Operating System (The System Series Book 3)

by Andrea Ring

  Tessa gulps and looks over at me. “Tyrion,” I say, “what did you do?”

  “He lives, if that is what you are asking me,” he says. “But he now suffers from tremors, violent tremors in his limbs. He will not be able to hold a cup of coffee, let alone a scalpel. I doubt he will ever work again.”

  “How does that sound?” I ask Tessa.

  She smiles. “About right.”

  ***

  Em wiggles in Tessa’s arms, and Tessa smiles at her.

  “Em wants to know where the babies are,” she says.

  “The Attic,” Tyrion says. “Michael was securing birth certificates for them, last I heard. Once they are official, we can adopt them.”

  “We, who?” I ask.

  “Me and Jack,” he says.

  I look at my sister, who smiles wide. “Why not? Someone has to raise them.”

  “You’re going to raise twenty babies on an odd-job salary?”

  “Jack and I are going to raise the babies together,” Tyrion says. “Jack will have a steady job as wife and mother.”

  “You’re getting married?” Tessa squeaks.

  Jack takes Tyrion’s hand and nods. “We’re trying to nail Dr. Rumson down for early next week. Just something small in Dad’s backyard. We’d like you to be there.”

  Tessa looks at me, but my eyes move to Tyrion. “Why so quick?” I ask. “What’s the rush?”

  “Why wait?” Tyrion counters. “I have come to love Jack deeply. She understands me, and I understand her. I support her work, and she supports mine. And we both know how important it will be to raise these babies properly. The next generation of Dwellers are developing psychic abilities. It is an exciting prospect.”

  “Sounds like you just want a mother for your scientifically interesting children,” Tessa says.

  Tyrion starts to respond, but Jack interrupts him. “Tessa, I understand why you all you thought Tyrion was a horrible person. But have you been listening to him? He did not create those babies, and he wants to do right by them.”

  “But he thought it was okay,” Tessa says.

  “We’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one,” Jack says. “Let’s discuss this again in five years after Tyrion eradicates cancer, because that’s what he’s going to do. And that’s only the beginning. He’s going to change medicine with his research.”

  Tessa sighs and strokes Em’s head. “Am I just being stubborn?” Tessa says, and I know the question is directed at me.

  “No,” I say. “You have a valid point. But so does Tyrion. Ultimately, the babies are fine. They’re out of the lab. Tyrion took care of them the best he could.”

  Tessa looks up. “How are you going to raise twenty babies?”

  Jack smiles. “With lots of help from Auntie Tessa.”

  Tessa gives her a reluctant smile back. “We haven’t told you…Sam took off. He couldn’t handle the fact that Em’s a Dweller. And Thomas and I, we’re going to adopt Em.”

  Jack looks at me. “Are you ready for that?”

  “Of course,” I say quickly, not allowing myself time to think about it. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because your research is important to you,” Jack says. “Because you’re seventeen. Because you haven’t had enough life experience to know what you want.”

  I lean forward. “Tessa and I have been together for ten years. You and Tyrion just met. We know how to make a commitment. Do you?”

  “Thomas, I wasn’t comparing, and I certainly wasn’t saying you two aren’t up to the task, I just…you guys are young. You’ve barely lived. Are you sure you’re ready to be parents?”

  “Yes,” I say. “And frankly, it’s none of your business either way.”

  Jack leans back like I’ve slapped her. She slowly climbs to her feet.

  “I’m sorry,” she says. “I thought that’s what older sisters are supposed to do—look out for their younger brother.”

  I stand up beside her. “I’m capable of anything you’re capable of,” I say.

  Tessa stands and puts a hand on my arm. “Thomas.”

  I shrug her off.

  Jack stares me down. “You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

  “Maybe,” I say. “The Van Zandts can get carried away—it’s a family trait. I’ll take your advice, and Tessa and I will do some soul-searching and make sure we’re really ready for this. But, you have to promise that you’ll do the same. Figure out if you’re only marrying Tyrion because you’re sick of being alone. Figure out if you only want to adopt these babies because Tyrion does. Figure out if you’re ready to be strapped to twenty children.”

