Resilient (29 page)

“How ironic is that?” I ask.

“I want a picture of us!” Livia says, pulling me with her into the line for photos. When it is our turn, instead of looking into the cameras, she looks in my eyes and smiles. “You make me happy, and looking at you is the only way I can smile,” she says, and I return her soft expression. The camera flashes, and when we turn to leave, she’s no longer smiling. 

I spot Kyle on the other side of the cafeteria, standing by the drink table with Matt and Brianna. I hold Livia’s hand as we cross the room, but before we can make it to our friends, someone blocks our way.

“I’m glad you made it,” Ms. Johnson—or Camilla—appears in front of me. Livia gasps. “Don’t be afraid, my dear. You still have tonight to enjoy yourselves. I’ll see you in the morning.” Livia and I both struggle to keep our composure as she glides away. 

“What was that all about?” Kyle asks, coming up next to me.

“She was just saying hi,” I say. The less Kyle knows, the safer he is.

But he’s watching her go with narrowed eyes. “Yeah, I bet she was.” 

We walk toward the dance floor where everyone else is already getting into the party, but Livia and I stand on the outside. She’s watching everyone dance, but her mind is someplace else. “We’re here,” I say. “We might as well enjoy it.”

“I can’t.” She sighs. “I want to, but I can’t stop thinking. I’m too afraid.”

“There is nothing we can do about it, Livia.”

“It’s not that simple!” she snaps. “I don’t want to leave my family, and I don’t want to run for the rest of my life like I’ve done something wrong. I have the right to freedom,” she declares, and I feel her anger flaring. She turns to leave, but I hold her hand to stop her.

“Where are you going?”

“To the restroom.” She loosens her hand from my grip and walks away.

I don’t go after her. She needs space, and I don’t want her blaming all of this mess on me. It’s been harder on her—I guess I am more accepting of things that I can’t change. If this is what I’ll have to do to survive, then I’ll run. For now this is my only option, and I have to be content with it.

“Where’s Livia?” Brianna asks, appearing out of thin air.

“She went to the restroom. Would you go check on her for me? She’s not having a good day.”

“Sure thing.” She dashes toward the restroom without another word.

I find Matt standing by the punch bowl, filling his cup. He smiles wide when he sees me approaching. “Hey, dude, care for some spiked punch?”

“Oh, so that’s what you’re doing?”

“It’ll help you with your king’s speech.”

“Nah, I better be sober for that,” I say. “But thanks.”

“Adam,” Brianna calls, hurrying up to us. “I didn’t see her in the bathroom. Are you sure she went that way?” 

My muscles tense as each word sinks in. I take a look around but I don’t see her anywhere.

“I’ll go look for her,” I say, already walking away, and before I can catch myself, I’m running across the room and bursting through the double doors that lead me outside. I close my eyes in search of Livia’s voice, but there’s too many voices noise inside to sift through for me to be able to find hers.

I head inside through the back doors, which will lead me straight to the restrooms. I stop at the girls’ door and I call out for Livia; no answer. As I walk down on the hallway, I see Daniel standing at the bottom of the stairs, gesturing at someone. The voice I hear is not his—it’s Livia’s. 

“Stop following me!”

“I have to talk to you.”

I run to where she is, cutting in front of Daniel. “Get out of here now!” I snarl, and he takes one step back. “We have ’til morning, so leave us alone until then!”

“I’m not here to hurt her.”

“The ultimatum you gave us was enough!” I shout, and Daniel frowns.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Adam, I think he’s telling the truth,” Livia says.

But I can’t stop shaking; I can’t stop being angry and frustrated. “I don’t trust him.”

“I’ll just go, okay?” Daniel says slowly as he starts to walk away. “I’m not here to cause problems.”

When he’s left, I turn to Livia. “What did he want?” I ask her as she looks after Daniel.

“I didn’t give him the chance to say. I noticed someone following me, so I ran and he caught up with me. He didn’t have an intention to hurt me, though, and his emotions were there—no fake shield or black hole like the others.”

“Okay, okay,” I shake my head. “What were you doing here anyway?”

“I needed some fresh air, so I went outside to find the car my uncle left here for us to use. I moved your backpack into it, and I saw the file folder he left in the glove box with tons of information and instructions. I started to look through it, and I felt someone watching me…”

“Here, take my hand,” I say as my fear spikes. “Let’s go back inside. They’ll crown the king and queen soon, and then we can get the hell out of here.”

