by Aimee Laine
“Plane’s still there,” Charley said. “Figured you’d need it eventually.”
“We’ll be home by dinner. All of us. Make room for two extras.”
• • •
Lily slid down Cael’s body until her feet hit the ground, her heart still hammering in her chest. All her thoughts had raced to being with him—her best friend. She’d run out after a man who she shouldn’t have given more than a thought or consideration for if she were to play her part well.
This is why you’re not good at this. You’re too emotional.
“Lily,” Cael said.
She sniffed against him but kept her arms around him.
He tilted up her chin. “Angela showed up on our doorstep.”
“What?” Her eyes widened.
“She got there before Tony did. At home. We need to go. Now.”
“Because of whatever just happened? What was that?” Her body went through a series of trembles. “Earthquakes—”
Cael held up her chin; she stared into his eyes. “It’s time for the truth … for everyone,” he said.
“But—”
“Lily …” Cael pressed his lips to her forehead again.
Warmth flooded her body.
“Your cover’s blown in more ways than one. The blonde is halfway up your hair. If the first didn’t shock her, then you wrapping yourself around me probably did.”
“Are they … standing back there?” She hadn’t released Cael, not even as people milled about outside and the sirens blared through the air.
“Yes.”
“Max, too?”
“Yes,” Cael said.
“How am I going to explain?”
“You’re not. For the sake of argument, you’re going to keep pretending for Max, and once we’re at home, we’ll figure out what to do.”
A lightness took over Lily’s soul. “And Leigh, too?”
Cael shook his head.
The heaviness dropped back on her like an anvil scene in one of Max’s favorite cartoons. “Where is she?”
“We don’t know. But … she was taken by our government, Lil.” He tucked hair behind her ear, trailing the ends toward her face. “See?”
The blonde showed through farther than she’d realized.
“How do we find Leigh?”
Cael ran his finger down the side of her face. “We think Angela’s been communicating with Roy.”
“That guy who was looking for me?” Oops. Wasn’t supposed to know that.
Cael’s lips pursed before he said, “Yeah. And … if you’re up to it, I think I know how we can get him to talk.”
“How?”
“You have to talk to him.”
“But, I thought—isn’t he here to—” Zip it Lily. James told you not to tell Cael.
“Mommy?” Max’s tiny voice brought her back to the reality that involved acting as one person and being another.
“Be Angela for Max, Lily. I’ll explain to Evelyn. We need to pack and get out of here.”
The whir of approaching emergency vehicles had Lily stepping away from Cael. “Why?” Fear coursed through Lily. “What really happened out here?”
Cael took her arm and maneuvered her forward toward the house. “That rumble was a small pipe bomb. Now, Lily. Go. I’ll fill in the authorities with the info they need. You get everyone ready. Since there’s no real damage except to the yard, it’ll be a quick report.”
She broke free, taking Max’s hand and Evelyn’s. “We need to go.” Lily knelt so she could stare into Max’s eyes. “You want to go on an airplane?”
“What’s this all about?” Evelyn’s voice broke as she took Max’s hand. “Who are you, and why do you look like my daughter?”
Shoot. Lily kept her gaze fixed on Evelyn’s. She can tell. Charley’s words came back to her: If you want to out yourself, then do. “Because I am.”
Lily raced up the stairs and into Max’s room. A peek in the closet revealed a suitcase. Whatever she could fit, Lily stuffed inside.
“Please … tell me what’s going on.” Evelyn stood in the door.
Max shuffled his way into the room. “Mommy, can I take Spiderman?”
“Absolutely.” Lily zipped the perimeter of the bag. With nothing of her own to worry about, she lifted his suitcase from the bed. “We need to go. Please get your bag … Mo—”
“Why?” Evelyn shook her head. “Please explain.”
“I will but not now. You have to trust me. You have to know that Angela and Tony are in North Carolina and we need to go to them.”
