Take Me Tomorrow

by Shannon A. Thompson

Phelps paused, and the entire room buzzed with a weak applause. Everyone in the room knew something − or someone − that would give Wheston Phelps reason enough to end everything. He had already taken lives, but that wasn’t his goal this time. He needed to destroy the drug, not us, but he needed us in order to do it.

  He turned around in a slow circle. “After careful consideration, we decided to cancel school for one week as we continue our investigation. Those we need to speak to should’ve gotten notices from their teachers, and we encourage everyone to come forward if they have any information. Anyone who has information that doesn’t come forward will be aiding a crime, and they will be treated as equal criminals when we find out,” he said. “You are all dismissed.”

  The room shifted, but he had to repeat himself for anyone to stand. Gradually, everyone stood up from their seats and filed toward the exit. A rush of whispers soared over the crowd, and Lily’s shaking hand clutched onto my arm. My maroon skirt skimmed over her bare legs as I stood, “Come on,” I said as I pulled her to her feet.

  “He looked at us,” she whispered.

  I nodded.

  “Do you think,” Lily’s high-pitched voice caught in her throat. “Do you think he hurt Miles?”

  “Don’t think about it right now,” I said, knowing how she didn’t have to ask.

  Miles was hurt. It didn’t matter that he was a teenager. He had tomo in his blood. He had to know something, and they would do their best to get it out of him. For everyone’s sake, I hoped he hadn’t said a word.

  “Ms. Gray?” a male voice broke through the crowd. Lily’s hand tightened on my arm. “Ms. Sophia Gray?”

  I turned around and stared at the sage-uniformed solider in front of me. My father had taught me where they hid their guns − in the right pocket inside of their jacket − and that was exactly where my eyes landed.

  I steadied my feet as everyone passed us. No one glanced my way. No one wanted to be guilty by association.

  “Yes?” I asked, my voice shaking more than I hoped.

  “Come with me,” he directed.

  I had to pry Lily’s hand off of me so I could follow him. I stared at his back until we reached the center of the room. People stepped aside as if we were untouchable gods − or demons − but I concentrated on my expression, unreadable, yet confident. I had to do this. Even though I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, I needed to handle it.

  Wheston Phelps was less than a foot away from me. The officer spoke to him before he stepped away, and Phelps’ gaze was on me.

  He had aged significantly since the last time I had seen him up close. The wrinkles around his dark eyes had grown, and his eyebrows were wild. If I remembered correctly, he was in his mid-fifties, but he looked like he was almost seventy. Even then, his steady gaze was perfected, but his smirk threatened more than his words ever could.

  When he grinned, his canine teeth shined. “Ms. Gray,” he spoke enthusiastically. “How are we doing today?”

  “Worried for the Topeka Region, sir,” I responded mechanically. “How are you?”

  The figurehead shrugged without a single wrinkle forming on his pearl-white shirt. He adjusted a couple of papers on the podium before he fiddled with the microphone. It didn’t buzz, but he unplugged it, and two soldiers stepped around us. Our conversation was going to be private, and he was going to guarantee it.

  “Your father tells me he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you before I sent him out,” he said. “I apologize for that,” he continued as he faced me. His hands folded in front of his chest. “I don’t like to mix family matters into business.” My heartbeat raced for the Tomery family − Noah’s family − and how they had been chased out or killed.

  “I understand,” I squeaked.

  Phelps’ eyes danced. “I made the mistake of assuming you were home, since you were not among the children at the Homecoming dance.”

  My jaw locked. He was testing me. He knew I was there. My name should’ve been on the attendance list, but Pierson was at the door. He must not have marked it.

  “I was home,” I responded, hoping he didn’t sense my hesitation. “I was checking the acres behind our house.”

  “You must be very dedicated,” he stated. “The storm did a lot of damage that evening.”

  “I’m used to it.”

  “I’m sure,” Phelps said, nodding as if he spent his days removing damaged brush.

  In the September heat, it actually was necessary. We had too many chances of a fire if we didn’t take care of it. I had spent most of the past few days catching up. My hands were cut up, and I made sure to hold them in front of me so he could see.

