CHAPTER EIGHT #2
‘It’s another muscle cramp from surfing too much,’ Jacinta said smoothly as she ushered me from the dining room. ‘Before we can have him running Dominion, we’ll need to pry him away from the waves.’
‘Lie down now. And not a word,’ she hissed. There was a softness in her eyes I almost missed, and would’ve missed had I not taken that second to look. Regret for pushing me out there when I should’ve been resting. Or maybe pity that I had the disease in the first place.
Gritting my teeth, I hugged the wall as I made it to my room tucked away in the east wing.
Jorge was already there with my next dose, and I didn’t argue as he motioned for me to roll up my sleeve.
He wiped the skin over a vein clean with alcohol before administering the shot.
I didn’t relax until I felt the cooling sensation work its way through my bloodstream.
After a few moments, he left me alone, and I stared at the ceiling.
The entire exchange at dinner had left a sour taste in my mouth.
I wasn’t bothered by the new medicine making it through trials, but Mayor Whit’s misplaced enthusiasm for profit margins – and his disregard for the people in South Alta his party claimed to uplift – never sat right with me.
He didn’t believe in what he stood for, not the way Grandfather did.
Grandfather’s Freedom System had single-handedly revived the middle class of the United States of the West, lowered poverty levels.
Before it, all we had were ‘unethical billionaires’, as Pua would say, and the poorest of the poor.
Grandfather had crossed from one class to the next.
And I’d be forever proud and grateful for that.
He never talked about it – eyes forward his motto – but he always reached back and taught me to do the same.
I never skipped out on any of our philanthropy initiatives.
They were the only times Jacinta didn’t have to bribe me to show up with the family.
If my future as a Fox was just that, maybe I could’ve lived with playing my part.
But I hated the fakeness. That was what had drawn me to surfing – you couldn’t fake a cutback or getting barreled.
I didn’t know how to make my family understand that surfing wasn’t me abandoning them.
At least, it didn’t have to be. I wished they could see that.
If they did, maybe I wouldn’t be so set on making it pro without them. If they could accept me for me –
Another hellflare flickered at my fingertips. I clenched my fist, grabbing my comforter.
I wanted the chance to find my own identity instead of the life already laid out for me.
I rolled over, face-planting into B3. I owed Nova a name. And just like that, the thought of her had me humming again.
Castor
I’ve got it. Puffa Swells.
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
Puffa Swells. I like it.
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
Wait – is this a reference to a certain country pop star, Lila Blooms?
My chest tightened, unsure if she’d like the reference. It was Lila Blooms’ breakout hit I kept humming – the same song I’d blasted while driving the campervan up the RRH.
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
Quick, finish the lyric
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
Glassways can never dim my light
Castor
The stars know I was meant to shine
Castor
I blame my sister for keeping it on repeat
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
Nope nope. You’re forgetting you passed me on the road before the crash. I heard your campervan bumping ‘Starlight’!!!
I laughed.
Castor
You caught me. It’s been stuck in my head since I first saw you.
I stared at my phone as the three dots appeared and disappeared. Just as I worried that was too much, her text chimed.
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
I didn’t think you’d follow through with a name
I frowned.
Castor
Why wouldn’t I?
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
It’s cutesy. I don’t know any guys out here taking the time to be cutesy
Castor
Sounds like you need to raise your standards
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
To cute innocent surfer guys in campervans?
My mouth curved a little. I don’t know why I’d expected her to say something about me being a rich kid, but she hadn’t. I couldn’t put into words how badly I wanted to be just the surfer guy with the campervan, none of the pressure of being a Fox.
Nova was different from the people who’d surrounded me most of my life. She was unapologetically herself. She didn’t hesitate to call me out on my not-so-chill lunch plans and had no problem beating my ass at every carnival game we played, as evidenced by B3 next to me.
Castor
I’m raising my standards too. To confident, beautiful young women who burst into my world like a supernova.
A few seconds passed, and the cringe settled in.
Castor
That was cringe, wasn’t it?
Hot-Pink Seven-Speed
I. AM. CACKLING. But it was adorable.
Castor
No fair. I want to see you laugh.
My phone rang. Hot-Pink Seven-Speed flashed across my holoscreen, Nova’s selfie from the accident illuminating the display. Adorable even after running into my van. I answered, and her face filled the screen, lit by the soft glow of something off-camera.
