Bad Bloods (15 page)

Breakfast was over. The Hendersons were
here.

Cal crossed the room first, humming like a
friend had arrived, and I had to remind myself that a friend
had
arrived. They had been friends almost as long as I’d
been alive.

I forced myself to turn around and watch as
Cal opened the door, but I could only find my breath once I
realized it wasn’t the Hendersons but the Hendersons’ driver. He
was tall and dark. Black eyes, black hair, and skin like the
night.

“Adelio,” Cal addressed him, and Adelio
grinned as they patted one another on the backs. Cal and Adelio
knew one another?

“We’d prefer to speak in the alleyway.”
Adelio spoke in an accent I was unfamiliar with, something thick
but smooth. Like music I’d never heard, it was both impossible to
predict and mesmerizing to hear. Serena squeezed my arm like she
was thinking the same thing. I doubted either one of us had met
someone from outside of Vendona before. Ever since the dissolution
of the United States in 2041, immigrants were rare. Speaking
directly to the Council of the States was the only way to leave
your city-state, and it was something only the rich did, for
vacation or to volunteer or study. To live and work in another
city-state was unheard of. Adelio was rare indeed, and I watched
his every move like he was a mirage until they stepped into the
alleyway and closed the door behind them.

“Where do you think he’s from?” Serena
whispered.

“Find out for me,” I whispered back,
wondering why—exactly—we were even whispering. We were alone. But
it was our silence that allowed everything else to happen.

Alec’s voice was the first I recognized, deep
and authoritative, and then Jane’s, smooth like honey. Adelio’s
snuck in every now and then, but they all disappeared as soon as I
heard an engine roar to life.

The door creaked open, and Cal poked his head
in. “You two comin’ or what?”

We scrambled to our feet, nearly tripping
over one another, and then burst into a fit of giggles as we helped
each other to the door. The laughter died as soon as we reached the
threshold. Serena was leaving. I knew that. But seeing Henderson up
close was what made it real.

I grabbed Serena’s hand like I had the right
to hold it forever, and she held mine as though she wished that
were true. The Hendersons watched us, prepared to break our hearts
for the greater good, and Cal looked at us like he was waiting for
us to break ourselves.

“Jane, Alec.” Cal cleared his throat, and I
realized Adelio was gone. “This is Daniel and Serena.”

Mrs. Henderson wore the same hairstyle she
had on television. Her white-blonde hair was pinned back, causing
her brown eyes to look wide but brilliant. Even then, her soft face
reminded me of Michele’s, a mother’s face.

Her husband—Mr. Henderson—was taller than I
thought, even taller than Floyd. But his dusty brown hair was the
same. I could even see the gray streaks running through it, though
his dark eyebrows caught my attention the most. They held no gray
coloring, and I wondered if his stylists dyed them darker to make
his eyes look lighter, more illuminated and brilliant like his
wife’s gaze.

No one spoke for a moment as we all looked
one another over, and I had to fight myself from stepping behind
Serena. For the first time in my life, I wanted to hide.

Jane smiled first. “Well, hello there.” Her
voice was like wind chimes, bouncy, sweet, and charming. “I’m
Jane.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Serena squeaked.

I had to give her credit. I couldn’t even
respond.

Alec gave me the onceover, and I doubted I’d
even be able to speak again. “You’re Daniel?”

I nodded, paused, and nodded again. What was
wrong with me?

Calhoun chuckled as he laid his only hand on
my shoulder. “The kids are nervous.”

Alec grinned. “No reason for that,” he said.
“We’re all people here.”

People. Serena tensed because she heard it
too. We were people to him. Not bad bloods. Not less than human.
People.

I had to clear my throat to keep my emotions
under control. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir, ma’am.” I bowed my
head. I actually bowed. And I wanted to die from embarrassment.

Henderson’s eyebrows rose, but his smile
remained. “Please, my boy, don’t be so formal.” His voice was as
smooth as his wife’s, and I wondered if it was an accent of the
Highlands. I worried Serena wouldn’t sound like they did. She
glanced at me like she was thinking the same thing.

“Maybe we should go inside for now?” Alec
suggested. “Adelio will return when needed.” It was then that I
realized the car was gone. Adelio must have been driving it around
town, so we could talk.

We were inside Cal’s in seconds, like Alec
controlled all of Vendona already, and I fought the urge to
apologize for how small Cal’s apartment was, how dim it was, how
shabby it must have looked to them. But Jane and Alec seemed
comfortable, like they’d been inside Cal’s house before. After that
thought, I had to fight the urge to ask them if they had. We had
more pressing things to discuss.

Alec leaned against the countertop, and the
gesture seemed wrong to me. I’d never seen him lean before. He was
always standing up straight, and he never smiled. A politician’s
smile was seen as weakness, but Alec had barely stopped smiling
since his arrival, and he definitely hadn’t stopped looking us
over.

“How do you guys feel about all of this?”

It wasn’t a question I was expecting.

“I, uh—” I looked at Serena.

She was too focused on Henderson to notice
me. “They’ll recognize me,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Henderson nodded. “That’s the plan.”

Serena’s eyebrows rose. “You’re serious about
this then?” Her tone said it all. This had just become real to her
too.

“Very.”

“We will cut and dye your hair,” Jane spoke
up. “And we’ll help you to gain a few pounds,” she added it like
she felt bad for Serena—or for her missing daughter. The streets
were harsh, but even the Hendersons knew that Serena went through
much more than the streets. It occurred to me that their daughter
could’ve been executed in the exact blood camp Serena escaped from.
But no one even knew if she were dead. From what I was told anyway.
“They’ll recognize you, but you’ll look different enough that no
one will dare question it,” Jane continued, slower this time.
“You’ll be a walking ghost—haunting them with what they did to
you.” Her voice cracked. “And you’ll look powerful.” She cleared
her throat. “You are powerful.”

