The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

57. Well Shit. The Secrets Out

Back home, reading an article on the “Guardian Angel” that had saved Dr. Steven Drisbane from a seventy-story “fall,” Cody came up to my room. Alone.

Which was a little odd, because normally Seth would be right beside him. Those two were joined at the hip. I remember once, in sophomore year, they had different homerooms, so, in protest, they would alternate between them. Sometimes they would go into each others homeroom to see if their teachers could tell the difference. They never could.

I’ve never had trouble telling the Terror Twins apart, but only because I grew up with them. They both had the dark, thick hair that was dominant in our family, and hazel eyes. They took after my father, with square jaws and slightly aquiline noses. 

But Cody’s eyes were a little bit wider, and Seth had the habit of chewing his lower lip when he thought. Seth’s ears also stuck out more, and Cody always had his hair combed back, while Seth ran his fingers through it constantly, leaving it in a spiky mess.

So when Cody came up to my room alone, I knew something was wrong.

“What’s up?” I spun around in the spinny chair I had gotten from my neighbor when I was fourteen or fifteen. They had lived at the top of the hill. I lived at the bottom. The chair had wheels. That had been an incredibly fun day.

“I saw you,” Cody said, rubbing the back of his head. “Seth and Dr. Connors didn’t, but I did.”

“You saw me…?” My heart was sinking. Did he see the wings? Did he know it was me?

“I saw you save that man, Lia,” Cody looked up, white as a sheet. “I saw your wings.”

I swallowed.

“So now you know,” I said, pressing my back against the chair protectively.

“Wha-?” Cody looked helpless, shaking his head. “How? When? Why?”

“Remember when I went missing for a week or whatever?” Cody nodded. “This happened. Against my will.”

“Oh, my God,” Cody whispered, pressing a hand against his mouth. He looked like he was about to be sick. “Holy fuck, Lia. You need to tell someone right now.”

“If I told anyone,” I shook my head, smiling bitterly. “I would be right back in that lab.”

“Oh, my God,” Cody repeated.

I was a little annoyed, but then I realized that this was the normal reaction, and that I reacted weirdly. I should have been just as horrified as Cody was, but I hadn’t been.

“Why did they do this?” He asked. “Why would they do this to you?”

I frowned. “They wanted a weapon.”

“You’re a weapon?” He whispered.

“No. We ran away.”

“We?” Cody’s eyes grew as big as plates. “There are more like… like you?”

“Not exactly like me,” I shook my head. “I’m the only one with wings. The others… they were more experiment-y. Dr. Hanson said that my mutations and surgeries and whatever were more controlled. They didn’t want any errors.” I snorted humorlessly. “Then I broke a knuckle in my hand when I broke his nose.”

“Good,” Cody looked proud, and then frowned. “Can I see them?”

“Uh,” I blinked. “Sure thing.”

Without hesitating, I let the sweatshirt drop off of my shoulders and fall to the ground. 

I felt self conscious. These were the freakish things that had been sewn into me. Who knew how my normal brother would take this? His little sister suddenly had wings.

“They’re beautiful,” Cody whispered. I felt his hand trace along the top of the appendage and shivered.

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s a little weird having you… well anybody, really, see them and touch them.”

“I understand,” Cody replied, still sounding dumbstruck. “I’m gonna go… think about this, kay?”

“Don’t tell mom or anyone!” I spun and grabbed his sleeve. He looked surprised, and then nodded seriously. 

“Of course not!” I sighed in relief. “No one would believe me anyway.”

I watched my brother climb down the ladder. Just before his head disappeared, he looked at me.

“We’ll tell Seth, right?”

“Not now,” Cody looked crestfallen. “But one day. One day we’ll tell him. I promise.”

Cody looked pleased, and disappeared beneath the edge of the floor.

I looked down at my hands, where my forefinger and middle finger were twisted together.

“I’m sorry, Cody.”