Designed : A Young Adult Dystopian Romance

In spite of what Heath had said about taking my time, I rushed through my shower, self-conscious about being naked.

I dried off, pulled on my chosen sleepwear, and emerged from the bathroom, pushing my wet hair behind my ears.

Heath was sitting on the edge of Daniel’s bed. As he looked up, his eyes went wide. They dropped to my legs before zooming back to my face.

“Hi,” I breathed, my heart slamming into my ribs.

“Hi.” He swallowed. “You look… refreshed.”

“Yes. I feel better. How did he do? Did he wake up?”

“No. How’s your neck feeling?”

My hand automatically went to the tender spot. “It’s fine. You can get in there now if you need to, you know, dispose of that.”

“Yeah. I should do that.” Heath stood, and I moved to the side to let him get into the small space.

Taking advantage of his momentary absence, I slipped under my covers and pulled them to my chest. He returned and climbed into the bed with Daniel, glancing over at me as he reached to turn off the lamp.

The two double beds were very close together in the small room. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to sleep with him so near.

“Everything okay?” Heath asked, pausing with his hand on the switch.

“Yeah. Sure. I’m just… tired.” I actually felt totally wired, but I definitely wanted him to turn off that light. This wasn’t like spending the night with Ketta where we’d stay up and talk until all hours.

“Good night.”

Heath gave me a smile that would’ve served as an excellent substitute for an energy drink then hit the button to kill the light.

“Good night, Reya.”

Instead of closing my eyes, I lay there wide awake, staring at the complete darkness. I could hear Heath’s breathing, hear every shift he made on the bed nearby.

Yep, there was no way I was going to fall asleep. By morning I’d have dark circles under my eyes and be on the verge of a nervous breakdown brought on by hyper-alertness.

“Reya?”

My muscles clenched at the sound of his voice in the dark. Should I pretend to be asleep already?

“Yeah?”

“Why did you really go to Gideon Corp today? I don’t think it was actually a field trip, and you said you didn’t know your meds came from there. Were you…”

His voice faltered before he continued. “Were you looking for… me?”

My heart rolled over and banged into my chest wall, stealing my breath. Finally, I answered, deciding to be honest.

“Yes. I was. After what happened with Ketta and my parents, I needed some answers. I thought you might have them because… well, I thought you recognized me after the accident. I thought you knew me, you know?”

His reply was soft. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help with that.”

“It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. You didn’t have to help me today—with the fake I.D. and the train tickets and the chip. You could have left me and run with Daniel. I wouldn’t blame you—he’s your family. I’m no one to you.”

“Don’t say that.” He sounded annoyed now. “What kind of person would I be if I left you to fend for yourself when you needed help? Anyway, we’re headed for the same place, and you and Daniel are in the same situation. We might not be family, but I hope at least we’re friends.”

“Yeah,” I smiled. “I guess we are.”

His words touched a place in my heart that had never been exposed like this before. While my parents had always been there and had taken care of my needs, I’d never felt this kind of genuine closeness with them.

My father, the more emotional of the two, was at work most of the time. My mom—well, she wasn’t the mushy type.

What was happening at my house tonight? Were the MP’s there? Were my parents worried? Angry?

Did Mom cry when I hadn’t come home by dark?

No. I dismissed that thought immediately. I’d only ever seen her cry when she looked at photos of my baby sister. But I knew they had to be worried. I didn’t want to think about it.

“What about your parents?” I asked Heath. “They’ve got to be freaking out by now.”

“Not about me,” he said. “I moved out and got my own place a couple years ago, so they’re used to not keeping tabs on me. But you’re right—my mom will be worried about Daniel. That’s why I sent her a message on the holoconn right before I locked it in the van. I told her Daniel was with me, and we were both okay, but we’d be out of touch for a while. She’ll still be wild with anxiety when he’s not home by morning, but at least she’ll know he’s alive and okay.”

“Just your mom?”

It took him a minute to respond. “I had two younger siblings when the Calamity struck. A two-year-old sister and a six-month-old brother. Both of them died, of course.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“Thanks. I don’t remember it,” he said. “My mom never got over it. She was still a good mother, always took care of me, you know, but she couldn’t move past her sadness.”

It sounded so familiar. Maybe that was why my own mom was so emotionally closed off.

“Eight years ago, my dad brought Daniel home, hoping a Gebby child would help her snap out of it,” Heath continued.

“Did it?”

He answered immediately. “Yes. Mostly. She loved him instantly. I did, too.” He paused. “But my dad never did. He doesn’t think of Daniel the way Mom and I do. He sees him as…”

I heard the rustling of sheets and pictured Heath turning to check on the boy, obviously making sure he was still sleeping.

His voice was lowered when he continued his story.

“… a thing. Not a person. It makes me so angry.”

My heart surged toward Heath. The pain in his voice was clear. “Why, do you think?”

There was an audible sigh. “It’s just how his mind works. He’s a scientist. And he hasn’t spent much time with him, honestly. He works all the time. But he could have tried harder to see what we see in Daniel, to accept him.”

“So that’s why it was so easy for him to agree to the recall,” I said, putting things together in my mind.

Would my parents still have sent me to see Dr. Rex if they’d known what was going to happen to me? That I would come back drastically altered?

Maybe they would have. Maybe they’d have liked me better.

Maybe they did know.

“Yeah, he can be pretty cold,” Heath said, breaking into my troubling inner monologue. “The worst part is—he’s so into me, you know. He acts like Daniel isn’t there, but he’s always trying to get me to hang around. He wants me to be exactly like him, his ‘protégé.’”

He snorted in derision.

“He wants you to be a scientist, too? Are you good at that kind of thing?”

“You could say that. It’s where my ‘aptitudes’ are or whatever, but I’m not interested in being his clone. He’s really pissed that I’d rather operate the van, doing what he calls ‘mindless’ work than be in the lab with him.”

“I’m sorry. Parent stuff can be hard. I feel like mine are always disappointed in me. It’s like, no matter how hard I try, I can never measure up to some unwritten standard. And then with the thing last night… with them lying to me…”

Heath sounded sad when he said, “We should get some sleep. We don’t know what we’ll be facing tomorrow. It could be a long day.”

“Okay.” I closed my eyes, mulling over his words. In spite of the fact we’d only met yesterday, I suddenly felt like I’d known him forever.

“Heath?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you came along when you did today. Thank you for everything.”

There was a long pause before he answered. “It’s nothing. Sleep well, Reya.”

“You too.”

Listening to the rhythm of his soft, regular breaths, I relaxed.

In spite of my earlier worries, I felt strangely safe, as if all was right in the world, or soon would be.