Serena didn’t budge, and it occurred to me
that Jane was right. Serena was powerful. Very powerful. And her
response was deafening.

“I don’t want to cut my hair. Or dye it,” she
said. “Let them see me.”

Jane’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and
her husband tensed.

“I could use a few pounds though,” Serena
added with a smile.

Henderson’s face nearly broke from his grin.
“Brilliant, my dear,” he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.
“Just brilliant.” Everything was calm until his eyes slid over to
me. “And you?”

I swallowed. I knew what he was referring to,
and I avoided Serena’s gaze as I stepped forward, pulled the photo
out of my pocket, and gave it to him. “It’s the only one I have,” I
muttered, hoping it would distract him from the fact I had been
shaking when I handed it over.

He took it carefully, like I handed him
precious gems instead of an old photograph. I could sense Serena
inching forward, trying to see what I gave him, so I moved over so
she couldn’t. I didn’t think I was capable of explaining myself. I
never was.

Jane watched me like she knew what I was
doing, and her all-knowing eyes slid over to Serena instead of the
photo. “You’re in the Northern Flock then?”

My stomach twisted, knowing the question was
directed at Serena.

“No,” she answered. “Southern.”

Jane was looking at me again, putting the
pieces together. “How does that work?”

“It doesn’t,” I said.

Alec Henderson was too focused on the photo
to hear what was happening, but my tone must have caught his
attention because he glanced up. “Thank you for this aid. I will do
my best to return it to your care.”

So formal. Like an old novel.

“How old are you?” Jane was an interrogation
on heels. The questions kept coming.

I cleared my throat. “Eighteen.”

“Seventeen,” Serena answered for herself.

A half-gasp escaped Jane as she looked us up
and down. I wondered what she knew or what she saw or what she
thought. Did we look older than we should have? Was it just our
stories that bothered her? I doubted I’d ever know. It was my
reality.

“How long have you been the leader?”
Henderson, unlike his wife, was unfazed as he asked the questions
he needed to know for the future.

“Since I was eleven,” I said. “I was six when
I ended up on the streets.”

Henderson raised a brow. “And your
brothers?”

“Eight and four.”

Dead. They were both dead.

Henderson’s eyes fell to the photo, and
Serena grabbed my hand like she sensed I needed it.

“You’ve heard about my speech then?”
Henderson asked, still searching the photograph.

They were all dead.

“Yes,” I croaked. I’d heard the plans from
Calhoun, and I agreed to it. I had. I just had to get through this
one moment, and I could leave it all behind again.

“Don’t forget this,” Henderson said the worst
words he could have said, and his eyes slid up to me, forming into
an authoritative glare like he could force me to accept it. “This
will save lives.” He glanced at Serena. “Both of you will.”

We nodded because that was all we could
do.

“Well,” Henderson spoke like that was his
default setting. “It’s time to go save lives, then.” He looked from
Serena to me and back to Serena, watching as neither of us dropped
the other’s hand. “We’ll wait in the car.”

Jane nodded, and the two said their goodbyes
to Cal. I spun to Serena before we ran out of time, but she was
already walking to the front door. I had to collect myself before
chasing her. Everything was moving so fast—too fast. The Hendersons
were in their car, and Calhoun was inside, and Serena was
walking—no, marching—toward the black car at the end of the
alleyway, and I was left to stop her. I grabbed her arm before she
disappeared forever.

She spun around, ready to fight like she
hadn’t expected me to follow her. When her hand landed on her
heart, I knew I had scared her. It was all I was good for.

“Daniel,” she breathed my name, and her
breath fogged out in front of her. It was freezing. I was already
shivering, but her smirk warmed me up. “I thought you didn’t say
goodbye.”

That was why she walked away without saying
anything. She accepted me, right before I was about to change.

I dug into my pocket and pulled it out before
I could talk myself out of it. When I shoved it into her hands, she
stared for a long while. The silver bracelet shone in the afternoon
sunlight, the little moon charm catching most of it, like it was
the real moon trying to reflect all the light back.

“Daniel,” she said my name again. “What is
this?”

Bad bloods never purchased jewelry. We didn’t
get anything. But I wanted to give Serena something—anything—and
Cal had allowed me to borrow money that morning for this
purpose.

“It’s for you,” I said. “I got it for
you.”

I truly loved her for the short period of
time we had together. I felt as if she was part of my destiny. To
see that destiny leave was the most unexplainable feeling. It was
also the worst.

“Do you not like it?” I asked when she
remained silent.

She shoved it back in my hands. “Wait for
me.”

“What?”

“I want a chance to love you too.” Her gray
eyes were thunderstorms, glazed with water. “Wait for me.” Then,
she stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips, fast and hard.
I didn’t even have time to kiss her back. She was gone as soon as
she came, and I blinked, trying to focus on her swinging blonde
ponytail as she ran toward the car.

She never even gave me a chance to say what I
wanted to say most, but that was just like her. I chuckled, my
breath escaping in a painful fog, and my chest tightened. I hadn’t
had time to kiss her back because I’d been too busy slipping the
bracelet back into her coat pocket. She’d find it when she got to
the Highlands.

“Goodbye, Serena,” I whispered into the
November wind.

The
car’s windows were tinted so that it looked like night outside. I
kept my eyes on the outskirt roads, all the people and shops and
tiny houses we passed in a blur. All eyes followed us. The way we
drove around, Henderson wanted everyone to see us. I suspected that
was part of the plan.