Oppression (19 page)

18.

MY BODY WAS rigid with fear as I sat unmoving on an unfamiliar couch in an unfamiliar living room. William was next to me, but that only made me more afraid. He might not survive this, and his presence made me afraid for two. I tried to understand where I was from my fixed position on the sofa, but the windows were pitch-black with night. I felt trapped and anxious as we awaited the impending doom, as if the quiet lonely room was taunting me. Behind the black wall of night, I was aware of the war taking place. I wanted it to take place—I was their leader.

The blare of the city’s alarm shook my bones. This would be an attempt against us, to breed fear amidst the masses. The alarm kept on, urging me to leave the house, to escape, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Suddenly the faceless image of the wispy gray oracle came into view. She had a message for me.

“Wake up, Elyse,” she yelled.

My eyes snapped open, all my senses abruptly confronted with shards of light. It was all a dream. My heart relaxed, and I began to return to reality. Nothing around me was familiar, nothing but William.

His smile brought me back. “Is it just me or are you prone to passing out?” He’d been waiting patiently at the foot of a navy blue couch for me to come to, and was pleased to see me awake.

I stretched my feet out over his legs and moaned into the pillow beneath my head. “You try getting punched in the face or losing half of your blood. See how you turn out.”

I rubbed my eyes, still trying to get my bearings. I was in someone’s family room. The air smelled of sweet almonds, and the eggshell colored walls and cream carpet were comforting.

“What about my leg?” I asked, peeking under the throw blanket that was draped over me.

“My mom took care of it,” William answered.

“Hi, honey,” said a high and cheerful voice from the kitchen. A countertop bar with three stools was all that separated us from her. She had a kind face and the heavy-set body that belongs to most moms.

“Hi,” I returned.

William reached under the blanket and warmed my cold bare toes with his hands, our skin building heat on contact.

“I tried to help,” he said, “but she used her mom powers to fight me off.”

“I’m Sofia,” she introduced herself, making her way to my side. Her hair was the same honey color as William’s, and her eyes wrinkled around the edges as she smiled at me. “How are you feeling?”

I flexed my feet and felt the muscles tighten in my thighs.

“Okay, I guess.” There was little strength in my right leg, but I could move it. “Thank you for healing me.”

“I was able to close up the skin, but you lost a lot. You might still feel some pain and be a bit weak,” she explained. “Just let me know if you need anything, all right? I’ll leave you two alone.”

When she left us to ourselves, William moved to sit on the floor facing me.

“What the hell happened?” I let out, finally facing the incident I had hoped wasn’t real. “One minute I’m at Headquarters, the next I wake up in a war zone.”

“Ryder obviously planned the whole thing.”

“Why?”

“You’re flagged. I think this was the only way he could get to you, through official channels.”

I sighed. This guy was going to be a problem. “I hate him.”

“Well, at least you passed. His plan sort of backfired.”

I shook my head in disgust. “People died, William.”

He traced his fingers along the skin of my arm. “I know. Ryder made me watch the whole thing.”

“How?” I asked, mortified.

“He had me frozen in one of the buildings near the crash. We were watching from a window.”

I couldn’t believe any of it had happened. It was too horrific to be real.

“I don’t remember even getting on that bus. I don’t remember any of it.”

“That’s how it was for me, too.”

“How did you find me?” I asked, looking into his eyes. I felt so grateful. He had saved me.

“We were watching the ambulance on monitors, and once you got out, Ryder let me go. I recognized where you were, so I just ran for that intersection.”

“I don’t know what I would have done.”

He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now, and safe.”

“Have I been out for a long time?”

“A few hours. Woke up in time for dinner, though,” he said. “Feeling up to eating with my parents?”

With everything weighing so heavily on my mind, including Anna’s condition, I hardly wanted to have to put on a happy face for anyone. I felt more eager to cure her than ever after what I had been put through. Even if that eagerness was fueled by hate, I welcomed it. Nevertheless, I was starving, and couldn’t deny myself a home cooked meal.

William helped me to the dinner table, insisting I shouldn’t walk on my own. I exchanged pleasantries with his parents as Mrs. Nickel doled out portions of pork stew and homemade bread. The smell reminded me of my mother’s cooking, which I hadn’t had in nearly fifty years. I waited eagerly to taste it.

“So,” Dr. Nickel said, braving conversation once we’d been served. “Have you thought about the prophecy?”

Spoons clanked against porcelain bowls in the silence.

“There’s an ice breaker for you,” William said, shaking his head. “You just had to bring it up.”

“I think it’s relevant given her circumstances. Maybe the test has changed her mind.”

All three of them looked at me for a response, but what could I tell them?

“Iosif says whatever I do doesn’t matter. The prophecy will play out how it is supposed to.”

“Great advice, huh?” William added. “Now we know exactly what to do.”

“It’s true, son,” Dr. Nickel said with a nod. “Don’t take his words so lightly. It will happen.”

William stirred his food, avoiding his father’s eyes. “What if I don’t want it to?”