  Tyrion climbs to his feet. “It will only be nineteen children,” he says. “And I am not deliberately missing your point—I am ignoring it.”

  I glare at him. “Why only nineteen?”

  “There is one baby, XLD495…perhaps you remember him?”

  I gape at him. “That’s the only baby I got a good look at back at Morula. His incubator was right next to the glass.”

  Tyrion nods. “He wishes to belong to you.”

  “What?”

  “He heard you when you discovered him. He empathized. And he connected to you on a very primal level. He wishes for me to ask you if you will raise him.”

  I think of XLD495’s chicken legs and translucent eyelids. I cannot think of a single thing to say.

  “This baby…he told you he wants Thomas to be his dad?” Tessa asks.

  “He did,” Tyrion says. “I tempered his expectations and told him you were young, Thomas. He understands the situation and will be content to see you occasionally in your role as uncle.”

  I still don’t know what to say.

  Tessa clutches Em tighter and leans into me. “Em could have a brother,” she says.

  I finally find my voice. “Let Tessa and I talk about it.”

  Tyrion nods and takes Jack’s arm to lead her to the door. Jack doesn’t budge.

  “I’m sorry, Thomas,” she says.

  “Me, too,” I say. “I didn’t mean…let’s just agree that we’re both old enough to make our own decisions.”

  She nods and folds me into a hug. I hug her back.

  Tessa hugs Jack, too, and then we stand awkwardly facing Tyrion.

  “Do I not deserve a hug as well?” he asks Tessa.

  Tessa blinks hard. “You do,” and still holding Em, she lays her head on Tyrion’s chest, and he wraps his arms around them both.

  “We’ll let you know when we have more concrete plans for the wedding,” Jack says. “We’ll be in touch.”

  Chapter Forty

  I close the door behind Tyrion and Jack and face Tessa. “Maybe we should talk about this.”

  Tessa nods. “Can you lay out the play mat for Em? My arms are gonna fall off.”

  We get Em situated with some toys on the floor, and Tessa and I sit beside her to talk.

  “You think Jack’s right,” she says.

  “No,” I say. “Not entirely. But it wouldn’t hurt to talk this through.”

  “I don’t want Em to live with some strangers,” she says. “And I want Mom to have some freedom, finally. She deserves that.”

  “I agree,” I say, “but let’s focus on us. We need to make the right decisions for us.”

  “But I don’t decide what I want to do in a vacuum,” she says. “I consider the people around me.”

  “That’s one of the things I love most about you,” I say. “But let’s start with us anyway. Tell me your plan.”

  Tessa takes a deep breath. “I want to take my GED this summer and skip senior year.”

  I school my face. “Okay.”

  “Then you and I are getting married in October, and we’ll officially adopt Em, and maybe XXL…whatever that baby’s number is.”

  I smile. “Okay.”

  “You continue your research, and I stay home and raise the babies, help you with whatever you need help with.”

  “What if I’m on the brink of dis
covery, and I stay in the lab for three days straight?”

  Tessa considers. “If it’s a one-off, fine. But I don’t want that to happen every week.”

  “What if you and I want to get away for a week’s vacation in Hawaii?” I ask.

  “Then Mom and your dad can watch the kids,” she says.

  “What if you get bored?”

  Tessa frowns. “Then I’ll find a way to amuse myself.”

  I smile at her. “What if your art takes off, and they want to do an exhibit in New York?”

  “Then we’ll go together, as a family.”

  “So you’re still going to do your art?” I ask.

  “I have to,” she says. “Painting is like needing to breathe. But I’ll figure out how to work it in.”

  “You know, you’re not sick anymore,” I say. “There’s not a clock hanging over your head. You can still finish high school, go to college, whatever you want to do.”

