Free Minds

Chapter 36.

  I broke into a run, battling through my blurred, dark-spotted vision along the way and met Dorian on his knees with only his back in immediate view. My hesitancy switched to fear when my gape over his shoulder caught sight of his white hands blackened with the remnants from the explosion.

"Dorian!" I tried to whirl him to face me. "Please tell me you're okay."

   He retained his solid stance on the ground, refusing to raise his hung head.

"Dorian," I thought it best to give his shoulders a slight shake this time. Maybe I had come on too strong at first. "Hey—"

   My next breath hitched when he suddenly rose and regained his footing, maintaining the view of his back in my direction.

"It's nothing to worry about." Dorian's reassurance came out in a hoarse bark. "I'm okay. It was nothing major, really."

"Are you kidding me?" My hysteria could barely be contained at this point. This wasn't something anyone could or should brush off. "I saw your hands. Let me call the others. We can get you to a nearby clinic or hospital in no ti—"

"I'm fine, Beth. Just calm down. Stop losing it," he said.

   The calmness in his tone only triggered the heat-engulfing fury that spread through me with no indications of slowing down.

"Then tell me that to my face!" I yelled, tapping his back a little harder this time. "Stop trying to downplay what happened. My sight is still pretty messed up and I wasn't even the one with the camera in hand right before it went off. Dorian, you are not okay!"

"What are you talking about?" Dorian replied with shock in his voice. "That's not true. I threw it away at the very last second. The camera exploded a few feet away."

   My jaw dropped. What the hell?

"No way." I shook my head. "The last place I saw it before the explosion happened was your hand. Dorian, stop playing. We both know the camera was in your hand."

"Seriously, Beth, I don't know what you're talking about. I get it though, it is easy to believe you saw something you didn't in a trauma-inducing situation such as this."

   I shook my head in protest again with the remaining adrenaline still triggered by what just happened even though he still hadn't turned to face me and couldn't see my reactions.

"No, no, no. I know what I saw. You were holding it right before—" I stopped and drew in a sharp breath. The instant realisation that spread through my thoughts was becoming all too familiar. "You're lying."

   Again. Dorian Mathers was once again telling a lie. Like he had about his absence at the Virtual Dance. I scoffed and let out a bitter chuckle. And just when I was starting to consider putting behind me and letting go of what he had lied about that night and giving him the benefit of the doubt. And of course, how could forget about that stupid chest tattoo he thought no one knew about?

   I was so stupid. Why did I keep refusing to see that I was dealing with a shady, pathological liar beneath all that deceptive, ever stoic, occasionally charming persona?

"Dorian," My stern voice couldn't have dropped any lower in octaves. "Turn around."

   But he heard me. I ignored the overly-dramatic beats of my heart as he took his time to face me. Finally showing the front of his body, Dorian kept his darkened hands shielded over his eyes.

"Beth?" He whispered with his covered face still hung low. "Let's go downstairs."

"Oh God, did something happen to your eyes? Come on, Dorian, there's a clinic around. Let's just g—"