She does so, and her touch is all I need. I know that if I have her with me, and I’ll have the strength to survive this.

I leave Livia at the dance floor with Brianna and the other girls so I can talk with the DJ. When I walk back to them, he has already started playing my request. As I approach Livia, I see her face changing as she recognizes the music. I watch as her lips curve up. Just one song and she’s glowing.

“Would you like to dance?” I ask, and she narrows her blue eyes at me.

“Did you request this song?” She holds my hand and I pull her closer. 

“The Scientist; it’s your favorite, right?” 

She laughs weakly and rests her head on my shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Anything to see you smile.”

We slow dance. At this moment, nothing else matters. It’s just me and her, and the rest is a world apart. I hold her against me, wrapping my arms around her waist. She tilts her head up to look at me and I trace her face with my fingers. She closes her eyes. 

“I want to remember this forever,” I say softly. “In the middle of this mess, we can find a moment that is just ours. As long as I have you, I’ll always have hope.”

“We’ll always have each other. I can’t make it through this without you.” She smiles wider, my heart beats faster, and butterflies flood my insides. I take a deep breath and look in her eyes when I say, “I love you.”

She moves her lips to respond, but a voice on the speakers cuts her off—Mr. Garth is on the stage.

“It’s time to crown our homecoming king and queen!” he announces to enthusiastic cheering and applause. “First, let’s get our king up here. He’s the person with the highest GPA in this school, always ready to help his peers, and he spent his entire summer volunteering at the local hospital; just a few of the many reasons why you, Adam Cooper, are our homecoming king!”

“Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I tell Livia before heading up to the stage.

Someone puts a crown on my head and is congratulating me, but I’m searching for Livia in the crowd; I find her with Kyle standing by her side. She’s biting her lower lip, and I’ve noticed she does that when she’s nervous. Mr. Garth calls an ecstatic Brianna up to crown her as the queen. When they call for the dance, I give Matt my crown, and he dances with Bri while I go to Livia.

I find her at the punchbowl. Kyle’s trying to give her a drink and calm her down.

“Hey, thanks for keeping an eye on her,” I tell him.

He faces me, and I’ve rarely seen him so grim. “You’re leaving now, aren’t you?” It’s hardly a question.

“Kyle, let me just say that the less you know, the safer you’ll be.”

He rolls his eyes. “To hell with that! You’re my brother, dude, and I’ll do anything to help you out.”

“You already have.” I smile lopsidedly. “You’ve always been there, since the beginning, and I’ll never forget that.” I give him a hug, hardly containing my own urge to cry.

“It’s almost ten,” Livia says close to my ear. “We have to go now.”

I pull away and lock eyes with my best friend. “Kyle, keep an eye on my brothers. Don’t let them screw up their lives while I’m gone. Maybe one day, if needed, you can tell them the truth.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for them.” Kyle says and gives me a solemn handshake.

Livia holds my hand and we walk out of the room together. I take a quick look back—all my friends are dancing, laughing, and here I am, running for my life.

I pull Adam’s hand, urging him out of the crowded cafeteria. It seems that he’s frozen in time, watching his friends. For the first time today, I think I see him holding back tears. I can only imagine how this feels for him—I’m leaving my family, but he is leaving his world, and the friends that he’s had his entire life.

As we step outside into the parking lot, I feel Adam stiffen and at the same time that I see two bulky men by the school gates. “They are not giving us ’til morning,” I say and tighten my grip on his hand.

“They can hear us.” Adam frowns and his face settles into a cold expression I’ve never seen on him before.

“What are they saying?”

“That our time to decide is up.” His voice drops to a growl. “Just run to the car, and I’ll meet you there.”

“I’m not leaving your side.”

“Then let’s get back inside.” 

Adam and I turn and run through the doors, only to be stopped by Camilla.

“You two are coming with—”

Before she can finish her sentence, Daniel has his arm wrapped around her neck, and in a blink of an eye, she’s lying on the floor. “Run!” he shouts and we dash to the south entry. As we get closer to the double doors, a man stands in front of it, blocking our exit. I saw that guy when we got to the school earlier; he’s the security guy the school hired for the dance, but he actually works for the agency; they’ve infiltrated everywhere. 