  Tessa looks away. “About that. Is there anything you want to tell me? I’m giving you one chance to come clean, and I promise I won’t hold anything you say against you.”

  I hide my surprise. “What do you mean?”

  “One chance, Thomas,” she whispers.

  I think abut the two things I’ve held back from her. I decide to admit to the one that’s definitely going to come out.

  “Well, there’s one thing. My dad…he is totally protective of your mom, and he’s been concerned about your family’s medical history…so…he wanted me to make your mom a Dweller. So I did. He didn’t ask me ahead of time, I think because he didn’t want me to think about it or talk to anyone about it. We sort of did it on the fly.”

  Tessa raises her eyebrows. “Does Mom know?”

  “Probably at this point. Dad’s been meaning to talk to her, but he hadn’t found the right time. I bet he told her last night.”

  “Wow. So…am I a Dweller, too?”

  I can’t tell from her tone what she wants the answer to be, but I have to give her the truth. “No. I didn’t think you wanted that, so I didn’t make you a Dweller.”

  “You didn’t make me a Dweller?” she says with narrowed eyes.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

  “You know,” I fumble, “I didn’t make that decision.”

  Tessa stands and turns her back on me. “You’re getting to be a better liar, and that scares me.” Then she turns around. “You and your dad still don’t get it. My mom and I could have made that decision for ourselves. We should have made it for ourselves. I’m going to let this go, because I know how much we mean to both of you, and I know how much you two mean to us. It’s possible I would have made the same choices you did if our positions were reversed. I don’t know.” She gives me her back again. “But I don’t trust you anymore, Thomas, and you have to understand that. You created this situation. I’m going to question every single thing that comes out of your mouth, and you have to put up with that.”

  I gulp. “Can I explain?”

  Tessa turns back and glares at me. “No. I already know what you’re going to say. And I agree with some of it. I wanted to be healed so I could have a normal life with you, and I still fought it. I didn’t have to. I could have gone along, and you wouldn’t have had to lie to me.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I say, head hanging. “I chose to lie.”

  “Which is why you have to earn back my trust.”

  I finally meet her eye. “So what now?”

  She drops to her knees and leans into me. “We kiss and make up. We both played a part in this. I can move on if you can.”

  I smile and kiss her. Em giggles. She’s been so quiet I forgot she was even there.

  “We need to be more careful,” I say. “We shouldn’t have these conversations where Em can hear.”

  “She could understand all that?” Tessa asks.

  We look at Em, who nods solemnly.

  “Was it like this for you, when you were little?” Tessa asks me.

  “Yep. I could hear anyone who spoke in the house. My dad wasn’t around often when I was little, but when he was, I heard it all. In some ways that was good—I had insight into my parents’ relationship that most kids don’t have. But there was definitely stuff I probably shouldn’t have heard.”

  Tessa giggles.

  “I’m not talking about that,” I say.

  “So, um, what did your parents do about that?”

  I laugh. “Dad insulated their bedroom walls before I was born. He knew what was coming, I think. But it wasn’t foolproof. It’s tough to insulate the door.”

  Tessa studies Em. “This is going to be hard, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve been babysitting neighborhood kids for years, and I think I’m prepared for the basics, but this is going to be really hard.”

  “At least we’ll only have one or two,” I say. “I can’t imagine having twenty. It’s sort of ridiculous.”

  “We’re going to have more than two,” Tessa says. “I want to have more, don’t you?”

  “So you want to adopt the other baby?”

  “We have to,” she says. “He wants you, Thomas. We can’t turn our backs on that.” She studies my face. “Don’t you want to?”

  “I do,” I say, “but it’s nerve-wracking. I’m an only child. I don’t have any experience with siblings.”

  “I do,” Tessa says with a grin. “Trust me—they’ll occupy each other. In a lot of ways it’ll be easier with two than one.”

