Unexpected Consequences

9. What Ifs and Why Nots

I TOSSED THE tennis ball from hand to hand, wincing. My arm was burning, but I could no longer tell if the stitches actually hurt or if the stress was making me feel like they hurt. Either way, it didn't matter, because I couldn't make it stop.

I leaned back in my chair, tipping myself as far back as I could go. "So these safeguards will stop Lex from interfering with my suit?"

"Hopefully," Jenny mumbled under her breath.

I glanced up at the clock above the door. It was six in the evening, and I was sitting in her lab, watching her program the safeguards and add even more updates. I had three tests this week, academic team practice tomorrow, an angry classmate to apologize to (again), and a suit to get fixed. Patrol tonight was canceled; I was messing with my own set schedule, and I didn't care. There were more important things than convincing myself that I was a responsible person.

Jenny let out an exasperated sigh. Her glasses reflected the hologram in front of her, and she reached for her coffee, hand fumbling around because her full attention was on the software and nothing else. She nearly knocked the cup over.

I frowned. "Uh, Jenny? Did you sleep last night?"

"What makes you say that?" she asked in the accusatory way someone talks when they're trying to deny something.

"That's your third cup this hour," I said, pointing at the trash can that held cups 1 and 2. "Is everything okay?"

She looked at me, her eye twitching, and took off her glasses with a sigh. "If I'd protected your suit from high-quality interference in the first place, then we'd have Lex's face and wouldn't be in this mess."

Ah. Guilt. An emotion I was familiar with but had no idea how to handle when it came to other people. I gaped at Jenny in disbelief, because I didn't understand how the genius behind this suit's technology could possibly feel this way.

"That's not your fault!" I exclaimed, sitting up straight so fast that I almost launched myself off the chair. "Lex has been unpredictable in literally every way. You couldn't have known he'd mess with my suit."

"I know," she said, resting her elbows on the table. "I just can't stop thinking about it. What if. One simple little addition to your tech, and Lex's face would be on footage."

"What if," I repeated. It was one of those pesky little phrases that haunts humans forever, right along with why not? "I understand. But you're fixing it now. You've helped me so much, and I'll always be grateful for that. My suit is awesome."

Jenny rubbed her eyes and laughed. "Thanks. And I'll tell Tatiana that you still love her design."

I laughed, too, and turned my head up toward the ceiling, staring at the large, creepy, warehouse-esque light that hung above me. It burned my eyes, and even when I closed them, the darkness was splashed with red. I could hear nothing but the low, dull hum of the building's ventilation, and it was so quiet and peaceful that I could've fallen asleep if there wasn't something else bothering me.

Yesterday, Nichols had trailed off, and Kavanagh had finished the sentence for him, saying that they'd take care of it later. But what was it? What were they doing that Kavanagh didn't want to tell me yet? Whether or not it even had to do with me...I had no clue. I would've asked Jenny, but she wouldn't know, and on the off chance she did, she probably wasn't allowed to tell me.

I opened my eyes again and blinked when they watered. "I'll head home now."

Jenny looked surprised. After all, I'd made such a big deal of keeping my suit with me last time that it was odd I was willing to leave without it now. It didn't matter. She wouldn't be done for a few more hours, anyway, and I couldn't focus on my homework here.