“What about your life?” His voice is even softer than a whisper, and if his mouth wasn’t pressed against my hair, I wouldn’t be able to hear him. “What about your family?”
“We’ll be each other’s family.”
His arms tighten around me.
I wait, but he doesn’t say anything else. His breathing changes, deepens, and I shut my eyes. I am almost asleep when I hear him say, softly, “Okay. We’ll go.”
I smile into the dark.
CHAPTER 18
Wake up.”
I crack my eyes open. I am lying on the couch alone; Wes is no longer tucked in behind me.
But Nikki is there, standing over me and holding out an orange.
“What do you want?” I groan, turning away from her.
She pokes me in the shoulder. “I brought you food. You could at least be grateful.”
I slowly rise to a sitting position, and I rub at the hair that has plastered itself to the side of my face.
“I’m grateful. Though I’d probably be a lot more grateful if you let me sleep.”
She shrugs and tosses the orange at me. I don’t even attempt to catch it and it lands heavily in my lap. “No one’s here, and Tag just left to go tag some trains uptown. I’m bored.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Tag went to tag?”
“You know, graffiti. He’s always been into tagging. It’s how he got the nickname in the first place.” She gives me a “duh” look.
I grab the orange and stand up. “Where’s Wes?”
“I have no idea. He’s been gone all morning.”
I frown, wondering where he could have gone. Maybe to follow McGregor, though there doesn’t seem to be much point to it now. We’ve basically solved the mystery of why he lost the election. “What time is it?”
“Ten.”
“Aren’t you hungover?” I ask her.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
I toss the orange back at Nikki and reach for my blue dress. It’s starting to smell a little. I pull it on anyway.
“What are you doing today?” Nikki sits down at the table and bites into a green apple.
“I don’t know.” Wes and I didn’t talk specifics about our plan, but I can’t leave with him until I know that my grandfather is safe. And I also need to find out where that disk came from. Could the Resister have given it to Grandpa? Does it have something to do with this mysterious rebellion?
It’s time to tell my grandfather the truth about who I am. He may have freaked out before, but if anyone’s going to believe I’m a time traveler, it’s him. And maybe once he knows I’m his granddaughter, he’ll trust me enough to give me some answers.
Which means that as soon as Wes gets back, we need to go back to Bellevue.
“Actually, I do have plans,” I say to Nikki. “Wes and I have something we need to do. I guess I’m waiting for him.”
Nikki smiles. “We could hang, if you want. I have cards.”
I smile back, wondering if she remembers telling me about her parents, and making me promise to never give up on Wes. “Sure.” She stands up to get them, but I stop her. “Have you seen LJ today?”
She nods. “He left a few hours ago, said he needed to walk around or something. He was really quiet.”
“Isn’t he always quiet?”
“Not like this. I saw Maria with him last night; she probably rejected him or something. He’s been chasing her for years.”
Her words make my stomach twist. Poor LJ.
I watch Nikki get up from the table, and her curly brown hair bounces around her shoulders. There is something lighter about her, softer, and I wonder if telling me that stuff last night took a weight off her. Sometimes you just need to talk, even if it is to a relative stranger.
Poor Nikki.
The only way for LJ to make it through this is to go into hiding, which probably means leaving Nikki behind. She’ll lose another brother, and she’ll never know the reason why.
I guess she was right—it can always get worse. I just pray this won’t be the thing that makes her finally give up.
I hang out with Nikki for an hour. Then two. Then four. Wes still doesn’t come back, but LJ does. He gives us both a dark look before disappearing into his bedroom. Nikki just rolls her eyes.
I want to help him, but I’m starting to worry about Wes. Why would he be tailing McGregor for this long? It doesn’t make sense. I watch the sun fall toward the horizon. If I don’t leave soon, I won’t be able to see my grandfather before visiting hours end.
“I’m booored,” Nikki says from the couch. “Let’s go out.”
“I can’t. There’s something I need to do.” I walk to the door. “I’ll be back later. If Wes comes by, tell him . . . that I went uptown. To see my uncle. He’ll know where I am.”
“Where are you going?” She narrows her eyes.
“Just tell him.” I am about to leave the squat, but something makes me detour into LJ’s room. He is sitting at his computer. Not typing, just staring at it.
“I’m going out for a bit,” I say softly. “But I want to make sure you’re going to be okay.”
He looks up at me. “How do I survive this?” he whispers.
“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “But you have to try. You know when they’re coming. They won’t expect you to have that information. You already have a head start.”
“So I just run for the rest of my life?”
“Maybe. But you can also fight, LJ. Find out who this Resister is, and what he means by the rebellion. Fight against your fate.”
He twists in his chair until he’s facing me. “Is that what you’re doing?”
I smile a little. “I’m trying to. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“I don’t want
