Here (21 page)

“
I’ll turn on the television. It will give you something to do, maybe take your mind off things.”

Music fills the room and I turn to the screen.

“
Ah, lucky you. You get to watch the celebratory documentary of the history of the United Regions,” he calls over his shoulder as he walks to his room.

I plop on the sofa, letting the cushions suck me in. “I’ve never been a fan of history.”

He settles next to me, several feet away, with his tablet in his hand. His mouth lifts into a smirk. “That’s good because this is more propaganda than history.”

He concentrates on his task while I watch the screen. Pictures of nuclear mushroom clouds fill the screen. “On October 27, 1962, the history of the world changed,” the narrator announces. Image after image of puffing mushroom clouds and explosions follow one after another. “The toll on humanity was devastating.” Footage of mangled bodies fills the screen. Next is film of endless lines of people streaming out of a decimated and smoldering city. “Those who survived the initial blasts soon succumbed to radiation poisoning, communicable diseases and starvation.” Stick-thin bodies with swollen bellies appear before my eyes.

“
Here comes my favorite part,” Reece says, his eyes still on his handheld.

“
The leaders from surviving regions joined together to form a new nation, devoted to peaceful coexistence.”

Patriotic music plays as the leader’s faces file one after the other.

“
Wait for it,” Reece says.

The music builds then drops. “The United Regions of America.” The announcer’s voice is full of pride.

“
How many times have you seen this?” I ask.

He snorts. “Hundreds. The television is programmed to play it around the anniversary. For a solid week you can’t watch any other programming until you watch The History of the Illustrious United Regions.”

My mouth drops. “You’re kidding.”

“
I wish.”

The history plays out in glorious detail for the next thirteen minutes. By the time the last screen scrolls, I’m almost ready to stay in Reece and Evan’s world just to be part of something so spectacular. Too bad the Committee wants me dead.

“
I see what you mean by propaganda.”

“
Gotta keep reminding the people how great they are.”

“
Are they really that bad?”

Reece looks up, thoughtful. “If you’re an average person willing to live a simple life and do what’s expected of you, it’s a good life.”

“
And if you’re not?”

He lifts an eyebrow. “God help you.”

“
Why do I have the feeling you don’t fit in the compliant category?”

He laughs. “You know me so well already.”

I laugh and snuggle deeper into the cushion, watching his face as he studies his tablet. My smile falls. I’m going to miss him. How is that possible when I just met him?

The silence is broken by a knock on the door. My breath stops in my chest.

They’ve come back to get me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Reece tenses as he jumps off the sofa. His eyes are wild. “Who is it?” he calls out, already reaching for my arm.

“
Evan.”

I sink back into the cushion releasing the breath I’ve held. Reece lets out a puff of air and his shoulders slump. He unlocks the door and Evan slips through the crack Reece opens.

“
What happened to your face?”

“
I ran into a door,” Reece sneers. “What do you think? General Ghertner showed up looking for her.”

Evan’s face pales.

“
They didn’t find her.” Reece gestures to me. “She’s here safe and sound, although for how long, I can’t say.”

Evan’s head swings my direction. Relief washes over his face as he drops at my feet, pulling me into a hug.

Reece watches, his mouth pressed into a tight line. “I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll give you guys a minute to
catch up
.” Sarcasm riddles his last words.

I watch him from the corner of my eye as he passes. He shoots a dark look at Evan.

Evan smoothes the hair from the side of my face and I’m suddenly self-conscious.

“
I’ve been sick with worry. Are you okay?”

“
Yeah, I’m fine. I was scared when they showed up, but Reece hid me in a closet.” I stop short of telling him about the hole in the wall. It’s obvious Reece doesn’t want him to know about it.

“
I didn’t think they’d check Reece’s house since we haven’t been friends for months. Why did they beat him up?”

I hesitate. “He didn’t exactly cooperate.”

He releases an exasperated breath. “Typical Reece.” He caresses my cheek, staring into my eyes. “You’re really okay?”

I nod. “I’m fine.”

His face lowers and I close my eyes as his lips touch mine. His kiss is tentative, then desperate. My stomach flutters into my chest.

“
I don’t know if I can lose you again.” He whispers against my cheek.

He reminds me of my betrayal with Reece. He’s been hurt so much already. I can’t hurt him anymore. “Then don’t.”

He buries his face into my neck. “You can’t stay.”

“
Then come back with me.” The words are out before I even think.

He looks into my face, gauging my reaction. “Do you mean it?”

