give me more credit than that,” he says.
I wipe my cheeks in the hem of my top. Unlocking the door, I open it just enough to speak face to face. Adam tilts his head to the side, taking my hand through the crack in the door. I let him lace his fingers in between mine, and he pushes the door open enough to step inside. I do know him better than that. I’m ashamed for acting like a child.
“I shouldn’t have told you like that. I’m sorry,” I say. “The way things were with me made it difficult to meet any –”
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 13