Read Online Enemy of Gideon by Melissa McGovern Taylor - Free Book Online
Authors: Melissa McGovern Taylor
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up to Arkin’s apartment and pound on the door. I want more answers, but at the same time, I’m afraid of what those answers will be.
Mom opens her eyes. They’re wet with tears. “I can’t do this again.”
“What do you mean ‘again’? Can’t do what again?”
“Go to school,” she says, walking into the living room.
“Tell me what you’re talking about!” I yell, my blood boiling. She always treats me like a child. The secrets pull at me like multiple arms in a crowd, dragging me away from the truth. I want to break free from them. Arkin can help me do that.
She utters a painful groan, but I still grit my teeth, waiting. No. I won’t feel guilty. I need to know the truth. I don’t care how much it makes her cry.
Mom drops on the sofa and weeps into her hands. I sit beside her and place an arm around her shoulders. After a minute, her sobbing becomes stifled breaths. She dries her eyes with the sleeve of her bathrobe.
“I told you your father left us,” she says.
I nod, dreading what comes next.
“He didn’t leave,” she says. “He was taken away from us.”
My eyes widen. “He was … an enemy?” The strange dream. It came from reality, from my memories.
She nods.
“Why would you lie to me?”
“I didn’t want you to grow up knowing your father was one of them, that he had been to the outskirts. I wanted you to believe he was a good citizen.”
I release a cold laugh. “A good citizen? A good citizen doesn’t abandon his family!”
“It was better than the truth.”
I shake my head. “A lie is never better than the truth. You taught me that.”
She looks away. “You’re so much like your father, so passionate, so stubborn. He refused to deny the enemy.”
I fear the answer to my next question. “What happened to him?”
“They executed him.”
The words wash over me like a cold downpour, like that horrible water in the dream. They’re going to kill Petra.
Mom rises from the sofa and disappears into her bedroom. Now, with the burden of these recent events, I have to grab my backpack and march to school like it’s any other day. My only solace: Ogden will walk right along with me and listen to me unload my burdens.
On the way to school, Ogden hears all about what Mom said, and he listens without a word. Every part of me wants to talk about Arkin, the mysterious book, and how the enemies are now trying to recruit me. But it would be too dangerous to tell Og. He’s blindly committed to his father and the Code. He would never protect Arkin and keep such secrets. If Arkin has any hope of remaining covert, I need to stay away from him and keep Ogden from becoming suspicious.
“You should talk to my dad,” Og says when we near the school’s entrance. “He could get you in to see Petra.”
A surge of energy hits me like a lightning bolt. I could kiss Og right there on the street. Instead, I grab him by the shoulders.
“Og, you genius! You really think there’s a chance?” I ask.
He offers me one of his proudest smirks. “He’s the chief! Of course there’s a chance.”
I want to rush to CE headquarters right now, but I know Og won’t agree to it. I have to endure the whole school day first. I have to see Arkin in classes, in the hallway, at lunch, but I don’t want to.
All day I avoid his knowing glances. He offers me an apologetic smile in science class, but I turn away from him. Even Tayra notices.
“What’s wrong, Raissa? Did you and your boyfriend break up?” she teases on the way out of the classroom.
I grimace, and Tayra flings her hair, releasing a high-pitched giggle over her shoulder. Everything is a joke to her , to all of them. The other students have simple problems: studying for tests and dodging negative peer attention. They aren’t waiting to see a loved one in custody. They don’t fear for that loved one’s life. They aren’t hiding EP, terrified a camera might catch a glimpse of them with it. What has my life become?
During the
Mom opens her eyes. They’re wet with tears. “I can’t do this again.”
“What do you mean ‘again’? Can’t do what again?”
“Go to school,” she says, walking into the living room.
“Tell me what you’re talking about!” I yell, my blood boiling. She always treats me like a child. The secrets pull at me like multiple arms in a crowd, dragging me away from the truth. I want to break free from them. Arkin can help me do that.
She utters a painful groan, but I still grit my teeth, waiting. No. I won’t feel guilty. I need to know the truth. I don’t care how much it makes her cry.
Mom drops on the sofa and weeps into her hands. I sit beside her and place an arm around her shoulders. After a minute, her sobbing becomes stifled breaths. She dries her eyes with the sleeve of her bathrobe.
“I told you your father left us,” she says.
I nod, dreading what comes next.
“He didn’t leave,” she says. “He was taken away from us.”
My eyes widen. “He was … an enemy?” The strange dream. It came from reality, from my memories.
She nods.
“Why would you lie to me?”
“I didn’t want you to grow up knowing your father was one of them, that he had been to the outskirts. I wanted you to believe he was a good citizen.”
I release a cold laugh. “A good citizen? A good citizen doesn’t abandon his family!”
“It was better than the truth.”
I shake my head. “A lie is never better than the truth. You taught me that.”
She looks away. “You’re so much like your father, so passionate, so stubborn. He refused to deny the enemy.”
I fear the answer to my next question. “What happened to him?”
“They executed him.”
The words wash over me like a cold downpour, like that horrible water in the dream. They’re going to kill Petra.
Mom rises from the sofa and disappears into her bedroom. Now, with the burden of these recent events, I have to grab my backpack and march to school like it’s any other day. My only solace: Ogden will walk right along with me and listen to me unload my burdens.
On the way to school, Ogden hears all about what Mom said, and he listens without a word. Every part of me wants to talk about Arkin, the mysterious book, and how the enemies are now trying to recruit me. But it would be too dangerous to tell Og. He’s blindly committed to his father and the Code. He would never protect Arkin and keep such secrets. If Arkin has any hope of remaining covert, I need to stay away from him and keep Ogden from becoming suspicious.
“You should talk to my dad,” Og says when we near the school’s entrance. “He could get you in to see Petra.”
A surge of energy hits me like a lightning bolt. I could kiss Og right there on the street. Instead, I grab him by the shoulders.
“Og, you genius! You really think there’s a chance?” I ask.
He offers me one of his proudest smirks. “He’s the chief! Of course there’s a chance.”
I want to rush to CE headquarters right now, but I know Og won’t agree to it. I have to endure the whole school day first. I have to see Arkin in classes, in the hallway, at lunch, but I don’t want to.
All day I avoid his knowing glances. He offers me an apologetic smile in science class, but I turn away from him. Even Tayra notices.
“What’s wrong, Raissa? Did you and your boyfriend break up?” she teases on the way out of the classroom.
I grimace, and Tayra flings her hair, releasing a high-pitched giggle over her shoulder. Everything is a joke to her , to all of them. The other students have simple problems: studying for tests and dodging negative peer attention. They aren’t waiting to see a loved one in custody. They don’t fear for that loved one’s life. They aren’t hiding EP, terrified a camera might catch a glimpse of them with it. What has my life become?
During the
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