•••
“You sure you don’t want a ride?” Deacon asks as we walk out into the lobby of the Adjustment office.
“No, I have a ride coming,” I say. “But thank you.”
Marie is still in the back office as Nicole follows us out. The air is fresh, but storm clouds have rolled in, ready to pour down on us at any second.
Nicole smiles at me, the kind of smile that saysWell, we’re in some shit together, huh?I appreciate when she pulls me into a hug.
“I’m a counselor,” Nicole says quietly, giving me a squeeze before letting go. “And I understand what you’re feeling, so if you need me...” She holds out a business card, and I take it.
“Thanks,” I say, tucking it into my back pocket. “Where are the two of you headed now?” I ask.
“First to Washington to get our friend Aaron,” she says. “He was a closer. I imagine he’ll want to have a word, or several, with Marie. And then we’ll track down this Luther Williamson—see if he’s still fond of his ex-wife.”
“I wish we were going to find Reed Castle,” Nicole adds quietly, glancing back at Deacon. “All of us together again.” Deacon wilts at the name and says he wishes they were too.
“Castle?” I repeat, looking at both of them. “There’s a counselor at Dr. Warren’s office with that name.”
“No,” Deacon says sadly. “Our friend Reed died years ago, at the start of the epidemic. He was one of the first.”
“Oh,” I say, furrowing my brow. “Not to sound insensitive, but... you might want to double-check that. I’m not sure we should trust anything at face value anymore.”
Nicole smiles that she will, but there’s grief there that I don’t think she wants to reaffirm. Deacon comes to put his arm over Nicole’s shoulders, kissing the side of her head.
“Look, we’ve got to go,” Nicole says to me. “You sure you’ll be okay?”
Just as she asks, my Jeep pulls into the strip mall parking lot, bumping the curb. Nathan is a terrible driver. I can hear the radio playing too loudly, and he immediately turns it down when he parks in front of me. He smiles apologetically and climbs out, studying Nicole and Deacon.
Nicole tells me she’ll be in touch, and I watch them leave. When they’re gone, Nathan comes to stand next to me.
“I didn’t find Melody,” he says, disappointed. “Did I miss anything here?” He turns to me, and suddenly—as if my emotions were waiting for him—the devastation and severity of what Marie told me hits.
“I’m not Tatum Masterson,” I choke out, and then Nathan catches me as I nearly collapse in tears.
•••
Nathan is pale, sitting silently in the front seat.
We’re parked in my driveway, and he stares down at his lap, unable or unwilling to speak. I told him everything Marie has done, both to me and her “closers.” I told him her plan to figure out a cure using me and that The Program wants to stop us. But with every new detail, he asked, “But they’re not really your grandparents?” as if that thought is too sickening for him to accept.
“What are you going to say to them?” Nathan asks, his voice raspy.
I texted my grandparents before we left the office and asked them to meet me at the house. When they asked why, I told them it was too involved to explain in a text.
“I’ll just ask them,” I tell Nathan. “They can’t lie anymore. I already know.” My shock has worn off slightly; crying it out actually helped me get a handle on what I was feeling. It helped me focus.
“Do you want me there?” Nathan asks, finally looking over at me. For a moment, he studies me, as if I’ve somehow changed from an hour ago. But then his bottom lip pouts, hurt on my behalf, and I reach over and put my hand on his cheek.
“I’ll be okay,” I promise him. “At least now I know the truth, right?”
“I guess.” He turns and my hand falls away. “I still think I should come with you,” he says.
“Thank you, but I have to do this on my own. And my grandparents need to come to terms with it. This is their grief. It’s time we’re all honest with each other.”
“Damn, Tatum,” Nathan says. “Foster would be so proud of you.” We both laugh, and before I can ask, Nathan says he already talked to him—avoiding Foster showing up at the Adjustment office in a fit of protective rage.
“You’ll call me right after?” Nathan asks.
