Bad Bloods (36 page)

Catelyn and Jane sat on the grass together,
dressed in matching red suits, and both women giggled like sunshine
lived inside of them. After everything that happened, I had managed
to keep my promise to Catelyn. She had a home with the Hendersons
as their adopted daughter. Stephanie Henderson, their biological
daughter, had died. When the election had settled down and the
proper paperwork could be read, it became clear that the Eastern
Flock had been stopped at the border and executed, Stephanie among
them. Still, Jane remained focused on helping bad bloods—especially
female bad bloods—find homes, education, and jobs. Catelyn was the
first person she helped. The two seemed inseparable now. Catelyn
even kept me up-to-date on the Highlands. Ami, after all, had
returned to her mother, and I worried for the fourteen-year-old.
Catelyn insisted she was fine, even happy, and Marion sent me
letters every week. She was fighting to take down the gates of the
Highlands, to combine the areas so we could meld together even
more, but some didn’t like that. And more didn’t like bad bloods
receiving rights.

Border patrol was arresting up to a dozen
people a day, and hate crimes were rampant. Vandalism of the new
memorial was actually the reason it was opening up so late. But
today—despite the rumors of eggs—it looked beautiful.

It was difficult to tear my eyes away from it
to search the crowd for other familiar faces. It was even more
difficult to look past the cameras snapping photos of me—the girl
who escaped a blood camp, the girl who stole souls, the girl who
took the place of another, the girl who loved that boy from those
ambushes. I had many names now. So did the others. But I wanted to
see them for myself.

As far as I knew, Ryne, Tessa, Justan, and
Ron were placed into adoption, but I hadn’t seen them since. Even
when I looked them up, I couldn’t find them. And now—looking across
the field—I didn’t see them here either.

“You’ll see them again one day,” Daniel said,
knowing I was looking for them.

“I always thought we’d be inseparable.”

He fiddled with a silver ribbon in my hair.
“We are.”

I wasn’t sure if he was referring to the
memorial, to the flocks, or to us, but I decided it didn’t matter.
I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the people I had met
and the people I had lost. Staying alive and well was the only
proof I needed to know we were all together.

“Do you want to see it?” Daniel asked as he
started pulling me toward the tower.

I fought a giggle, knowing I had no choice in
the matter, and I followed him to the building. The last time we’d
climbed it, I thought he was insane when he asked me to become
Stephanie, and now, only four months later, I still thought he was
crazy. But the right kind of crazy.

I let him drag me to the top, allowing all
the swirling white gold names to blur past me, but I still tried to
count them as I went. A total of one hundred and twenty names
followed us to the top, and although many described it as morbid, I
was relieved to be in a place where bad bloods were remembered,
celebrated, acknowledged, and—alive. They would always be
alive.

When we reached the top, I knew that was the
point of it all. The warm air rushed past us, and in the spring
gale, my silver ribbon flew out of my hair. I tried to reach for
it, but it flew away, and I grabbed the railing to stop myself from
falling over.

That’s when I saw him.

He caught the ribbon, the silver glowing in
his fingertips as much as his smile. A sad smile.

Robert.

He mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”

And before I could shout out to him, Daniel
wrapped his arms around my waist, and my eyes fluttered to his
face. “Amazing, isn’t it?” he asked, looking out across the
crowd—at the hundreds of people coming out to support us, still
behind makeshift fences that would soon be taken down—but I wasn’t
looking at a single one.

I stared at the empty spot where Robert had
stood. He was gone now, and so was the ribbon. I blinked and even
rubbed my eyes, searching and searching some more, but I never
found him again.

Robert was gone. He had disappeared.

“Sissy.” Serah was by my side before I even
realized it. She had followed us up the tower. “What are you
looking at?”

I looked at her, at her curly blonde head and
wide brown eyes, and then, I looked past her to Melody, her plump
cheeks shoved in between the railings. She even giggled and waved,
and the waiting crowed reacted, cheering and throwing signs up in
the air.

I finally saw the hundreds of people, and all
the flowers they were carrying, and all the signs I couldn’t quite
read yet. Daniel read them to me, but Serah kept her eyes on the
spot I had searched.

“I have a few people I have to greet,” Daniel
said, squeezing my hand before letting go. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

This time when he said it, I believed him,
and I believed myself.

“I love you too,” I said, and he grinned
before leaving the tower and the view of the Highlands behind
him.

Serah tugged on my hand. “What were you
looking at?”

I glanced at the crowd, but still found no
one. “Nothing.” I smiled, picking up Melody in the process. “You
want to watch everyone up here with me?”

