The Higher Define (2018)

4

The room is tiny and looks confined, even when there are only a few elements present- a counter and a clothes rack which overflows with a variety of shirts and pants. A desk lies at the side with a cheap looking chair tucked under the table's gap and lying just by the door are two mats.

Seated on the mats are two adults- a woman and a man, both who look exactly like Spencer.

The male has Spencer's messy locks and handsome looks- mostly the jawline and the sharp features. The woman's eyes shine the way Spencer's does, when he's making a joke or laughing at something.

"Hey Ma, Pa." Spencer says, avoiding my eye contact. He bends down to kiss his mother on the cheek, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She laughs softly, pulling him close to her before he realses her from his embrace. He then gives his father a polite nod, though I detect some tension in the movement. His father is not a person that he likes very much, I deduce.

"Mr and Mrs Anderson?" I try, earning an amused smile from both adults.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss-?"

"Oh, it's just Aspen." I answer to Spencer's father. He returns with a prompt smile which looks as if he has trained to develop.

"Spencer! You never told us about a girl before!" I hear his mother whisper in a hushed, playful tone. Spencer flushes with embarrassment and throws me an apologetic look.

"It's nothing, Ma. It's not like she's my girlfriend." Spencer replies as he folds his arms across his chest, almost defensive.

A shock laugh makes its way through my throat, "Oh, no. I'm definitely not his girlfriend."

Spencer raises his brows at me but doesn't say anything more about this subject. He sits next to his parents, along the mat before speaking again.

"So Aspen is sort of new here. I grabbed her off the streets, near the main city area. She says that she has got no parents and her bag contains of mostly what she could take before her parents kicked her out."

What?

I'm a little stunned by his tale but I remember his plea for me to trust him so I nod along as he continues telling his parents about my 'background'. I can only hope that he knows what he's doing.

When he's done talking, he leans with his back pressed against the wall, waiting for his parent's response.

"We can get her to join the group of girls around her age for dinner and she can follow the schedule set for them tomorrow. What's their group called? Oh right- I think it's called team Lunar." Her father has pulled out a piece of paper and is busy scribbling down the details as he speaks.

When he's done writting, he hands the paper over to me and flashes me a smile, "Don't worry about anything. Everyone here is welcoming towards newcomers. You'll soon find your place among the community."

It is only right that I show grattitude so I bow my head a little and force the corner of my lips to go up, "Thank you so much, Mr Anderson. For taking me in."

Little does he know that I'm far better than this. As that thought drifts into my mind, an image of Hayley's eyes and smile floats into my head, destroying the rationality of the previous thought.

Never mind.

"It's no problem." Mr Anderson returns and it is only when Spencer leads me through the door that it hits me. It's not an instant realisation, more of something that fazes me at first, forcing me to out the puzzle pieces together.

Spencer is spying on the Corrupts and exchanging sensitive information about the Corrupts for his place as a Higher Define.

Abbie called his 'Mr Anderson', which means that he has something above the common Corrupts.

His father is in charge of how the system is being ran.

It all comes together and I suddenly understand why he told me to not judge him. Why he asked for my faith, my understanding because I simply had to give it to him to make up for the last time I blew him off.

He's a double-cross.

As to whose side he is on, I have no clue.