The Remedy Files: Illusion (8 page)

CHAPTER 10
 

At school the next day, there were already stories of Caroline’s “terrible fall and how amazing she was to survive something so horrifying”. Everyone knew I was an eyewitness so they made many of these comments around me, knowing they couldn’t ask for details, but hoping I would share. I would simply nod while looking down, refusing to provide more information. By the afternoon, I am pretty sure I heard several people say I was involved with the fall more than being an eye witness. No doubt Adeline was adding her own comments in a way that accused me of having more of a direct hand in Caroline’s injury.

Jacqueline was the only one I told the entire story to while we were at the office last night. Caroline became an overnight patient at the Clinic and since Jacqueline and I were both on the evening shift, Jacqueline found out about the details early. I gave her the majority of the story, purposely leaving out the part where Ethan was there and I called out his name to distract him from Caroline. Hopefully that detail will stay out of everyone else’s version as well.

When I finished telling Jacqueline the story, she chuckled. “I really want to say she gets what she deserves but I suppose that wouldn’t be professional considering we are currently taking care of her, huh?”

“We’ll keep that between you and me.” I laugh and wink.

After the Doctor did his checks and left her room, Caroline fell right asleep so luckily neither Jacqueline nor I had to talk to her. I’m sure she would have just screamed at me even more, blaming the incident on my actions versus her own. I was happy to get out of there and for the night staff to take over just in case she woke up.

As I am leaving the Level 14-17 building to go meet Gavin, I pass a couple of Level 15 girls who are whispering in the hall. A shorter one, with chubby cheeks and her hair tied back in a bun, grabs my arm and says, “I would have aimed for her nose if I were you.” The girl next to her has an extremely serious look on her face, and nods energetically in agreement. Apparently more people saw through Jacqueline than I thought. I simply shoot them a tilted smile as I walk out the door.

After all of the events from last night, I haven’t had much of a chance to dissect my conversation with Gavin more.  I can’t quite imagine how today with him will go after yesterday. We’ve never before had such a bad talk. In my mind, I sketch out the conversation I can have with him today. I’ve never had to do that. I want to be prepared for the worst, though. I obviously have Caroline’s incident to talk about… and then there were the two strange men and the first time I’ve ever thought someone actually went into one of those steel buildings. That’s a good start.

However, as I near the thickets by the road, I notice a man standing nearby wearing a long sleeve linen gray shirt with matching slacks. If he was standing any closer to the steel shed, he would have almost blended in. The crunching of my shoes on the road causes him to turn around. His outline of gray hair is encompassing the balding spot in the middle of his head. His thick eyebrows are arched high above his steel gray eyes. They were piercing through me, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.

Slowly he bends over and picks up a metal hoe that is lying nearby. “Beautiful day, huh?” he asks nonchalantly.

I nod, unsure of what to say or what to do. His voice… it sounds familiar. He might possibly be one of the men I heard talking yesterday.

Taking note of the color around my wrist monitor, he states, “It doesn’t look like you work in the gardens so I’m assuming you are on your way to the Clinic?” He phrases it in a question but it’s obvious he’s not searching for an answer.

“Yes,” I respond, regaining my voice. His long sleeves prevent me from seeing his own monitor color. “I just like to walk by the gardens on the way to see how everything is growing.” I lie. 

“Hmm. Interesting. Maybe they should have assigned you to tend the garden instead.” He tilts the hoe a little towards me. I can’t tell if that was a joke or if he was serious. He is intently studying my face. “Isn’t it still early for your shift?”

I glance at my monitor. Most people are still in the Levels for another 15 minutes. I always escape early to get in time with Gavin but of course I can’t say this. “A friend of mine had an accident yesterday so she’s at the Clinic. I was hoping to spend time with her before my shift starts.” I never thought I would claim Caroline as a friend. But in this situation, it’s my only option.

