Dissipate

Matthew is dead.

Or had it all been a dream? I sat up to get my bearings. We were in a hotel room I barely recognized. There were no more tears to be shed through my puffy eyes.

“It really happened, didn’t it?” The words hung out there.

Rubbing my back, Aiden softly spoke, “It did.”

Defeated, I slumped. “What time is it?”

“A little after five in the morning. You’ve been asleep since yesterday afternoon. Do you remember the nightmares?”

The last thing I remembered was us getting into bed. Mercifully, I didn’t remember the nightmares. I quit trying to recall them. The last thing I needed was a distorted version of what I’d already seen firsthand.

“No, and I hope I don’t.”

“Me, too.” Aiden checked his phone. “The cops called checking on us. They stated that the bodies had already been identified by Luke Masterson, Peter’s partner. The police said that Luke told them that Peter Peppington had become unhinged. Luke also told them that they both have interests together and that P

eter had been voted off all the boards and asked to leave due to his actions.”

He sighed. “The Society, or whoever the fuck they are, have this all figured out. If we’d said anything, it would have all been discredited by this Luke guy. He was faxing minutes of the meetings where Peter was asked to leave. Luke had already appointed a new person to manage The Society by the name of John.”

The Keeper’s son.

Someone from another Society was here . . . in Fayetteville. Sheer terror ran through me from head to toe. I pushed my matted-hair behind my ear. Bunching the brown comforter with cream squares in my fingers, I kept rethinking over yesterday’s events. I wanted to be anywhere but here.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Matthew was all I could think about. The pain from the loss was only growing as the impact of what I’d done continued to reveal itself. This was all because of me.

“I know. It should have been me. I picked for Matthew to go against the Keeper. Since I had the element of surprise, I took Abraham. If I had known . . .”

The thought of losing Aiden was too much. I shook. “No, you can’t say something like that, Aiden. No, I can’t lose you.”

Sheathing me in a protective hug, Aiden soothed me. “You’re not losing me. I’m here, Kenzie. I’m here.”

Was there something I could have done differently? Laying back down, I closed my eyes and pressed myself closer against Aiden. Everything was still raw. I thought about Matthew’s parents as I willed myself to go back to sleep so the truth would go away. Hopefully, Luke didn’t make Matthew into some monster that had lost his faith in The Light. That was the ultimate shame to bring upon a family.

Matthew’s parents would never know what a true hero their son was.

They’d never know he died for me.

They’d never know I was still alive.

For the millionth time, I vowed to do everything I could to stop The Society.

ON A PARK bench, I picked apart a barely eaten sandwich. I’d needed fresh air. The hotel room had a dank musty smell to it and had become stifling. There was no going home at this point with knowing that Luke Masterson was in the area. He could potentially have other Watchers with him.

For some reason, I doubted the Keeper had told anyone else I was alive. That would mean a misstep on his part. If the word got out that I’d defected, a seed would be planted for others who wanted to know what life was like outside the confines of the community. People would wonder if the doomed were really that bad.

Currently, Aiden was on the phone with his parents telling them about the murders we’d ‘stumbled upon.’ On the phone, Aiden suggested that it would be a good idea if Brooklyn and I moved somewhere safer with a security system. It sounded like his parents wanted that too.

The Sigma Chi house was closing for the holidays so we couldn’t stay there. The apartment now felt tainted and was too dangerous.

A duck landed in the pond, followed by another. They were playing with each other. It was entertaining to watch as I got lost in their movements. Anything to keep my mind off the blood . . . the death . . . Matthew’s lifeless face looking up at me.

Sitting next to me, Aiden put his arm around my shoulder. I leaned in as little puffs of breath left me in the cold air. “Mom and Dad are coming here tonight. They agree that it would be smart to get you and Brooklyn moved into a house with security. They’re shaken up that we were so close to danger.”

If they only knew.

Aiden continued, “Don’t worry about the finances. We’ll make it work.”