The Divide (The Divide Series Book 1) (23 page)

He tilted his head. “I’m sorry?”

“I meant to say I’m not Mia.” I smiled politely and turned back around. I took a step, but Gregory blocked my way. Unease trickled down my spine. “What are you doing?”

“This is Mia,” Gregory said to the man behind me.

My mouth dropped open. “Gregory.” I snapped my fingers in his face, but he grabbed them and pushed them down. “What are you doing?”

Gregory stared at me for a full minute before talking. “Trust me.” His face was completely expressionless.

The man behind me spoke before I could yell at Gregory. “Mia, you’re safe now. Mr. Wibert has had men looking everywhere for you.”

“Why?” I was on defense, but I didn’t move my angry gaze from Gregory. 

“He wants to see you,” Gregory said. “We need to go.”

I stared in disbelief as Gregory followed the man in blue. What the? “Wait!” I yelled after him. “Where are you going?”

“To Leader Wibert’s house,” the man spoke for Gregory. Gregory walked over to the military Jeep that was idling next to the station. I gaped at him. Why did he figure I would just follow him? Trust him?

“What are you doing?” I yelled as I ran up to Gregory.

“You need to do what’s right,” Gregory said. He gave me that look again, but I didn’t understand it.

When I stopped walking, I dug my feet into the ground. Gregory stopped but wouldn’t turn around. “Gregory?” I looked from Gregory’s back to the man in the blue now standing by the Jeep, watching us. I walked around Gregory and positioned myself so that I could see Gregory’s face. “Gregory?” Gregory raised a brow at me. Then it finally dawned on me. “You did this.” He didn’t answer. I looked at the Jeep and shook my head. “You’re such an asshole.”

I could feel tears prick at the back of my eyes, so I looked down at the ground to try and calm myself down. I wouldn’t cry in front of anyone, including the big jerk standing in front of me. As I took a deep breath and let it out, the tears finally subsided. When I looked back up and into Gregory’s face, his face was blank. I bit my tongue and shoved Gregory as hard as I could. He only moved an inch, but it made me feel better. Turning around, I marched over to the stupid Jeep that the stupid man was standing in front of. Stupid Gregory.

“Mia, you might want to act your age,” Gregory yelled behind me. I ignored him and kept walking. I was a couple of feet away from the truck when a large hand yanked my good arm back, stopping my progress. “Listen to me.”
Now he wanted to talk?

The man looked like he wanted to intervene, but I held my hand up to stop him. “Can we have a moment?” I asked. The man looked at me, then at Gregory, then back at me, and nodded his head. Anger rippled down my body as he had to get permission from Gregory first. The man went into the Jeep and shut the door. I turned around and faced Gregory. Thankfully, Gregory let go of my arm. “What?”

“You need to trust me. Use your head,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Trust you? You’re handing me over to Aedan. How the hell am I supposed to trust you? So when exactly did you set this up? When you were out getting bullshit supplies? Was that all an act? Is it safe to know I won’t have to be changing my hair color? Do you even have a soul in that body of yours? Or is it made up of one big pile of shit?” I was so angry I missed the emotion that flashed across his face. He had sold me out. “So what are they giving you, an award for bringing in the most wanted?”

Irritation bloomed from his face. “Is your tantrum over? Or do you need more time?” He covered my mouth before I could yell back. “I know your tiny brain is working overtime trying to think of all the insults you want to spout out at me, but maybe on the ride over you can take the time to understand why I did this. Maybe I’ll even get a thank-you out of this. Kieran isn’t the only one looking for you. You have allies. You need allies. Sometimes, you have to do something unpleasant to reap the rewards.” He motioned his head toward the men in the Jeep. “You’re going to get in that Jeep with me. You just have to trust me. I wouldn’t put you in harm’s way. I have a plan. Trust me.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I was so angry. I felt betrayed.

“You wouldn’t have agreed to go. You would have been stubborn and refused to leave the building. You could have gotten us caught.”

