The Origin (28 page)

Daniel eased his hand away from the crumbled edge of the table, stood up and left wordlessly, unable to bring himself to thank the constant bearer of bad news.

“I’ll see you later,” she said as she put her glasses back on.

As he stepped onto the sidewalk, he turned around and took one final look at the window, knowing that he was doomed to see that face again. Still, one could hope for a miracle.

Without warning, a person bumped into his shoulder, making him jump back as if electrocuted. He watched closely as the woman threw a half-hearted apology his way and walked off – the typical New Yorker on her way to whatever it was that was so important – but saw no signs of changes in her. He didn’t know how fast the infection took hold, if he could even transmit it through clothing, but he had to remind himself to be vigilant. Better to be overly cautious than overly sorry.

He pulled the sweatshirt’s grey hood over his head as he walked towards the grocery store, his hands firmly tucked into his pockets, realizing he would have to eat at home from now on. In fact, he would have to do everything at home from now on. New York was not an easy place to isolate oneself.

As he continued on the busy sidewalk (
Had it always been this busy?
he wondered with mounting panic), he found himself recoiling each time a person came near, unable to shake the irrepressible fear of contaminating one more bystander, of arming one more bad guy.

Once inside a small grocery store, he was even more unnerved to find the place full of customers, with strollers and shopping carts that took up half the aisle. He noted with unease the lines at the checkout counters that were several people deep, including the self-checkout counters. But most alarming of all, sticking the breath to his throat, were the children. They were everywhere, pulling boxes off shelves, sitting in carts with their slobbery smiles, all innocently living their normal little lives.

Daniel exited the store immediately, heart drumming in his chest painfully as he gasped for air. He hadn’t even thought of the children, hadn’t even considered how infecting them would surely alter their lives forever.

Unable to stomach the thought of condemning a child to
a life of abnormality and seclusion – like the one he himself had endured – he doubled over and threw up on the sidewalk.

“Hey, Olivia…” Cheyenne said, taking a seat on the long, wooden bench inside the dressing room.

Olivia regarded the very first friend she’d made in New York, wondering what concern was creasing her forehead. “What’s up?”

Cheyenne reached for her hand and squeezed. “I just want you to know that I would never wish you harm just to dance the lead.”

“Why would you even think I would think that about you?” Olivia said, the words tumbling out in rapid succession. “I know you wouldn’t!”

“It’s just that Alex came here and was asking me–”

“Alex?”

She nodded. “Yes. He was here the night you disappeared, asking me if I knew anything about your kidnapping. At first he was acting as if it was my fault, like I would actually get someone to kidnap you just to dance lead. Then he apologized. He was so worried about you. If I didn’t know better, I would think he was in–”

“I would never think that about you,” Olivia said quickly. She patted her friend’s hand, trying to act nonchalant even though fond feelings for Alex warmed her face.

Cheyenne smiled and began to unlace her slippers. “Are you okay, though? Physically, I mean.”

Olivia paused. “I think so. Why?”

“It could be nothing, but it looked like you were favoring your right leg during class,” she said with an exaggerated shrug.

Olivia froze. She had not realized that anyone had noticed, had tried her best to dance through the pain. “I, uh...”

Cheyenne put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about. After all that you’ve been through, and I’m not just talking about the kidnapping, I mean before then, when you worked so hard to get the lead. Anyway, I think you deserve to dance the rest of Swan Lake.”

Olivia smiled, trying to keep her lips from trembling. “I love you,
Chey
,” she said, leaning her head against her friend’s. “But you’re right. I’m pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my calf.” And she knew that if Cheyenne noticed, everybody else in the class would have as well, for not only had they all been trained to be aware of each other’s movements, but they were also watching her extra carefully after recent events.

“You can just see the therapist,” Cheyenne said with an apologetic shrug. “It wasn’t that noticeable."

“You’re a terrible liar,” Olivia said with a resigned smile, knowing that the physical therapist could only do so much for her leg. “
You
should dance as Odette.”

“No, I shouldn’t. Odette’s yours,” she said, having the grace to look horrified.

“She’s ours.”

Cheyenne chewed on her lower lip and exhaled through her nose. “Okay, but only if you promise to take it easy so that you can dance the final performance.”

Olivia agreed with a sad smile. “I can’t think of a better way to end it all.”

Cheyenne’s eyes grew wide. “End what all? You’d better not be saying what I think you’re saying!” She grabbed Olivia by the shoulders and began to shake. “You’d better not quit or I’ll go Tonya Harding on your ass!”

“
Shh
!” Olivia said, glancing around the locker room for any eavesdroppers. “I haven’t completely decided yet.”

Cheyenne shook her again. “Well then
undecide
! You are way too good a dancer to quit now!”

“What would you do if you knew you only had a little while to live? Would you keep dancing? Or would you do something else?”

“Are you dying?” Cheyenne’s pretty face filled with horror.

“No,” Olivia said, which, as long as she ignored the lump in her neck, was the truth. “But what if?”

Cheyenne gasped, holding a hand up to her chest. “You’re killing me here!” She took several deep, exaggerated breaths. “Okay, if I were dying, then I would probably quit ballet and go off on adventures. But I’m not dying. And neither are you,” she said, giving Olivia a pointed look.

“We’re all dying,
Chey
.” She stood up and slipped her duffel bag around her shoulder.

“You’re so melodramatic,” Cheyenne said with a withering look. “Just get better by Saturday, will you? You have a closing night to dance.”

Olivia was making her way back to her apartment when she found Alex wearing a path in front of her door.

