Agent Moonlark

Chapter Twenty Nine

Warning: Implied swearing, and one swear word actually said, but with a star as one of the vowels.

Keefe

It was seeing them recoil, as if afraid of him, that broke his heart. People who had just been starting warm up to him and trust him were looking at him like they didn't know him. They were looking at him like he was the lowliest scum, that bug squashed on the bottom of their shoe.

Fear.

Shock.

Panic.

Anguish.

Betrayal.

Biana had her hand covering her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. Her face was pale, her usually flushed cheeks having lost their color.

Tam, who had disliked Keefe from the start, positioned himself protectively in front of Biana and Linh. Even though he hadn't fully recovered from the Gnomish Plague, he was trying to act strong. His shoulders were squared, and his fists were clenched. There was no smugness in his expression. Only hurt.

Linh's reaction was similar to Biana's. Tears swam in her eyes, and her hand was on her mouth. Only, the tears did break through, and they silently rolled down her cheeks. Her head was bowed, so her hair fell in front of her.

Dex glared at Keefe, his eyes glistening. His shoulders were slumped.

Fitz looked ready to punch Keefe. Seriously. His hands were fists, and his posture was tense.

Then there was Agent Forkle. His expression was unreadable. Keefe was unable to decipher it. Agent Forkle's eyes were calm. He was staring at Keefe, a hidden message in his gaze. Keefe got the weird feeling that the Fork dude knew all along.

Keefe's eyes drifted off to Sophie. She wasn't moving. Instead, she was looking at Keefe's mother (or was it ex-mother, now that Keefe had mentally disowned her?) with the fury of a hundred lions. She was fierce. She was brace. She was beautiful.

Oops, I shouldn't get distracted, right now.

"Is it true?" Fitz asked through gritted teeth. From the day Keefe had met him (not long ago if he remembered correctly), he had known Fitz Vacker (RITZ CRACKER, but let's not get sidetracked) tended to lash out in anger. Now, the teal-eyed brunet was hardly containing himself. Keefe supposed he should be grateful Fitz was giving him one last (measly) chance.

"I was born from her," Keefe said carefully. He didn't want to call Gisela his mother, and he definitely didn't want to imply he was on the same side as her. Well, it was a little too late for that. Only a little...

Fitz muttered, "That son of a-"

Let's just say Keefe thought that last word described his mother perfectly.

Fitzy gets an A+ in creative writing and English.

"Yes," Gisela agreed. "His father is a-"

Turns out that word could describe both his parents.

"Why?" Biana whispered. "Why?" There was so much emotion in her voice that Keefe flinched. He knew it made him look guilty, but he couldn't help it. And he did feel guilty.

"I never meant to hurt you all." Even Keefe could see how empty that sounded. So cliché. He winced.

"Then was everything just for show?" Linh asked. Her voice trembled. "You becoming friends with Dex and me? You going off to find the cure with Sophie?"

"What. Cure?" Agent Gisela's voice cut through the air, sharp as a knife. It was dangerous, and Keefe knew he was in trouble. But he didn't care. Heck, he was a troublemaker.