“I don’t trust you,” I gritted out.

“You need to!” he yelled in my face. “You would have done the exact same thing if you had been in my shoes.” He lowered his voice so no one could hear. “You hate me. I got it loud and clear. You can hate me all you want, but this has to happen. You have to meet your allies. Everything could fall apart if you don’t stop acting like a bitch.”

A bitch? He thought I was acting like a bitch? I clenched and unclenched my hands for a few seconds. I took a deep breath, let it out, and slapped Gregory as hard as I could across the face, my palm stinging with the impact. “Go to hell. Why does everything have to fall on my shoulders? Why me?”

Gregory stared at me through livid eyes. “Did you ever think everything is not about you?” With that he walked right past me and into the vehicle. I took a few minutes to collect myself and flinched inwardly as I looked at my red palm and turned around and followed Gregory.

Tension was so thick in the Jeep you would have to cut it with a sword. I sat up front with the man who’d talked to me earlier, while Gregory sat in the back with another soldier. Gregory's knees dug into the back of my seat, and I couldn't tell if it was because of the amount of room in the back was too small or if he was doing it on purpose. I was still fuming—it would be a cold day in hell when I forgave Gregory. 

“So, how are you?” the driver asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, tensing at the pain in my right shoulder. “Fine, I guess. I’ve only been running for my life since Kieran and his men attacked Gildonia.” I wasn’t sure why I was talking. I’d been determined to not say a word, but I hated silence. It made me uncomfortable and gave me too much time to plan Gregory’s murder.

“I can’t believe they did that,” the man said. “Your father’s still alive. They’re keeping him hostage. I don’t know much else, but I’m sure Mr. Wibert will fill you in on anything you’ve missed.”

I just nodded my head and looked down at my hand; it was still red, but at least it didn’t hurt anymore. The moment I’d sat down, I’d regretted hitting Gregory. As much as I wanted to do harm to Gregory, I’d never actually meant to hit him. I was so angry because he was right. Everything wasn’t about me and I was being selfish wanting to save myself over others. Didn’t that show I wouldn’t be a good Leader? I wanted to apologize, but I didn’t want to do it in front of these guys. I wanted it to be private so I could berate him some more before I relented and told him I’d found the light. 

We went through the gates with no problems and it was amazing to see the vast difference between both sides of the gate. Buildings were crumbling and the road was littered where we had been hiding out. Here, the buildings were glistening in the sun and the roads were spotless. On the other side, men and women were hanging around dumpsters, looking for something to eat or something to wear, while on this side, men and women walked in expensive clothes. It made me sick. 

When the Jeep finally stopped, I looked out the window. If I hadn’t been used to seeing houses like this, my jaw would have dropped, but I’d once lived in a place like this. The house was a three-story brick mansion with four large white columns in the front. Reluctantly, I got out of the Jeep and followed the men up the steps. I turned my head and found Gregory still standing next to the vehicle, staring up at the building in disgust. Sighing, I turned back around. The door opened up just as we got there, and we stepped through and into the enormous foyer. The walls were all a pale blue color, the high ceilings white.

“I’ll be right back,” the man said. He walked all the way down to the end of the hallway and disappeared around the corner. The other soldier stayed with us; I was a little disappointed, was hoping I’d have been able talk to Gregory. As I moved my right shoulder back and forth, I winced from the pain; I hoped to be out of the sling soon. With my good hand, I smoothed down my shirt and started tapping my foot. The soldier looked over at me and narrowed his eyes. I stopped tapping my foot, straightened my back, and tried to keep the panic down. I wanted to fidget so I could focus on anything other than the fact I was going to see Aedan. This overwhelming urge to grab Gregory's hand and drag us out of there took over, and it took everything in me to not move. 

I looked up at the plain white ceilings, thinking they should have used more color when I heard the footsteps coming down the hall. I looked over and could see the soldier and Aedan walking toward me, with a younger man following.

