Page 3 of Omega Alliance

I think about it for a moment, then shake my head gently, careful not to move my thigh and upset her work.

Dani leans forward, her shoulder brushing against my arm, making the contact as brief as possible as she whispers in my ear. "This one always makes me think of you."

My mind is still reeling when the first notes escape her lips. Dani's voice is clear and bright like a bell. It's been so long since anyone has serenaded me. The last I remember is my mother singing over my bed as she tucked me in each night. She skipped past lullabies and instead sang whatever she'd heard on the radio that day, always taking care to add my name into the lyrics, even though it didn't belong there.

Back then, I was Cindy.

Now I'm just Sin. The watchers had a vote, and they like it better that way.

But as Dani reaches the first chorus of her ethereal song, my mind jumps back to those nights so long ago. When my parents were alive. When my entire life lay undiscovered before me.

Dani's song is a sad one, and I can't help but stare at her lips as they form each sound:

what was ours is gone

what was started is done

what was beautiful is dead

what was here has fled

fly away, little bird, fly free

just promise that one day you’ll fly back to me

My tears come on so suddenly, I don't have time to stop them from falling.

First one hot drop, then a second.

Oh, God. I can't let them see. If they notice Dani moving me like this, they are sure to take her away.

I can't lose her, not when she's the closest thing I have to a friend.

Thinking quick, I force a sneeze, jolting forward in my chair. The tattoo gun slips and pierces me in an area covered by the soft fabric of my underwear, silencing Dani's mournful song.

That hurts almost as much as the unbidden ink. The absence of what was, what could have been.

But I've managed to hide my tears, at least for now.

Dani hands me a tissue, and I resettle myself in the chair. We both remain quiet for the rest of the session. I wonder if she suspects what her simple melody meant to me, how I desperately long for more.

I don't know how much time passes. It could be minutes, hours. The only thing I'm aware of is the patch of skin Dani is inking, the constant burning, the way my thigh muscles feel as if they're about to cramp up for good, and my hands are curled in tight, white-knuckled fists.

Eventually I open my eyes, find that Dani is staring at me with open concern.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs, her voice as soft as her gaze. "I hate having to put you through that. But we're done now."

I loosen my death grip on the chair and attempt to relax, but I still feel weakened by the whole experience. "It's okay. You didn't have much of a choice."

She offers me a brief smile as she cleans her supplies. "If it's any consolation, it looks great on you." She gestures toward my exposed thigh with a nod.

Heat tears through me, rising to my cheeks in a flush. Our eyes reconnect and Dani's icy stare has melted. This time, both of us are burning with something I can't quite identify.

But I want more than anything to find out what it is. What this could be.

two

SIN

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