Nausea swirled in my gut, but I forced myself to shoot my father a cavalier grin.
“Believe me, he’s not interested in Milo,” I said, already trying to figure out a way to get my father’s attention away from Jay.
Friends always had each other’s backs.
“We’re going out tonight to the Memory Tap. I’ll keep an eye on him,” I said, and Luke nodded.
“Good,” he grunted, and I excused myself, forcing myself to walk calmly, despite the desire I had to literally run back to my cube.
“NOVA!” I called as I entered my small space.
“Yes, Sebastian?”
“Jay’s going to get himself fucking killed,” I growled, running my hand down my face in frustration. “Luke thinks he’s fucking Milo.”
“Those two definitely have chemistry,” NOVA mused, and I growled.
“Iknewsomething was going on between them. He was so freaking possessive of him over lunch the other day…”
“Yep, you called it, even before he managed to get him hired. He’s obsessed with that boy,” NOVA agreed.
“Yeah, well, I need you to keep trying to interrupt them if you catch them getting too close…Hecan’tpursue a relationship with Milo. He has to be more careful. Luke’s been itching to get rid of him for years… FUCK!”
My mind was racing, then finally, I got an idea. It wasn’t a perfect idea, but it would hopefully buy me some time and get my dad’s attention off Jay long enough for me to figure out how to get us both out of here.
I’d been working with NOVA to see if there was a way to remove our chips without my father knowing, but I wasn’t nearly as good with tech as Jay was, and it was taking forever.
I rubbed my thumb over the implanted chip in my arm, wincing as it fired a painful warning signal to punish me for tampering with it.
“Here’s the plan. I’m going to try to get Milo to kiss me tonight at Memory Tap. Make sure you get it on camera so Luke sees. Maybe he’ll leave Jay alone if he thinks it’s me that’s trying to fuck Milo…”
“Seb… That’s not a good idea. You know what he’ll do to you if you break the rules. You should just tell Jay.”
I shook my head vehemently.
“Ican’t.If I tell him, they might scan his mind. Luke would find out he knows about his dad, and Jay won’t stand a chance.” Panic clutchedmy heart at the thought of losing Jay, too. “Just… do what you can to guide him in the right direction, and I’ll do what I can to keep Luke’s attention on me. I’ll tell Jay and Milo everything once we’re free.”
“Alright, Seb. I still think it’s a bad idea. You shouldn’t have to do this. It’s not fair that you let him hurt you all the time. Jay wouldn’t want that.”
I snorted.
I’d learned a long time ago that life wasn’t fair.
But Jay was my best friend, and it was my job to watch out for him… because good friends always had each other’s backs.
(1.5 years later)
Everything had backfired, and it was because Milo was such apurefucking person.
He’d tried to save me from my father’s sadistic plans at the demonstration in the Cortex, and now everything wasfucked.
This sweet, kind,wholesomeman had tried to help me, and I’d repaid him by restraining him and dragging him into The Cave to basically be enslaved.
I wasn’t strong enough to fight the pain of the new chip I’d been implanted with, and I’d wanted to scream and cry and rage right along with Milo when my father had threatened to shoot Jay.
I’d done everything I possibly could to protect him, and I’d still failed.
After Milo erased his own memories right in front of us, I truly thought I would never see Jay smile again. The thought of that made me so furious and sad. Sun-soaked memories of the giant smiles Jay used to bless me with all those summers playing in his dad’s pond swam across my mind, and they hurt so bad I didn’t know whatto do with myself.
