Operating System (The System Series Book 3)

by Andrea Ring

“That’s part of the longer tale. I’m exhausted. Let me get on the road and I’ll call you in a few hours.”

  I grip the phone tight. “Dad, stuff’s been happening here. I…it’s Erica.”

  “What’s Erica?”

  “This afternoon, she had a seizure.”

  “Is she okay?” he screams.

  “She’s in a coma,” I say. “She’s alive, but there’s nothing the doctors can do.”

  “Is she stable? Can you wait for me to get there? You don’t need to wait. Fuck it. Do what you need to do.”

  “I will,” I say. “Sam’s working on getting her released, and as soon as she’s home, I’ll heal her.” I take a deep breath. “She was holding Emmaleth when she had the seizure, and she dropped her. On her head.”

  “Oh, my God,” Dad whispers.

  “But Em’s okay. Dacey and I got there in time, and Dacey, he healed Em. He did it. He…” and I have to pause as my chest hitches, “…he did it. He saved her. But Dad, Dacey’s dead.”

  My father doesn’t say anything.

  “I’m so sorry, Dad,” I say.

  He clears his throat. “Thomas…don’t leave her, okay? Don’t leave Erica alone. Can you…make sure someone’s always with her?”

  I choke on a sob. “Yeah, Dad. Of course.”

  “I’ll call Tyrion. I should be the one to tell him. But…call Dr. Trent, let him know…Dacey doesn’t have any family. Trent can start on funeral arrangements.”

  I nod as tears pour down my cheeks. “Yeah.”

  “Has anyone called Erica’s parents and Ian and Matt? They should have the option of coming to see her, just in case.”

  “I think Sam called them,” I say, “but I’ll double-check.”

  I hear Dad’s car zoom in the background as he presses the accelerator. “I’ll be there as fast as I can,” he says. “Tell her. Tell Erica I’m coming.”

  ***

  Tessa doesn’t bother to glance at me when I enter Erica’s room.

  “They found Jack,” I say. “She’s okay.”

  “Thank God,” Tessa says.

  I scuff my foot over the linoleum floor. “Do you need a break? You want to go home and rest a bit?”

  “No,” Tessa says.

  “Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat.”

  She finally turns to me. “Go back to the lab, Thomas. Do what you do best. I don’t want anything else from you.”

  “Tessa, just listen. I—”

  “No. I’m done listening. You have nothing important to say.”

  I grind my jaw. “You know I’ll heal her regardless. I just need to heal you, too.”

  “What about what I need?” Tessa explodes. “What about the things that are important to me? You don’t give a shit about those things, which means you don’t give a shit about me. I’m sick of you acting like you’re God. I’m sick of you dictating my choices. I’m just…sick of you.”

  “Don’t you understand how important you are to me?” I say. “I can’t lose you. I have to do everything in my power to make sure you’re healthy and around for the rest of my life. I can’t live without you.”

  “I want the same thing for you, you ass!” she yells at me. “I want you here, and I will not be the one who contributes to your death! Why can’t you get that?” She shakes her head. “And you promised. You promised me you wouldn’t dictate anything about my life, that we could make decisions together.”

  “And I mean to keep that promise, but your health, it’s too important.”

  “My health can wait,” Tessa says. “It can wait until you find a cure that doesn’t involve your abilities.”

  “It can’t wait!” I scream. “Your nerve tissue is breaking down as we speak. You could wake up tomorrow and not be able to talk!”

  “That’s my choice,” she says.

  “So what if that does happen? What if you lose control of your bladder or can’t walk? You’re choosing for us to take care of you.” Tessa looks away, and I continue. “You’re asking a lot without even realizing it. How can I work on a cure if I have to take care of you?”

  It’s a mean thing to say, completely a sucker punch, but I don’t care. I stare at Tessa’s back.

  Her shoulders start to shake. A sob slips from her throat. She folds herself in half and sinks to the floor. I kneel beside her and wrap my arms around her.

  “Why?” she whispers through her tears. “Why do I have to choose you or me? I…I don’t want to make that choice.”

