Under Ground (20 page)

Today though, the news is
different and I can't remain indifferent. It touches close to home
and strikes me right to my core. Chi’s picture is on the screen,
and the words coming through the speakers send chills down my
spine. It's as if the journalist is looking straight at me as he
points at a picture of Chi. It’s silly because, of course, he's not
talking to me specifically.

“This young man is highly
dangerous. The authorities are looking for him, and any indications
regarding his whereabouts are welcome. Do not approach the suspect
under any circumstances! I repeat; he is highly dangerous! Call 911
if you see him or believe you may have spotted him. Any information
is vital at this point.”

I turn around to look at Chi. My
heartbeat quickens while he remains calm. He frowns and crosses his
arms over his chest, but he doesn’t seem to feel the same kind of
fear I’m experiencing. The news that follows is like a stab to my
heart, and the world around me starts spinning out of
control.

“Chi Richards, also known as
Jordan Wilcox, has been fleeing the authorities for the past two
years. He's wanted for the murder of Willow Jenison. The
authorities lost track of him two years ago, and they’ve been
searching for him ever since. It appears Richards was living with
the Wilcox family under the false identity of their son Jordan. The
Wilcoxes are also on the loose, and the authorities need them in
custody as well. They are wanted for harboring a criminal and
concealing the disappearance of their son. Chi Richards is also
wanted for the kidnapping of Thia Clay. It is imperative for us to
find him before he kills her the way he did his previous
girlfriend. Any information is crucial and will be generously
rewarded.”

The words boomerang inside my
head: “murder” and “criminal.” Dark spots appear and cloud my
vision as shivers take hold of my body. I close my eyes, bend over,
and breathe deeply. I will not faint!

I turn to Chi. His eyes are still
pinned on the TV. They are wide open with fear and anger. He senses
my gaze upon him and sends me a look. When his eyes meet mine, they
plead with me to understand. He tries to tell me something, but I
don't listen. I’m not sure I truly care at this point. I’ve been
misled again. But this time, it’s the one person I trusted the most
who has lied to me. My heart suddenly cracks at the edges, slowly
breaking apart. The fissure widens as seconds pass me by.
How
could I be so stupid?
I know nothing about Chi, nothing
concrete really.

I'm so disappointed I’m
suffocating. I need air. I walk past him so fast I could be
running. He tries to grab my arm, but I push him away. I’m
surprised by my own strength as he stumbles backward. The small of
his back hits a table, and he clenches his teeth upon impact, his
eyes darkening instantly.

“Thia!” he calls me as I run for
the door.

“Thia!” His voice is louder now,
more insistent, but I don’t pay heed.

I’ve had it with the lies. I don’t
want to hear his voice right now. I’m not sure I want to hear his
voice ever again. If Chi didn’t tell me about this, it means that
the news could be true.

Something inside my heart tells me
that it can’t be real. But I’m not sure I can trust my instincts
anymore. My instincts led me here, to follow Chi.
What if they
tricked me into believing something I shouldn’t have?
I wanted
Chi to be the perfect person he appeared to be.
How foolish of
me!
Of course, no one is perfect!
But this is a bigger
skeleton in the closet than I expected. And then, it hits me: Chi
told me he had never been with a girl before. His lies feel like
small daggers plunged into my heart. It hurts to think of him with
someone else and to know that he lied about it, too.

Chi comes out of the house. He
walks to me quickly, just a few strides needed for him to reach me.
His eyes are filled with pain, beseeching still, but I ignore him.
He's right in front of me and I start running away, but he’s too
fast. He grabs my arm and holds it tightly. His strength no longer
comforts me the way it used to. Now, it just terrifies
me.

He pulls me to him and turns me
around so I have to face him. He grabs my shoulders and holds on so
hard I can’t move. I try to fight him, but he’s too strong. I press
my hands against his chest to push him back. He grabs my arms and
holds them together in front of him in a lock I can't loosen. Fear
is telling me to run, but Chi is holding me still and I can’t move.
He looks me deep in the eyes, but I turn my face away.