Do I?
I’m confused about what I want but can’t imagine going home to my agonizing loneliness. I decide to turn the question around. “Can
you
stay? Really? They’ll know you helped me. It can’t be safe for you here.”

His momentary hope fades from his eyes. “But I can’t go back to your Springfield. The police are looking for me there.”

“
Then we’ll go somewhere else. We can go anywhere in my world.”

“
I hate to break up this little reunion.” Bitterness twists through Reece’s voice. “But we’ve got to figure out how to get
you
to your world before you bring anyone along.”

I sit back, swamped with guilt. Why should I feel guilty? I came to this world with Evan. Evan’s the one who searched me out.

But Reece helped.

I can’t dwell on this right now.

Evan sits next to me on the sofa, taking my hand in his. Reece sits on the opposite end, glaring at Evan’s hand before his eyes dull. Evan doesn’t seem to notice.

“
General Ghertner was here a few hours ago and he thinks I’m in on this whole caper. He’s watching me. And he’s watching the site. I don’t know how we’re going to pull this off.”

Evan leans his elbows on his knees. “Maybe if we wait a few days, or a week, things will die down.”

Reece shakes his head. “My dad comes home tomorrow morning. While I admit he doesn’t pay a lot of attention to what goes on around here, he’s bound to notice a teenage girl living in my room.”

Evan purses his lips. “Let’s look at our options. One, we figure out a way to send her back today. Two, we wait and find somewhere else to hide her until we can send her back. Three, we keep her here and figure out how to make it work.”

“
You’re forgetting four, none of the above.” Reece snorts.

“
I’m open to suggestions, Reece.”

“
Hello.” I wave my hands in front of their faces. “I’m still here.”

Evan grimaces. “Sorry.”

Reece glares. “Let’s figure out what we need to make this work. First, we need the magic black box.”

“
It’s in my car. I visited my dad in the office yesterday after school and switched it with a dummy.”

Reece nods, then a hard look crosses his face. “We need weapons. I can get those.”

To my surprise, Evan remains silent.

“
You mean like guns?” I ask, looking from boy to boy. “As in shooting people?”

Reece gives me an exasperated look. “This isn’t preschool, Julia. The spot is heavily guarded.”

“
No. No way. You guys aren’t going to risk getting shot because of me.”

Evan squeezes my hand. “Julia, we hope it doesn’t come to that. We’re trying to come up with a diversion to get the guards away so there’s only a few to deal with. We’ll take care of them the way we dealt with the guys guarding you at the lab. We shot those guards with tranquilizers.” He pauses. “Nevertheless, we need to be prepared.”

He’s right. They’re both right, but guns make it all too real.

“
When did you originally plan to do this?” My stomach is knots thinking about guns and armed guards.

“
This afternoon,” Evan says. “While the security has been moved to guard the president and the Committee. Now, we’re not so sure. Maybe tonight.”

“
No,” Reece says. “They’ll expect us tonight. We should stick with this afternoon.”

Evan takes a deep breath. “I have to be at the program this afternoon. They’re watching me too. But if I’m there, they’ll be less cautious at the road.”

They sit in silence.

“
I agree.” Reece says, running a hand through his hair. “You know what this means though, right?”

Evan’s eyes are glassy. He swallows. “Yeah.”

My heart stutters. “I don’t know what it means. What does it mean?” Worry and dread worm together and slither though my gut.

Evan looks into my eyes and cups my cheek. “It means I love you and I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe. Even if it means letting you go.”

A lump fills my throat and I try to swallow my fear past it. “I still don’t understand.”

“
It means that the best time to send you back is this afternoon during the program. I have to be at the program or it will alert the general to our plan. If I’m there, he’ll relax security and you’ll have a chance to get away. It’s our best option.”

My chin quivers.

“
Reece will take you there and send you back. He’ll take care of you.” His lower lip trembles. “He’s the only other person I trust.”

“
No.” I squeeze out.

He presses his mouth together then lifts it into a tight smile. He raises my hand and brushes it with his lips.

“
What about you? Will you be safe? Won’t they suspect you?”

“
I’ll be safe, Jules. If you do this while I’m next to my dad, they won’t suspect me.”

“
What about Reece? They’ll completely suspect him.”

“
Don’t worry about me,” Reece says.

I whip my head to face him.

“
I’ve been planning to take off and try to find out what happened to my mom. I have a lead that she might be in the northwest. This is as good a time as any to check it out.”

My head spins. I’m losing both of them. But I never had them to begin with. A black hole sucks away all the hope I’ve gained since Evan found me. I’ll be worse than before I met him.

