She didn’t want to understand their stupid rules. She didn’t want to hear another word about Neverland or genes or cute guys with stupid accents. “Get out of my way.”
“Vivienne—”
“If you don’t get out of my way right now, I’m going to start screaming and—”
Deacon cursed and slid out of the seat. She ignored the people staring at her as she raced down the aisle and out into the fresh air. The bus shuddered to life and the air brakes released, but she didn’t turn around. And she didn’t stop running until she reached Lynn’s street.
Where were the fiendish men swarming the townhouse steps? Where were the mad scientists who wanted her dead? The normalcy in the air contradicted every word Deacon had said since they first met.
“Vivienne?” Lynn called from the kitchen. “If that’s you, could you come in here for a sec?”
Vivienne poked her head around the corner and choked on the smell of burnt chicken. “Did you need me for something?” she coughed.
“Where have you been?” The dinner in the frying pan sizzled and popped, filling the room with steam and smoke. “I’ve been trying to call you all day.”
“I went out for food with my friends. Forgot my phone upstairs.”
Lynn flipped the switch for the fan. Her hair tumbled from the polka dotted scrunchie on top of her head. “I got a call from the hospital saying you left without being properly discharged.”
“I was discharged.”
Lynn lifted a penciled-in eyebrow.
“A nurse came in, unhooked me, and told me to get my stuff ready to go.” She skipped the part about the woman working for an evil organization. “Then I waited for an escort, who brought me home.” Not a complete lie.
Lynn pursed her lips, making the maroon lipliner stand out against her faded lipstick. “I’ll call again before work and get it straightened out then. It’s my long shift tomorrow,” she said, wiping her hands on the stained towel hanging from the oven handle, “so I won’t get to see you on your birthday.”
Vivienne had completely forgotten about her eighteenth birthday.
“I hope you’ll consider staying here at least until summer.” Lynn had said the same thing at the last meeting with the social worker.
“That’s still the plan,” Vivienne assured her. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go.
“Good. Oh! I almost forgot.” She rummaged through a blue plastic bag next to a collection of unpaid bills stacking up on the counter. “Ah! Found it.” The card she pulled out had crumpled corners.
Vivienne thanked her and turned toward the stairs.
“Aren’t you having dinner with us?” Lynn asked, shuffling back to the chicken on the stovetop. “I’m making your favorite.”
Chicken stir fry was her favorite dish that Lynn cooked, but that didn’t mean it was any good. “I already ate, remember?”
“Oh yeah. I’ll fill a bowl and leave it in the fridge in case you change your mind.”
Back in her bedroom, Vivienne changed into pajamas and curled up under the covers with her phone. She made a conscious choice not to set her alarm for school the next morning. After everything that had happened, she refused to face the monotony of another day in high school.
Deacon wanted more than anything to chase after Vivienne.
Then he got the call he had been dreading.
“You need to come home. Now.”
“Hello, Mother.” He watched Vivienne retreat down the aisle and escape into the empty parking lot.
“Don’t patronize me, Deacon. If you’re not back here by morning, I’m going to send the extraction team in to—”
The bus driver started the massive engine, and Deacon fell back onto the seat. A few noisy wheezes from the closing doors and releasing brakes, and he was on his way to the first stop-over in Cleveland. “There’s no need for drama. I’m on my way back as we speak.”
“You should have left the moment HOOK showed up. If they had captured you and found out who you were—”
“I had everything under control.”
“That’s debatable,” she muttered. “Thankfully, it’s over now.”
The next time he looked out the window, Vivienne was gone. “Yes, it is.”
It was over. He had failed.
“Travel safe, and I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
He ended the call and shoved his back against the window with a loud curse.
He’d been so close. He’d had her.
Then he’d said too much and lost her.
The woman in front of him glared from the gap between her seat and the window. Deacon mumbled an apology and went to make the necessary calls to report his progress—or lack thereof.
An uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach stopped him.
He stuffed his mobile into the pocket of his jeans and pulled up his hood. What he wanted to do was climb out the window and stretch his muscles with a lengthy, head-clearing flight back home. Instead, he allowed himself to take a long overdue—but in his mind, undeserved—nap.
The next morning, Vivienne rolled over in bed and scrolled through her social media accounts.
The inspirational quotes about heartbreak on Lexie’s page meant she and Johnny had probably broken up . . . again.
There was a home football game tonight and a dance afterwards.
No, thanks.
One DM from Jamie asked how Vivienne was feeling.
She ignored it.
Had life always been this boring?
The answer was yes. It had been boring and dull and downright depressing until a guy named Deacon had flown into her life. Had she made the right decision?
There was no point dwelling on it.
Still . . . had she?
She dropped her phone on the mattress and sighed. Last night it had been so clear, but today, everything was all muddy.
Lying around in bed feeling sorry for herself wasn’t helping, but showering sounded like too much effort. She compromised and threw a sweatshirt on over her tank top and tights and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
The other half of the pill Deacon had given her last night fell out of the pocket and onto the carpet. He had been so sure she couldn’t fly without it, but was that true?
Determined to prove him wrong—even though he’d never know the difference—she dropped the pill back into her pocket and cleared a space at the end of her bed to practice.
Adrenaline. It was the first step. She did some jumping jacks and ran back and forth until her heart was racing. Then she closed her eyes, emptied her mind, and imagined carving pumpkins at Halloween with William and Anne. Her skin started to feel warmer then started to itch and—
She was doing it! Her toes were barely off the carpet, but with lots of practice, she could be flying properly in no time. Who needed Neverland?
“What’re you doin’ home?”
Her ankle rolled when she dropped to the ground. “Lyle!” She pressed her hand against her hammering heart.
Her foster brother laughed and pushed his light brown hair out of his eyes. He had the same small gap between his front teeth as Lynn, accompanied by a smattering of freckles across his sunburned nose. “What’s the matter, Viv? Afraid Mom will find out you’re playing hooky?”