He cocks his head to the side and doesn’t say anything for a moment. I take advantage of the silence, shift my direction and walk with more of a purpose to the Clinic. After a few steps, I hear him call out, “enjoy your evening.” I look over my shoulder and give a small wave. He is leaning on the hoe, still watching me.

I quicken my pace and as soon as I make it in the Clinic door, I look once more behind me before closing it to make sure he isn’t following. Who was that? What was he doing so close to those bushes? Out of anywhere he could have been, he was blocking my one exit to Gavin.

I wish I knew of other means to get to Gavin. I don’t know my way around outside the walls of Impetus enough. I only know the spot that we have because of its proximity to the bushes I’m used to. If I try another exit and get loss, it could be dangerous. There’s no other way to contact him and I don’t want him to be worried about me. I need to figure this out.

“There’s our hero!” I immediately snap out of my thoughts. Turning around, I see Brennan, Ethan, and Damian walking out from the back hallways, all with big grins on their faces.

“Well, hi, you guys. Didn’t expect to see you all here.”

“We got special permission to leave the Level early today to bring Caroline up to date on what she’s missing. They were going to send one of the subs but we volunteered instead.” Evan explains.

“Oh that’s so righteous of you guys.” I laugh. “Nothing to do with getting out early, right?”

“Give us a little more credit, Evangeline!” Damian bolsters. “We are the good ones who just care about our female counterparts.” He snorts loudly.

“On that note,” Ethan interjects. “Seriously awesome job yesterday, Evangeline. We were all talking about how you just stepped up and took over.”

“It’s the quiet ones that always surprise you! And you’ve got some guns!” Damian booms. 

Barely audible, Brennan mumbles, “Yeah, thank you. Pretty cool.”

“Don’t expect to hear that from Caroline, though!”

“Geez, Damian. I’m sure even Caroline heard you say that. You’re so loud!” Ethan turns to look back at me. “Don’t let her blame you. She needs to realize you helped her, you didn’t push her.”

“Is that what she’s telling people?” I ask with widened eyes.

Ethan puts a hand on my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what she thinks or is saying. We were all there so we know what happened.”

Damian leans over and whispers- although still quite loudly- in my ear. “She thinks you’re trying to get the Community Board to choose Ethan for you. Apparently her logic can only decipher him for her and no one else.” He then leans back and puffs out his chest, beating on them like an old black and white Tarzan film we once watched. “But then there’s me-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!”

“And the whole community is now aware of it, thanks.” Brennan doesn’t speak much, but when he does, it’s usually dripping in sarcasm.

I catch Ethan’s brown eyes and he has his head tilted to the side, smiling at me with perfectly white and straight teeth, dimples showing in both cheeks. His smile is definitely one of his best features. I can see why Jacqueline would want to choose him.

Then a thought hits me. Does he think that I am trying to get the Board to choose him for me? I can’t have this rumor started.

“Her reality is a bit skewed at times, I’d say.”

“I never thought I would hear an unkind thing out of your mouth, Evangeline!” Damian bellows. “We keep seeing new sides of you!”

Ethan chuckles. “You’re stretching it a bit, Damian. That wasn’t an unkind statement. Just the truth.” From the corner of my eye I catch Ethan still watching me with the same smile on his face.

I have to switch the subject and get them out the door before Jacqueline comes in. “You guys heading out?”

“We were going to try to get a ball game going.” Brennan says.

“Ditch work and come join us, Evangeline.”

Why does Ethan keep doing this? What’s his sudden interest with me? “Thanks for the offer but--”

Brennan interrupts me. “Dude, you know she can’t bail on work. Let’s go now.” It’s the sternest I’ve ever heard Brennan speak. I have never been able to tell if he really was quiet or just secretly thought everyone else was below him.

“Okay, okay. “Ethan retreats. “See you tomorrow.” He gives me a little wave of his hand.

“Have fun with Caroline!” Damian laughs. “She has quite a strong bite!”