“Thia, it's all a bunch of lies.
It’s complete bullshit." He pauses. "Thia! Look at me!” His voice
grows louder now, his tone more assertive. “Thia, look at
me!”

But I’m not taking orders from
him. I will not let him or anyone control the way I think or what I
do ever again! I want to tell him that. I want to yell at him. I
want to slash his face. I'm so emotional, almost hysterical, that I
start crying in anger. I hate myself for it. I don’t want him to
see me cry. I don’t want him to know that he hurt me or think he
can comfort me. I don't want him to mistake my reaction for sorrow
when all I'm feeling is rage.

“Thia, I did
not
kill that
girl,” he hisses.

That’s too much and I shriek,
spitting the words in his face with vitriol. “‘That girl?' Who was
‘that girl?' Did you know her? I saw the look on your face when her
picture came up on the screen, Chi.”

I’m so mad I stutter and can’t
keep my thoughts straight. I can’t think at all. I just want to
hurt him the exact same way he hurt me. I can’t touch him
physically, so I use my words like venom. “You lied to me, Chi, and
you hid things from me. You said you’d never been with a girl
before. You said you'd never looked at girls until you saw me. And
now, the news tells me about her. I have to hear from the guy on TV
that you killed her!”

“It’s a lie!” Chi is yelling too
now, with rage rising to the surface. “I did
not
kill
her!”

“And I guess I’m supposed to
believe that! After all your lies, I’m supposed to trust you and
believe you!”

I’m still shouting, and my head
hurts from the anger boiling inside. Chi blinks a few times as
though I've just slapped him in the face. The hurt is back in his
eyes, but I don’t care. He won’t catch me feeling pity for him
again.

“You truly believe I could have
done that? You really think I could have killed a girl?” His voice
is soft now, shaking. His eyes well up and dry just as
quickly.

“Why not?” I reply with fury,
though I’m not sure what to believe anymore. The news on TV doesn’t
make any sense.

“Thia, you know me! Look inside
you and tell me you honestly believe I could have hurt a girl. They
also claim I kidnapped you, and you know that’s not true. It’s all
lies. They're looking for reasons to have me arrested.”

The truth is I still don't know
Chi that well, but I can’t believe the media. I don’t want to
believe that he could have done something so horrible.

“If you truly believe that I could
have hurt a girl—if you don’t trust me—I don’t see why you should
be with me at all. I can’t believe you would even think that,” he
says in a low, soothing voice, but I can tell he’s still livid.
It's like the calm before a storm. The anguish is still present in
his eyes. He shakes his head with disappointment. He’s about to let
me go, but he seems to think better of it.

“That girl was my girlfriend, yes.
But I hardly even knew her. She was an Unwanted, like me. I don’t
know why my parents even bothered finding someone for me. My mom
said I needed someone to rely on because they wouldn’t be there
forever. She said no one wants to end up alone. Willow was my best
option—my
only
option. She was the daughter of my parents'
friends. My mom thought I might grow fond of her in time. She said
we didn’t have to go through with a relationship if I didn’t want
to, but that I should let time tell what was best. Willow was shy,
like you, and extremely fragile. After a while, I took it upon
myself to protect her. I thought maybe I could do that. But I never
looked at her that other way. I didn’t like her like that. She was
a friend and that’s all.”

He sighs. “Then my parents were
taken away and I had to run. A few months later, I heard on the
news that Willow and her family were found dead at their house. It
looked like the authorities had gotten rid of them to use as an
excuse to frame me and execute me on sight. Then one day, the
search stopped. I didn’t kill her, Thia. I don’t know who
did.”

“Why didn’t you try to find out?”
I ask.

“I can’t do everything at the same
time! I’ve been busy trying to locate my parents. I can’t do it
all! And what’s the point? No one would believe me
anyway.”

“Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“And what was I supposed to say?
‘Hi, I'm Chi. Oh, by the way, I’m wanted for the murder of my
girlfriend.’ Great intro, isn’t it?" He shakes his head in
exasperation. "I didn’t know how to tell you. I’ve been scared of
losing you. I had no status or future to offer you. I couldn’t add
the criminal charges to the mix.”

“Your parents don’t believe in the
system. Why would your mom look for a girl for you? That doesn’t
make any sense!” I exclaim.

“She didn’t force Willow on me.
She just hoped that magic would do its trick. I didn’t have to date
Willow. In the end, it was my choice.”

He leans his forehead against mine
and lets go of my arms to cup my face with his hands. "Thia, I
would
never
hurt someone like Willow. She was sweet, and
kind, and innocent. Please, you have to believe me."

He holds me tightly against him,
his face buried against my neck, and I let him. I want to believe
him. I slouch into him, my thoughts in turmoil, and we remain like
this for a few minutes, with my chest pressed against his and my
treacherous heart pleading for my brain to please give him another
chance.

But when the sounds of sirens echo
in the distance, our reconciliation ends abruptly. We both freeze.
Fear flickers through Chi’s eyes, a mirror to the primitive terror
filling my own heart.

“Run! Now!”

He grabs my hand and we race
toward the door, but it’s too late. The police cars are here;
they're flashing their front lights at us, the sirens loud and
deafening.

“Chi Richards, you’re under
arrest," the officer's voice comes out of a speakerphone. "Put your
hands in the air now. Do not try to run or we will
shoot.”

Chi raises his hands in the air
slowly. I stop. I want us to run as fast as we can, far from here,
but it’s too late and there is no escape. There are four police
cars here now, and we're surrounded. Chi looks calm, but I know
he’s frantic underneath the surface. His eyes shift around as if
he’s looking for a way out. Holding a rifle, an officer walks
slowly toward Chi, as if he were as dangerous as they claimed on
the news. It would be comical were the situation not so dire. The
officer approaches him and forces handcuffs on his wrists. Then he
shoves him forward brutishly and Chi stumbles. I gasp. The officer
pushes him toward the car, with the tip of his barrel pressed
against Chi's back.

Chi turns his head and peers at
me. He's serious, without a smile poking through. He appears
serene, but I know better. He sits in the car, and as the officer
closes the door behind him, Chi just keeps staring at me. An urge
almost pushes me forward—a need to scream his name, run to the car,
and free him. But they'll shoot me on the spot if I
move.

An officer comes to me. “Thia
Clay, you are to follow us as well.”

My heart is hammering hard inside
my ribcage. I have trouble breathing. My legs are shaking so badly
I might fall, but my limbs somehow carry me as I walk to the police
car. I keep my eyes on Chi the entire time, but the vehicle he’s in
starts up and drives away. Soon, I lose sight of him completely.
The officer opens the back door to the vehicle and lets me sit
inside. As the car pulls away, I catch a glimpse of three more
officers breaking into Oliver’s house. They will arrest him too,
unless he's heard everything and escaped already. This is bad,
really bad! Without Oliver as a liaison, the Underground will be
weakened.

I hope the officers don't know
about the Underground and that Oliver is simply wanted for hosting
us, a terrible offense in and of itself.

I can't believe I was so dumb as
to believe Chi killed his girlfriend. Of course the media lied.
They do it all the time. I'm furious at myself for triggering a
fight between us. And now, it's too late to apologize.

We drive for a long time. I expect
them to take me to jail, but then I recognize the road we’re
taking. I’m not sure if this is better or worse than going to the
police station, but the officers are taking me home.

Dread fills my heart. I'm about to
face my family. And even worse, I will have to deal with Mother.
This reunion won't be pretty. I’ll end up homeless. William will
reject me after what happened, and my parents will never forgive
me.
What am I to become? What am I going to do?

Then I think about Chi, and my
despair worsens. I actually don’t care what happens to me. I just
want Chi to be okay. I wish we had never met. Not because I don’t
want to be with him. Not because of how this is sure to ruin me.
But because I refuse for our relationship to cost him his
life.