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On one hand, I don’t think Ronan is capable of faking his feelings. The kindness he showed me the night before was someone I’ve never really experienced. Not with friends, not with family, not with ex-boyfriends.
It warmed me, and I don’t ever want to let it go.
But I also can’t lie and say that part of me isn’t suspicious. No matter how many times I tell myself I should just let my guard down now, that it’s safe, I can’t help but have flashbacks to the moment I realized that I was being taken away from my home and that there was someone who looked exactly like me in the car with us.
It hurt. It still hurts, in a way.
After my chess game with Jerry, she’s been treating me differently. Like she actually likes me. Not even that she just tolerates me. No. Like she actually wants me around, even. Offering me snacks and asking me to play another round of chess. We keep ending games in draws, neither of us winning.
It’s fascinating, really.
The more time I spend here, the more time I feel like these people are family. Even Brandon and Zach, who are often in a world of their own. Whether they be out and about on day-long missions or holed up in their rooms playing video games, the two of them are always together. Well, that is, when Brandon isn’t with Elena, which they’re still horribly trying to hide from everyone.
I don’t even know them that well, and I can see it clear as day.
“Sydney!” Jerry calls from across the room. She has papers in her hands, her hair bouncing behind her as she strides toward me.
“Yeah?”
“We finally got a date.”
“When is it?”
She flips through a couple of the pages before finding what she’s looking for. “In three days in Texas. You and Ronan are going to fly out tomorrow morning and then stay at the Texas compound until the meeting.
“Are you sure we’re going to be safe there?” I ask her, hesitant. I’ve come to trust these people here, but I know nothing about the people in Texas.
“They’re a top-secret CIA compound in the middle of Texas. It’s on a ranch. They literally have more guns than half the compounds in the country in that one building. You’re going to be fine.”
Okay.
I think for a minute, realizing that I’ve completely lost track of the calendar. “What’s the date of the meeting?” I ask her.
She looks down again before smiling. “October 11th.”
I count back in my head. “that means that today is—”
“Our birthday.”
We look at each other. Her eyes are bright as she looks at me, her lips tilting in a smile. Something I thought I’d never see if I’m honest.
“Are we celebrating?”
“As soon as the boys get home, we’re going out.”
I smile, looking down at the ground.
I slept in today, and when I woke up, Ronan was gone. He had to go to work, and I tried not to let the disappointment ruin my day. He left me a note on his pillow telling me where the secret stash of candy is.
I pause, not sure what to say. “Do you want to get ready together?” I ask her.
And we do.
She tells me a little bit more about growing up as she goes through all of the clothes I got with Ronan, choosing something she thought would make Ronan combust, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it wasn’t all bad. She had some good things happen to her, too.
“How did you meet the guys?” I ask her.
“Like I said, I was initiated kind of out of pity, if I’m honest. I went through everything other than the memory stuff. I didn’t want to fuck with that, and because I wasn’t here because of some bigger circumstance, they didn’t have to bring me back from the dead basically. They let me get away with not doing it. There are still people who come out of that sleep remembering things. Even if it’s just bits and pieces. People like Ronan don’t want to remember at all, but there are some people who do.
