Текст книги "The Variables"

Автор книги: Shelbi Wescott

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Текущая страница: 27 (всего у книги 31 страниц)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Ethan knocked once. Cass answered in a nightgown and black fuzzy slippers, and she held the door tight against her body, opened just wide enough to let her head pop out and Ethan see her in her state of undress. He smiled, but she looked stern, impatient, and anxious. Instinct kicked in and Ethan moved to try to peer beyond her doorframe, but she slipped out into the hall and shut the door behind her, crossing her arms around her and grabbing at the small open fabric at the top of her chest. Her legs were dotted with goosebumps and she jumped slightly to warm up.

“You have a visitor?” Ethan asked with a smirk. He hoped it didn’t come across as upset or prying; he didn’t care if Cass had let someone stay over. She didn’t owe him anything. She was not his girlfriend, and in many ways, it would make leaving easier.

“It’s not what you think,” Cass replied.

“But you have someone in your apartment that you don’t want me to see? No, it’s fine, Cass. I’m going.” He turned and started to walk away, but Cass reached out and grabbed his wrist. Stopping, he turned to her and smiled. “Cass, look, I’m not upset. You’re an attractive and powerful woman, you can have all the visitors you want—”

Cass rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Ethan,” she said, but even her words of annoyance were coated with charm. “It’s Blair.”

“Oh,” Ethan replied with a smile, while his brain tried to fathom how the onetime enemies had found themselves congregating together. “I had no idea. Well, good for you. That’s a little confusing, but—”

“Shut up, Ethan,” she said it again, slower this time, more emphasis on her exasperation. “They took Teddy from her last night.”

He let her words register and felt the color drain from his face. He put a hand out against the hallway wall to steady himself. “Who? Who took Teddy?”

“Huck and the guards. Allison has Teddy now.”

“The nanny?”

“Blair came to me,” Cass said slowly, with emphasis. “She thought I might have had a fortified plan...for getting him back...and I do, Ethan. But it would be better for you to lie low. Don’t get involved with this. It’s for your own protection. I can promise you that.”

Ethan groaned. “No.” He hit the side of wall and the bang reverberated down the hall. “Cass...I need Teddy. I need Blair to have Teddy,” he trailed off and swore under his breath. “That won’t work, Cass. This won’t work.”

“You need Blair to have Teddy?” She raised a discerning eyebrow. “That’s a shift.”

“I just mean...he doesn’t belong with Allison. Or Huck. Look, Cass, I don’t have a lot of time here...”

She looked at him apologetically, even though there was no way for her to know what he was upset about. He wanted to tell her, spill all the secrets right there, and lay his heart and plans bare. She deserved to know, he thought. Then he realized the truth. They were both working in the shadows, keeping each other in the dark—all to protect each other. He’d done nothing but bow at the altar of Cass, all but worshipping the ground she walked on. His sister had been partly right—he had entertained thoughts of what a life would be like with Cass. Cass was easy to love; she was a siren and he was a drunken sailor.

“I need to talk to Blair. Alone. Let me into your place,” he said.

“No,” Cass answered. The top part of her nightgown fell open a bit and she snatched it back up, gathering the fabric in a fist. “It’s for your own good. Stay out of this, Ethan.”

“Why did Blair come to you? What does she want, Cass?” He felt his stomach clench and ache. Cass didn’t know the whole story; she was working with only half of the puzzle, and Ethan still wasn’t convinced Blair’s intentions were good. What prevented her from outing the survivors and keeping Teddy for herself?

“She wants us to help her get Teddy back...then she plans to escape the Island. But now I’ve already told you too much…you have to go.”

“I need to talk to Blair. Move, Cass.” He took a step toward the door, but she blocked his way.

“This does not concern you right now, Ethan. Whatever happens with Blair and me is none of your concern. After your father lost his position last night and the drama of Grant, maybe give this particular adventure a rest. Okay? Please understand. You need to back away from the door...”

Ethan acted out of instinct and out of panic. He put his hand out and grabbed Cass around the shoulder, and turned her into him. Then he leaned down and kissed her, spinning her into him and away from her door, positioning himself closest to the knob. He could feel her reacting to him, first with surprise, and then shifting into the kiss. There was not a single moment of resistance, although he had prepared for her to shy away from his lips and his touch. Instead, she kissed him back, and not the slow tentative kiss of someone unsure, but with the power and relief of someone who had wanted to kiss him for a long time. For a second, he forgot his place and his plan.