  “I love you,” I whisper back. “I’ll take care of you no matter what. You know that. And you’ll do the same for me. I have years to come up with some way of extending my life, but you don’t have that kind of time. Why are you fighting me on this?”

  Tessa hiccoughs. “When you die, I don’t want to be the reason.”

  “You might add gray hairs to my head, but you won’t kill me,” I say.

  Tessa sighs and pulls away. “I think I do need a break. Can you stay with Mom while I run home?”

  “Of course.”

  We climb to our feet and I kiss Tessa’s forehead. “See you in a bit.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Tessa decides to sleep at the hospital, and Sam’s there too with Em. Em’s fine except for a superficial wound on her head, which Dacey wasn’t able to close before he passed out. The hospital just wants to keep her overnight for observation.

  I get home around ten, ready to collapse into bed. I need to be well rested for healing Erica and Tessa.

  Our bedroom door is blocked by boxes and a couple duffel bags.

  Huh?

  I push a bag aside, wondering if it’s Sam’s stuff, and then I decide to open one of the boxes. It’s filled with my shirts and boxers.

  I shove everything out of the way and open the door.

  Our desk and bookshelf, which held mostly my books and computer, are bare. I run to the dresser and open one of my designated drawers. It’s empty, except for a note, Thomas scribbled at the top.

  Thomas,

  Please take your things and move to your new house. If there’s something I’ve missed, I will drop it by this week.

  You don’t see it, and I’m tired of trying to open your eyes. I love you and am grateful for you healing Mom and me. You are giving us our lives back, and that is no small thing.

  I think it is possible to love TOO much, to hold on too tight. I can’t breathe, Thomas.

  If you ever

  Maybe

  Take care,

  Tessa

  I ball the note in my fist and throw it across the room.

  I fall to the bed and close my eyes.

  ***

  “Thomas?”

  I roll over and squint at the doorway. Sam has his head poked in. “Hey.”

  “Hey. Sorry to wake you. Are you moving?”

  “What?” I sit up and rub my eyes. “Yeah. Maybe.”

  “Oh.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I just wanted to thank you again, for Em and Mom. If you hadn’t been here…”

  I wave a hand and stand. “I’m glad I was here, too. But Dacey did it. Dacey,” and I have to blink hard as my eyes burn, “Dacey gets the credit.”

  Sam nods. “I’m so sorry, man.”

  “Me, too.” I stand up and stretch. “How’s Em doing?”

  “Great. She’s sleeping. I just have to watch her stitches, but compared to the alternative, I’ll take it.”

  “What’s the situation with your mom?”

  “They’re releasing her on Saturday. Two days. I don’t really know what I need to do. She has a feeding tube and catheter and stuff.”

  “I’ll handle everything. We’ve got a room at the Planarian Institute all set up, and I can arrange medical transport from the hospital. You’ll just have to sign the papers. And Dad will help when he gets here. Actually, he should be here. Have you seen him?”

  “Thanks, man. Yeah, he’s at the hospital.”

  “Are your grandparents coming in?” I ask.


  Sam nods. “They’ll be here this afternoon. Ian’s flying in tonight, and Matt in the morning.”

  “I can put them up at my house, if it’ll help.”

  Sam smiles. “I was just about to ask you that.”

  “I don’t have beds, but we have sleeping bags.”

  “I was hoping Grandma and Grandpa can have your bed, and you and Tessa can bunk on the floor.”

  I cringe. “I don’t have a problem with that, but Tessa’s staying here. Maybe she’ll take the couch.”

  Sam narrows his eyes at me. “Why would Tessa stay here?”

  “Oh, you know…”

  “What did you do?”

  I lower myself back to the bed. “What haven’t I done, Sam?”

  He leans a shoulder against the doorjamb. “You want to talk about it?”

  “She won’t let me heal her,” I say. “I can do it, and she won’t let me. Well, now she will, but she’s leaving me over it.”

  “So either she’s sick and with you, or healthy and apart?”