“Mia!” Aedan said, opening up his arms. I took a step back. I didn’t want him touching me. As I stepped back, I ran into something solid and moving. Turning around, I looked up at Gregory, his facial features shifting slightly at my look, but I turned back around before I could inspect it too much. I didn’t have enough time to move before Aedan pulled me into an embrace. After a few seconds, he finally let me go. “Mia, how are you doing?”

“O-okay,” I stammered. I tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear: nervous habit. 

“I’m glad to see you alive,” he said with a tight smile. “This is my son, Jake.” He motioned to the younger man behind him.

“Nice to meet you.” Jake stuck out his hand, and I tentatively shook it. Jake held my hand a little too long, and I could hear Gregory grumble behind me. I let go of his hand and let mine drop at my side. 

“We’re glad to see you alive,” Mr. Wibert said. “We’ve heard many rumors you were dead, but I’m glad that’s not the case. Now why don’t you go get a shower and clean clothes on, and we can discuss the situation over lunch.”

I nodded my head. “Thank you.”

An elderly woman walked over and took the duffel bags from Gregory and started walking up the stairs. I grabbed Gregory’s hand and started pulling him with me. We had things to discuss. 

“Mia, why don’t you leave the young man down here,” Aedan said. “We’ll get him his own accommodations.”

I looked up at Gregory, hoping he would say something like,
She doesn’t go anywhere without me
, but he just nodded his head and let go of my hand. I glared at Gregory then followed the elderly woman up the stairs. She took me into a room with a giant king-size bed and set the duffel bags down next to bed before exiting the room, shutting the door behind her.
I wonder if she’s allowed to speak.
I looked around the virtually empty room; a king-size bed and a mahogany dresser were the only items in there. As I shuffled over to the door on the left, I opened it and switched on the light, and the bathroom was illuminated. I went over to the duffel bag, opened it up, and started searching. The bedroom door opened, and I turned around in time to see a gray-haired man walking in with a small black bag.

“I was told you needed some medical care.” The man walked over and set his bag down on the bed, opening it up. “How long has your arm been in a sling?”

He started taking syringes, white packages, and needles out of his bag. “How long?” I asked stupidly.

“Yes, how long?”

How long had it been? Three days? “I’m not really sure. The days seemed to blend in together.”

He smiled. “Running for your life can do that. What happened?”

“I jumped out of a train and landed on my shoulder,” I said. “I dislocated it. Gregory helped put it back in place.”

“Ah, your friend from downstairs,” he said. “Let’s get the sling off.” He walked over and helped me with the sling.

“What’s your name?”

He smiled up at me. “Al. Now please take off your shirt so I can see your shoulder properly.”

“Is that necessary?” I asked, not wanting to undress in front of him, even if it was just my shirt.

“Yes,” he said. “If we want it to heal completely I’ll need to see the area.”

I nodded and hesitantly lifted my shirt off. It took a few minutes because I kept having problems with lifting it over my head. Eventually, Al ended up helping. Every time I touched my shoulder or his hand brushed against it, I winced. After the shirt was off, Al started poking all around my shoulder and I had to bite down on my lip to keep from whimpering. After a while, he took out one of the longest needles I had ever seen and started toward me. I stepped out of his reach. “What are you doing?”

He looked at me curiously. “This will heal it all up. Your shoulder will feel stiff for a few hours, but it will be completely healed and the pain will be gone.”

“How?” I asked. I didn’t trust him. Who knew what could actually be in that needle.

“Haven’t you ever been sick and needed a shot to make you feel better?” He tilted his head and pinched his eyebrows together.

“My dad never let me see a doctor.” I made sure I was still out of reach from Al.

His eyebrows raised. “How did you get through any illnesses? You should’ve seen a doctor now and then.” I shook my head no. He put his hands up in front of him. “I’m not going to hurt you. This will help, I promise.”