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“Don’t cry, Cass,” Izzy said, even though tears were pooling in her own eyes. “If you cry, I’ll cry...”
Drummond frowned at Cassie, an expression of surprise and regret, as if he hadn’t expected this response. “But it’s to protect her,” he said, as if he didn’t understand why Cassie was so upset. “It’s to keep her safe, Cassie.”
Cassie wanted to shout:But what about me?But she knew how selfish that would sound.
She held Izzy close.
“What happens when she lets go?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Drummond said, looking at Izzy. “You’ll fall asleep and wake up tomorrow like normal, just like any other day. And then you’ll have the urge to leave the city for a while, maybe visit family.”
Izzy’s shoulders were hitching up and down and she wrestled with the inevitability of what had happened to her, of what was to come. “I don’t like my family,” she said, between sobs.
“I’m sorry I blamed you for the Google thing,” Cassie said to her, tears on her cheeks.
“What’s the point in telling me now?” Izzy wailed. “I’m going to forget all about it.”
“That’s why I’m telling you now,” Cassie said. “Because you’re going to forget about it all, but I want you to know before you do, I don’t blame you. I didn’t mean what I said.”
Izzy nodded distractedly, as if accepting what Cassie was saying but that it wasn’t that big of an issue in the grand scheme of things.
“Can it be undone?” Izzy asked Drummond. “Can I remember again after I forget?”
Drummond shrugged. “I really don’t know, Izzy. But would you want to know about all of this again? Isn’t it better to not remember? Why would you want to remember something that will put you at such risk?”
“I’ll help you,” Cassie said to Izzy, even though she had no idea if it was possible or not. “I’ll help you to remember, I promise,” she said. “Once it’s safe.”
The two women met each other’s gaze, and Drummond reached for the book.
“Let me help,” he said.
“No!” Cassie snapped fiercely, standing in front of Izzy protectively.
Drummond’s face fell. “It can’t be stopped, Cassie,” he said to her. “I’m sorry.” He pushed her aside gently and reached for the book. “You’re going to be fine, Izzy, I promise,” he said.
Izzy turned her eyes to Drummond. “I fucking hate you.”
“Fair enough,” Drummond said quietly. “I’ll pay that price if it keeps you safe.”
Then the book escaped Izzy’s grip and Drummond stepped away. Izzy gazed at Cassie for a moment with an expression that was both blank and confused, like someone with dementia, and then she simply crumpled at the knees, landing awkwardly on the floor between the end of the couch and the door to the hall.
“It’s done,” Drummond said, gazing down at Izzy.
Cassie took two steps toward him and slapped him hard across the cheek. “You had no right to do that!” she shouted, tears running freely down her cheeks.
Drummond rubbed his face where she had slapped him, his expression pained. He stood there silently, gazing at the floor, like a man who had intruded on some private moment and wanted to be anywhere else.
“You had no right,” Cassie said again, more quietly. She looked at Izzy’s sleeping face and felt her heart knot agonizingly. “Help me move her,” she ordered Drummond.
They carried Izzy to her bed and then Drummond left the room while Cassie changed Izzy into her pajamas and covered her with her duvet. Izzy looked peaceful, untroubled by what had happened.
Drummond was waiting in the kitchen, pacing back and forth when Cassie emerged.
“I hated doing it,” he said to her, before she said anything. “I hated misleading you both like that. But sometimes I have to do things I don’t like to protect people. Sometimes I have to do things that terrify me to protect people. This is the life I have to lead.”
He seemed angry; angry with himself for what he had done, angry at Cassie for her lack of understanding. He paced back and forth restlessly for a few moments. Cassie watched him, not forgiving him, but finding that the heat of her anger was dissipating. “Is she going to be safe?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