  I nod.

  “And you’re choosing healthy and apart.”

  I nod again.

  He kicks a box. “Do you want some help loading this stuff up?”

  I sigh. “Yeah. That would be great.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Dad gives me a hard hug when I see him in the hospital waiting room.

  “Why are you out here?” I ask him. “Is Erica okay?”

  “She’s fine,” he says, sitting back down. “They’re bathing her.”

  “Oh.” I sit beside him. “You hanging in there?”

  “I’m good,” he says. “What’s the plan?”

  “Kate and Kenneth have got a room set up for her at Planarian. We’ve got her new DNA all ready to go. I’ll have to hook up to her, alter her immune system, heal any brain damage, and then we’ll integrate the DNA.”

  Dad nods. “Do you expect any problems?”

  “No.”

  “Good.”

  We sit in silence for a few minutes.

  “Have you seen Tessa?” I ask casually.

  Dad turns to me. “You’re an idiot.”

  I hang my head. “Thanks.”

  “Do you remember when Erica was about to lose her house, and I realized that I couldn’t rescue her against her wishes, ‘cause she’d always resent me for it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So you rescued her,” he says. “Now it’s time for me to return the favor.”

  “How are you going to do that?” I ask. “You can’t hook up to Tessa.”

  “She doesn’t know that,” he says.

  “Actually, she does,” I point out.

  “Tell her you gave me the ability. She won’t know the difference. We’ll put her under for the procedure.”

  I glare at him. “You’re suggesting that I just flat out lie to Tessa.”

  “Yes.”

  “You know I have a hard time lying,” I say.

  “No, you don’t,” Dad says. “You just think you do. Get over it.”

  “So you would have lied to Erica about saving her house?”

  “Yep. You just happened to get there before I did.”

  I pick at a hangnail. “I don’t know, Dad. Is it worth it?”

  “Seriously?” he says, raising an eyebrow. “You’re asking if one little lie is worth saving Tessa’s life and having her with you forever?”

  “Well, when you put it that way…”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Much of Erica’s brain is mush. It takes me four days to heal her brain damage, and one more to integrate the DNA. One week to the day of her seizure, she wakes up and walks out the doors of the Planarian Institute.

  I don’t see Tessa once this entire week.

  ***

  Tessa shows up the next day at Planarian holding Erica’s hand. Tessa’s shivering like a wet dog in a rainstorm.

  Okay, bad analogy. Tessa is nothing like a dog. But she’s so nervous her legs are barely holding her up.

  I take her other hand. “Everything will be fine,” I say. “You won’t feel a thing.”

  She squeezes my fingers and nods.

  “I have something else to tell you.” She looks at me. “Dad’s going to perform the operation.”

  “I thought he couldn’t do it,” she says.

  “I’ve been working on giving him the ability for a year. He’s finally got it.”

  “So…you won’t be doing it?” she says. She almost sounds disappointed.

  “You didn’t want me to, and I respect that.”

  Tessa blinks hard. “Thank you.”

  We get her situated and an anesthesiologist Kenneth brought in puts her out.

  I hook up to her.

  I alter her immune system, heal a few nerves that have started to dissolve in her brain, check and double-check that I’m using the proper DNA, and integrate it. It only takes me a few hours. I back out and heal our hands.

  When Tessa wakes a while later, I’m already gone.

  ***

  I get a call from Sam later that night.

  “I have a question for you,” he says.

  “Shoot.”

  “How long should it take for Em’s stitches to heal?”

  “A few weeks,” I say. “It could take a month or two for them to fully dissolve, but the wound should be closed after a couple of weeks, fully healed in a month or so.”

  “Huh. Em’s totally healed, and it’s only been a week.”

  “Maybe Dacey healed more than we thought,” I say.

  “I don’t think so,” Sam says. “I saw it after they stitched it. It was pretty nasty. I found pieces of the stitches in her crib this afternoon, like they’d fallen out, and I can’t even find the wound.”

  Dacey didn’t. But it sounds like he did.

