Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach.
*****
Conn...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
My knuckles tapped the door and it creaked open a sliver, just enough for me to peek inside at Vince dressed in a comfortable pair of off-white polyester bottoms and a matching long-sleeved top.
"Come in." He looked up from the Refuge Inc. book splayed open in his palms just like The Wonders of the World had been when we visited the library a few days ago. He sat on the edge of the twin-sized bed. "Titan was a pit bull terrier, by the way. Wish I knew what that kind of dog looked like in real life."
"It tells you that in there?" I gestured toward the book and sat his tray of cucumbers, tomatoes, and bread on the small table next to the bed.
"Yeah." He continued to skim the pages. "It's really detailed. The stuff Refuge Inc. kept hidden and the things the people responsible had done are unbelievable. No wonder most of it passes as myth." He lifted the book. "Emily came with some comfortable clothes and this book. She said the book's blank cover was how it was snuck into the facility with the other library books. They would've never allowed this in here if they knew what it was and what it says about Refuge Inc."
I cocked my head, eyeing the work. "You believe it?"
"Kind of hard not to. Emily claims to be your mother and she sure does know a lot about you. Stuff only a mother would."
"Be she my mother or not, you believe everything she's said?"
"You mean the stuff about my father?" He scratched his temple, avoiding eye contact. "Kind of hard not to believe that too, huh?"
"It's a lot to take in."
He finally looked up. "My dad has never mentioned your dad. Never. He's never shown guilt or remorse. Ever since honoring your dad's death and labeling him a hero, it's like it never happened. He's never mentioned your mom either. How can a person just order the deaths of others and leave people to die and go on with their lives? And it's hard to even speak about what she said about the med-patch, but since taking it off, it's been a bit easier to get my thoughts together without anger getting in the way."
I wished I could somehow take away his pain and guilt. "Sorry. This is so much so soon."
"Yeah." He stared at my wound. "I'm glad you're okay though. I swear my heart stopped beating when I heard the shot and saw the blood. I was so scared and angry. All I kept thinking was how was I supposed to go on fighting if they managed to take you away from me."
Warmth rose to my chest. "You felt that way?"
He broke eye contact and took a bite of a sliced tomato. His face twisted in disgust. "It's bullshit that they survived on this crap. All those times I threw out uneaten food because I was stuffed or had overfilled my plate and couldn't eat it all. It just pisses me off." He glanced at his wrist where his patch had been. "And to think. Dad wanted me this way. Angry, antsy, a controllable, stupid brute."
