The Wrong Side

Chapter 44

"Kadiya," I say slowly, trying not to explode with each passing second, "have you thought this through?"

"Yes," she answers without hesitation or emotion.

"Kadiya, our mom was not compatible with the serum. It killed her. How do you know it won't kill me?"

She finches and narrows her eyes, dark blue irises filled with anger and annoyance at what I just said.

"If you say anything again about our familial relation, I will rip off your remaining arm," she hisses.

I don't say anything, but I don't take my eyes away from her. Matthew and Luna are completely silent, just waiting to see how this plays out.

"It's not the same OSP," she counters. "That's what you've been trying to convince us, right? So prove it. Venning told us that they were planning on using it on you and that they have the updated one in your basement."

"And what will this do, exactly?" I ask.

"Show us that the Endurance does have some honesty and that they aren't built out of lies. It'll prove that you're on our side."

I hesitate. I don't know what to think. What Kadiya's suggesting is crazy.

"Alright," I say. "Kadiya, you think maybe it would be best if we thought this out more? It's a pretty wild thing that you're saying here."

"That's what I said," Luna cuts in. "But they wouldn't listen to me."

"Luna, you're still a kid," Matthew says. "Kadiya and I are technically the adults here."

"Does it matter?" She asks. "Because you're both behaving like children! It's ridiculous, what you're asking. Damon doesn't have to prove anything if he doesn't want to."

I don't say anything. Neither does anyone else. I wish I could know what they're thinking. I wish I could have their trust again. It's funny how it takes a long time to gain their confidence and respect while you can lose both of them within a second of misjudgment and a wrong choice.

"You aren't thinking clearly," I whisper. "I'll give you a while for your thoughts to become more reasonable."

And with that, I leave. I exit the house and ignore the person calling my name just as I shut the door behind me.

Where now? A place I've always thought of as home suddenly seems so unwelcome. It feels like no matter what I've done, or tried, I've always been on someone's bad side. That whenever I feel like I've found a friend or ally, I turn someone against me.

Always on the wrong side of the right people.

I didn't notice that I was walking until I find myself in the corner of a street, a hundred meters away from the house. I look back and without a second thought, I start running.

It's unbelievably awkward without an arm, but I manage to get as far as that tall apartment building before running into Dawn again.

"What are you doing out here?" She asks.

I just shake my head and sink to my butt against the side of the building, a pit starting to grow in my stomach. My legs curl up against my chest, and I place my head in the crook of my arm.

"Did you know what they wanted me to do?" I ask, mostly talking into my arm, but she managed to hear.

"No," she says. Her voice comes from my left instead of in front of me. "What is it?"

"They want me to do the OSP," I whisper.

Silence, save the faint whistling of the wind.

"Do they have any idea what a terrible idea it is?"