Chapter 29 #2
I put them in the dresser, then set the picture of Trevor and me on the nightstand. Staring at our smiling faces made me tear up, though, so I turned my back on it when I undressed. Hopefully, I’d be able to call him tomorrow because I really needed to hear his voice.
After putting my toiletries away and washing my face, I climbed into bed and turned off the lights.
It wasn’t exactly early since we’d traveled all day and dinner had been late, and I should have been able to fall asleep easily.
I was tired enough. Unfortunately, the craziness of the day made it difficult to get my brain to turn off, and for what felt like hours, I stared into the darkness, alternating between trying to fall asleep and picking up my phone to see if it had miraculously connected to a cell tower.
It hadn’t, and since I wasn’t a fool, I never really believed it would.
There was no cell tower for it to connect to, and even if there had been, the government would have made certain it didn’t work for those of us in the program.
Maybe not even the soldiers and minders since that would risk our secret location being revealed.
No, the Department of Fertility wanted to keep us as secluded as possible.
And they’d chosen the perfect place for it.
I had no clue what to expect the following day, but knew it was going to be shocking. And that it was going to royally piss me off.
After a fitful night of little rest, I stumbled from my room just after seven in the morning, then headed downstairs alone when my knock on Bette’s door went unanswered.
The dining room was already packed when I joined the line of women waiting to eat, and like the night before, I reached the buffet table to find a less than stellar offering.
Sticky looking oatmeal, runny scrambled eggs that might or might not have been imitation, flimsy bacon, and toast that was either half burnt or only half toasted.
I took a little bit of everything then carried my plate outside in hopes of avoiding the dozens of minders in the dining room.
The mountain air was cool, causing goose bumps to pop up on my skin despite the light sweatshirt I’d put on, but the sun was warm and the day clear and bright.
Birds chirped out songs and leaves rustled in the breeze, and the quiet chatter of voices filled the air.
The scene almost would have seemed like something from a posh resort had it not been for the armed soldiers.
I scanned their faces as I ate, trying a bite of everything before settling on the eggs that thankfully tasted real and, with the aid of a little salt and pepper, weren’t too bad.
Since we were outside, none of the soldiers wore masks, allowing me to see their faces.
Most watched us with uninterested expressions, seeming to barely register what they were looking at.
They held their guns lazily at their sides and shifted from foot to foot like they were having a difficult time standing still.
Others, though, appeared on edge, almost like this assignment was at a prison rather than an old hotel full of fertile women.
They viewed us with hard or suspicious eyes, their backs straight and their weapons at the ready like they were waiting for an attack.
What had they been told to put them on edge like that? Not that we were a threat, certainly. That was crazy. But that was how they were acting, which made zero sense.
I was halfway through my eggs when I spotted Ramirez on the other side of the courtyard.
Unsurprisingly, he was watching me, and when our eyes met, I lifted my brows questioningly.
He mimicked the gesture while his mouth pulled up into the smirk I was now more than familiar with, and I rolled my eyes.
Was he seriously flirting with me? No way that was allowed.
Not that he seemed to care since he continued to stare with that irritatingly attractive smirk on his lips.
When Bette set her plate next to mine and murmured a quiet greeting, I finally pulled my attention from Ramirez.
“I went to your room,” I said through a bite of very chewy bacon, “but you didn’t answer.”
“Sorry.” She lowered herself into the chair. “I was up early and didn’t want to disturb you, so I went for a walk. I didn’t get much sleep.”
“You need to make sure you get plenty of rest, Mrs. Billings,” I said, waving to her round stomach.
She rolled her eyes. “Like that’s even possible when everything is so up in the air. Seriously, how do they expect us to relax when we have no idea what’s going on?”
“They don’t care?” I said before popping the rest of the bacon into my mouth.
Bette, again, rolled her eyes before taking the smallest bite of eggs imaginable.
Like me, she must have determined they were edible, because her next bite was bigger, and silence settled over us as she got busy eating.
It was broken only a few minutes later, though, when multiple chimes sounded at once, the loudest one coming from my wristband. It was eight o’clock.
Like last night, multiple women lifted their arms to check their bands. I did the same, taking note of my temperature, which was no different than it had been the night before. Good. Hopefully I’d be able to get a little used to this place before another big change was thrown my way.
Bette was frowning when I looked her way once again. “It’s that time again, huh?”
“Not quite,” I said, “but soon.”
She ran her hand over her stomach, frowning like she was thinking about what would happen once her baby was born.
I had no doubt that they’d make her stay, but it had me wondering what would happen if she hadn’t wanted to keep the baby.
Would she get to go home? What about the baby?
Would the government adopt him or her out the way they’d planned, or would they keep the baby here until the pandemic petered out?
I was sure we’d find out the answers to some of those questions at the briefing, but I had a feeling a lot of it was going to remain a mystery for at least a little longer.