Evelyn moved to Lily and grabbed her shoulders. “Where is Leigh? Is something wrong with Leigh?”
Lily stared deep into Evelyn’s eyes. “I don’t know. All I can tell you is that earthquake wasn’t a quake. And that man out there—”
“Mr. Cael?” Max blinked bright eyes back at Lily.
“He’s here to help us, and he wants us on a plane right now.” She tilted back up to Evelyn. “All of us.”
A furrowed brow and tight lips marred Evelyn’s otherwise composed face. “Who are you?”
“I already told you. I’m your daughter.”
“You just said Angela and Tony are in—” She drew in a breath. Her hands covered her mouth. Her lids fluttered.
Cael walked through the frame of the door and caught Evelyn as she careened backwards, limp in his arms.
“What happened to Gramma, Mommy?”
“She thinks she just saw a ghost.”
• • •
Max fell asleep, his head tucked into Evelyn’s arms as Lily leaned into Cael’s. An hour and a half after they’d walked out the door, the plane crossed over California.
Evelyn hadn’t said another word but kept Max tight up against her the whole time.
Lily didn’t blame her. If her body hadn’t gone through a tremendous emotional rift at the thought of Cael being sucked up by the earth in some Armageddon-like house shaking, she’d have been fighting for Max’s attention.
Comes with the territory, Lil.
Cael squeezed her hand as their captain came on through the overhead speaker. “We’ll have one stop to make, but should be back home in about seven hours. Smooth sailing over the next hour at least. I’ll let you know if we’re going to hit any turbulence.”
Lily snuggled up against Cael and closed her eyes.
13
Eight hours after the explosion, Lily led the group across her driveway to the front door of her own house and reached for the handle. The comfort of being home lifted a little of the stress and tension from her body, right up until the door opened on its own, and Angela stood in the entry.
Shoot! She’s not supposed to see me, yet!
“Where the hell is my daughter?” She brushed past Lily as if she hadn’t asked the question, went straight to Evelyn and picked up Max.
He wiggled out of her arms and ran to Cael, his hands held high.
Cael lifted him as Angela burst into tears.
Lily let herself in through the open door. The outdoor sobbing tore at her heart, but more than anything, she longed for a moment alone.
In the light taupe entry hall stood Charley, her dark curls up in a ponytail, her feet bare and her eyes soft. She held her arms wide, and into them Lily went. Despite Charley’s effective age of thirty-one, she’d been Lily’s mentor and friend for almost forty years—the only mother-like figure Lily had ever been able to count on, even though Charley hadn’t had any kids.
Charley rubbed up and down Lily’s back as Angela continued to sob. “I’m so glad you’re home, Lil. So, so, so glad.”
Lily sniffled between giggles. “Can James or Wyatt help Cael out there?” She inclined her head back toward the door.
“I think Cael can handle himself. Besides, James and Wyatt found Tony and are keeping him away until we have everyone settled. We hoped to make the transition smooth, so he thinks they’re on a run for dinner. Not sure we accomplished that, what with Angela grabbing the door. Freak
timing, you know.
“But no Leigh?” Lily pulled back from Charley and looked into her eyes.
“No, and Lil? I don’t know if Cael told you, but we think you need to talk with Roy.”
“Yeah. He did. I don’t know what to do, though. You and—”
With a tug on Lily’s arm, Charley led her toward the side of the house, and Lily breathed a deep, happy sigh as she entered her kitchen.
Even only being gone for two days, her space called to her like a well-worn slipper in wintertime.
She sighed as she sat on her red leather barstool.
“Don’t worry about Roy just yet,” Charley said, sliding onto another seat. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Cael.”
Charley’s smile said she knew. “And?”
“When you first met Wyatt … you tried to become his mom. Then his girlfriend. Then you did it a third time and then the fourth, well … we know what happened. How did you … deal with the connection—with the emotions? Mine are all over the place because Max shares my birthday.”