  Sure enough, his eyes moved across them. “Well, then,” he said, “that’s all I had to say, Ms. Gray,” he dismissed. “You should get back to your studies. I hear you’re doing quite well this semester.” He was watching me.

  I fought the urge to cringe. “Thank you, sir.”

  “If you’d like,” he continued before I could walk away, “I could have my workers check up on you while your father is away.” His upper lip twitched. “I’d hate to think something could happen to a young girl such as yourself living alone like you do.”

  “Lyn lives with me,” I reminded him, unable to hold back my nervous tone, “but my family appreciates the offer, sir.” The last thing I wanted was Phelps’ men in my house.

  “Very well, Ms. Gray,” he said, but his gaze turned into a glare. “Lyn and you should be very careful. The State values responsible citizens as much as it is willing to punish the negligent ones.”

  My hand shot up to my mother’s necklace before I could prevent it. I forced a smile to make up for it. “That’s why I feel so safe here,” I complimented him. “I am proud to live in Topeka.”

  Phelps leaned back, and his genuine smile relaxed my nerves. “You may go now.”

  Before he could strike up another conversation, I walked away, fleeing out the doors with the echo of my heels behind me. Beyond the doors, kids were being filed into classrooms for dismissal.

  A hand shot out of the crowd to grab the loose fabric of my uniform. I yelped as Lily’s white hair caught my attention. “What the hell was that about?” she hissed into my frizzy curls.

  This time, I clutched her for comfort. “Nothing,” I said, widening my eyes at her to let her know the truth.

  I was in trouble.

  Perfectly Still. Calm. Deadly.

  I held my silver necklace to stop my hands from shaking. Phelps’ men had slowly left the school, but the students lingered, waiting for parents to pick them up. I could’ve walked home, but I sat with Lily as she told me everything – which was practically nothing.

  She didn’t know what had happened. She only knew Miles had “accidentally” taken tomo, and he was arrested for questioning. Her mother had spoken to him once before she went to the police station. She had yet to return, and Lily was a broken twin.

  “I just don’t know,” she repeated, but her voice didn’t shake. Now that Phelps was gone, she was calm. It was unlike her. Too unlike her.

  I dropped my voice before I spoke up, “But you knew Pierson.”

  She shifted, but she began to braid her hair as if that was why she moved. I recognized the move because I did it whenever I was trying to cover up my motions. She knew something. She just wasn’t talking.

  “Tell me what’s actually going on,” I pressed.

  Her bottom lip turned white when she bit it.

  “Lily—”

  “I can’t.” She confirmed everything in two words. She knew. She just didn’t know that I did, too.

  “I can’t either,” I muttered.

  Lily’s shoulders sprang up, and her brown eyes flickered over my face. She didn’t pale or speak, but she didn’t have to because someone else did.

  “Sophia.”

  It was a boy who interrupted us, and it wasn’t a voice I recognized until I saw his face. His defined jawline was impossible to forget. He looked lik
e a man among boys.

  “Anthony,” I stated, remembering the blonde from the Homecoming party. “Hey.”

  He tilted his head, but he only looked at me. “You look tired.”

  I shrugged as he shuffled his black bag from one shoulder to the other. I stood up to survey the empting courtyard. I didn’t know where Anthony had come from.

  “I didn’t see you at the assembly,” I managed.

  He moved closer. Too close. “I didn’t see much of you at the dance.”

  My heart sunk. That was right. He had seen me at the dance. He knew that I should’ve been in custody, but I wasn’t − and he wasn’t either.

  I squinted at him, but he continued to smile. My gut twisted as I stepped back. “I left early,” I excused myself cautiously.

  He seemed to be suppressing his laughter. “Me, too,” he agreed, never looking at Lily. She hadn’t moved. “I saw you talking to Phelps.”

  I didn’t have time to respond before he spoke again, “What did you two talk about?”

  “That’s none of your business,” Lily spoke up.

