Project HALO

Chapter 46

I can't sleep.

Every nerve in my body thrums with nervous energy, sending my fingers dancing and my feet bouncing. I've spent the last couple of hours prying information out of the hackers. They're the ones with all the knowledge of the NIC's lab and its rooms, and I needed to know where Regina is holding Mikey. I needed to know exactly where the lab is.

Now I do.

I have everything I need, but I can't leave yet, and it's driving me crazy. My heart is restless, my brain is on overdrive, and I can hear my own breath moving too fast. After another ten minutes of tossing and turning, I slide my feet into my shoes and stop by the bathroom to take a piss. Then I walk to the computer room to watch some TV, but on my way, I stop to check the screens that shows a 24/7 surveillance over the lab. Even though I've checked Mikey's room several times today, I do it again. It's dark, but I make out his body tucked into bed, his back turned to the camera. Only Mikey would be able to sleep while kidnapped. I almost chuckle at the sight.

The rest of the cameras are dark, and it's difficult to see if anything's going on. The time is 01:42, and I doubt anyone but a few Detectors is there.

Then one of the cameras lights up.

Malcolm's room.

I jolt closer to the screen and squint my eyes.

Is that—

Regina?

That can't be right. Why would she be at the lab in the middle of the night? Unless she... My stomach twists. What if she's there to turn Mikey into another experiment? Is she planning to torture Malcolm for more information?

I jump out of my chair. From what the hackers told me, the lab is only a fifteen-minute drive from here, and from what I saw on the screen, I have to leave now. My heart beats so hard my ribs might fracture, and I get moving. I run into the gunroom on my tippy-toes, press a handgun into the back of my pants, and close the door so, so, so carefully behind me.

I continue to the front doors and stop by the table with the car keys. But just as I grab one of the three remaining keys, the lights are switched on.

On the other side of the room, Frank tilts his head at me. His big eyes are barely open, and he's yawning and tired and perfect.

He's the last person I want to see.

I quickly slide the keys into my pocket and make sure my sweatshirt covers the gun sticking up from my pants. My body is being torn into two, between where I want to be and where I have to be. Yet, I walk toward Frank.

"Why are you awake?" I ask, trying to sound cute and shit. If I'm to sneak away unnoticed, Frank has to go back to bed believing that I'm doing the same.

He narrows his reddened eyes. "Why are you awake?"

"Couldn't sleep," I say and scratch my neck. "It's... I don't know. I'm worried about Mikey."

That immediately deletes any kind of suspicion from Frank's face. "Of course you are," he says and nods. He stares at me, looking like he wants to say or do something more, but he doesn't.

"You should go back to bed," I say and put my sweaty hand on his shoulder, hoping he can't feel my hammering pulse through his t-shirt. "I'll stay here and watch some TV to distract myself."

He places his hand over mine and slides it off his shoulder, but holds onto it. I should pull away before he notices how damp my hand is, but it feels too nice. It feels safe and after this night, I'm not sure if I'll feel safe ever again.

"I'll stay with you," he says with a soft smile.

Why are you so kind, I want to yell to make him back off, to make him run away and never look back, but I can't bring myself to do it.

"Okay?" His eyebrows pinch together briefly, and for a moment, I'm terrified he knows what I'm about to do. My hand squeezes harder around his before I can stop myself, and he pulls away.

"Ouch! What is it?"

I wipe my hands on my pants and try to give him my most charming smile.

"It's nothing," I say, but even I don't believe myself. Why is it so hard to lie to him? I clear my throat and correct my posture. Being mean usually scares people away, and though I wanted to avoid it, I can't wait any longer. This is how it would end anyway. Frank is better off without me. Might as well get it over with.

He needs to leave and so do I.

My chest is heavy with regret, regret from what I've done and for what I'm about to do, but I force my expression to harden, stony at the edges of my features.

"I thought I told you to stay away from me." My gaze moves from his face to the wall behind him. "You and Brandon seem to be getting along, though, so why don't you go find him instead?"

The words slice into my heart as they leave, and they seem to do the same to Frank when they hit him. He blinks, his mouth opening slightly.

"Are you serious? I'm trying to be your friend here. Can't I do that either?" He throws his hands out. "Then what can I do?"

"You can leave me alone." I have to snap my mouth shut after that to keep myself from saying sorry. I grind my teeth so hard it hurts.

He attempts a half-hearted smile to test me, but it fades away when I don't reciprocate it.

"What?" His voice is faint and weak. "You don't mean that."

I fold my arms across my chest to stop myself from wrapping them around him, trying my hardest to shut the emotional part of my brain off.

"Is this—is this because of Brandon? It's not even like that," Frank says. "I like you, Charlie. You! I know you just wanna be friends, and that's okay. I want that, too."

I want the same, I think, but it doesn't matter. The clock is ticking and I have to go. My eyes keep drifting toward the computer screens to see if anything's changed, but it's impossible to see from my angle.

So this is it.

It's not like I'm going to see Frank again after tonight. It's better for him if he hates me. No one will miss someone they hate.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I say and swallow. "I have enough friends and I don't need someone like you."

"Someone like me? What's that's supposed to mean?" Frank whispers, his voice laced with pain. He searches my face for any kind of regret, and his expression alone is like a punch to the face.

Every good memory with him races through my head, flashes of him helping me and opening up to me, of him showing time and time again that he would be my friend if I let him.

But I can't.

"You know what it means."

"Wow." He scoffs, and my heart droops along with his shoulders. The face I've grown used to seeing happy and glowing has now lost its spark. And I hate myself for being the one who ruined it.

"You know what?" Frank pushes his finger into my chest. "Fuck you, Charlie." He runs his gaze over my face one last time, lingering, and the hurt on his face is lethal to me.

"Have a nice one," I say, unable to suppress the rawness of truth hidden underneath, but Frank is too agitated to notice. He flips me off and turns around, slamming the door shut behind him.

I have to force myself to breathe. For a few seconds, I just stand there. Everything feels wrong and unfair, but Frank was meant to chase the light, and I belong in the darkness.