“
No.” I shake my head as I throw myself into Evan’s arms. “No. I’ll stay here. I can’t lose you both.”

Evan stiffens then relaxes as his arms wrap around my back. “You can’t stay. I wish you could, but you’d always be running and Springfield just isn’t that big of a place to hide. You
have
to go.”

I cling to his neck.

“
I was wrong to come find you. I was wrong to interfere in your life. I’ll never forgive myself for bringing you here.”

He pulls my hands off his neck and stands. Reece stands too and they stare at each other. Evan reaches out his hand and Reece clasps it with his own.

“
Take care of her for me.” Evan’s voice breaks. “Make sure she gets through okay.”

Reece gives a quick nod and clears his throat. “This is goodbye, then.” He pulls Evan into an embrace and claps his back. “You’re like a brother to me, even after everything.”

“
If you ever need anything, I’m here for you.” Evan says.

“
And you the same.” Reece drops his arms and clears his throat. “I’m going to my room so you can say goodbye.”

Reece walks down the hall as I sit on the sofa watching Evan. He stares down at me, tears in his eyes. I stand, twisting my hands in front of me. I’ve already clung to him. I don’t want to embarrass myself anymore.

Evan lets out a ragged breath and pulls me to his chest, his mouth finding mine. I kiss him with all my fear and despair, throwing my arms around his neck and holding him close.

“
I have to go now, Julia.”

“
No. Please.” It’s a whine, but I’m desperate.

He lifts his head and stares into my face. “I wish I’d never found you.”

Tears burn my eyes. “Don’t say that. I felt so hopeless and dead before you. You saved me.”

He shakes his head. “No. Someone else would have found you or you would have saved yourself. I was wrong to come.”

“
You’re saying that everything between us was wrong.”

He shakes his head as a tear falls down his cheek. “I’m saying it wasn’t my right to do it.”

Fury rises and I glare at him. “I’m not sorry.”

His fingers stroke my cheek and he smiles. “I love you. You, and her. I love you both. I know you think I can’t tell the difference, but I see it. You’re stubborn and sarcastic. She was none of those things. You feel responsible for things that are out of your control, even though I wish you’d give yourself a break and realize some things aren’t your fault. Take care of yourself, Julia, and please try to be happy. For me.”

He kisses me again and before I can protest, he drops his arms and disappears out the door.

I throw myself on the sofa with the intention of sobbing my heart out, but I stop, tears streaming down my cheeks. I have to accept this. I have no choice.

Reece comes into the room and finds me staring at the wall. He stands next to the sofa, rocking on his feet. “Are you okay?”

“
Yeah.” I can’t bring myself to look at him. “When do we leave?”

“
A couple hours.”

“
I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“
Okay.”

I take my time in the bathroom, wanting to be alone. I’ve dealt with my pain on my own before, why change now? When I turn off the water, Reece knocks on the door and tells me there’s a change of clothes outside the door. Another pair of jeans, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, a pair of shoes, and underwear. I’m too sad to be embarrassed. I brush my hair and go into the kitchen, only because my stomach’s growling.

Reece is on the sofa and looks up when I pass him. I get out milk and the box of cereal.

He stands and walks toward me. “How are you?”

I pour cereal into my bowl. “Peachy.”

“
Do you want to talk about it?”

My head snaps up. “Talk about what? Let’s just get to the stupid road and send me home.”

He touches my shoulder and I shrug it off.

“
Don’t, okay? Just go do what you need to do and I’ll sit around and wait for you guys to figure it all out.”

“
That’s not fair, Julia. We’re doing this for you.”

I know he’s right but someone needs to explain it to my temper. “Whatever.”

He grunts in frustration. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“
Whatever.”

He stomps off and I glare at the soggy flakes in my bowl.

The water turns on in the bathroom. I finish my cereal and rinse out the bowl. As I set it in the sink, there’s a knock at the door. My heart kick-starts and I suck in a deep breath. I move to the entrance of the kitchen and look down the hall. The water’s still running.

The pounding on the door grows louder. I hesitate, unsure whether to ignore it or get Reece. If he was really here alone, he wouldn’t hear it. Still…

I’m about to go down the hall when the door flings open. My eyes widen as I freeze in panic.

“
Reece?” A girl’s voice calls out. The open door hides her body. “I know you said you weren’t going this afternoon, but I thought I’d come by anyway.”

I try to duck into the kitchen, but she steps further into the house.

“
Oh, my God.” The blood rushes from her face as her hand flies to her mouth.

I reel backward, in shock.

It’s Monica.