(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Forty-Six - Partners in Crime

RILEY

I HAD HOPED THE BREAK would bring peace. But whenever my room got quiet, a numbness would settle. Some days, something felt so wrong. I wanted to explode out of nowhere. Others day were seemingly fine. 

A script was looping, yet its content turned up blank even to me. 

I spent Christmas with Dad. We put our differences aside to have a nice holiday without bringing up the recent feuds. For him, I bought a cozy sweater and a mug with a snowman I doodled over it.

"Thank you, kiddo." He ruffled my hair. 

In return, I got a book from a collection I had been wanting forever. I also received a green, red and white reindeer onesie covered in snowflakes. Onesies rocked. 

"Because you never wear anything else than pyjamas around the house," he said, grinning.

I pressed the book against my heart and folded the onesie around my arm. For the shortest moment, that nameless, wordless script burned on the tip of my tongue, though I had no clue what to do about it. I needed to stop thinking. "Thanks, Dad. Merry Christmas."

We ate supper and had a Lord of the Rings movie marathon. It was hard not to think about Emma and the girls on that day. I expected my phone to pop up with one of their texts, or silly jokes, or Emma asking me about the color of a fabric for a new shirt. I'd have to get used to their absence.

My phone woke me up at ten in the morning the weekend after Christmas. I used to be a morning person before Luc infiltrated my life. I squinted at my screen, groaning.

Speaking of the jerk.

"You know you're the reason I'm sleep-deprived?"

"So you think of me at night," he said smoothly. 

"Eww, no." I rolled over and stretched in my covers. "Those would qualify as nightmares."

"I'm free today to see what's up on the other side of town."

There went any possibility of going back to sleep down the drain. I rubbed my forehead and sat up. The curtains slid open without me moving, letting in the morning sunshine.

"So soon?"

"It's worth a shot. Pack your shit."

"Can I get an hour of grace, at least? I just woke up and it's super early." What was wrong with this dude? 

"I'll bring food if you need, but I'm tired of sitting on my ass waiting to find a clue," he responded. "Get dressed, I'll be over in thirty minutes."

I made a sound and hung up.

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I was short on time and grabbed the first items in sight, dressing with a weird combination of orange sweats and a bright blue sweater. I looked like those sketchy weekend Wal-Mart shoppers.

Emma would kill me if she saw, I thought bitterly as I watched my reflection in the mirror.

I snatched my bag and a toast in the kitchen. Dad was typing on his computer over the counter, his reading glasses sliding off the bridge of his nose. He noticed my strange attire and the bag over my shoulder.

"Going somewhere?"

The grounding phase was over, so I was allowed to head out. I think he accepted the fact that I had some private life outside of school and home, even though he strongly disliked it. That disappointed him more than any other escapade I'd ever done, but what could he do? Lock me in the house?

"Yeah... I'm just going on a stroll."

His parenting sixth sense had detected the lie, and his gaze turned shrewd. "When will you be back?"

Luc hadn't given me any specifics, but the area wasn't far, although that was more of a problem than a convenience. 

"Depends," I said. "I might go grocery shopping after. We're out of fruit and cereal." My phone vibrated, probably Luc signaling me to hurry up.

The corners of his mouth turned up, barely. "Stay safe, Riles."

I intended to. Offering a little smile with the toast in my mouth, I skipped to the door and slid on my boots and parka. I trod down the snow-coated steps and past the driveway where Luc had parked on the side of the road.

He reclined over his car on the driver's side, clad in a worn Harrington jacket, his stare lost in the horizon. For a second, I didn't bother to make my presence known. It was usually impossible to catch him off guard.

Morning light cast through the treetops and bounced off his hair, rich and dark. It caught a sliver of bright green as he gazed at the skyline. I somehow found it odd but special. 

I wish I could freeze this one-in-a-million view.

"Do you think they're searching everywhere for it—the gun?" I spoke and approached, breaking his—and my own—contemplation.

His gaze refocused as his head dipped to the sound of my voice. "I'm sure they're getting a stern reprimand somewhere. That's several thousands of dollars and it's in this trunk. I packed some sandwiches if you're hungry. But you can still back out, Sunshine. This goes beyond anything I've ever asked of you."

I peeked inside the window and noticed a plastic lunch box on the passenger seat. I was still full of resentment for the whole fight over the Spencers' house, but the mere view unwillingly softened something in me. 

"What would I tell Ben and Devin if you don't come back and I never tried to do anything? To everyone else that would miss you?" 

How would I sleep at night?  

He faced the vehicle to study me across the distance, and I winced. Why did he get the monopoly on acting recklessly and the rest of us had to just take it? I wasn't great by myself, granted. But I stood a chance with a weapon like the pulse rifle, and I could protect Luc—especially against mutated hunters. That could be the difference between life or death.

He averted his eyes to the ground and rubbed a hand along his jaw, then cut me one last probing. I couldn't quite decipher whether it was angry or... or troubled. My heart kicked in my ribcage. I was nervous, too, but if I let it show, not only might it grow until I felt sick, but he might change his mind. 

"We bring each other home today," he said with a creased forehead. "That's all that matters."

I held in a wobbly breath and let go of the stupid zipper. We'd be leaving Dad's driveway, and I prayed I'd be seeing it again by nightfall. "Let's get going, then."

Both doors sprang open. Lips drawn into a tense line, he motioned at me to get in.

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