The echoes of the slammed door die down and I’m left in complete silence. I survey the chairs spread throughout the waiting room with their purple suede cushioned lining that has been worn down over the years. I will have to stay in here a little while to make sure the guys are invested in their game before I try to sneak my way back to the Homes.

I look at the clock. In about thirty minutes, the office will reopen for its two hours of evening appointments. It is one of my favorite times of the work days, the silence before the office officially reopens. The back end of the Clinic is open 24/7 with any overnight patients, the nurses that care for them, and any visitors the patients may have. Usually there’s a lot of hustle and bustle with bells constantly ringing as patients make demands.

We joke that sometimes people try to get themselves hurt so they can actually be in control of what they eat and the care they receive when they qualify as an overnight patient. It’s about the only time a regular resident in Impetus can hold that much control, that much power. Otherwise, outside of being a patient, there’s little that we actually decide for ourselves. Most people are fine with that because we don’t question life otherwise. However, being with Gavin, I’ve become comfortable with questioning things and I’m wondering more frequently what life would be like without all the regulations.

The door suddenly swings open as Jacqueline walks in with her long curly brown hair braided and her hunter green backpack swung over her shoulder. “I didn’t think you were working tonight!” Jacqueline strides across the room, gives me a quick big hug, and then takes a seat in one of the chairs, swinging her legs over the side. 

“I’m not. I just--” I couldn’t tell her about the strange man I ran into which propelled me into hiding out in the office. I need to talk to Gavin about it first. Jacqueline wouldn’t understand. She wouldn’t see it as weird. “--thought I would check in on Caroline.” I lie.

“Oh Evangeline… tell me you aren’t starting to believe the stories. We both know it wasn’t your fault.” She stands up and puts a hand on my shoulder just like Ethan did earlier. This is why they are great match. They need to be paired, not Caroline with Ethan and definitely not me. Ethan and Jacqueline are essentially the same person in so many ways. They would create children for the community that are intelligent, kind, creative, and fun. Perfection pairing. That’s what they call it- that’s what the Board aims for so hopefully they see it just as clearly as I do. 

Instead of responding, I just shrug. I already lied once to Jacqueline; I didn’t want to do it again. She’s my best friend and I tell almost everything to her. Except things that have to do with Gavin, and except the things I want to tell Gavin about first. He tells me when I shouldn’t tell anyone else. Although I rarely understand the reason behind it, I follow his commands because I trust him. 

I sigh out loud.
I trust him.
Oh, I’ve been so stupid. Why didn’t I just let him talk to me? Now here I am, skipping a meeting with him. It’s the first time since I was 6 years old that I haven’t gone to see him during the week. I doubt he’s still there. Our meeting was supposed to be an hour ago. He would have given up, I’m sure of it. I still want to check, though.

I can’t risk that strange man seeing me again, though. He would realize something is suspicious and then be rewarded for turning me into the Officials with breaking one of the biggest community offenses.

Jacqueline wrongly takes my loud sigh as being related to Caroline. “I was going to ask a favor from you but it sounds like maybe a night in the Home would be best after the long day I’m sure you’ve had.” She’s looking into my eyes, trying to read my thoughts, obviously struggling to not ask me about them.

I bring my attention back to her. “Don’t be silly. Ask away.”

“I was wondering if maybe you could work my shift for me? Especially since you’re already here...” She lowers her voice to a whisper, “I passed Ethan, Damian, and Brennan on the way here and Damian asked if I wanted to join them for a ball game.” Her eyes dance. “Do you mind, Evangeline? I’d owe you one big time!”

I give her a big smile. It was a good thing that Damian invited her so that way she could be seen spending time with Ethan in a very social and public place. Surely several members of the Board will catch them in between their Community rounds. “I don’t mind at all. Have a great time!”

She squeals and gives me a big hug. “You are the best! I’ll stop by your room later tonight!” Jacqueline flashes a double thumbs up sign before closing the door behind her.