He felt his resolve shifting as he began to kiss her stronger and with more intensity; her lips were soft against his, her skin smooth under his touch. He let his hand wander to her waist. She touched his face.

Then he reached down with his free hand and found her doorknob. He pulled back and looked at her; a coy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She was amazing. And she had kissed him back. Ethan closed his eyes before he changed his mind, and then he was quick, possessing a certain agility that he did not know he had recovered. He turned the knob, opened the door to Cass’s apartment and darted inside, leaving his kissing partner dazed and confused in the hallway. By the time he saw her eyes flash with understanding, he was already standing on the other side of the door, shutting it swiftly. Then he hit the lock and stood back.

He could hear her banging with her fists, swearing at him in a jumble of French and Creole and English.

“Ethan King. This is a bad idea!” she called. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Blair sat crouched on Cass’s couch, her knees drawn up to her chest, her hair wild, and her eyes bloodshot. She looked at Ethan and then the door and glared at Ethan with a glacial disposition. Sitting on the coffee table in front of her were a series of Tarot cards. They were lined up and splayed out facing Blair, and he walked over and peered down at them. When he looked back up at Blair, she was wiping tears from her eyes.

“I don’t have long,” Ethan said quickly, putting up his hands like Blair was holding a gun at him. “So, please listen. Listen carefully.”

She looked like she was about to burst into sobs, but she didn’t fight him. Cass’s knocking died away as if she realized its futility.

“Did you tell Cass about the others?” Ethan asked, spitting the words out.

Blair narrowed her glare. Then she shook her head. “You don’t trust me...”

“You can’t tell her.”

“I...” Blair started. “I told her...just Teddy and I...” She was struggling to put her words out. Taking a deep breath, she grounded herself and stared right at Ethan. “I wanted to see if the cards were in my favor. Everything else Cass told me came true. She’s a prophet,” Blair whispered.

“She can’t know,” Ethan said. “If you’re serious about reuniting Teddy and Darla...” he looked at her and waited.

“I am,” Blair answered. She sniffed. “I am.”

“Good,” Ethan said. “Cass can’t know. You have to protect her at all costs. You understand?”

She swallowed. “Cass told me that you’d want to keep Teddy...”

“Cass doesn’t know about Darla. And she should never find out. There’s a reason she’s in the hallway and I’m in here. This is about Teddy. And if your father ever finds out she helped him escape...”

Blair looked at the floor. Cass’s knocking resumed.

“Blair...” Ethan asked again. “Help me save Cass. Don’t tell her a damn thing.”

“Yes,” she said, but it came out like a squeak. “Yes,” she said again, stronger this time.  “I have a pilot. That’s all I can offer. His name is Hank. I negotiated for him to leave, too. He has a wife who was left behind...she missed her plane…my dad didn’t let him go back for her. He wants to go to her. Just to see. From there...I don’t know.”

“Are you going?”

She went silent. “I don’t know,” she whispered. She looked up at Ethan, and then leaned down and touched one of the cards Cass had laid out for her. The cards were set up in a cross pattern, and Blair kept her finger on the middle card. “I don’t think I should,” she replied. “This one...this one says that in the physical realm I am needed to help change the tide of a great battle.” She picked it up and then put it back down. “And this one...says my spiritual energy is being zapped by someone who rules over me.” She looked up to Ethan, pleading. “If he thinks he’s lost me, too...Kymberlin will never know peace. If I want the best for Teddy and Darla and…the others? My father would never recover. I want to go,” Blair said, her eyes filling with tears again, “but I can’t. I’m doomed and destined to remain here...”

“I can make it work,” Ethan said. “You say the word.”

“No,” Blair said again. “You don’t know what he’d do. You’ve never seen his grief firsthand. I’ve lived it my entire life.”

Cass had resorted to a steady knock-knock-knock every second.

Ethan started back to the door. “I need your pilot in the Remembering Room in an hour. Not a word. I need you to promise. Please, Blair, Cass can’t know.”

“You love her?” Blair said, and she nodded toward the door.

At first Ethan didn’t understand, and then he turned back to Blair and shook his head. “I could have. In a different world.” He stepped back up out of the sunken living room and unlocked Cass’s door. He opened it wide and waited for the onslaught of her wrath. Still clutching her silky black bathrobe in one hand, her other hand poised in midair, Cass looked at him.

