Page 119 of The Order

“But I can’t say the same for the people in the Unfortunate sector, can I?” Kai continues, my heart dropping.

“What the hell are you talking about, boy?” my father says, grabbing my brother's collar. Xavier pushes away from the counter, giving me a look of concern.

“It might be best for you two to come back later,” my mother says, looking at the twins, “Xavier, can you see them out?”

Xavier wastes no time guiding the pair outside, silencing Max’s protests with empty promises to speak later. My father drags Kai over to the couch, dismissing my mother’s pleas to let go of him. My father forces Kai onto the couch. Xavier is quick to close the door. My mother grabs my arm to stop me from getting closer to them.

Angrily, I force her grasp away, giving her a cold stare.

“Speak up. Why did you mention the Unfortunate sector?” my father urges, raising his hand, ready to strike Kai for being so insolent.

I concentrate on my father, watching him stagger backward as I will this new mental force of mine to push him away. On the outside, it looks like he lost his balance. My brother steals the opportunity to rise from the couch. The power that usually drains me steadies, feeling less foreign each time I use it. I ready myself to grab my father, feeling a wave of confusion come over me as Xavier's hands wrap around me, pulling me back and into him.

“I promise you, you don’t want to interfere,” Xavier whispers, gently grasping my arms to hold me back.

I keep my head against him and drive the mental block up in my mind to keep Fallan from feeling my fear. Not to mention, the last thing he needs is to know whose hands are on me again.

Kai is facing my father, both men exchanging heated looks.

“Answer me, Kaiden!”

“We went to the Unfortunate sector!” Kai yells, slamming his hand on the coffee table. “We had to see it for ourselves!” My father’s body goes rigid.

“When were you there?” my father questions, looking at Xavier, whose hold on me tightens. I can sense his worry. Worry that we saw something we weren’t supposed to. The space around my father and Xavier is heavy, riddled with something I can only describe as regret.

“Does it matter?” Kai questions, his eyes gravitating to me.

“Why don't you let go of my sister,” Kai snaps, and the look on his face tells me he has no problem escalating this situation. “I’m not beneath slamming you into the counter, blondie-”

I pull away from Xavier, grabbing my brother before Xavier can get to him. My hands grasp his head, taking a mental note of all the cameras as I drag him toward me. I pull him into my grasp, feeling his anxiety pour into me.

“You need to calm down,” I whisper, keeping him close to me. “Don’t say another word.”

I release my grasp on him, watching him take several deep breaths.

“I can take him outside if you need-” Xavier starts, my mind flashing to the Re-Regulation Devices the Officials will want to use on my brother.

“No, Kai has every right to be worked up.”

My father's eyebrows raise at the notion.

“And why is that?” my father questions, dismissing my mother's worried glances in his direction.

“We walked to the Unfortunate sector. We were dared,” I start, ready to conjure up the best lie I can to get us out of this. “We looked through a small opening in the fence, nothing more.” Xavier becomes less rigid, relaxing his posture slightly. “The improvement projects for their sector were a lie.” My head pounds, the strain of keeping up so many barriers taking a toll on me already. “Disease, death... it was everywhere we looked. You made us believe it wasn’t like that-”

“We left right after we saw it,” Kai continues, feeding into my lie.

My dad circles us, watching us closely.

“And you're dirty because?”

“I got into a fight with Kai.” Both my mother and Xavier’s interest peaks, “It turned… physical. He wanted to report the conditions he saw to someone. I thought it best we ignore it since the Officials clearly do,” I finish.

“Not all of them. Going to that sector is hard on a lot of us. Sometimes fixing a problem is a lot harder than anyone realizes,” Xavier says, staring at my father.

“That's all you saw? Did you see anyone you recognized?” my father questions, trying to gauge if Fallan has anything to do with this.

“Who would we know from there?” Kai questions, “It’s not like we have an opportunity to be friends with anyone who lives there. After all, they’re beneath us, right, Dad?” Kai pushes. The thought of Mark being part of this family passes through my mind.

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