Gifted Connections 2

Collin looked like he was inwardly cursing at himself. “Look, babe, I’m sorry. I know you were laying here sick and all, but I was so worried about you, and I needed to get my mind off things, so I went to Jaxson’s celebration party. That was a great game, wasn’t it man?” His smile didn’t even reach his eyes.

Troy stood, and he looked at us contemplatively. “I wasn’t aware you were dating anyone.”

Collin had the audacity to blush. “Yeah well, it’s new and we’re still getting to know each other again.”

“So, there’s nothing going on with you and Rose?” Troy asked, although I could see he already knew the answer.

Collin’s eyes widened in surprise, before he stammered. “No, man, she’s still dating Drake, isn’t she? Besides,” he looked over at me. “With a girl like her living with me, why would I want anyone else? Anyway, I just talked to the nurse. She said you’re free to go home. Do you want to go home, grab a movie, and recuperate on the couch together all day?”

I resisted the urge to snort as Noah came walking into the room. He stopped short when he saw Collin in there. “Hey man,” he said coolly as he exchanged a look with Troy. I knew they were secretly communicating with each other.

“Was he hooking up with Rose last night?” I projected my thoughts to Troy.

Troy didn’t even react in surprise as he looked over at me and barely nodded.

“Did Remy confirm that she hit on him?” I asked.

Again, he nodded.

I sighed in satisfaction and sadness. I was glad that I was proven right, but sad Drake may have to have his heart broken once more.

I was brought out of my thoughts as I heard Collin saying, “Great, so get dressed, babe, and we can go home.”

I was brought out of my thoughts as I looked over at Noah. “How’s Ella doing?” I asked, making sure to emphasize her name. Then I looked over at Collin to see what his reaction would be to my following words. “Did you know they found my sister and a few other children locked up in dog kennels? They were severely dehydrated and malnourished. One of the children said if they were lucky, their caretakers remembered to give them some bread and water once a day.”

Collin flushed white. From his expression I knew he wasn’t faking it. I knew then he had no clue that these children were being taken or bought and forced to live in horrible conditions before being moved to Horatio’s facility. Horatio was building his own ‘army,’ but why were they treated so horribly before they were transported to goodness knows where? What was the purpose of it all? “What-” he stammered. “You’re joking, right?”

I stood up on weak legs. I had this gut feeling that I would no longer have to spy on Collin. I think with the right push, he might be able to be won over to our side. I was beginning to suspect that Horatio had various levels of minions working for him. I had a feeling people like Collin and Mr. Young was willing to work for him, for whatever reason, and they truly didn’t know how Horatio fully operated. I had seen it in Mr. Young’s eyes, and I was seeing it now in Collin’s.

Troy was quick to grab one of my arms.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” Noah murmured quietly.

I nodded. “He needs to know.”

I walked over to the door. “I think there’s something you need to see.” I looked at Collin. I was going to lay all my cards out on the table and hope I was right.

We walked over to the room next door, where my sister still laid unresponsive on the bed, but Chip was sitting up playing with a hand-held video game while cartoons played from the TV on the wall. He looked up with a smile as he held up the video game for us to see. “Look, Noah!” he said excitedly. “I beat four levels already.”

I looked over at Noah and saw a blush on his cheeks, and I had a feeling he had purchased the video game system for Chip to get his mind off his ordeal.

I smiled at him.

“Good job, buddy!” Noah said with genuine excitement.

I walked over and pushed the curtain open where my sister was.

“We removed her feeding tube this morning, but still have fluids going to her through the IV,” Noah said. “She’s still unresponsive, though.”

“What happened?” Collin gulped, his eyes round with horror.

“We had to rescue a group of children from a couple that was holding them for Horatio,” Troy explained solemnly.

“When I last saw her, she was happy and healthy,” I tried to compose myself, so I wouldn’t cry. I pulled the sheets out from under her chin and revealed the scars covering her arms. “She wasn’t battered and broken either,” I whispered. I felt like yelling at Collin and telling him it was his fault and everyone else that had a hand in all of this.

“Ella and I didn’t listen,” Chip said with sadness as he hung his head. “We wanted to go home to our mother and sister. She hated the dog ca

ge. The wires made her uncomfortable. She couldn’t sleep. She was hungry. They moved us all in other cages when I tried to get us free. My cage was made of plastic, I can’t move plastic.”