Without a word, she unclenched her hand and in one big swoop slapped Ethan across the face. Rubbing his jaw, he took a step toward her, his hands out in front of him in supplication, but Cass glided past, her shoulder hitting his arm as she moved past him and into her house. She slammed the door behind him.

Ethan knew right where to go. He left Cass’s apartment and wandered back to the North Tower, then he went to the levels that housed the science and industry labs and made his way to his father’s lab. Although his father had been stripped of his clearance, Huck wouldn’t have taken his lab away yet. And without anywhere else to hide, it was the only place Scott could have disappeared to. Ethan walked past the guards and knocked on the unassuming white door down a brightly lit hallway. Scott’s name was still there in a brass plaque, although it looked like someone had tried to pry the plate off with a sharp object: there were deep scratches at the corners.

Scott opened the door and looked at his son, then opened it wider.

Thankful not to have another door slam in his face, Ethan entered the large open room. His eyes went up to the tall ceilings, the white walls, and the rows of laboratory equipment. It was all unused and shiny.

Several cardboard boxes were filled with papers and picture frames. Ethan picked one up: it was a picture of their family, everyone happy and smiling, not a single member blinking or making a silly face. It must have taken them twenty or more shots to get that moment—even Harper was smiling, the twins on either side holding her gloved hands.

Scott didn’t try to engage Ethan in conversation. Instead, he merely went about his business. He put file folders and personal items in a box. Then he moved to the back of the lab. Imbedded into the wall was a metal incinerator. Scott tossed vials and plastic containers into the glowing fire and shut the door. He set the timer and walked away.

Ethan watched as his dad approached. Scott sniffed. “They’ll have to start from scratch. It’s my intellectual property.”

“You’re not a member of the Board, but that doesn’t mean you’re free from Huck. He still owns you.”

“I’ll destroy it all,” Scott said slowly. “I suppose you’re right. But at the moment, I’d say Huck is more a man of impulse. He’ll resort to other methods before having to wait for a recreation. Besides, if he wants to recreate the virus, then he’ll need me. Never render yourself useless. Isn’t that what I used to say?” He drummed his fingers on a folder and then threw it into the box; it landed askew and several sheets of paper fluttered out. “There wasn’t much left anyway. A few vials. I left most of my work in Nebraska…”

“Yeah, to kill Copia. I heard.” Ethan crossed his arms.

Scott shrugged. “Were you here for something specific?”

“I need a bomb,” Ethan replied. “On a timer. And big enough to blow up a helicopter.”

Scott stared at Ethan and then ignored him. He walked over to the cardboard box and shoved the loose papers back into their folder. Then he walked to a filing cabinet and began rifling through the papers—picking out some to keep and some to leave.

“Dad...”

“Leave, Ethan,” Scott said. “That is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever asked me and not only will I not help you, but I can’t help you. Do you even understand what that would entail? Furthermore, I’m a biologist, not a chemist. I’m not the man you want for this job.”

“I know you can do it. Can you at least owe me the courtesy of telling the truth?”

“A bomb. That’s your plan. Go away, Ethan. Let me mourn the loss of my son and my career and my life in peace.”

“Leave the lab and I’ll figure it out myself. How would I get gasoline?”

“Ethan!” Scott yelled. He slammed the filing cabinet door shut and the crash echoed throughout the room. “You’re out of your mind. You understand me? Out of your mind. Your myopic escape plan is going to fail. The best thing that could happen is that you die quickly, painlessly. The worst? You get caught. And Huck makes you pay. Then you die slowly, painfully.”

“I am coming to my father for help,” Ethan said. He didn’t move. “I am asking you to stop...just stop...and listen to me. There is a woman on the shore...you’ve never met her, but your vaccine saved her life. And your vaccine saved her son’s life. Maybe you got in trouble for those vaccines…but they did a good thing, Dad. Those two people are alive because you are a brilliant scientist. But that woman’s partner died. Also, because of you. All she has left is her son. And he was taken from her. She needs him back and I’m going to take him to her. Picture me, Dad. Picture me at age five. Before all of this...before you signed away your soul and our futures...when I was five. Can you see me?”

Scott didn’t nod or breathe. His chest rose and fell with steady breaths.

“Teddy deserves a life with his mom. And I’m making sure it happens. I’m tired of speeches,” Ethan continued. “I need a bomb. On a timer. Big enough to take a helicopter down over the Atlantic Ocean.”

“No,” Scott said again.

“I can’t go to anyone else.”

“Go back home, Ethan.”