Charley leaned an elbow on the granite counter and rested her head in her palm, indicating Lily should continue.
“I have all these feelings running through me. Now, with Angela back, I don’t need to worry about blending with anyone, but what about …” She couldn’t even say his name because if she did, and he didn’t feel the same, she’d ruin a lifelong friendship. “How did you deal with the pull inside that screams out to blend with someone who might not want it back?” Or would Cael want to?
Charley’s lips curved. “It was tough, Lily. I almost didn’t make it. Twice, as you know. I’d have given up my entire life for him each time. And I wouldn’t have regretted it.”
“I kinda wrapped myself around Cael after the blast.”
Charley’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I kinda ran out to him and jumped into his arms … right in front of Evelyn—of my mother. She sorta fainted a few minutes later when I told her I was her daughter.”
If Charley’s eyes could have gotten wider, they would have popped right out of her head. “No wonder she didn’t freak out when the real Angela got to the door before me. Angela thought Tony would be coming, and in her panic, she beat me to it.” Charley took Lily’s hand in hers. “What do you really want to know, Lil? Are you finally seeing what we’ve all known for ages? Decades?”
That I love Cael? “But … Mimics don’t usually blend with Mimics. I mean, we find humans. On purpose. Right? Isn’t it supposed to be like that? We dilute our own lines, by blending with humans.”
“It’s not diluting, though—not if Leigh is three generations later and showing the signs,” Charley said.
“Okay, besides that. We’re supposed to grow old, live, love, laugh, not be perpetually thirty or forty. What’s that mean for me? I can’t … pick Cael … he’d never want that. Not now. He’s in his prime. Right?”
“Can’t and supposed to, versus what you actually do, are up to you, Lily. If you want Cael, you have to open up and tell him. If what’s in your heart is as strong as what everyone around here sees? Then you both want each other more than peanut butter needs jelly.”
Lily snorted.
“If we’re lucky enough to find a match—the right person—whether human or not, then we blend with him to make it permanent in every area of our bodies, including our minds. You just can’t take on the role of someone who already exists.”
“Which is why I’m eternally grateful Angela found you, and that I had my epiphany this morning.”
“Which was?”
Lily leaned forward toward Charley. “I’ve wanted Cael since the moment I met him. And that one … time … that might’ve been a fluke, but I want more than that. I want more than friendship. I just don’t know if he wants …” Or if he’ll accept the flaw I’ve never shared with anyone.
“He does,” Charley said. “Your friendship is what kept you from doing anything about it, I think. But I also think that will make your long-term relationship stronger. Take him, Lily. Love him.”
“You know I could never ask him to …”
A shadow from the space separating the living and kitchen fell over Lily. “Ask me to do what?” Cael asked.
She shivered at the realization she’d been overheard.
Charley slid from the chair. “Talk to Cael. Really talk to him. Don’t leave a single question unasked or unanswered.” She moved to Cael, patted him on the chest. “Thanks for bringing her home, but if you ever steal my plane again or go off without me, I’ll have James hunt you down and Wyatt kill you.”
Cael’s half smile bloomed. “Nice try, human.” He held her against himself in a tight hug. “Speaking of the devil and his playmate, they’ve returned.”
A snort broke from Lily at Cael’s description.
“There’s a big family reunion on our front porch, too. But … uh … we have some additional explanations to make. It seems Angela and Tony are well and truly confused, as is Max. He’s now back in Evelyn’s arms and refuses to go to his Mom or Dad.”
Dread filled Lily’s mind. “Let me see if I can help.”
• • •
Lily met up with the group in the living room as Wyatt and James showed them in.
James reached her first, wrapping his giant arms around her and squeezing. “I missed you, Lily.”
She snuggled against him, letting a smile grow again. “It was barely two days. And you already said that, you know.” But I agree … the memories it dredged up made it feel like a hundred years.
“Yeah, but it felt like a hundred.”