‘Hi, Castor Cas,’ she whispered, her full lips curving into the most beautiful smile.
I pulled my drapes and settled into bed.
The Whits would keep Jacinta and Grandfather occupied well into the night, so I doubted either would check on me anytime soon.
I had a few hours before the pain returned – something I’d eventually have to tell her about, but not now.
Right now, I wasn’t a Fox. I was only who Nova saw: a cute, innocent surfer guy with a campervan, falling for the girl staring back at me.
‘Hi, Hot-Pink Seven-Speed.’
We talked for hours, and sometime after, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
My eyes fluttered open as the matress dipped, Jacinta sitting at the edge of the bed.
‘Are you awake?’
I glanced at the time. ‘It’s two a.m. The Whits kept you from checking on me that long?’
‘Don’t start with me.’ She closed her eyes, tilting her head back. ‘I’ve been making arrangements. You have an interview Sunday with Yvonne Meadows, live on NBN News. You’ll announce you have helical disease and that you’re giving it away.’
‘What?’ I thought we’d moved past this when Grandfather backed down this morning. I sat up, immediately regretting it. Pain flooded my spine. ‘I – I don’t want to be the face of the Freedom System. We don’t need to do this. No one knows.’
‘First off, you aren’t being made the face of anything.’ Jacinta waved in the nurse. ‘Second, the Whits know. They’ve seen enough hellflares to piece it together. They agreed to stay quiet, but you know they never do. The press have already been in touch.’
I wanted that to relax me, but it didn’t. ‘I’m just announcing my disease and that’s it?’
‘That’s it. We would’ve told the public eventually, but it never would’ve been anything more than this.’ She smiled weakly. ‘I wish you didn’t think so little of me.’
‘I don’t. I …’ I sighed. As much as we argued or picked at one another, I knew where her heart lay. She’d do anything for me. ‘Sometimes being a Fox feels like a role I have to play. Like I have to give up parts of myself.’
The nurse left, and Jacinta exhaled. ‘You know, I grew up as a Fox too. And that was when Dominion’s success was still fresh. It was overwhelming, to say the least. I tried to run away with your father when we were pregnant with Gemma. Don’t tell her, but she was almost born in a motel in MidCity.’
I balked. ‘You’ve never mentioned that.’
‘It put a lot of strain on my relationship with your grandfather, but I came to understand his worries. He worked so hard to get to where he is – not for himself, but for us. He didn’t want anyone else with the Fox name to ever go back to the world he came from.
’ She fidgeted with the gold bangles at her wrist. Flashes of her tattoo peeked through, two butterflies mid-flight.
‘Eyes forward,’ I said.
Jacinta nodded. ‘Dominion is how we do that, and how we do what we can for others. Yes, there’s a role you have to play, but it’s for your future.
’ She stood. ‘Sunday, five in the evening, live. We’ll do a dry run beforehand to help prepare you.
Don’t forget to give your grandfather your biosig so he can officially put you in the Freedom System.
Time is of the essence. Gemma is already searching for blood-type matches. ’
I leaned back into my pillows. My mom and I were more alike than either of us wanted to admit. But she’d conceded. She had her success, her kids, but was she truly happy? She returned to her role as a Fox without Pop. Did she give him up, or did he choose to leave?
‘Castor? Do you hear me? Don’t tell anyone about the interview or your pending Pain Giver status. Not even Jaiden and Pua. We’ll need to control this narrative.’
I stared at my blank screen. Nova. She’d spoken so highly of her ex-neighbor, it made me wonder how she felt about Pain Givers – they provided a new life to Pain Carriers, along with actual pain. Pain they can’t feel and don’t complain about, I reminded myself.
‘Castor Jace.’
This was the role I had to play. I met Jacinta’s gaze. ‘I won’t tell Jaiden and Pua.’
FORTY DAYS LEFT
By the time Thursday rolled around, I still hadn’t told anyone about my helical disease, despite the hours I spent on FaceStream with Nova. I loved every second of our calls. I’d never been like this with anyone – late nights just talking – but I wanted to know everything about her.
Castor
If you could see the sunrise from anywhere in the world, where would you go?