him several hours to pull himself together, and even though various people sat and talked with him, it wasn’t until Rock came in that Xander started to tamp down the thoughts and emotions that sprung up from his time with Jaci earlier in the night.
Emily introduced Rock to Jaci, and then he crossed the room to sit next to Xander. The two of them spent the better part of the evening casually pretending that they weren’t conducting the most intense stake out of their careers.
The apartment was loud and crowded by the time Gwen arrived. She grabbed Xander’s hand the moment she got close enough to touch him. He registered an instant of surprise at the concerned look on her face. He thought he’d been hiding his turmoil well. “Somehow, I knew this would be hard for you,” she murmured. “Are you okay?”
Xander glanced over to Rock who nodded, and then excused himself.
“It’s fine,” he said with the most convincing smile he could muster. But they grew up together. Gwen was his family, his adopted sister. She knew him. With a glance, she knew.
Gwen’s mother died a few weeks after Xander’s dad, leaving her young and parentless. Their mothers had been best friends, so it was a no-brainer for his mom, Allie, to take her in.
Having a sibling in the Amber Zone was an anomaly and a blessing. The two of them grew up together, sharing the common ground of knowing what it felt like to lose a parent. She always seemed to know what was going on inside him, probably because similar things were going on inside her. They were close, and he couldn’t wait for Gwen to meet Jaci. He wanted to know Gwen’s initial opinion of her. She was a good judge of character, and suddenly it was important for her to like Jaci, to give her stamp of approval on the woman. But tonight would not be the night to find out. The place was a madhouse.
Gwen sat and held his hand for over an hour. Then she left with plans to stop back to meet Jaci when there weren’t so many people around.
The evening was excruciatingly long for Xander as the majority of people living in the vicinity paraded in to pay their respects to the new fallow of the building. He watched every person who walked into their apartment closely for some indication of stalking behavior, mental instability or even overfriendliness. He noticed nothing unusual from the visitors, but learned a lot about his new roommate.
Jaci handled the steady stream of people sitting and laying on the bed well. Every single person that came in the room that night touched her. It was obvious this was like nothing she’d ever seen or experienced before. She looked self-conscious at first when both men and women kissed her cheeks, caressed her arms, and ran their fingers through her hair. She seemed extraordinarily surprised that, to them, she was important. Special.
She was approachable, and even though she felt terrible, she made the effort to get to know people and return their touch. She got it. He was impressed.
Whenever anyone asked how she was feeling, “Good” was always her response. He knew she didn’t feel good. But her strength of spirit, her pride, would not let her show her personal pain. It didn’t look like she was feeling sorry for herself and she didn’t want others to feel sorry for her either, and that made her all the more endearing.
Because he’d been watching the visitors so closely, Xander caught the play of emotions on their faces when they interacted with her. This was upsetting for many of the men, women too, he guessed, but probably more in a thank-God-it’s-you-and-not-me kind of way.
He understood the Gov’s desire to eliminate the genetic anomalies, reducing and eventually eliminating the diseased people who burdened the social systems that are only now functional again. Amber society helped themselves feel better by assigning the fallow a place of honor within the community. They patted themselves on the back, telling themselves it was enough and
Emily introduced Rock to Jaci, and then he crossed the room to sit next to Xander. The two of them spent the better part of the evening casually pretending that they weren’t conducting the most intense stake out of their careers.
The apartment was loud and crowded by the time Gwen arrived. She grabbed Xander’s hand the moment she got close enough to touch him. He registered an instant of surprise at the concerned look on her face. He thought he’d been hiding his turmoil well. “Somehow, I knew this would be hard for you,” she murmured. “Are you okay?”
Xander glanced over to Rock who nodded, and then excused himself.
“It’s fine,” he said with the most convincing smile he could muster. But they grew up together. Gwen was his family, his adopted sister. She knew him. With a glance, she knew.
Gwen’s mother died a few weeks after Xander’s dad, leaving her young and parentless. Their mothers had been best friends, so it was a no-brainer for his mom, Allie, to take her in.
Having a sibling in the Amber Zone was an anomaly and a blessing. The two of them grew up together, sharing the common ground of knowing what it felt like to lose a parent. She always seemed to know what was going on inside him, probably because similar things were going on inside her. They were close, and he couldn’t wait for Gwen to meet Jaci. He wanted to know Gwen’s initial opinion of her. She was a good judge of character, and suddenly it was important for her to like Jaci, to give her stamp of approval on the woman. But tonight would not be the night to find out. The place was a madhouse.
Gwen sat and held his hand for over an hour. Then she left with plans to stop back to meet Jaci when there weren’t so many people around.
The evening was excruciatingly long for Xander as the majority of people living in the vicinity paraded in to pay their respects to the new fallow of the building. He watched every person who walked into their apartment closely for some indication of stalking behavior, mental instability or even overfriendliness. He noticed nothing unusual from the visitors, but learned a lot about his new roommate.
Jaci handled the steady stream of people sitting and laying on the bed well. Every single person that came in the room that night touched her. It was obvious this was like nothing she’d ever seen or experienced before. She looked self-conscious at first when both men and women kissed her cheeks, caressed her arms, and ran their fingers through her hair. She seemed extraordinarily surprised that, to them, she was important. Special.
She was approachable, and even though she felt terrible, she made the effort to get to know people and return their touch. She got it. He was impressed.
Whenever anyone asked how she was feeling, “Good” was always her response. He knew she didn’t feel good. But her strength of spirit, her pride, would not let her show her personal pain. It didn’t look like she was feeling sorry for herself and she didn’t want others to feel sorry for her either, and that made her all the more endearing.
Because he’d been watching the visitors so closely, Xander caught the play of emotions on their faces when they interacted with her. This was upsetting for many of the men, women too, he guessed, but probably more in a thank-God-it’s-you-and-not-me kind of way.
He understood the Gov’s desire to eliminate the genetic anomalies, reducing and eventually eliminating the diseased people who burdened the social systems that are only now functional again. Amber society helped themselves feel better by assigning the fallow a place of honor within the community. They patted themselves on the back, telling themselves it was enough and
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