“That boy wants to make you human,” Imogene says.
“I am part human,” I say.
“Not the parts that count,” she replies. “Not to them.”
Tears prick my eyes. I know there’s a side of me that wants to stay human—it’s all I’ve ever known. I have no idea who, or what, I am anymore. I don’t even know how to begin processing it.
But Annalise is right. I couldn’t live with myself if I got Jackson killed. I have to let him go. He can’t be a part of this.
“Mena … ,” Annalise says, warning me to hurry.
I know what has to be done, and I nod solemnly. Sydney makes a soft sound of realization and Brynn stares at the floor. Marcella’s lips part as though she’s asking me if I can really send him away.
To move forward, I have to leave Jackson behind. Although I care about him, the girls and I have a bigger mission. We vowed to stop the corporation, and we’re going to do it. Not just for ourselves, but for the other girls. And for any girls who would have come after us.
Annalise sits down on the couch, rubbing her temple again. She closes her eyes. Brynn and Marcella join her, while Sydney holds on to me.
“How are you going to get rid of him?” Sydney asks.
Jackson is stubborn; he’s emotional. I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that would convince him to abandon us. He’s good. And so, there’s only one way to get him to leave.
“I’m going to lie,” I say, unable to hide the regret in my voice. I start for the door.
When I walk outside, I find Jackson in the passenger seat of his car, the engine running. Quentin waits impatiently at the driver’s side door. Jackson waves me forward, as if telling me to hurry up.
I walk over and Jackson rolls down his window. “What are you doing?” he asks. “Get in.”
“I’ll meet you at your house,” I tell him. He scoffs and looks around, confused.
“Why? No, I’m not leaving you here.”
“I have to help Imogene,” I say. “She’s having a breakdown—that was the scream we heard.” I glance at Quentin, who’s watching me like he doesn’t believe a word I’m saying. “We’ll meet at your house,” I repeat to Jackson. “I promise.”
And as I promise, sadness wraps itself around me. I’m never going to see him again.
“I don’t get it … ,” Jackson says. “But I can’t force you to leave with me. You’ll meet me there? Do you even know where I live?”
I smile. “You can write down the address,” I say.
“I’ve got it,” Quentin says, taking out a receipt from his pocket. He grabs a pen from the dashboard and walks it around the car. He pauses in front of me, slightly turned away from Jackson.
“What’s really going on?” he murmurs quietly. “I know it wasn’t that woman screaming. Why are you lying to him?” I lift my eyes to meet his gaze.
“We’re not going anywhere,” I say. “But you and Jackson are.”
Quentin laughs, tilting his head from side to side. “Yeah, I don’t think Jackie is going to leave you here with that woman, though.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about us, Quentin. A lot Jackson hasn’t told you.”
Quentin looks back at him, and Jackson darts his gaze between me and his friend. Quentin holds up his hand, letting him know we’re good. He pretends he’s giving me directions.
“You have to get him out of here,” I tell Quentin. “Take him to the hospital or don’t. Either way, you can’t stay with us. You can’t lethimstay.”
Quentin licks his lips, studying me. “What’s going on in there?” he asks.
“Imogene killed her husband,” I say, watching him process the statement. “That smell in the house was his body in the bathtub.But there’s more,” I say. “She’s not … human. None of us are. That school, the one we escaped from, was a lab. A group of scientists created obedient girls to sell to investors. We’re artificial intelligence, computers in organic bodies. We killed them. And if you don’t get Jackson away from us, he’ll end up dead too.”
Quentin coughs out a laugh, but I can tell it’s a defense mechanism. He doesn’t believe me right away, but his smile slowly begins to fade. He looks at the house behind us. “That’s not possible,” he says, more to himself than me.
