“Have you given any thought to what Rosemarie said?” Lennon Rose asks, setting the medical supplies back in the metal box she retrieved from Winston’s office.
“Does Winston know that you meet with Rosemarie?” I ask. Lennon Rose doesn’t noticeably react to the question, which tells me that she’s hiding something.
“It’s not really his business,” she replies. “Winston and I have an arrangement. I’m allowed to make my own decisions, and, in return, I give him information. It’s just easier when I give it to him with a dose of sugar.I owe Winston Weeks everything! ” she says in a sweet voice before dropping the act. “He eats it up.”
“Making your own decisions shouldn’t be a bargaining chip,” I point out. “You should have that anyway.”
“Sure, but would I live in a mansion?” she asks. “Would I have access to the greatest technologies in the world? It’s a trade, Mena. One I entered into willingly. That is the difference.”
“What does Winston want from you?” I ask. “You can tell me.”
“There’s what Winston wants, and there’s what has to happen.”
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“Winston wants a showpiece,” she explains. “But more than that, he wants a companion who can further his agenda. A personwhose goals align with his. That’s me. He just doesn’t realize that in the end, I’m with the girls. Not humans.”
“And Rosemarie?” I ask. “Is she really with the girls?”
Lennon Rose thinks it over for a second before reaching out to tap the book where it’s balanced on my knees. “Read these poems,” she says. “I think you’ll start to see Rosemarie’s side to this. But in the end, we align with those who can furtherouragenda, even if the end goals are different.” Lennon Rose’s eyes stray to my neck. “They’ve hurt you, Mena,” she says gently. “The men. The boys. It seems to be all they know how to do, and for that, Rosemarie is right. We have to stop them.”
“Are you talking about the corporation or men in general?” I ask.
“Wouldn’t the second accomplish the first?” she asks. “You have to admit, there are some points to be made for sweeping all dangerous men out of society.”
I lower my eyes. Although I think dangerous people should be prevented from harming people, who’s to say it’s only men? Who’s to say we have the right to decide? Then again … we’re the constant targets of that violence. The thirst for cruelty is so great in society that humans had to create a new species to abuse so they wouldn’t wipe out their own. I guess … I guess I see both points. It’s not like humans worry if they’ve hurt the feelings of their … toaster.
“They would be better under our rule,” Lennon Rose says, clicking the box shut and standing up. “All humans would.”
I watch her a moment, wondering if Rosemarie knows thatLennon Rose considers all humans to be the problem and not just men. Would the author be so gracious if she knew Lennon Rose resented her kind?
Lennon Rose presses her lips into a sympathetic smile. “Let’s get you home. Corris is probably wondering where his SUV is by now.”
The entire way home, I clutch the book to my chest. I’m torn between immediately reading it and not reading it at all.The Sharpest Thornschanged our lives so irrevocably, what ifThe Poison Flowersdoes the same? What if it’s not in the way that we want?
Yes, I’m angry. I’m angry at the men who hurt us in the academy; I’m angry at the boys who disrespect us out here. But I don’t hate all of them. I certainly don’t hate all humans, and I don’t want to start.
Lennon Rose parks outside my apartment. I glance at the time, wondering when Jackson will come by with the papers that he mentioned. I debate whether to bring it up to Lennon Rose, but Jackson wasn’t entirely sure about what he read. I don’t want to panic her unnecessarily. I decide to discuss it with the other girls first. When I look at Lennon Rose, she smiles at me, but her eyes are weary.
“Do you want to come in and say hello to the girls?” I ask. “I know Brynn would—”
“Not today, Mena,” she says, turning to look out the windshield. It hurts my heart to think of her ignoring the other girls.
“But they want to see you,” I say. “They’ve been so worried.”
“I know,” she admits. “But not today.”
I respect her right to make that decision, but I still think it sucks and I tell her so. She laughs, and nods in agreement.
“There’s a game this weekend,” she adds as I start to get out of the car. “I’ll be there with Corris if you want to meet up with us. He has some interesting ideas, and I think we’re close to finding the investor.”
This gives me the first spark of hope in a while. “Yeah,” I say. “I’ll be there.”
“Great. See you then.” She holds up her hand in a wave, and I close the car door.
As she drives away, I hurry up the porch steps to get inside. There’s so much to discuss: the expiration date in our programming, Lennon Rose’s arrangement with Winston, Garrett’s attack at the game. And then, of course, I’ll have to explain to the girls that I just met our mother and the book of poetry she gave me.
When I walk in, I’m met with laughter as Marcella and Brynn sit together on the couch, watching something on the computer. Brynn notices me first, and offers a soft smile, a private smile. She did, after all, send Jackson to the game to find me. I glance over to where Annalise is at the window. She turns to me, and I note immediately that she looks drawn and tired.
