Finally, the apartment fell silent and slipping her feet to the floor, Lucy tip-toed through her room and out into the living room—expecting her mother to burst forth from her room at any moment, her eyes flashing, bringing with her loud fury and rage.
With her hand on the door, Lucy heard the small creak of a door and the quick pitter-patter of feet. She turned and saw Harper scamper toward her, holding a stuffed teddy-bear in her hand, her bare feet slapping against the floor.
“Where are you going?” Harper asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Go back to bed,” Lucy commanded. She bent down and held her sister by the shoulders and turned her back to the room, but Harper pushed against her and spun forward again.
“No, I want to go with you.”
“You can’t go with me,” Lucy whispered. “You have to go back to sleep.”
Lucy’s heart pounded with the threat of discovery. She kept her eyes trained on her parent’s bedroom, waiting for them to stumble out and end her chance to see Grant. She thought of Blair, waiting for her arrival, and hoped that she wouldn’t give up hope that Lucy was coming.
“Are you leaving us?” Harper asked and the question caused Lucy to pause. “Are you going away from us again?”
“What? No,” Lucy answered. “Of course not. I’m coming back.”
“You were gone before and I missed you,” Harper replied and she crawled into her sister’s arms, snuggling her chin on her shoulder.
“I’m not going away. I’m going to see a friend.”
“I want to see your friend too,” Harper said. She was more awake than before, her eyes bright. It would be impossible to direct her back to bed and still make it to Blair on time.
With a groan, Lucy grabbed Harper’s hand and put a finger to her lips. “This is a secret,” she said. “Don’t talk.” And Harper nodded, wide-eyed, and gripped Lucy’s hand tighter. Together they slipped out into the hallway and out the unguarded doors.
She swiped her hand against the elevator doors, and traveled back to Blair’s floor. When the doors opened, Blair was waiting, her back against the metal hallway door. She popped up at the sight of Harper and wagged her finger.
“She was not part of the deal,” Blair said in a hushed voice.
“I had to bring her. She woke up,” Lucy complained and she tightened her grip on her sister’s hand. “I’ll need to see Grant alone…so…”
“Now I’m a babysitter?” Blair moved toward the elevator and swiped her own hand. “You’re pushing it, King.”
“I’m not a baby,” Harper complained. Blair shot her a look and Harper sunk into Lucy’s side.
They boarded the elevator and Blair pushed the button. Lucy watched closely. The same floor as the Center; Lucy’s heart pounded. Grant had been so close all this time and she had maybe even walked right past him without knowing. It made her heart sick to think about it. The doors slid open and there were two guards, Blair nodded to them and they nodded back, turning their heads away from the small trio as they walked in the opposite direction of Cass’s secret hallway.
“They won’t tell?” Lucy whispered and Blair didn’t answer. She rounded a corner and led them down several hallways, before bringing them outside a nondescript door. Then Blair pulled a single key from her pocket and opened the door; unlike the other doors, there was no swipe pad.
When the door swung open, Lucy was looking straight into a shiny lab.
She gulped. Her surreptitious mission now felt real, tangible. Grant was close.
“Stay here, Harper,” she whispered.
“Take the key. It’s a master. It will unlock any room in there,” Blair said and she held the shiny object out to Lucy in her outstretched hand. “You have ten minutes.”
“That’s all?” Lucy’s voice sounded weak and afraid. She cleared her throat. “That’s all I get?”
“Ten. Go,” Blair repeated and gave Lucy a small push inside the bright room.
Lucy walked in and the door shut behind her. She scanned from right to left; the room was empty and still. She didn’t know what she was expecting to see, but Grant was nowhere inside the lab. Her father’s lab was pristine—she expected nothing less. There were two rooms; one with a smattering of equipment and another with a metal bed and a long counter, a refrigerator with glass doors held shelves of vials and samples, each one labeled in her father’s steady hand.
She heard some rustling and a faint cough, and Lucy spun in the direction of the noise. There before her was a supply closet and she fumbled with the key and tore forward; after the lock clicked open, Lucy rushed forward—the door banging behind her. Sure enough, Grant was there, asleep. He was huddled into the fetal position on a cot, two shabby blankets pulled over his body, one leg falling off the bed, exposing a single dirty sock. She walked forward, trembling, and looked as his breath rose and fell. His skin was jaundiced and his eyes were hollow and they appeared black and blue.
She squatted down and wiped a piece of sandy-blonde hair out of his eyes. And then whispered, “Grant. Grant. Wake up.”
Upon hearing his name, Grant bolted upright, his eyes wide. Disoriented, he spun his head left and right before finally settling on Lucy; then after a few bleary seconds, he broke into a smile.
“Lucy! You’re here! You’re really here!” The blankets dropped away, exposing his bare chest and arms, and Lucy gasped. Track marks were etched into his flesh; dots and bruises traveled up and down his arms. Someone had been using him as a pincushion. Grant’s entire body seemed weak and sickly; her father had seemed to drain his body in a short amount of time. “How did you—?”
“It’s a long story…I’ll tell you another time. Just know that I’m here, Grant. I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m so sorry,” Lucy said and she hopped up on the bed next to him, looking at his arms and running her hand over the sores and the scars. “What has he done to you down here?”
“Human guinea pig,” Grant smiled. “Don’t let the body fool you,” he tapped his head. “Positive thinking, works wonders. I’m not that bad. I’ve kept my spirits up.”
“How could you possibly?” Lucy asked and she began to cry. Grant wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him.
“Hey now,” he said into her hair. “It’s okay. I’m still here. You’re here.”
“I read your letter,” Lucy said and she pulled away, sliding her hands into his as his arms fell away from her shoulders. “I read it and I thought you were dead. I thought you were gone. And when I thought that…when I imagined losing you…”
“I knew I shouldn’t have given that letter to your dad,” Grant replied and he smiled. His single-dimple appeared in the center of his cheek.
“You can tell me anything,” she said. “No secret is too big to keep from me. I wish I had known about your mom…I wish so many things. I need you here with me, don’t you understand? And I’m fighting for that, you need to know that. I’m going to get you out of here.”
Grant squeezed her hand. He winced and coughed to the side. “You’re determined, but Lucy…my fate is sealed. There’s no way you could save me without risking everything.” He smiled a sad smile and then looked away.
“I’ll risk everything then,” Lucy replied and she straightened her back. She took her right hand and reached over and lifted his chin; then she looked him straight in the eye. “Everything.”
“Don’t. Not for me. That’s not what I want. Are you going to get in trouble for seeing me?”
She couldn’t tell him the truth. He had enough to worry about in here. “I’m going to keep seeing you every day until I can get you out of here,” she replied. “I’m sorry if it felt like I’d forgotten…I haven’t forgotten.”
Grant ran his fingers through his hair and smiled. “I hoped you wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve been happy to dream about you being content…”