Dr. Nickel looked at me before he answered. “It’s not your choice.”

“Does
she
even get a choice? What if she doesn’t want this?”

“She will in time.”

Mrs. Nickel and I stayed quiet while the two of them talked as though I wasn’t in the room.

“She doesn’t have time,” William argued. “They know she’s the new mother which means they’ll figure out the rest soon enough. What if they come after her?”

“How do they know?” Mrs. Nickel jumped in.

He shook his head. “Kara told them.”

Mrs. Nickel’s brow furrowed. “Why would she do that?”

“She was trying to help me,” I said, unable to keep quiet any longer. “It doesn’t matter anyway. They won’t come after me. I’m flagged.”

“Elyse, that isn’t . . .” He closed his eyes briefly, gathering his thoughts. “We don’t know why, for how long, who flagged you. It isn’t a safety net. We can’t rely on that.”

The Nickels, still shocked by the news, didn’t say a word.

“After what they put her through today, I think we should leave,” William continued.

“We can’t.” I reacted without thinking. I couldn’t leave Anna.

William looked at me with surprise. “Why? Who knows when they’ll make a move?”

I thought quickly, searching for another reason to stay. “If I’m supposed to fulfill this prophecy, it won’t do any good to run. I’ve been running for too long—my whole life.”

Dr. Nickel smiled brightly. “I like the way you think.”

William looked at me, angry and defeated, and I wondered if he could see through to the real reason I needed to stay. We ate the rest of the meal in silence, and when we were finished, I followed William out of the dining room.

“You want to see my room?” he asked. “I don’t want to stay down here.”

The upstairs hallway was typical of any family. Collage-like framed photos filled every blank wall with captured images of the three of them. There was a young girl as well. I hadn’t known about her.

“Who’s this?” I asked, pointing to a younger version of William’s mother. “You have a sister?”

“Yeah, Edith. She’s at a friend’s house.”

I noticed that the photos were recent, or at least within the last few years. There were no baby pictures or classic wedding snapshots.

“So, she has your dad’s ability?”

“Unfortunately yes, and she thinks it makes her queen of her forty-year-old universe.”

I smiled at the idea of a little sister pestering him.

I knew we’d found his room before he said a thing. Everything about it was him. Immediately upon entering, it was impossible to miss the entire wall of CDs accompanied by all the means to enjoy such a collection of music. A skyline of speakers, amplifiers, and pieces I didn’t even recognize were stacked high to the ceiling. The afternoon light spilled onto the floor from the right, and next to the window was a finely crafted acoustic guitar. His bed was large enough for two and seemed to be the only seat in the room, so I made myself comfortable.

“You know,” William said, mulling over music choices. “Whatever you decide is okay with me.” He sighed and his eyes drifted to mine. “My dad’s right. This isn’t my choice, it’s yours. I’ll be there for you no matter what happens or what you choose.”

“Let’s just not talk about it.” Even if it was only for one night, I was desperate to escape the choices that followed me. Just for now I wanted to pretend none of it was real.

“All right,” he agreed. “I just need you to know that.”

After he’d selected the perfect background music, I made room for him, slipping my sandals off and moving to lean my back against the wall. He moved close to me, taking a pillow and lying casually in my lap. With his glorious face so close, so easy for my eyes to find, I became overly aware of his affect on me. Even without the pulling power of his ability, I still felt drawn to him.

William left his head in my lap as we listened to his music, insisting each track was better than the last. Lost in a daze that drifted in and out of the lyrics of each song, I gently combed my fingers through his hair and tried not to think about my future. His eyes stayed peacefully closed as I examined the unique details that made him so irresistible. I traced the outline of his jaw, the shape of his eyebrows, the bowed curve of his lower lip with my finger, and eventually William dozed off into a sort of half sleep.

My hand moved on, grazing the skin around the collar of his shirt and down his freckled arm. Even the strangest parts seemed attractive to me. The delicate skin in the crook of his elbow, his strong thick knuckles, there wasn’t a single inch of him that didn’t appeal to me. As I glanced back to admire his face once more, his eyes were open ever so slightly.

“Feels good.” He stretched, burying his head into my stomach as he woke up. “My turn.”

He sat up and went casually for my neck, sliding his fingers up into my hair and making me melt into the bed. His lips, soft as the skin of a rose, danced lightly over the top edge of my collarbone. The sensation his touch could generate was somewhere between a pleasant tickle and a deeper more intense sense of pleasure that nearly drove me wild for him. It was hard to enjoy the light tickle without letting the latter overcome me, but this time it did. I reached for his face and drew it to mine with a burning need to feel his lips. The kiss was everything I wanted it to be and more, exhilarating and satisfying, but I hadn’t thought about what was to follow, and I began to panic. In reaction to my overly zealous kissing, his hand had found the bare skin of my lower back and I froze internally at the feel of it. My mind told me to pull away, but my eager body, greedy for more contact, disobeyed.