  It was the harshness of her tone that stopped me. Lily, the hyper girl who had introduced us, had practically snarled. I studied her reddened face as I slipped my body between the two.

  “What’s going on here?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Anthony remarked, raising his eyebrows too mechanically. He had forced it, and his innocence came off as anything but sincere.

  “Then, we’d rather be alone,” I said, but he didn’t move. “We’re talking.”

  He squared his shoulders in the way a dog’s fur rose when it was trying to look bigger than it actually was. “I don’t mind listening.”

  I heard the rush of footsteps first, and the shout of my name followed. I didn’t have time to turn around. Broden’s hand was on my arm, and I stumbled as he yanked me back. He was in front of Lily and me before I could stop him.

  “What are you doing here?” Broden growled at Anthony. In seconds, Broden rolled up his green sleeves, and the veins on his arms stuck out with adrenaline. He wanted to fight.

  “Broden.” Anthony whistled low, “You’re still here,” he spoke as his emerald eyes moved over Broden’s clothes. “Nice shirt.”

  Broden’s eyes were wild. “What do you want, Tony?”

  Anthony − or Tony − lifted his pointed chin. “How’s the arm?” he asked, a look of accomplishment crossing his stare. “It looks like it healed up pretty well.”

  It was only then that I realized Broden’s splint was gone. His arm had healed, but he held it up like he was willing to fracture it again.

  “You know,” Anthony’s words lingered, “I didn’t believe the rumors until I saw you. Now, I know he’s back.”

  An animalistic hum escaped Broden’s throat.

  Anthony smirked, “Wasn’t too hard to find yah.”

  “I wasn’t hiding,” Broden snapped.

  “You weren’t,” Anthony prided. “You never were one to sell out Noah for anything.” Noah’s name echoed. “I suppose I could’ve inflicted more pain.”

  My knees shook. Anthony was the one who hurt Broden. Not Noah. Not the government. Anthony, or Tony, or whoever he was, had done it.

  “He’s not here,” Broden said, stepping back. I stepped back with him, and Lily jumped up to join us.

  “You expect me to believe that?” Anthony asked. “I know why he’s back,” he said, “and Phelps himself brought me back from Phoenix to prevent that.”

  He was a jailbreak. Miles and Broden had been right all along, even before they knew it. Anthony was a criminal just like the rest of us had become.

  In that second, Anthony leaned over to look at me. “I have a feeling you know exactly what I’m talking about, Ms. Gray.”

  “I don’t know you,” I spat back, “or who you’re talking about.”

  Before I could continue, Broden held up his arm, “You should leave, Tony,” he said, gesturing to the kids around us. They were starting to stare. “Don’t think Phelps has forgotten your involvement in this. If you screw up now, he’ll only send you back.”

  For a split second, Anthony’s dark eyes widened, but the look dissipated. Even his facial expressions mimicked Noah’s. They could’ve been brothers.

  Anthony straightened up. “It was good to see you,” he spoke like a professional. Perfectly still. Calm. Deadly.

  Neither of the boys moved. They only glared at one another until Anthony spun around on one heel. “See you around campus, Sophia,” he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

  I didn’t breathe until he rounded the corner of the building and disappeared out of sight. Broden leapt forward, anticipating a chase, but he bounced back and turned to us. His face was burning. “You two okay?”

  I was the first to respond, “Who was that?” I spat, looking from Lily to Broden. They both dropped their faces. “Who’s Tony?”

  Broden shushed me as he grabbed my arm. “Let’s walk and talk,” he said.

  I only obeyed because I didn’t want anyone hearing us any more than they did. We picked up our backpacks and walked straight toward the exit. Only Lily looked behind us. She was paler than I thought was possible for her tanned complexion. Even then, she wasn’t quiet. “I didn’t recognize him—”

  “You should’ve,” Broden interrupted, practically stomping next to us.

  “He shot up two feet, lost one hundred pounds, and his face morphed,” Lily ranted back. “You can’t blame me.”

  “So, when did you recognize him?”

  “I didn’t,” Lily squeaked. “Miles didn’t either.”

  Broden and I stopped. She had heard from her brother.

