Page 93 of The Woman

My eyes flicker to the woman with the long black hair, my sister – yet another one of the completely unexpected revelations from today that are slowly sinking in. I have no doubts that had she been raised at the facility, she would have already been chosen as a companion.

“I can’t exactly take her there with me,” he says, palming the side of his face. “And the only men who come here or know about this place are ones who have women already. We can’t simply ask a regular man if he’s sympathetic to WOUNs and whether or not he’d like to have one. Sending her to a facility to be chosen is out of the question.”

I lean back in my chair and bring an ankle up to rest on my opposite knee.

“Then she has to remain here as she is. Bring her some books if she wants to learn more about life and men.”

My father’s chuckle reaches my ears, and I turn to see him smiling at me again. It’s almost disconcerting to see.

“It’s not that simple, Phoenix,” he replies. “I can no more keep her trapped and unhappy here than I can keep a WOUN hidden away in the city.” He sighs again, watching as the women head our way. “A problem for another day.”

Avery reaches us first, her eyes alight and glowing, making my chest tighten as it often does around her.

“This is so amazing, Phoenix. I can’t believe a place like this exists.”

Her eyes make a quick detour to my father as if she’s still uncertain about talking freely in front of him. It’s understandable. She’s lived a life of hiding who she is besides when she’s with me, and she’s never experienced speaking in front of men like this.

“I’d like it if you could stay here for dinner. I can drive you both back to the city afterward since I’ll be heading there anyway. I need to be at the office tomorrow.” My father looks between the both of us. “It will give you both a chance to meet some of the others here. Of course, if you’d rather not, I can have someone take you back now.”

Something about the expectant look on his face tells me he’d like it if I didn’t refuse his offer. I can’t help but wonder what it was like for him, always leaving part of his family behind, whether it was them when he was with me or the other way around. It must have been hard all of those years.

I glance up at Avery, whose smile seems to have gotten even wider as she comes and sits on the armrest beside me.

“Alright. We’ll stay.”

He appears pleased and gives a nod of acknowledgment before his attention turns to the other two when they join us.

Rayne moves to lean against the railing, choosing to remain standing, but my mother makes herself comfortable in the chair beside my father, and then she looks between me and Avery, a curious expression on her face.

“You know, if you two have a child, they will most likely carry the gene as well.”

I stare back at her, unblinking. A kid? I wasn’t even planning on having sex with Avery initially, so a child was never in my thoughts. But now? I must say, I don’t find the thought to be unappealing. In fact, the idea of impregnating Avery stirs something primal inside me.

I shake the thought away. Now is not the time to bring a child into our lives, but maybe sometime in the future.

“He only just picked her, sweetheart,” my father tells her. “They need to have some time together alone.”

“They need to be informed of it regardless,” she counters, reminding me of how Avery sometimes responds to me. My father then, of course, straightens up and argues his point again – such a strange thing to experience.

I interject, putting an end to their conversation. “We will worry about the gene when we decide the time is right to have a child.” Then, after glancing up at Avery, my gaze returns to my mother. “There is something I’ve been curious about. What does the song mean?”

My mother’s big brown eyes drop to my arms, then Avery’s, scanning over the notes as she considers my question.

“There are no words to it. At least, not that I was ever taught. It’s more about the feeling the melody evokes. It was composed by a WOUN many, many years ago when she was at a facility.”

“It’s a story of passion,” Rayne speaks up from her spot off to the side. “Two people finding each other and escaping the life they live to be free.”

I glance at Rayne momentarily, noting the wistful look on her face before my eyes drift down to the tattoo inked on my forearm.

There were definitely feelings that had come to life in me the first time I had heard Avery playing it through the door, though I didn’t understand what they meant or why it had seemed so familiar to me.

“Shortly after she wrote it, she was discovered and taken away to be changed. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it.”

A quietness settles over us as we take in the harsh reality of what could happen to any one of the women here, what could have easily happened to Avery. I take her hand in mine and hold it tight. She’s okay. She’s here.

Rayne pushes off the railings and steps closer to us. “Avery, I’m glad nothing bad ended up happening to you.” It’s as if her mind went to the same place mine did. Taking a seat in one of the empty chairs, she then turns to me. “So, you do the same job as father?”

Before I can answer her, my father speaks up. “He is not taking you to the city, Rayne.” Pushing to his feet, he heads for the back door of the house and looks back at me. “Come on. Let’s go and meet some of the others here.”

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