"You'll be joining me soon," he said. "As soon as you pass your test and get approval, I'll make sure they have a place for you there."
I excused myself to use the bathroom, and only then did I let the tears fall. It was silly, stupid and entirely juvenile, but I missed childhood. I missed, for just a moment, the simplicity of not having to wrestle with this kind of loss, these kinds of pressures. As a child I could imagine anything was possible. Now, barely eighteen, I knew some dreams weren't meant to be, and never would.
I washed and dried my face, and studied my appearance in the mirror. I couldn't tell if my eyes looked red from crying ("Your eyes look red—with some swelling," Evie helpfully informed me.)
"Thanks, Evie." I reapplied my mascara, careful lest I make myself into a clown without realizing it. I knew from the comments of others that my silver eyes were startling and my pale blonde hair coveted by those who grew theirs from a bottle. I'd always assumed my strange eyes were a result of my genetic color-blindness, but there's no real proof that's true. Regardless, it always struck me as odd that others could see me in a way I could not see myself.
Finishing up a light coat of pink lipstick, I shoved it into my purse and plastered a smile onto my face. I would not ruin Jax's good news with my own maudlin desires and disappointments.
I returned to the table and, with my appetite gone, fiddled with my uneaten food.
"No hurry," Jax said. "The server had to leave for her break, so I settled the bill, but we can hang out and talk."
I didn't know what we could talk about. Yes, we could 'see' each other daily, but that wasn't the same as hanging out all night watching movies and eating popcorn and chocolate chip cookies until we were sick to our stomachs. That wouldn't replace time spent in the sky together, sharing our passion of flight. That would never be enough for what I'd hoped would one day grow between us.
I tried to smile at him as I stood and grabbed my purse. "I should get home. It's getting late."
He stood and put his arm around me. "Cheer up, Scarlett. You're still my best friend in the world. Nothing will ever change that." Something in his eyes shifted as he looked down at me. "Please remember that. No matter what happens, no matter what life brings us, you have always meant more to me than you'll ever know."
Those words would come to haunt me, but at the time, they just broke my heart.
***
The voices carried through the kitchen and into the living room as I dropped my purse on the couch, my gift from Jax tucked inside. My parents rarely argued, and I shamelessly listened in concern.
My mom sounded frustrated, like she'd repeated herself too many times already and didn't want to say it again. "We've been ordered to stay."
"They've found us, Violet." My dad sounded equally frustrated, though he did his best to hide it. Of the three of us, he had the most patience.
His words sent a chill up my spine. Who'd found us? And why would anyone be looking for us to begin with?
"We don't know that for sure," my mom said, walking out of the kitchen, my dad following. When her blue eyes landed on me she smiled, but it didn't soften the anxiety on her face. "Hi, honey. We didn't realize you were home."
"I just got in," I told her. "What's going on? Who's found us?"
My dad, his dark hair a mess, looked at my mom, and she shook her head, her eyes pleading him to… what? I didn't know, but he didn't listen. Turning his attention back to me, he took a breath. "Come with me. I'll show you."
"Marcus, we promised to keep her out of this." My mom moved to stand between me and my dad, as if he was about to show me something dangerous.
His eyes were sad when he replied. "Perhaps we were wrong, Violet. Perhaps we've been wrong about everything."
Chapter 2
The Bunker
My dad walked toward the front door and I followed, expecting my mom to come, but she reached for the call button on her e-Glass instead as she brushed aside a lock of blonde hair. "If you're sure about this… I've got to tell the council we're leaving. I'll be right out."
My dad nodded sharply once, then led me outside and behind our house. Toward the bunker.
It had been built before I was born, dug deep into the earth with a circular metal door directly on the ground. I'd never been inside. Once, when we were little, I convinced Jax to help me break in so we could discover the secrets my parents kept there, but we couldn't dig around it, couldn't pry it open, couldn't do anything to penetrate the steel walls. It was the one mystery of my life. What was in the bunker, and why was I never allowed to see? Not even during the war did we use it, which seemed odd.
My dad always told me it was a safety issue. "It's just a bunch of emergency survival gear for if something terrible happens. There are guns and ammo and other weapons that I don't want you having access to."