  “Miles?” I repeated. “Is he okay?”

  “We shouldn’t stay here.” Her words were rushed as she forced us to continue walking. Somehow, in all of the chaos, we had silently agreed to head to my house. We had thirty minutes to discuss things with the noisy roads blocking our conversation.

  “I don’t know if he’s okay,” Lily managed finally. “The police came to our house and took him.” Miles wasn’t arrested at the party, after all. “My mother hasn’t been back from the station since.”

  At least half of her story was true.

  “Anthony,” Broden repeated the name as he shook his head. “I should’ve known it was him when you said he was from Phoenix.”

  “They said he was in high school,” she defended. “Isn’t he twenty?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  That explained the jawline.

  “I still don’t know who Tony is,” I interrupted.

  Lily’s eyes flickered to me before she glanced at Broden. His jaw popped as if he were preventing it from locking. “He’s—” Broden stopped himself. “She knows,” he said to Lily.

  She squeaked and covered her mouth like she could hide her shock.

  I tried not to roll my eyes. Of course she was involved. “So, you can tell me.”

  “He used to be involved with Miles,” she stuttered, “and Noah.”

  “He’s Noah’s cousin,” Broden clarified.

  He was a Tomery, too. I hadn’t been imagining the resemblance. They were related by blood.

  “And now, he works for Phelps,” Broden grumbled, rubbing his face. “Noah isn’t going to like this.”

  Lily grabbed my hand. “I wouldn’t have introduced you two if I had known,” she said it like it was an apology. “But he requested you.” My heart skipped. “Now, I know why.”

  Phelps had directed it. He knew my father, and he knew my friends. I was guilty by association, and he had counted on me being too naïve to realize it.

  “I didn’t know,” Lily continued as we neared my house. “I didn’t know that you were involved.”

  “Me neither, Lily,” I said.

  “Enough of that,” Broden interrupted as we neared my house. “We need a plan, and you need to go home.” For once, Lily was the one being told to stay away.

  She opened her mouth a
s if she would argue, but Broden held his palm up. “You need to wait for Miles,” he clarified his directions, a luxury I had only recently gained. “I can handle Noah.”

  Lily grabbed her braided hair. “So, he is back.” Apparently, she hadn’t seen him at the party. Not once. And the others had left her oblivious, too.

  “I didn’t think I had to say that,” Broden spoke so quietly that I barely heard him.

  Lily nodded as her eyes moved over the street. She looked as if her legs would crumble beneath her at any moment. “I’ll call you if Miles gets released.”

  “Don’t call,” Broden said, leaning over to hug her. She gripped his back like she would never let him go. When he pulled back, he patted the top of her head. “Just come over.” He didn’t have to tell her he was talking about my house.

  “Okay,” Lily agreed. Unlike me, she followed orders. She always had. “I’ll see you later, Sophia,” she said, managing a small wave as if we had a regular conversation. It hadn’t occurred to me that this was regular for her – only three years ago. As she ran away, I tried to comprehend how they had stayed silent for so long. My friends were beyond me.

  “I don’t know how you guys hid it,” I managed as Broden and I continued to walk.

  “We didn’t,” he said, never looking over. “You just didn’t listen.”

  Stop This Now

  Broden wasn’t wrong. Not completely, anyway.

  In the first year I had met him, he had ended up in the hospital. When I visited him, he said it was nothing. Even though I knew he was lying, I didn’t question it, and I didn’t question it when he returned to school and the twins acted like someone had died. Now, I knew the Tomery’s had fled, and Broden had helped them. Miles and Lily did, too.

  Although I was friends with the twins since I was seven, the fact that the twins hadn’t introduced me to Broden until high school should’ve been warning enough. They even spoke about his military school, but I had believed it was for fighting. If I had thought about it, then I would’ve seen the contradiction the day at the hospital. He had obviously been in a fight, but he returned to our school without a warning. His parents had gotten him out. The same parents that helped create tomo. How they hadn’t been arrested was still a mystery. Everything was. Whenever I learned more, I questioned more.