Ethan snorted and he shook his head. “Yeah, Dad. Exactly. Don’t you see? I’m trying to. Home is the shore. Home is off this Island. Please help me get home.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

It was happening too fast. Everything was coming together with Ethan at the helm. If he didn’t get the bomb, he had other plans, and he was moving forward without ceasing; he was single-mindedly pushing everyone around and calling all the shots. He had packed a small bag. He took some food, some water, and the book of French poems. He had asked Grant to come with him for their final hours on Kymberlin. They were meeting the pilot, they were taking Teddy, and then they were off to the shore. Steps one, two, and three.

Darla, Dean, and Ainsley were waiting for them. Ethan knew that Darla wouldn’t wait long before she stormed to Kymberlin herself. Delaying the escape had its advantages, but he knew they couldn’t leave the survivors alone and without communication for long.

Lucy had yet to make up her mind. Goodbyes were looming. She had decided to go with her brother and Grant, but then the moment she reentered the house and saw her sister and brothers waiting for them, her mother standing by the window, wringing her hands and trying not to cry, she knew she couldn’t leave.

She was confused and broken. She was lost and unsure.

When she went to her mother and rested her head against the softness of her arm, Maxine brushed Lucy’s hair calmly with her fingers and kissed her temple. “Baby girl,” Maxine said. “You can’t do this to yourself. You must decide and then never look back...no matter what you choose.”

Lucy began to cry.

“Stop,” Maxine said as Lucy wiped away her tears. “Stop crying, now. Make up your mind, Lucy Larkspur. Make up your mind and decide and know that whatever you choose, I will love you through it.”

Harper tugged on Lucy’s shirt. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Why are you crying?” Lucy leaned down and picked up her sister and held her tightly to her chest.

“I’m okay,” she answered. “I’m okay.”

Ethan stood by the door, Grant by his side.

“Alright, my little buddies. I need big hugs,” Ethan called down to them. The kids ran up and wrapped their arms around Ethan. He embraced them in a hug and didn’t let go until Harper wiggled free.

“Where are you going?” Harper asked and Ethan kissed her cheek.

“I’m going to live in a different part of the Island, kiddo,” Ethan replied. “It’s okay.”

“We want to come,” Monroe said.

Ethan smiled. “You need to stay here. You’ve got a playroom downstairs.”

“But we want to come with you!” Malcolm added, crossing his arms over his chest. “Can we at have sleepovers at your new place?”

Nodding, Ethan leaned down and kissed their heads, too.

“He’s lying,” Galen said from the couch. Lucy walked over and sat beside him. She tried to put her hand around his shoulder, but he stood up and walked away, leaving her alone. “Why can’t you tell the truth? Why can’t you just say that you’re leaving us because you don’t love us anymore? Why can’t you say that you’re leaving the Islands forever and you’ll never come back? I’m sick of everyone lying to me. Tell me the truth!”

Maxine spun. “Galen,” she said. “That’s enough.”

“And you’re just letting him go?” Galen turned his bitterness to her. “Dad would never let him go.”

“Galen...” Maxine said again. She narrowed her eyes. “Enough.”

“You didn’t ask if I wanted to go, too,” he continued. “Why didn’t anyone ask if I wanted to go?”

“I need you here,” his mother said and she walked over to him.

“He’s going to die,” Galen said and he burst into tears, burying his face into his mother’s chest. “He’s going to die out there and you’re letting him die.”

“Stop, sweetheart. Stop,” Maxine said and she pulled Galen outward and held him at arm’s length. Then she bent down so she could see him eye-to-eye. “You are my rock. You are my Galen-bug. You are my constant love and my hope. Don’t you lose it on me, okay?”

“But, Mom—”

Maxine kissed him and patted him on the back and then walked toward Lucy. Her hands outstretched. “Lucy?” she asked.

Lucy looked at her mother and her siblings; Harper’s pouting, Galen’s crying. Maxine was keeping it together—her hard exterior was tough to crack, but Lucy knew that soon she would fall apart, too. She thought of all the reasons to leave, and she looked at Grant. Her heart was bursting for him; she ached for him. He smiled at her and motioned for her to come over to him, and she did.

“Let me talk to you in the hall,” he whispered.

“Two minutes,” Ethan said and he dropped his bags and walked over to Galen.

Grant and Lucy left the sniveling and the crying into the silence of the hallway. Grant took Lucy’s hands in his own and he kissed her.

“You were the one who wanted to leave,” Grant said, laughing. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “This whole time...it was you...and always you.”

