The rest of our fake parents hovered nervously around the lab, along with Tracy and a few others I’d never seen before. All of them wore crisp white lab coats but no nametags. Apparently everyone knew each other and their roles. We, the supposed children, were the only ones who didn’t.
Unease pushed at my skin some more, making me want to scratch. I wouldn’t, not with all of them observing us like we were specimens.
Lynne—formerly Monica Bryson—drew closer with the click-clack of her high heels. “Bobo can’t be in here. Dogs aren’t allowed in the lab.”
“Well,Lynne,” I said feeling the viciousness of my smile, “I don’t care. He’s staying.”
She tutted me as if I were still her twelve-year-old daughter giving her sass. “The work we do here is very important. We can’t have animals messing with the integrity of our data.”
“And we can’t have liars for parents keeping us trapped on this campus upon threat of death.” I shrugged, my smile only growing meaner. “I guess none of us are gonna get what we want today.”
She stared at me with a disapproving frown that I actually enjoyed, before snapping at the man I’d known as Reece Bryson, my father.
“Jude, will you talk some sense into her please? I won’t have—”
“Jude?” I interjected. “Jude?”
Layla was shaking her head, a look of incredulity twisting her features. “Hesodoes not look like a Jude. No way. Not a Jude.”
Reece aka Jude sighed so that his shoulders slumped. “Judah Corlett, actually. Jude for short.”
“Jude for short,” I echoed as I tried to get this new reality to pierce through my shock. We’d not just been lied to, but our entire lives were nothing but lies.
I shook my head at myself. How was it that the truth could feel so wrong when it was the lie that should? How could we not have felt any of the hints there must have been along the way that nothing was as it seemed?
Worse, how could we ever trust our instincts again?
“Yeah,”Judahsaid softly. “Sorry about that, honey.”
Bobo rounded our legs to sit on my feet. Without looking away from the spread of traitors in the spacious lab, I ran my hand along his head. At least Bobo would never betray me. Dogs were so much better than people.
“Were you …” I started before having to stop to begin anew. “Were you two ever even together?” I waved my free hand at him and Lynne, unwilling to release the connection to Bobo, whose warm, familiar presence was soothing my jagged edges. “I mean, was there ever anything even romantic between you guys? Or wasLynnejust boning the sheriff while she played at being your wife?”
Jude spun atop the stool he perched on to look at her, so fast that I knew.
“‘Boning the sheriff’?” he repeated in a shrill tone that told me and my friends everything we needed to hear. I didn’t even get reprimanded like usual for my choice of language.
“We were supposed to be working on things between us!” he accused. “No wonder things weren’t getting better.”
Lynne winced but otherwise didn’t show what I’d consider an appropriate level of remorse. “What did you expect? Our entire lives were about Joss! About the rest of the kids. I’m awoman, and I have needs.”
“I could’ve satisfied those needs! I was showing up and trying. Xander Jones? Really, Lynne? Fuckingreally?”
“What? He gave me what I wanted and didn’t ask too many questions. Plus, he’s a great lay.”
Layla whispered to us, “I’d say this is awesome, but not sure anything’s gonna feel truly awesome again.”
“I know the feeling,” Brady added with a sour frown.
Then, since I owed Lynne the Liar zero allegiance, I added, “Oh, and, Jude? Xander got her pregnant. She had an abortion.”
Jude whipped his head around to glare at her all over again. This time, though, he silently seethed.
Finally, Porter-who-wasn’t-Porter rose from his stool to pat Jude awkwardly on the shoulder. “Sorry, man. We can talk it through later. But this isn’t the place for this right now.” So softly that I had to strain to hear, he added, “Eyes and ears everywhere, remember.”
Jude only continued to glare venom at Lynne. WhenPorterpatted him on the back some more, Jude finally rubbed a hand along his face and nodded. “Okay, yeah, okay.”
Slowly, he spun the stool to face us again. His devastation at Lynne’s betrayal etched years onto his face.