“Olivia!” he said in obvious relief. “Why the hell have you not been answering your phone?”

She shrugged. “I just,” she began to say then realized that she hadn’t even bothered to collect her cell phone from Smith yet. Surprisingly, she no longer felt at all lost without it. “I accidentally left it with Smith.”

“Where is he anyway? Isn’t he supposed to be with you at all times?” Alex took a step closer, still afraid to touch her, still afraid to cause distress. She found herself wishing he would man up and just throw his arms around her already. Just so they wouldn’t have to stand around awkwardly anymore.

“He’s waiting in the car, actually.” She put a hand on the doorknob and inserted her key. “I’m just here to take a shower, then we’re headed to Daniel’s.”

She felt the moment Alex stiffened beside her, as if the blood instantly froze in his veins. “You can’t go there.” His tone was rough and commanding, and left her irritated.

“You can’t tell me what to do.” If anybody was going to do any commanding between the two of them, it was definitely not him. “He’s my boyfriend and I have every reason to go there.”

“Don’t you have to perform tonight?” he said, changing his tactic.

“No. I’m not performing until Saturday.” She pushed the door open and stepped inside, not finding any reason to care if he followed her or not.

He did. “Your dad called me, Mei.”

She stopped and turned to him. “Why?”

“He wants me to convince you to come to King Towers. He wants me to take you there myself.”

“Did you tell him that you’re not the person he hired behind my back to follow my every move?” she said, her face feeling hot. “Seeing my father is the last thing I want to do right now because I will end up saying things I’d rather not say to my last living parent.”

“But he’s your dad!” Alex said, throwing his hands up in the air. “At least you can still go see him! I can’t even do that, you know, and here you are, throwing away a relationship with your father.”

“What do you mean you can’t do that? You can just fly back to Sweden any time you like.”

Alex visibly deflated. “I can’t, not anymore.”

“For goodness sakes, it’s not that far from–“

“My dad died, Mei. He’s dead,” he said almost in a panic. He let out a long, slow breath. “The reason I went back to Sweden was because he had heart problems. I moved back to help with the business just until he was done with all of the operations. We thought he was going to make a full recovery, but his heart just couldn’t take it.”

The angry words stuck in Olivia’s throat as she keenly felt every particle of his grief as her own. Alex had adored his father, had talked about him every chance he could find. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked softly.

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I couldn’t.”

“But you were there at my mother’s funeral. Of all people, I would have understood.” She crossed the room and threw her arms around him, but he twisted away almost immediately.

“This is why I didn’t tell you. I don’t want you feeling sorry for me, trying to lift my spirits up with meaningless words. He’s gone and no amount of alcohol or condolences can bring me peace.”

Olivia stared at him for a long time, realizing for the first time that she and Alex were more alike than she’d ever allowed herself to see. “I don’t pity you.”

Alex restrained his muscles so that his face was a solid mask of stone. “I wasn’t planning on coming back to New York. I was going to stay in Sweden and take over the family business,” he said without emotion.

“Then why the hell are you here?”

He threw Olivia a meaningful glance. Now was not the time to divulge the reason why he had fought so hard to return to New York, even if it meant handing the family business over to an uncle he didn’t completely trust. Olivia was not in the right frame of mind to receive such revealing information, nor was he ready to deliver it. “Just go to your father’s place, will you?” he said instead.

She shook her head. “No. I’m going to Daniel’s.” She began to walk away, and out of sheer desperation, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

“Don’t go there. Please? For me?”

“Why do you hate Daniel so much?” she asked, her eyes burning into his.

Alex hesitated, not knowing how to break the news that something was off about her boyfriend. The noble part of him asserted that he simply didn’t want to worry her, but the real reason was far simpler: he just didn’t want to look like a wimp. How else would she interpret what had happened between him and Daniel the night she was kidnapped? How could she take him seriously if he complained that Daniel had
pushed
him, when even he himself couldn’t understand how it was that he had flown so far? Alex had been a decorated swimmer all throughout college, as well as a regular at the gym; he was no slight man. So the fact that Daniel Johnson had managed to send him flying through the air from a simple, close-quartered shove truly baffled him. “I just don’t think he’s good enough for you.”

“Well then, who
is
good enough for me?” she said, the challenge glittering in her eyes. “You?”

He winced at her sarcastic tone. “No. I don’t think I’m good enough for you either. But I know that guy is bad news. You deserve better.”

Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Alex, please.” She looked up at him with pity, and sliced his ego to ribbons. “We’ve been over this before. I’m with Daniel now. If you can’t accept that, then I suggest you just leave.”

Alex cast her wrist down in disgust, but quickly reminded himself that this was about Olivia, not him. He would endure the cruelest words if it meant that she was safe from that violent freak. “If you go to him, we’re done,” he said. Short of detaining her physically, the ultimatum was the only card left to play.

“You can’t be serious,” she said with a snort. “As in, you’re never going to talk to me again?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean,” he said, his voice tight with resolve.

She stared at him long and hard, her eyebrows drawn together. Finally she made a tiny motion to the open door. “Then go.”

“You’re serious?”

“If you are.”

His heart plummeted to his toes, but he dared not show his devastation. It was bad enough that she chose Daniel over him, but it was another thing entirely that she was willing to turn her back on their many years of friendship. If, after everything he had done to ensure her safety, she still did not value him as an important person, someone that she
needed
to have in her life, then it was her loss. As much as it was breaking his heart, he could not bring himself to waste another minute looking at the face of someone so ungrateful, even one he’d spent many nights dreaming about.