  “Maybe I should take a look,” I say. “I’ll come by tomorrow after Tessa leaves for swim practice.”

  “Are you going to avoid her forever?” he asks.

  I ignore the question. “See you tomorrow.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Sam opens the front door as soon as I pull in the driveway. He’s only wearing boxers and a stained t-shirt, and his bare feet slap the concrete as he rushes out to greet me.

  “This is totally freaking me out,” he says, running a hand through his bedhead.

  I step out of the car and slam the door shut. “What’s freaking you out?”

  “Em.” Sam actually shudders. “I called Mom. I didn’t know what time you’d be here.”

  We hustle into the house. “Your mom’s coming over? Why?”

  Sam stops in the middle of the kitchen and studies the floor. “She’s scaring me.”

  “Your mom’s scaring you?”

  “No, Em!” he yells.

  I take Sam by the arm and lead him to a chair. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  He blows out a breath. “I told you the wound is healed, and that’s just weird. But when I went to get her up this morning, I picked her up and she smiled at me.”

  “Okay,” I say. “That could happen. It’s early but a deliberate smile isn’t unheard of at a month old.”

  “It wasn’t just the smile. She…she put her little hand right here, on my cheek.” Sam covers the right side of his face with his hand.

  “You’re sure she did it on purpose?”

  “I wasn’t sure…until she said, ‘Daddy.’”

  I stare at him. “She spoke?”

  “Crystal clear,” he says. “I almost dropped her. I…I just put her back in her crib and left her there. Thomas, I…I’m afraid to go back in there.”

  “Come on,” I say, extending a hand and pulling him up. “She’s your daughter. I think Dacey just…enhanced her a bit.”

  “Dacey,” he mumbles, then he straightens. “You mean he made her like you?” Sam actually takes a step away from me.

  “It sounds like it,” I say. “Sam, there’s nothing to be afraid of. If Dacey altere
d her a bit, she’s just advancing faster than a normal baby. She’s fine.”

  “I can’t…I’m already having a tough time. Jesus, I barely graduated high school and now I’m expected to raise some kind of super genius?”

  “Sam, it’s fine,” I say. “Everything will be fine. Dad and I will help you get through it.”

  “Your dad’s not even going to be around much longer!” he says. “You’re not even speaking to my sister! I haven’t gotten laid in so long I can’t even remember what a tit looks like, and now I’ve got a kid who’s a freak!”

  I lower my voice. “Emmaleth is not a freak. And neither am I.”

  “But you’re not normal!” he screams.

  I grab his shoulders and give him a good shake. “Lesson one: your daughter can hear every word you say, and can probably understand most of it. If she can’t now, she’ll remember it and be able to interpret it later, so you need to watch what the hell you say! Two, it’s after nine, and your daughter probably has a sopping-wet diaper and an empty stomach. It’s time to buck up, little camper.” I grab his arm and drag him down the hallway to Em’s room.

  I point inside while Sam stands shaking in the hall.

  He drags his feet, but he does enter, and I follow close behind. We both peer into the crib.

  Emmaleth is sitting up, chewing on her sleeve. She spits it out and holds up her arms. “Daddy!”

  Sam stands there frozen.

  I kick his ankle.

  He takes a deep breath and picks her up. She nestles into him.

  “Hey, baby girl,” he says. “You must be hungry.”

  Em nods into his neck.

  Sam turns his head to me sharply, clearly panicked.

  “Good morning, Em,” I say. “How about I change your diaper while Daddy makes a bottle?”

  Em lifts her little head and looks at me. “Tom!”

  I chuckle.

  Sam quickly hands her over to me and rushes from the room.

  I give Em a hug and lay her on the changing table. “Your daddy is just so amazed that you’re so smart,” I say as I undress her. “Most babies your age can’t talk yet, so you just surprised him. Let’s get you all dressed up, and then we can have a bottle, and maybe Daddy can read you a book.”

  We finish up, and I carry Em to the kitchen. Sam is nowhere to be found. I look out the window to the front curb, and his car is gone.