  I grab Tessa and kiss her. “Then two, it is.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Dad and Erica come by around lunchtime to pick up Em. Tessa breaks the news about Sam and then tells them that we would like to adopt Em ourselves.

  You can imagine how that goes over.

  So Dad and I are hiding out in the kitchen making sandwiches while Erica and Tessa scream at each other in the next room.

  “I think a bit of this is my fault,” I say as I slice a tomato.

  Dad is patiently toasting two pieces of bread at a time in the toaster. “How’s that?”

  “If Tessa didn’t have to work so hard with me to make her own decisions, maybe she wouldn’t be fighting so hard with Erica.”

  Dad eyes me. “Yep, it’s all your fault.”

  I scowl.

  He chuckles. “Erica’s right, Thomas. It’s one thing for Tessa to get her GED, and even for you guys to get married. It’s another for you to adopt two babies before you’ve even swapped vows.”

  “So you’re telling me you guys want to adopt Em?”

  Dad cocks his head. “We would. I’d have no problem with that. Erica would never let her grandchild be adopted out.”

  “But does Erica want to raise her?” I ask.

  “Honestly, we haven’t talked about it. We’ve both been praying pretty hard that Sam would come back.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t pray.”

  He looks away, catches himself, and forces his eyes back to mine. “It can’t hurt.”

  “That’s what I’ve been telling you for a decade,” I say. “Why the sudden turnaround?”

  “I’ve always believed in God,” he says. “You know that. I just never thought He gave a shit about me.”

  “And you think He gives a shit now?”

  Dad shrugs. “Seems a little arrogant to think all the great things in my life exist because I made them happen.”

  I drop my knife. “Wait. Say that again.”

  He grins, then sobers. “There’s also Jack’s ability to see souls and to read death. If our death is written, do we really have free will?”

  The toast pops up suddenly and startles us both. “Of course we do,” I say. “It’s not a stretch to think that God can see the future.”

  “If the future can be known, then we have no free will. Every decision is already decided. Free will means we get to choose in the moment, at the exact moment things are happening.”

  “I disagree,” I say. “God knows us. He knows our every thought and motivati
on. He can predict our decisions. He’s omniscient. That doesn’t mean He’s deciding for me.”

  “Then how do you explain that Jack has been unable to thwart death, even knowing what’s about to happen?”

  “God predicted that, too,” I say. “He knew Jack would try to intervene. Maybe her interference has even set those deaths in motion, or helped them along.”

  Dad coughs. “Don’t let Jack hear you say that.”

  Then Erica strides into the kitchen.

  “I’m out here trying to convince Tessa not to make the biggest mistake of her life, and you’re in here debating philosophy.” She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at Dad.

  “Erica,” he says, “I’ve been thinking about the whole situation, and I really think we should adopt Em.”

  “What?” I yell, but Dad ignores me.

  “I also think Jack and Tyrion are in over their heads, and so I think we should adopt at least five, no six, of the Morula babies. We can’t have our kids taking on this burden. We should help.”

  Erica stares at him. “What?”

  “Raising your first four kids was tough. You didn’t have a supportive husband, and basically, it sucked for you. I know that. It will be better this time.”

  “I…no, it wasn’t…what?”

  Dad walks over to Erica and takes both her hands in his. “See, that’s not what you want, even though you know someone needs to step in. It’s time to let the next generation do their thing. You and I have already done it. They’re all young, but they’re in love, and they’re hungry. They want it, Erica. You and I have other things to accomplish. I want you in the lab with me.”

  Erica shakes the stunned expression off her face and raises her eyebrows. “So you don’t think we should raise six, no, seven kids.”

  Dad laughs. “Of course not. We’d be dead within a year.”

  “And you really want me in the lab? I bake cakes, Michael.”

  “Baking is science,” he says.

  Erica just looks at him, and then something clicks. I see it in her eyes. “What did you do to me?”

  “Why would you think I’ve done something to you?”

  “You made me like you,” she whispers. Then she turns to me. “You made me like you, the two of you.”