Page 75 of Savage Beauty

I bypass all the luggage and head up the stairs. Putting no thought behind it, I reach for my phone. I normally keep it turned off because I don’t like to be interrupted. I hate ringtones. I squeeze the sides until it comes to life. I open it to my contact list. My favorite. The sole star. And press her name.

“Sloane?” She sounds so far away. My lips curl up on their own, as do my nose and eyes, and everything gets blurry. My nostrils burn.

Kids scream in the background. She’s at work. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called.”

“What? No. I’m so glad you did. How are you? You’re flying back today, right?”

“You’re at work.” I shouldn’t have called her at work. I hate it when people call me at work. I tell everyone to text first. It’s not appropriate to take personal phone calls during work hours. Sage and I schedule our calls to ensure we do not?—

“I’m at recess. Hold on. I left you a message. I wanted you to call me.” Sage lowers the phone. I can tell because her words sound more distant, but I still hear a muffled, “This is my sister. Do you mind if I take this?” And someone with a high-pitched joyful voice says, “Oh, go right ahead. Tell her we all say hi and for her to come visit.”

“Okay. I’m back. Now, tell me everything. I called you, but Knox said you can’t have a phone on where you are in D.C. and that Max and you have been very busy.”

We have been busy but not doing work. An image surfaces of Max holding me in bed, and a sob escapes. I hold a hand over my mouth, then pull it away because my face is wet.

“Sloane? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know why I’m crying.” I sniffle again. I hate this. I hate feeling like this. I hate my face crumpling and… and… losing control. This doesn’t happen to me. Not often. Not like it used to when I was a kid.

“Ohhh. Sloaney Baloney.”

“Don’t call me that.” I clean the bottom of my nose with the back of my hand then wipe it on my dress.Gross.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“If you call me that, I’m going to call you Sagey Bean.”

“I won’t call you that again.” She sounds happy. Like she’s smiling. And she should smile. She deserves happiness. I want my sister to be happy. “What’s going on?” And now she sounds concerned and my tears free fall. It’s… “Sloane, just…start from the beginning. Is this about something that happened in D.C.?” I hate I lied to my sister. All these Arrow people told me that’s what I should do, but lying is never right. How could Max think I would lie to him?

“I’m actually in the Caymans. I’m not in D.C.”

“I know. Knox told me. I was playing along because, well, I don’t know. I’m out here on the school grounds, and it just seemed…”

I let out a loud sigh and sit down crisscross apple sauce in the middle of the floor. My dress makes a big tent, and I curl over and bury my face in the material. My muscles in my back stretch to the point of pain, but I don’t care. The physical pain is worlds better than this nonsense going on inside me.

“Sloane? What’s going on?”

With a huff, I sit up, squeeze my wet eyes shut, pull my knees up to my chest, wrap one arm around them, and say, “I was right. All of you were wrong. Dr. Kallio isn’t involved. She was interviewing replacements for me until she found out I didn’t run off and get married. Which is stupid, by the way. Who would do that? And why would she believe I would resign via email? That’s just stupid. But she offered me the job back. And now Max is angry. At me.” Tears leak through my lashes. I can feel them, and it’s not at all a positive sensation. Or there aren’t positive and negative sensations. It is a sensation I do not want to repeat. That’s what I mean.

“So…you’re going back to work for them?”

“Yes. It’s excellent news.” A sob breaks through, and I swipe my nose on my palm. “I can resume my research. My job. It’s all here. I don’t have to start over.”

“Are you going to be going to D.C.? Or was that never–”

“Arrow wanted me to tell you I was going to D.C. They said you would insist on coming with me here if you knew the truth.”

“That’s what Knox said. But he also said you’d be going–”

“I needed to get into the lab. I wanted to find the report that I thought caused all of this because I can’t let anything bad happen to you. That’s why I came here.”

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Sort of. And I suspect I know why someone came after me. Maybe. I have a theory.”

“Well, why?—”

I open my mouth to explain, but all I see is Max’s crossed arms, and tears gush uncontrollably.

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