Chapter Fourteen
Irap my knuckles against Sara’s bedroom door. She should be at work by now, but her work shoes are still by the door.
“Come in,” Sara croaks faintly.
I push open the door. Sara’s room is pitch black, the curtains drawn. I flick on the light and Sara hisses, pulling the covers over her head.
“Sorry!” I whisper, shutting the light off quickly as I cross to her bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Like death warmed over.” Sara’s muffled reply comes from under the blanket.
Those assholes. This has to be from whatever the military did to her to make her forget. And she doesn’t even remember!
I perch on the edge of her bed. “Still the headache?”
“Mmm.” Sara peeks her head out, blinking against the light. Dark circles ring her eyes as I study her in the low light from the hall.
“Want me to get you anything? I could whip up some toast. Or just tea?”
I feel so… guilty. She’s sick like this because of me. Because she came to see me.
Sara swallows thickly and shakes her head. “Don’t think I can stomach it.”
Wow. All I can do is hope she starts to feel better.
“Alright.” I pat her leg. “Get some rest. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Summer.”
I head for the door, casting one more worried glance at Sara’s huddled form before shutting the door behind me to plunge her room back into darkness.
My mind spins as I walk to my room at the end of the hall. I wish I could do more to help her feel better. But all I can do for now is let her sleep it off.
Hopefully, that does it.
My phone buzzes in my pocket as I walk into the bathroom. I fish it out, expecting a message from Sara. But the text is from an unknown number.
Call me. 555-931-6854 Ray
My heart leaps. I quickly type back. “Give me a second.”
I slip into my room and shut the door, suddenly nervous. How did he get his hands on a phone?
I dial the number with shaky fingers, hoping he didn’t steal one. Maybe he doesn’t realize cell phones can be traced. If he picked one up out of somebody’s locker or something, that could be bad and sabotage everything he’s planning.
Ray picks it up before it even rings. “Summer?” His deep voice rumbles through the phone, sending goosebumps over my skin.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound casual even as my pulse quickens. “What’s up?”
I know what I’m doing is dangerous. If the military gets even an inkling that I remember what happened, it’s hard to say what they’ll do to me. Cavorting with the “enemy” could have me charged with treason.
I know I shouldn’t be falling for Ray. But when I’m talking to him, it feels right. He’s kind, brave, and more human than many people I’ve known.
And I want to know him. I want to help him. I’m in deep, whether or not I like it. And maybe...just maybe...he feels the same about me.
“I have some good news,” Ray says, his voice dropping lower. “I was able to find a complete list of the others that were held and then got out at the same time you did. It should be everyone who went through the debriefing reprogram with you. I’m sending it by text now.”
I grab my phone to flip over to check the message he’s sending. There’s a list that includes each person’s housing information on the base. As I scroll through it, I realize it includes their assigned cell number and even some personal details, too.
I recognize Shayla and Jamie’s characteristics instantly, and my heart swells with emotion. “This is amazing,” I breathe. “I can’t believe you did it. Thank you, Ray.”
He brushes it off modestly. “I want to expose everything about this place. It’s the least I can do. If you could just find one or two others to collaborate with your story, we could let everyone know what they’re doing here.”
“Yeah. About that,” I comment, trying to think back to everything we’ve talked about. It hasn’t been much, but I did tell him about the disease outbreak the government is fighting with. “Remember how I mentioned that there’s a disease spreading across the country?”
“Yes?”
“Well, unfortunately, that’s caused a lot of businesses to shut down. Including the news.” When he doesn’t respond, I try to explain. “Under normal circumstances, letting the press know when the government is violating people’s rights would expose them, making sure that reform happened. But we don’t even have that.”
Ray grunts slightly before asking, “Who was the man you left with earlier? The one who found us talking?”
When he asks about the man who almost busted us earlier kissing, I can hear a hint of jealousy in his tone, and it thrills me. “He was just some guy making his rounds. I didn’t know him,” I explain.
Ray lets out a huff that sounds relieved. “You didn’t know him at all?”
“No,” I assure him, falling back onto my bed.
“You appeared to be friendly with him.”
“That was the goal,” I admit, rolling toward the wall and cradling the phone next to my ear. “He scared the bejesus out of me. I wanted to distract him and get him out of there. By being friendly.”
“Ahh…”
“Yes. Ahhh.” I laugh quietly. “I didn’t want you getting caught or him reporting to my boss. The fewer questions, the better.” Rolling off the mattress, I head to the bathroom to wash up before bed with the phone tucked against my ear as I chat. “So, where can I meet you to give you some food tomorrow?”
The sound of running water nearly drowns out his voice. “There’s a maintenance tunnel that branches off the room we were in,” he replies. “It’s quieter, with less of a chance of being seen.”
I smile, imagining our secret rendezvous. “Sounds perfect.”
We make plans for me to bring him food, and I quiz him briefly about his likes and dislikes. His favorite sandwich is a grilled cheese, and a thrill runs through me at the thought. It’s my favorite too!
“Have you made any progress on the bigger plan?” I ask, changing the subject.
Ray sighs. “I can unlock all the cells easily enough. But gathering everyone together and restraining the doctors...that’s trickier. I’m still working on it.”
“You’ll figure it out,” I say confidently. “No one knows the place or people better than you.”
“I hope so.” He sounds tired like the weight of responsibility is heavy on him. “I just want everyone to be free.”
“We’ll get there,” I assure him. “Have patience. They’re going to be on high alert after we get away. It might be better for things to die down.”
It only takes me a minute to wash up and after I climb into bed, listening to Ray talk softly to me in the darkness. His questions dominate the conversation, meandering from my favorite activities to childhood memories.
I’ve never opened up like this before, but with Ray, it feels natural. Safe.
“I wish you were here,” Ray murmurs.
“Me too.” My boldness surprises me. We’re both quiet for a moment, and a new tension crackles between us.
I want nothing more than to feel his arms around me again.
“I should let you sleep, Summer,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight,” I whisper back.
It takes a moment before his hesitant reply filters through the line. “Goodnight.”
As I drift off, my thoughts linger on Ray. On the growing connection between us. And for the first time in a long while, I feel a spark of hope that we might pull this off.