Even so, I can sense his emotions, and he’s as nervous as I am.

“Well, well, well, what we have here?” A familiar voice reaches us from the end of the hallway—Aaron, accompanied by two other guys. “I feel like I’ve won the lottery? I came here to collect one, and I’ll get out of here with three.” 

Three? Wait a second, of course. Daniel must be Dan, Emily’s son. I look behind me and he’s staring at Aaron, a trace of recognition in his eyes. He knows exactly who Aaron is.

“Daniel, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“I can’t say the same,” Daniel says.

“What the hell is going on here?” Adam hisses at Daniel. “Are you with them or not?”

“Why would I be with them?”

“We don’t have time for this,” I mutter. “We need a plan.”

“No plan. We’ll have to fight. That’s the only way out.” Dan looks at Adam and me. I realize that his lips haven’t moved—he’s talking inside our heads. “Livia? Find your strength, because you’ll need it.”

I watch as Daniel runs faster than my eyes can follow, and in a second, he’s at the south end where the exit has been blocked. He jumps up, kicking the guy in front of him. The man flies through the door and out of the building. Adam is running after Daniel and shouting for me to follow him, but as we reach the exit, Aaron is on our heels. His foot knocks mine out of step and I fall forward onto the floor.

“Livia!” Adam shouts as Aaron reaches for my arms. He pulls me up. My back is against his chest and his grip is strong around my arms. 

“Let her go!” Adam says, and he and Daniel stalk back inside.

“Hit him!” Daniel tells me in my head. “You are stronger than him. Throw the back of your head hard against his face. You’ll break his nose.”

I don’t have time to think. Aaron starts to pull me back, away from the door, and my heart starts to pick up its pace. I close my eyes and I concentrate on bringing all my strength into my next act. I throw my head back—Aaron’s grip loosens and I stumble forward. The pain in the back of my skull makes me see stars. 

Someone grabs my hand and I look up to see Daniel. “Get up—we gotta run!” He helps me up. Adam charges forward and throws his fist into Aaron’s face, making it bleed even more. Aaron staggers back, he’s slightly disoriented, but moves fast toward Adam, pushing him against the wall and taking two fast swings at his face and neck. Blood pours out of Adam’s nose. 

“Help him!” I urge Daniel.

“He can do without me!” he says. “Watch.” 

I turn to look at Adam, who gradually overpowers Aaron and wrestles him to the floor. Aaron tries to push him off, but Adam twists Aaron’s arm and pushes his face down into the tiles. On his knees, Adam tightens his grip. I hear a cracking noise in Aaron’s shoulder, followed by Aaron’s scream of pain.

Adam gets up and kicks Aaron one more time right on his ribs. This vicious fighter is not the Adam I know.

“Let’s go!” He snaps out of his violent aura and pulls me by the hand, dragging me with him and Daniel until we reach the Challenger my uncle left here for us. I get in the passenger seat and as Adam is pulling the car out, Daniel hops in the back seat.

“Hey, get out!” Adam shouts.

“Adam!” I snap. “He’s not our enemy. He just helped us.” He gives me a look as he speeds away, driving around the school parking lot and making the car’s tires squeal. We exit through the back entrance that leads us to the main road.

“Take the highway—don’t go towards the ferry,” Daniel says and Adam gives him a wicked glare in the rearview mirror.

“I’m on your side, dude!” our tagalong protests.

“Are you Emily’s son?” I ask and I see Adam starting to make sense of things.

“Um, you’ve met her?”

“She was in town last night. She told us about you, but she called you Dan and, at that time, I didn’t realize she was talking about you.”

“Speed up, will you?” Daniel urges. “It’s a V-8 hemi. You can do better than that.” 

Adam looks at me and shakes his head. He still doesn’t trust him. I take a look back and Daniel is watching the road behind us. 

“I don’t see them coming after us,” Adam says.

“They won’t. Chasing us will only attract attention. They’ll wait ’til your next stupid move and catch you by surprise.”

“What do you mean by stupid move?” Adam demands.

“Your first stupid move was to talk about running away at the dance—they could hear you, and that’s when they brought in backup. Second, they have surveillance everywhere. They can track every single move you make. If you don’t want to be found, start by throwing your cell phones out the window. They know exactly where you are right now, thanks to what you have in your pockets.”