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Ava darts her eyes around the room, making sure the area is still empty. “It was an isolated incident,” she whispers. “You know children are never supposed to present that young, Hazel. It wasn’t safe to keep him here anymore.”
Tears fill Hazel’s eyes. If she lets them fall, she fears they’ll never stop.
“I miss him too,” Ava continues. “My kids ask about him all the time. And I’m still not sure what we’re supposed to say half the time.”
Hazel scoffs and shakes her head. “We’re supposed to say what the administrationwantsus to say.”
The lettuce of her salad tastes bitter the longer she thinks about what her employers did.
“It’s all so screwed up,” Ava adds. “But flirting with danger won’t solve anything. Promise me you’ll be careful. They can’t lose you, too.”
The kids can’t lose you like they did Connor.
But she can’t promise her friend anything.
Maybe she can start being more honest, though. She could tell Ava about how all of this has affected her, and the way her tendencies towards self-destruction have increased.
She takes a deep breath.
“Ava, I—”
Sirens fill the air, and her friend gives her a warning look, as if to sayI told you so.
The shrill pitch has become more of a nuisance than a warning by now. She hates it.
The drill makes her roll her eyes, but she stands up anyway, leaving her salad on the table as she hurries to gather the kids from lunch.
They’re already accustomed to these drills, and small groans of annoyance fill the air as she and Ava usher their classrooms into their designated spots.
The kids aren’t who the city is really worried about, though.
After leaving the children with the Beta teachers, Ava and Hazel make their way to their own safe room, this one specifically designed to withstand tactical forces.
Just in case.
If the sirens had sounded at her apartment, she would have locked herself inside the Alpha-resistant building.
If they sounded at the grocery store, she would have been ushered into a special room built exclusively for Omegas.
Regardless of where she is, there will always be a place for her to hide from the Alphas should they escape their military island.
It’ll never happen, of course.
It’s just a precaution.
She’s in a daze as she walks into the small room with Ava. They lock the door behind themselves and scan their handprints to keep the door sealed.
“It’s alright,” Ava says, gripping her friend’s hand. “They’re doing the right thing. If Connor was showing signs of—”
“But he shouldn’t have,” Hazel whispers back. “He’s only seven years old. What did they do with him?”
Her voice wavers and tears fill her eyes while Ava remains silent.
Her best friend doesn’t have the answers.
She wonders if either of them will ever know what happened to the child.
CHAPTER 2
