Run

Chapter 33

Dinner was already served by the time I made it downstairs, yet no one started eating. They were waiting for me.

Mom and dad sat at one side of the table, Spencer sat on the other, saving a seat for me.

Yet I don't sit down.

"Take a seat, Lauren." Mom's kind voice said. "No one here bites."

I glare at her. "You sure about that?"

She turns to dad, yet he doesn't look at her in the eye. He looks uncomfortable as he stares down at his food.

Her focus is back on me. "Lauren, please join us. I'm sure you have plenty of questions." She paused. "Can we start over?"

"No," I say simply, crossing my arms. "We can't start over because what you've done to me already are things I'll never forget."

Mom looked frustrated, the coldness in her eyes returned. I expected her to start yelling, like she did at the Institute. Instead, she set her cold eyes on Spencer.

He shifted in his seat. Lauren, just come sit at the table. Spencer told me. Even in my head, I could tell that he sounds really uncomfortable.

Fine. I walk to the table and sit next to Spence. He gives me a small smile. I smile back.

"So Lauren," Mom says, not even five minutes after I took a seat and we all started eating. "How was your time in the forest?"

I look up at her face. "That's a stupid question to ask."

"Well, was it better than the Institute?" she asked in response.

I stayed quiet. Yeah, we were away from the evil doings of the Institute but we were still fighting for survival each day. And the fact that they sent their guards to find us didn't make our vacation any better.

"I heard you had a few encounters with the Institute." Mom said.

I put my fork down. "But it's not like they had any success."

"Bringing one of you back was successful enough." She replied, her voice cold.

One of you.

Aidan.

"Where is he now?" I asked, no, I demanded.

"Honey, I don't know what you're talking about." Mom said innocently.

"Yes, you do, Dr. Henderson." I said, using the name I called her at the Institute. "You know about the one of us that you brought back."

"Oh, you mean Aidan." She said in her sweet voice. "Oh, he's in good hands at the Institute."

"Did you hurt him?" I asked, twirling my knife between my fingers.

"No, sweetheart." She replied. "He isn't in pain."

"Did you kill him?"

She laughed. "Of course not, we aren't monsters."

"You aren't monsters?" I repeated. My blood boiled. She knows what she has done to us, and she thinks she's innocent. "Funny thing, that's exactly what I'd call the people at the Institute."

I jumped out of my chair, knife in hand, and slammed it into the table right beside her hand.

The knife stuck to the table right between her thumb and pointer finger.

Rage burned through my body, it was the flame, I was the bomb about to explode. I couldn't handle it anymore. This woman sitting in front of me couldn't be my mother. We could share the same blood in our veins but I know this woman and I aren't related.