Superhero Effects

18. YOU GIVE ME GOOSEBUMPS

"Archer, wait!" I cried. He didn't even look back, didn't slow his pace as he made for the door. "Archer, please." My voice cracked again, again portraying more emotion than I intended.

He stopped walking, hand on the doorknob, and refused to look back at me.

"I didn't tell Peggy about the Colors; she saw them. That day with Cooper in the boiler room—no one asked me how I knew how to look in there, how I knew he was in trouble." Because everyone was too busy talking about how to destroy my life's work. "We were on the fifth floor; me, Peggy, and Ross talking about a way to sabotage the Spotlight—yes, it's petty and bad, I know. But then we heard people coming and hid in the closet. Peggy and I peeked through the bottom of the door. It was them, all the new teachers and—and," he turned, his expression still angry as he focused on me, "and Leilani's dad, the VP—Archer, he's the ringleader. He was giving them instructions, and they listened to him. I don't—I don't trust them, Arch. None of them. Not Leilani, not Cooper, and not Lucinda, but I trust you."

He blinked, frowning now. "Leilani's dad is one of the good scientists, Tristan." I shook my head. "Yes, he is. Whatever you heard was him undercover. Tristan," he snapped as I continued to shake my head, "yes."

"He gave the order to kill Cooper, Archer!" I cried. "I know I'm spaced out all the time, and I suck at paying attention, but I know I'm right about this. He's not a good guy. For all we know, Lei—"

"Don't," he said coldly.

My heart dropped. My limbs were numb from the cold, and my lips were painfully dry, cracking from the frigid weather.

"Just—just stay out of it, Tristan," he said, deflating under my sad gaze. "Stay out of it before you get hurt again. I get it; I do. All of this is unfair to you. All of it. But carrying that red rock around, you're making yourself a target and not just to the Colors."

I started forward, shivering as I walked toward him. He stepped aside, almost as if he was afraid of me, giving me space to grab the knob. "If you think," I said quietly, locking eyes with him, "I can stay out of any of this, you haven't been paying attention... See you at the benefit."
***
I ended up not being able to finish the day.

I tried, I did, but the pain in my arm (and my heart) was too intense, and I couldn't make it past my first class. My mom picked me up without telling me, 'I told you so'.

She dropped me off at the house and then went back to work, leaving me to get to my room on my own.

I trudged through the empty house, going first to the kitchen and grabbing a bag of chocolate almonds that I had hidden from Lewis, then went up the stairs to my room with the intent of knocking myself out with some pain medicine and napping under an electric blanket.

I let my backpack drop by the door and went to my bed, bending to plug in the blanket that was already in place with the small bag of almonds hanging from my mouth when I noticed the pile resting on my pillow. It was several old notebooks and a folder stuffed beyond stuffed—it was my stuff, all the old edits and notes and outlines that Cooper had confiscated.

I let the bag of almonds drop to the bed and grabbed the notebook on top. There was a sticky note attached to it.

"It's all yours," I read. "Cooper."

With a sigh, I shoved the pile over and climbed into bed. I pulled the pain pills from my nightstand, downed one with water, and then started reading.