The Normals | ✓

F O U R T E E N

A R D E N

I pause for a moment, studying Gwen. "You're jealous of Arthemis, aren't you?" I laugh bitterly. "Gwen, the girl who has it all under control, jealous? Of a Different, of all people?"

She crosses her arms stiffly. "I'm not jealous; why would I be jealous? She's a bad influence."

I lean against the table. "It's funny how after all the work put into the New Era, all the work put into humans by scientists, by people like my mom, we still have the things that will be our downfall. In school, we were taught about the seven deadly sins, remember that?" I look over at her.

"Yeah, I remember. Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth," she replies cautiously, listing them off.

"And yet, here you are, living proof that those things haven't really been eradicated. You may deny it, but you're envious of Arthemis, in one way or another. You're greedy, when you try to manipulate my life to make sure your future ends up a good one too. And oh," I say, getting off the stool and coming over to her, "let's not forget the looks you give me, the looks you even give other guys, sometimes. I'm pretty sure those, as well as some of the other things you've tried to do, would be very much considered lust. Which, last time I checked, was also supposed to be gone by now. So neither of us are really perfect, are we? Is that going to ruin the reputation you've built up for yourself too?" By now I'm leaning over her, my arms crossed and my feet separated. No one could knock me over if they tried.

She turns red beneath my gaze, but not in embarrassment. "You say one word, and I'll make sure I drag you down with me," she snarls. "I'll make sure I drag this whole family down with me. Your children, and their children, and their children's children -- all of them will have their life ruined if you say so much as a word."

Other people might be scared by her, but I'm not. I know her too well, all her insecurities and her happinesses. And other people might be scared by me at this moment, but she isn't. We're stuck in a stalemate, both of us knowing what we could do to the other but neither one having the courage to do it for the fear of being dragged down too.

It's at this exact moment that my dad decides it would be a great time to come downstairs. I hear the office door open and him come out of it, whistling the national anthem. Fear flashes in Gwen's eyes, and I know what she's thinking. If he finds us in this situation, there's no getting out of it. We're mere months away from starting our own family -- we can't mess up in front of him. So I do the first thing I can think of and grab her head and kiss her, hoping it will distract us and my father.

It works. Dad comes downstairs and his whistling stops immediately. He clears his throat awkwardly. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have found myself in need of more coffee."

Gwen pushes me away; a little too roughly. Dad doesn't seem to notice and goes to refill his mug. Gwen and I sit back down and I make idle conversation with him while he waits for his drink to heat up, but I can feel the heat of Gwen's stare boring into the side of my head, a silent reminder.

When he leaves the house a few minutes later with a fresh cup of coffee, I turn back to Gwen. "You can do whatever you like to me, as long as you don't touch Arthemis. I will make sure our future goes smoothly and that we have a nice house and well-educated kids, but you don't lay a finger on her, got it?"

She crosses her legs and arches an eyebrow, looking unnervingly calm. "And what will you do about it if I don't agree?"

"I..." To my horror, I can't find anything to say. What will I do about it? She's already made it clear that if I turn her in, she will make not only my life miserable, but my family's life miserable, too. It seems I've run out of options.

"Mm, that's what I thought," she purrs. "You see, being the daughter to two politicians has taught me a few things on how to control others. I may appear one way, but is that really who I am? You'll never know." She gets up and stands behind me, resting her hands on my shoulders, running them down my arms. When she next speaks, it's right next to my ear. "And as for Arthemis, you better just keep her out of trouble. Because as soon as I find proof that I can bring to the Security department, she'll be gone by the evening."

And then she disappears, leaving behind a kiss on my collarbone that almost burns, and cold fear seeping down my spine.