Fate

28

Chapter 28

"Lucy?" I said, standing just inside the doorway to Kellan's room. Lucy was sitting on the floor at the end of the bed, her back to me. Her shoulders were moving and every few seconds, she'd reach up and touch her face, probably to wipe away tears.

She didn't turn around when she heard me. "What do you want?"

I knew if I asked to talk to her, she'd say no, so I walked over to her and sat down beside her. "I don't care what Kellan said. I know you're mad at me and I don't want you to be."

"I'm not mad at you." She said, wiping her face again. It was red and her eyes were puffy.

"You have every right to be."

"You can't help it that you were born into this. I suppose it's my fault."

"I've never once blamed you for any of this and I'm not going to start. You didn't cause this either."

She looked over at me. "Why are you sacrificing yourself to him? Aren't you afraid of him?"

I nodded. "Of course I'm afraid. But I'm more afraid of him hurt you."

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I don't want him to hurt you or Kellan or Aryan. If I'm the one he wants then I'm the only one he'll get."

"Please be safe. And please don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I smiled. "I can't make any promises. We're nothing like each other."

She hugged me. "Maybe that's not so bad."

"I wish you could go with us. Just to say goodbye, you know?"

"It's too dangerous."

I sighed.

"You're tough. I know you can do this."

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Lucy and Kellan slept on the chairs in the living room. Holden took the guest bed. Aryan and I slept on the couch, on separate ends of course.

I woke up early, while the sun was still below the horizon and the streetlamps were on, and went to the kitchen. I opened the freezer and pulled out a pint of ice cream.

"Do you want to share that?"

I jumped and whirled around to see Aryan standing just a few feet behind me.

He smiled and went to the silverware drawer. He pulled two spoons out then took my hand. He led me from the quiet living room to Kellan's room and shut the door behind me.

He pushed me up against the door and kissed me. His hand slid into my hair and tilted my face toward his. His fingers were soft and warm against my skin yet shivers fell down my spine.

"Aryan." I mumbled, my mouth still on his.

He pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine. "I kept thinking I wouldn't be able to do this for a while."

"Once we figure this out, we'll have plenty of time to."

He smiled but it wasn't convincing. I knew he was thinking about the future and if we would make it out of the lab alive. His fear was understandable but it put me on edge. If Aryan wasn't hopeful than what reason did I have to be?

I took his hand and led him to the chairs by the computers. I sat down in one and took a spoon from him. "Do you think Andreas eats ice cream?"

Aryan sat down across from me, his knees brushing against mine. "He probably doesn't even know what ice cream is."

I smiled. "No wonder he's so grouchy."

Aryan laughed and took a spoonful of ice cream. "You really should get some sleep. We'll be leaving in two hours."

"I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about all of this."

"Better get some sleep while you can."