“Alyssa didn’t have this virus!” I say with a trembling voice.
“By the time you arrived, the black ring on her arm had already faded. So, yes, Lexi. She did.”
“No,” I spit at her. I stand, and the room spins as I try to steady myself. “She couldn’t have.” I shake my head in disbelief.
“She was one of Wilson’s lab rats,” Amber says. “Just like me. Only she didn’t have a choice, and I was stupid enough to think I did.”
Suddenly, my ears pound. Rage runs through my body, and I take off running.
I don’t see or hear anything but myself breathing hard and fast. I focus on sprinting to the restrooms. When I reach the door, I kick it open and flick the lights on. Taking a quick look around, I dart to the stalls and begin kicking the doors repeatedly, listening to them slam into the walls. Metallic banging echoes all around me, but I don’t care.
“Son of a bitch!” I scream, as I rear up to plant my foot in the door. The muscles in my arms strain as I grasp the metal framework. Nothing compares to the pain that’s ripping my heart apart, shredding it like a blender. I drive my foot into the door until I’m exhausted. I hunch over, trying to catch my breath. The door hangs off one hinge. My body’s spent. I’m sweating and breathing hard, and my mind’s still running a marathon. The hows and whys of the last two conversations are weighing on me. How could I have been so blind? Cole has been lying to me since the day we met. And Sutton lied to me about Alyssa.
Someone grabs my arm, and I turn my head. Cole’s there, with Zeus by his side.
“Lexi, calm down.” Cole’s voice drips with pain.
“Leave me alone!” I shout.
He grabs me and slams me into his chest as I bang on him with my fists. I crumble against him, hating him and loving him all at once.
It’s like someone took a knife and split me open. Grabbing fists of his shirt, I convulse, tears pouring down my face.
Cole’s arms tighten around me as he scoops me up and lowers himself to the ground. He sits against the wall and holds on to me like he’s never done before. He’s trying, but nothing will lessen the pain I feel.
“Lexi, you might hate me right now. But when you’re hurting like this, all I know is … I need to hold you.”
My shoulders shudder at his words. I’m too defeated and broken to break free from his arms. All I see is Alyssa’s face, all I smell is Alyssa’s hair, and all I hear is her saying … “Don’t let me die. I don’t want to die a Sinner. Don’t let me die.”
But she did die, and I let her down.
Why not me? Why her? Why my dad? I would’ve taken their places. She was only a child. How could anyone but the devil himself experiment on an innocent child, knowing it would kill her?
I flashback to the smile she wore when Cole arrived for her date. I see her gasping in pain and hear her call out my name. Her call bell sounds, and I sprint to her side. I’m in her bed, holding her broken body. I cry, wishing I could remain strong for her. I tell her it’s okay to go to her mom. She slips away from me, her body going limp as the last breaths escape her tiny mouth. Her heart no longer beats. Her voice doesn’t answer me. I’ve lost my friend all over again. I’ve lost my father all over again.
“Wilson killed her,” I say between gasps for air.
“Why do you care so much about whether Amber lives or dies?”
“No, Alyssa! He did this to Alyssa,” I say. Cole’s body stiffens. “She was thirteen years old! Only thirteen. And he picked her.”
“What?” His voice cracks.
“Amber told me. He injected her with the virus,” I say through gritted teeth. “He killed her.”
“No way,” he says. I feel his body shake against mine, and he sniffles. Zeus nudges my arm, and I let him into our hug. He licks my face, which only makes me cry harder because I know he feels this too.
“She never should’ve died.” Snot runs out of my nose. “She should be here with us right now.” My throat burns, and I have difficulty swallowing.
“I know,” Cole tells me. “God, Lexi, I’m so sorry.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“No, but I’ve hurt you, and now you have this on top of everything.” He reaches up, pulls a strip of toilet paper off the rack, and hands me some.
“I will never forgive myself.”
“There wasn’t anything you or anyone else could’ve done to save her.”
“Cole.” I hesitate. “We have to kill him before he murders hundreds or thousands more.”
“And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”