Page 56 of Convergence

“Again, they were wrong,” Easton reminded. “What about you, little one?”

“Eva doesn’t really talk much,” Nate said in defense of my silence as I was slow to gather my words to respond.

“I can do it,” I said hoarsely to Nate. I was trembling with nerves, but I told Easton about the accident, my mom’s death, the way my dad had been since her death, Caleb, my schools, competitions, and social life.

“Well, it’s obvious they thought you would never speak up for yourself and would never go against the contract to get out. They thought you’d live in the uncomfortable feelings until you completed the project to avoid the confrontation. And they were wrong, yet again,” Easton said with a smirk that was like his brother’s, only lacking the heat Ev’s had.

“They picked us because we’re fucked up,” Nate summarized dejectedly.

“Yeah, I mean you’re capable, intelligent, and hardworking scientists. But you seemed flawed enough in ways they needed to complete the assignment, and gullible enough to agree to sign in the first place,” Easton said. His tone had been casual and kind, but his words still stung.

“Well, we walked away,” Everett said with a bite of aggression to his words.

“You blew up a building after seemingly creating a bioweapon. You’re a little too late to just ‘walk away,’” Easton shot back angrily.

“Oh, because you know all about walkin’ away,” Everett shouted and stood, his shoulders bunched.

“Is that what you still think I did?” Easton shouted in return and stood to face Everett. He was taller than his little brother by maybe an inch, and he used it to his advantage.

“Ev,” Nate warned, standing up from his seat, ready to intervene.

“There are things that I know, that I have seen, that I’m still involved with,” Easton said vaguely. “It’s nothing that could be around you and our parents.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Everett demanded.

“I can’t tell you!” Easton shouted into Everett’s unflinching face. He sighed and stepped back, running his hands through his hair. “Have you not noticed the connections? Have you not noticed the hiding and secrecy?”

“Of course I have,” Everett spat.

“Well,” Easton said quietly. “That all comes at a cost to my safety and the safety of the people around me. My separation from society and my family had to be dramatic enough to not warrant any of my… enemies a reason to go after you,” Easton said in a hushed tone.

Everett shook his head and turned away.

“Now,” Easton said, and sat back down in his chair by the fire. He cleared his throat. “What made you all walk away?”

“It was when we realized nothing was real. We weren’t real students, our degrees would not be real, the people we spoke to were not real, and our work likely would not get finished,” Nate said, breaking the tense silence.

“I think you’re right, Nate,” Easton added. “I think they were going to kill you after you finished with the illness causing bacteria. You were probably never going to find the cure, and you probably would never get your degree.”

My nervous trembling became more pronounced, and my jaw chattered. Ev got up and found me a knitted throw blanket and put it around my shoulders like a little old lady. Though my shivering was not from the temperature, it was from hearing we may have narrowly escaped being murdered.

“For me, it was not knowing who and what my work was for. I wanted to be able to be honest with myself when I said that what I was doing was to help others,” I replied after prompting.

“I didn’t want to be attached to something terrible or be remembered as someone who helped something terrible happen. I didn’t want to be like a scientist who helped create the atom bomb,” Everett ground out when he was asked. “I did it to protect them.” He gestured to me and Nate.

Easton looked confused ‌about what Everett meant when he said he wanted to protect both Nate and I. Nate looked strong enough to easily beat Everett in a fight, so it was an odd statement. “I think it’s only a matter of time before they use your history and your flaws against you. They need to keep you in the news and well hated if they’re ever going to find you.”

My teeth chattered loudly with my nerves. I clenched my mouth shut to ‌stifle it.

“Beautiful, you’re shaking like a chihuahua,” Nate laughed.

“I’ll find you another blanket,” Ev said and jumped up from his seat.

“She’s not cold, she’s freaking out,” Easton said, eyeing me like he was seeing through me.

Nate and Everett both moved their chairs to my side, but Easton’s searching gaze held mine. When both guys rushed to my side, Easton’s eyes narrowed in thought, like he was trying to figure out my relationship with them. I didn’t want to get kicked out for having a weird relationship status, so I broke eye contact with Easton and looked at Everett. “Yeah, I’m kind of freaking out. Can you take me to bed?”

“Yeah, let’s go, baby girl,” Everett said and stood, offering me his hand. “We can all talk more in the morning.”

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