Page 54 of Conform
Phillip walked down the steps, clutching a stack of papers. Collin stopped on the cusp of the stairs, staring down at me, his glacial gaze intense and unyielding. They held my defective eyes.
Exposed, I steeled my resolve and awaited the consequences of my actions.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“AH, THERE HE IS,” NORA SAID. “TELL ME, DEAR BROTHER,why Emeline did not know about me.”
“Nora, not now,” Collin said. I stood as he descended the stairs, stopping in front of me. He looked dashing in rich brown pants and a white button-down shirt. It was strange to see him in something other than a black suit. My body and mind waged an unseen war in his presence. His magnetic pull tugged on something low and relentless, but my mind raged against it. I had worn blue. I’d had a Major Defect in my room last night.
I had not seen him since the Sphere. Since he had implored forgiveness before his lips met mine. Despite myself, my eyes lingered on his lips. Was I about to beg his forgiveness? I wasn’t sure I wanted it.
“Emeline, are you all right?” he asked with real concern in his voice, and the war fell silent.
“Yes, I’m okay.” I didn’t mention how my muscles were still so sore that it was difficult to stand, much less walk, or how emotionally drained I felt.
His calculating gaze flickered between my blue–brown gaze, and I realized Nora hadn’t commented on my heterochromia. She hadn’t said anything, which had been a first. I glanced over my shoulder at her. She smiled at me, raising her teacup to her lips.
Collin gestured to the sofa. I took my seat as he sat on the table directly across from me. “Can you tell me about last night?”
I glanced over to Phillip, who shuffled through his stack of papers on the other sofa.
“Didn’t Phillip tell you?” I asked, uneasy.
I didn’t want to relive Vincent’s words. I didn’t want to tell a group of Elite what it felt like to be cast aside. That instead of accepting me, my birth family wished for me to be eliminated. My chest hollowed out at the thought.
“He told me his recount, that Vincent mentioned the Elimination Act,” Collin said.
“He more than mentioned it,” I choked out.
“Some of the older Elites still believe in it,” Collin told me. I glanced at Phillip. Had he told Collin everything that was said? Collin made to continue, but I cut him off.
“Doyou?”
The room fell deathly silent. The Academy lessons preaching obedience seemed very far away. I looked up, my mismatched gaze colliding with Collin’s. I couldn’t breathe at the wild look in his eyes. I wouldn’t look away. If he thought people like me should be murdered, I would watch him say it.
“I do not,” he told me, his gaze dipping to my lips. He cleared his throat, tearing his eyes from them. “We did not repopulate only to wipe out a good portion of our efforts. It would be counterproductive, as I have stated to the Press and in every meeting it has been suggested.”
“What exactly is the Press?” I asked, one of the many questions I had boiling inside of me.
“A media source for the Elite,” Collin said.
“It’s a gossip column at best,” Nora huffed, unimpressed. “It exists to entertain those in the clouds.”
“We’re getting off topic,” Collin said. “After the dinner, your Pod had the emergency button pushed and then our cameras saw you take off on foot.”
The floor went out from under me as fear surged through me, potent and heavy like my panic had felt last night. Had the Illum seen Hal? Surely he would have led with that. I was property, his property, if Gregory was to be believed.
“Your scans this morning are erratic at best, unhealthy at worst,” Collin stated. Phillip passed along a paper, which Collin glanced at before handing it to me.
I scanned the entire photo. There was no sign of Hal—just me and my wild sprint. The metal cuff had allowed Hal to remain undetected.
“Oh, I love that dress,” Nora exclaimed.
“Where is the dress?” Collin asked, looking toward the doors where I had dropped it. “Gregory, bring me the bag.”
Gregory scooped up the bag, dropping it next to me.
“Gregory, didn’t you want tea?” I asked.
