Laiken

I count all the red flowers in the wallpaper before the door swings open again, releasing Dominic into the hall. His eyes are beyond tired. I imagine his father draining his life as a giant mosquito would.

He spots me and jumps. “You're still here?”

“I waited for you.” Standing, I stare at the door behind him. He shuts it solidly, motioning for me to follow him. I go eagerly. I'm ready to get as far away from that room as possible.

We walk until we're in an unfamiliar area of the house. It's quieter here, the noise fading as we approach a wide set of glass doors. “What did he say?” I ask, unable to resist any longer.

Dominic opens the doors, revealing a gigantic room with floor to ceiling shelves stuffed with books. My parents had books, but not such a limitless amount. This is a library.

“Why are we here?” I pry, trying to get him to look at me.

He shakes his head, half-jogging down the shelves. There's no one else here that I can see.

His singular focus bothers me. “Dominic, what's wrong?” Still he ignores me, serious in his mission. Together we weave through the aisles, me on his heels.

Grabbing a stack of thick books, he sets them on a circular table. Dust flits up; I sneeze without covering my mouth. “Here.” He taps the tomes. “These are where we'll start.”

“Start what? Dominic, what did your dad tell you?” I clench my hands, thinking all kinds of terrible things. “That guy is really creepy. I can't believe he's your dad, but whatever he did or said about you, it's probably all lies, and—”

The sound of another book slapping down cuts me off. “Stop.” His eyes flash at me. “Don't insult him so loudly. He's still my father, okay?”

I falter. “Sorry.”

He stares me down, the tension erasing from his features bit by bit. “I'm sorry, too. It's not like he makes it easy for me to defend him. He said some awful things about you when I was in there.”

Prickles run up my spine; I laugh out of surprise. “Like what?”

“He called you an idiot.”

I crinkle my nose. “Well, I'm not.”

“I know that.” Dominic taps the top book. “But you're not familiar with modern things. Your world and mine are completely different. People who work with my family expect a certain level of intelligence. As you are, no one will take you seriously.”

That gets my hackles up. “So you think you're better than me.”

“Laiken—”

“Maybe you know lots about cell-phones,” I wrack my brain, “And computer things. So what? You know who knew all of that stuff? My dad.” Heat blooms behind my eyeballs. I'm ranting and I can't stop. “You think that helped him at all when it came down to it? Huh? It didn't. Because if it had, I wouldn't be trapped here!”

Dominic braces himself against the table, staring at me. I'm humiliated by my outburst. Before I can run, he reaches across and grabs my hands. His touch is warm. It makes me jump. “You're right,” he whispers. “Knowing about technology can't fix everything. I just want to help prepare you for life here, Laiken. That's all. I swear.”

Inhaling until my chest burns, I let the air out loudly. My fingers squeeze his—Kara enters my mind. She'd adapt. She'd excel just to show she could. “I'm happy to learn. Half of what your dad said sounded like made up stuff.”

He smiles with one side of his mouth. “I'll teach you whatever I can before I leave.”

My joy dissipates. “What?”

Palming his neck, he sits at the table. “That's what my father wanted to talk to me about. He's enrolled me in a military boarding school. I start next month.”

My bones aren't doing their job. I crumple into the other chair, staring at him. “But we only just met.”

Propping his chin on a fist, he goes quiet. “Are you that attached already?”

Fire swims up my throat. I avoid his eyes. “You're the only one I've met so far that seems trustworthy.”

“Then we should take advantage of these coming weeks. I'll show you around, get you settled, and teach you what I can. And no more fighting. We don't have the time to waste. Deal?”

I don't want to make any more deals. I'm so tired of them. But I meet his kind stare, the warmth of it lighting up my heart. Thanks to it, I can breathe a little easier. “Deal.”

****

DOMINIC WAS SERIOUS when he said he'd keep the maids away from my hair. They never flashed a pair of scissors in my line of sight again. Instead, they leave me brushes with silky bristles, bottles of shampoos, conditioners, and countless oils. Everything is presented in tissue paper stuffed baskets. The wrapped gifts accumulate in the small room that's supposedly mine.

It isn't mine. I know where my real bedroom is.

I spend my days reading books, exploring the estate, and waiting for news about my family. It's a painful process made somewhat tolerable thanks to Dominic.

“You really have to go?” I ask, lying beside him. We're both stretched out on the manicured backyard, posing the way you'd make snow angels if it weren't September, the lingering summer fighting off any hint of fall.

He stares at the blue sky. “Father wants it, so that's that. I don't get any say.”

“Well, it's stupid,” I grumble. He chuckles, which makes me smile. And it makes me loath that he's leaving even more. “Do you even want to be a soldier?”

“They teach lots of other things there. I'm hoping to learn programming. I could even join the air force, become a pilot.”

“I like that idea. You could fly me around the world in a plane!”

“Definitely. I'd love to do that with you.” He plucks a blade of grass, blowing it against his lips so it whistles. “Dad spent a lot of time picking the right school. He thinks the discipline they provide will be good for me. He was in the army, did you know? Grandfather was too. It's important to remember the past.”

I remember the past every single day. Thinking about my family makes me queasy. “Won't you be lonely there?”

“My cousin Bernard will be joining at the same time. We get along really well, he's kind of like the brother I never had.”

I miss the brother I DO have. I rush to change the direction of the conversation. “When will you come back?”

He flicks the grass away. It twirls on the breeze, vanishing. “I'll get some holiday breaks. The first one is this December, that's only three months away.”

I nod sagely, frowning. “Too bad. I bet I won't see you.”

“Why?”

“I'll be back home by then,” I respond, like it's as obvious as water being wet.

He turns away, saying nothing as he studies the cloudless sky. There are lines in his young face that remind me of how my father looked when I hid beside the logs with Kara weeks ago. It cools my mood. Makes me wonder what he knows that I don't.

“Maybe,” I say slowly, following his example and eyeing the sky, “We'll be able to meet outside of here someday.”

The grass crunches lightly under his head. “I'd like that.” I know he's watching me, I feel the warmth of his eyes. He's the first boy I've gotten to know. Our friendship came easy. It's what's forming beneath—this fluffy, inexperienced thing—that haunts me and makes my heart thrum. That leaves me awake in the late hours. His smile imprinted behind my eyelids. I don't want to name it yet. I don't think I can.

But I do know one thing: Dominic and I are destined to remain friends.

I'm sure of it.