Her giggle burst out as James swayed with her back and forth. “I was thinking the same thing.”
He continued his hug.
“James?”
“Yeah?”
“I need to breathe.”
He released but caught her before she even bobbled.
Right behind him stood Wyatt. They hadn’t known each other nearly as long as Cael or James. “I’m glad you’re back, Lily.” He leaned down, added a kiss to her cheek.
“Thanks, Wyatt.” Lily took a deep breath and faced the Jenkins family, whose eyes couldn’t have been wider. “Evelyn, Max, Tony, Angela.” Lily bobbed her head with each recitation of their names. “If you’d like to sit …” Lily motioned to the couch.
None of them budged.
Okay. She went to Evelyn first. Max buried his head into his grandmother’s shoulder. “Max?”
He didn’t turn to her.
I wouldn’t either in his case. “Do you know how Spiderman has a mask so no one will know who he is?”
His little head adjusted toward her so one eye peeked out from his hiding spot.
“And Spiderman wears his mask all the time when he’s around people so they always know they’re safe?”
Both eyes blinked at Lily.
“I have a mask on that looks a lot like your Mommy because I was worried about her.”
Gasps broke through each of the three adults.
“Can I go take my mask off now and show you what I really look like?”
“Do you look like Spiderman?” Max asked.
Lily shook her head. “No. I’m not that fancy. Okay if I go? Then you’ll know who is who, and everyone will be happy again, right?”
He nodded against Evelyn’s neck.
“I’ll be right back. If you all go into the kitchen, I’ll make some yummies when I’m done changing.”
Lily took slow steps to the stairs, but once she knew she’d be out of eyesight, she bolted to her bedroom door, stepped inside and shut herself off from the family downstairs.
She trudged to the bathroom, stood over the white marble sink counter and stared at her reflection. “How did you pick your own sister’s face? How did you do that?”
Lily closed her eyes. I guess since Thursday is coming, I might as well prepare. “Not that you’re that far off.” She opened her lids.
The deep
brown that had already leeched away half its color in her hair lost the rest, replacing luscious, long tresses with flat, colorless white—an anemic shade she’d never liked and, in many cases, had been forced by her handlers to dye another color on her birthday.
What she tried to call blonde, they’d laughed at.
They preferred her paleness not show, especially not to the visitors that marched by her room.
Shake it off, Lily. Stop thinking about back then.
The dark blue of her eyes remained; attempting to recolor them would be pointless with so few days separating her from her birthday-enforced change.
Her nose elongated.
Her cheekbones lowered.
Her ears raised, sticking out from the side of her head and through her straw-like hair.
She dropped almost twenty pounds, having lost so much weight at eighteen that she barely recognized herself.
Food had been controlled. One portion in the morning. Something in the afternoon and another in the evening—if she cooperated. She’d lost out on many meals during her time simply because she couldn’t do what they asked, no matter how many lashes with the horsewhip they’d given her as they held her plate out of reach.
Anger billowed at the memories and thoughts. She could have had a gorgeous figure at eighteen if they’d fed her instead of tested her. If they’d offered her encouragement instead of hatred. Her hands clenched as her fingernails paled and shrunk to just above the nubs.
The extra foot of height only made her prominent bones and sunken eyes that much more obvious.
One day. She’d only had to be pretty on her eighteenth birthday, and she could have returned to that state each year. Charley had. She’d been gorgeous. Then again, she hadn’t been in an institution, forced to change her body’s figure every other day or been disciplined when she failed—as she usually did. James, too, had done well and picked a handsome, strong form.
At the thought of Cael and his less than perfect form, Lily giggled. “That’s what he gets for drinking underage.”
She fought back the tears, biting her pale lips; another part of her that had lost luster in the years she’d been under the government’s watch. Then again, she hadn’t known who her captors were until Cael found the details. Her own government. They’d bought her for research, like some caged monkey, in some desperate desire to learn about Mimics.
