Page 52 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly
“Sesi is definitely the latter,” she deflected.
“And you?”Callie wasn’t going to let this go.
Talia detected a slight edge to her voice, but she it didn’t feel like disdain.Given Callie’s distaste for murder, Talia wasn’t one hundred percent certain where Callie wanted her to be.The only thing clear was that she hadn’t figured out her feelings yet and so the only thing Talia could do was to be herself.
Talia’s lopsided smile returned.“I’m glad Sesi’s first plan failed.I wanted to be there.They owe me.”
So, Talia was definitely not in thegoodcamp.But Callie’s curiosity got the better of her.“That sounds like there’s a story.”Callie crossed her legs and sat back on the bed.
Talia chewed the inside of her cheek.“There is.I know their CEO.”
“Did he steal something from you?”
Talia bobbed her head slowly, pondering how much to say.“Kind of.Back when the Natalists had me, I would see him come in.”
Callie made a face, disgusted.But noticed Talia fidgeting with the mug.There was more.
She took a deep breath.“It’s gross enough, but some are far worse.”She set the mug down and leaned against the wall, eyes up pre-empting any tears that might come.It had beena while since she had told this story, but it didn’t hurt any less.
“Normally, if that’s even the right word for this, they would wait until you were fourteen.But if you had enough scrip, they would let you go younger.”Talia pressed her lips together until they were a thin, bloodless line.“Three of my friends died.”
The horror of how they died was left unspoken, but it didn’t need to be.Callie stood and stepped forward to gather Talia into a comforting embrace.Talia tried to relax into it.She knew she should.Callie was being kind.But she just couldn’t.These moments of weakness weren’t for her.They were for other people.She was the predator.She was the one who had escaped their trap and she would bring them down.Alone.
Callie stepped back.There was that darkness I couldn’t put my finger on.She hugged herself tightly, unsure how to proceed.She didn’t know if she was still too much of an outsider to fit into Talia’s life, but this wall would have to come down sometime if this was going to work.
She decided to drop it for now.“You’re older than twenty-four.Are you still… concerned they’ll kidnap you?”Callie was careful to avoid the wordafraidin case that might damage Talia’s ego.
“You want to know about the mask?”she smirked, but it looked malicious rather than playful.“You think that just because my fertility is gone, they’ll let it go?”She shook her head, but the smirk stayed.“You don’t know these people.Actually,” she corrected herself, “you might.You just don’t know that you know them.Natalists don’t walk around wearing special clothes or shit.I have no idea who they are, but I can be certain they know who I am.They know my face.If I started showing it off around town, I’d likely disappear within a week.”
“And then,” Talia ranted, “they’d make an example of me.I’d be kept.Put on display, limbless and shown to other girls to prevent them from doing what I did.It’s a message.No matter how far you run,we’ll always hunt you.”
Callie sat, hunched and defeated.She couldn’t fathom how broken that must make you, but here, she had evidence of it before her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.It was so insufficient as a salve for the horror that Talia had suffered, but she didn’t know what else she could offer.Talia did not want comfort.Talia wanted revenge.Callie couldn’t see how could she fit into that.
Talia felt her rage bubble up.She flexed and unflexed her fingers, tiny muscles twitching in her face.She wanted to cry, but she couldn’t cry for herself.For other people, yes, but not herself.That would be weak.
Thisalwaysseemed to happen to her.She would find someone she liked.She would get her hopes up and then, inevitably, she would freeze when it came to this part.Sesi was the only one she was ever able to let in.Sesi understood revenge.
Talia’s eyes darted around the room as she thought.Callie felt her muscles clench as she watched.She fully expected Talia to lose control.
“Um,” Talia sniffed.It almost sounded like she was about to cry.The words were on the tip of her tongue.“I’m just going to…” she pointed toward the door, but Callie lifted an eyebrow.She had been expecting something else.Why was this so fucking hard?Her brow furrowed.
Talia narrowed her eyes.Callie flinched, but relaxed warily after nothing happened.Her stare was angry, yes, but also confused.And it was very much in Callie’s nature to want to help, even the most hopeless of causes.Maybe she could lead Callie to understand.
Callie had braced herself for a violent outburst, but now the pieces were falling into place.Talia’s confidence was a façade.A very good one, but a façade nonetheless.Underneath was someone who needed to be loved – and Callie could provide that.But Talia’s façade had been there so long it had turned into a wall.She reacted poorly when that wall was challenged.
And the only one who was able to fix that was Talia.
Talia closed her eyes and took a breath.She cracked her neck.She shook her arms.Callie sat and stared.It was like Talia’s body needed to prepare for whatever was going to come next.
“I know how what I’m going to say next is going to sound, especially since we took the same psych courses,” she started, focusing on a framed picture of Callie and Sparx as kids.Callie’s grey eyes were alight with joy and Sparx hung off of her, strawberry blonde hair shining in the sun.The picture stood in perfect contrast to the childhood Talia had never experienced.
“And I understand if you want me to leave because I’ll never fit into your life,” she continued.“I’m not a good person.I can’t let those people go.”Talia stretched her neck again.“I can’t accept sympathy from someone who thinks that’s wrong.ThatI’mwrong.”she said into her chest.
Callie sat with Talia’s words for a few moments.Her fingernails were going to be a mess.“Is that why you and Sesi…”
Talia huffed.“No.Just the opposite.Sesi was the only one who understood that.”