Serah nodded eagerly, taking a moment to wave
at our parents, and they waved back. It all happened in the exact
moment Daniel opened the gates.

Some of the people were excited, some were
just there to take pictures—to say they were there—and others were
there to cry. People, rich and poor, humans and bad bloods, walked
around, reading the signs, speaking with the survivors, and soon,
the crowd blended together until you couldn’t tell the difference
anymore. The only ones that stuck out were the haters and rioters
who were kicked out.

Bad bloods would be looked down on for many
years to come, but at least we were making progress. And maybe,
just maybe, one day they would look like everyone else. Maybe not.
Tough times awaited us, but good times did too. And I was proud
that we had time at all.

When the first person reached the top of the
tower, I hadn’t expected it to be a teen boy, one I had searched
for earlier, one whose eye had healed since the last time I saw
him.

Ryne ran over and hugged me. I put Melody
down so I could hug him back.

“How are you?” I asked, unable to hold back
the rush in my voice.

“I’m good,” he said, pulling back as more and
more people filled the top of the tower, some obviously listening
to our conversation. “I was adopted into the Highlands.” It was the
reason I hadn’t seen him.

When I glanced up, two men holding hands
smiled at me. I nodded at them. They had given Ryne a place to
live.

“And you?” he asked. “Where have you
been?”

“I’m happy,” I said, feeling the word in my
heart for the first time, “and I’m home.”

The End

Shannon A. Thompson is a
twenty-three-year-old author, avid reader, and habitual chatterbox.
She was merely sixteen when she was first published, and a lot has
happened since then. Thompson's work has appeared in numerous
poetry collections and anthologies, and her first installment of
The Timely Death Trilogy became Goodreads' Book of the Month. As a
novelist, poet, and blogger, Thompson spends her free time writing
and sharing ideas with her black cat named after her favorite
actor, Humphrey Bogart. Between writing and befriending cats, she
graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in
English, and she travels whenever the road calls her.

Visit her blog for writers and readers at
www.shannonathompson.com
.

When I was little, my father used to ask me
what color the sky was. If he said gray, I’d say blue. If he said
blue, I’d say gray. I was always one to argue, but I never debate
whether or not he influenced my life. Without my father’s support,
I wouldn’t have been able to follow my dreams, and for that, I
thank him with all of my love.

Around the same time in my childhood, I had
many dreams, and every fairy tale out there told me to wish on
stars to make my dreams come true. I did, but I mainly wondered
when it would happen. My imagination decided wishes must come true
on a full moon, because that was when the world is at its
brightest. Now that I am older, I know that this is still true but
a lot more complicated.

Dreams are those brightest moments, just like
a full moon, but they come true from hard work, dedication, and a
dash of good luck…and that dash of good luck comes from wishing on
stars. Those stars in life are those who made it happen. Everyone
at Clean Teen Publishing is a star. I thank Courtney, Rebecca,
Marya, Melanie, and all the CTP authors for being those shining
stars even on the darkest of days. Dreams are bright because of
you.

At the end of the day, there are too many
people to thank, but I always thank my readers. Your daily messages
keep the days bright and warm, and I cannot thank you enough to
express my gratitude. Just know that when I look at the sky at
night—while I’m writing that next novel or blog post or tweet—I am
reminded of you, and I am grateful for all of your kindness.

Thank you,

~SAT

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If you are enjoying the Bad Bloods Series, we
recommend you check out Shannon's other complete series titled The
Timely Death Trilogy.

Two destines. One death.

"Her kiss could kill us, and my consent
signed our death certificates."

Eric Welborn isn't completely human, but he
isn't the only shade in the small Midwest town of Hayworth. With
one year left before his eighteenth birthday, Eric is destined to
win a long-raging war for his kind. But then she happens. In the
middle of the night, Eric meets a nameless shade, and she's
powerful—too powerful—and his beliefs are altered. The Dark has
lied to him, and he's determined to figure out exactly what lies
were told, even if the secrets protect his survival.

Jessica Taylor moves to Hayworth, and her
only goal is to find more information on her deceased biological
family. Her adoptive parents agree to help on one condition:
perfect grades. And Jessica is distraught when she's assigned as
Eric's class partner. He won't help, let alone talk to her, but
she's determined to change him—even if it means revealing
everything he's strived to hide.

Minutes Before Sunset is the first book in
The Timely Death Trilogy. The Timely Death Trilogy is a brand-new
exciting young adult paranormal series.

Get
your copy today!