“And you wanted to stay,” Lucy replied. She leaned forward so she didn’t have to look into his eyes. She could hear his heart beating.

“Sure. I wanted to stay because as long as you were here, I didn’t have a reason to go. But I’m going to my dad,” Grant replied. “I spent a long time running away from him. A lot of years thinking that I hated him. But when I saw his face in that elevator…” Grant paused, “I can’t leave him. And it’s a decision I’m making without reservation. More than anything I want you to make your decision without reservation. You’ll regret it...for the rest of your life...if you aren’t sure.”

“My mom already said that.”

“It’s good advice. Be sure, Lucy.”

“How can I be sure in two minutes?”

“It’s probably one minute now,” he replied, beaming. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, “You’re beautiful…even when you made that stupid scowl. And I love you.”

“Did you see them in there? You talk about going to your dad and not leaving him without you. But if I leave with you, then that’s what I’m doing to my own family. Asking them to say goodbye to Ethan and me? Forever.” Her voice was raw and hoarse from all the crying. “And that’s how I should leave them? Crying and alone and in pain? I can’t hurt them like that...I can’t leave my sister and my brothers and not know if they’re safe...I fought to get here. What am I supposed to do? If I stay, I...” she stopped.

“So, then, you have made up your mind,” he said evenly.

“No,” Lucy shook her head. She wiped her eyes. “My heart is breaking. I can’t let you leave without me…”

Grant stopped her by putting a finger to her lips. Then he slipped a piece of paper into her hand.

“Some decisions aren’t made alone,” he said. “We each have to do what is right. And that may not be the same choice.”

She held the paper tightly, afraid to unfold it and read the words.

The door opened and Ethan stepped out. He had been crying, too. His eyes were red and puffy, and his nose dripped.

“Let’s go,” he said to Grant, and he took off down the hall. Then he turned to Lucy, “Are you coming?”

With her hands shaking, she opened the note and read the sentences Grant had written down for her. Then she read them again. And again. And with tears streaming down her face, she launched herself into his arms and soaked up the feeling of him against her, his kisses on her head. She wanted to memorize what it felt like to be loved so fully, so sacrificially. She wanted to remember what it felt like to love without fear.

She lifted her head to Ethan and with a sob, said, “No. I’m not.” Then she buried her head in her hands and her shoulders shook.

Ethan walked straight over to her and wrapped his arms around her small shoulders. He held her while she cried; all his hurriedness melted away as he took this final moment with her. Last time, she had said goodbye to him; she had left him. Now he was leaving her. Lucy let herself be comforted by her older brother. She soaked up his embrace.

“You have to take good care of them,” Ethan whispered into her hair. “You have to be the wise one…the strong one.” She nodded. “Help them understand that I had to do this.” Then he dropped his arms and stepped back. With a nod to Grant, he started to walk down the long interior hallway.

With one final moment of privacy, Grant kissed her one last time. He put his hands on her face and held her lips to his. Then without another word, he left her in the hallway, standing there with her hands dangling by her sides. She watched him disappear into the stairwell to the sky bridge. Right before he slipped out of sight, she looked up and saw him turn and blow her a kiss. She caught it as the doors were closing and she placed her hand over her heart. Everything inside of her was breaking, ripping to shreds. Her knees were shaking, her legs felt weak and wobbly. Her stomach threatened to pour out her breakfast contents all over the floor.

She stumbled back into the house. And Maxine rushed to her side, wiping away her tears and bearing her weight.

“Oh, my darling,” Maxine said and she carried Lucy to the couch. Tucked up in a ball next to her mother, she let out a wail. “Lucy...” her mother said. “Oh, Lucy. There is nothing worse. Nothing worse than saying goodbye.” And Maxine began to cry with her, letting her own tears fall. They sobbed together, and soon all the kids joined them. Harper, sucking her thumb, settled at Lucy’s feet, and Galen wrapped his arms around his mother’s shoulders. The twins wiped their own tears away and clung to Maxine’s arms.

Lucy listened to the cacophony of pain.

Her father had tried to spare them from loss, but he had only delayed it.

Opening her note from Grant once again, she reread the words and then clutched the paper to her chest. In Grant’s simple handwriting, it read: I can’t make your decision for you, but I can tell you the truth: You are needed here. If you leave, you can’t come back. If you stay, someday we will meet again at our place. I’ll wait for you like I promised. Cabin 206. I’ll be there until I die. I love you, for always.