Caught

Chapter Three

Apparently, sixteenth birthdays are important. They're supposed to be big and festive and full of cake and presents.

How do I know that?

I don't. Not exactly. But when Aidan and I walked out of my bedroom and into the den, sixteen candles were lit on a white frosted cake, a pile of presents set on the table beside it.

There were six people in the room, excluding us. Dr. Henderson, Dad, Dr. Walker and a man that looks a bit like an older version of Aidan. His dad, probably. They all wore mom/dad clothes, not any of those white lab coats or stereoscopes, just sweaters and jeans. Dr. Henderson wore a large smile on her face as she added the finishing touches to the cake.

Spencer sat on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV. He had a packet of skittles in hand, popping a few in his mouth every once and a while. I approached him from behind, snatching the bag, then devoured them one by one.

I actually had to do a double take to realize the sixth person in the room. Sitting alone on one of the armchairs was a girl, about my age, with long, brown hair, which kind of looks like she cut it herself, and bright, blue eyes, like Spencer and me, only, mine have turned darker. She looked uncomfortable in the room, often playing with her hair or fiddling with the cord around her neck.

Also, I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks with me but it seems like every now and then, she sends Spencer a small smile.

Please don't be another girlfriend. I only just got used to Kassandra.

"Hey!" Spencer took a few minutes to realize that he was robbed. "Give me back my skittles!"

"But it's my birthday!" I whined.

He started chasing me around our living quarters. "Give it back! I'm very protective of my skittles!"

"Kids, stop it." Dr. Henderson's voice booms through the room. "Lauren, give them back, it's bad for teeth anyway."

I stopped running and glared at her. She still thinks she's in charge of me. Well, technically, she is, but it's not like I'm going to listen to her that easily.

Spencer grabs it from my hand either way, giving out a cheer for victory before heading back to his seat on the couch.

So much for being a good older brother. I thought. And to think that he classifies as an adult. It disgusts me.

I glance over and see the girl on the couch giggling, Aidan sitting next to her, biting his lip to prevent him from laughing. The girl said something to him, something I couldn't hear, and he burst out laughing. Spencer joined in.

I seriously didn't know who she was or what she was doing here but I didn't like her.

I walked up to the three and hopped onto the couch, again grabbing a handful of skittles from Spencer. He glared at me but didn't say a word.

"Listen," I said, looking at the girl. "I don't mean to sound rude but who are you and what the hell are you doing here."

"Lauren!" Dr. Henderson's voice called. "That wasn't nice, especially when she's family."

Her words hit me in the chest hard. "Excuse me, what?" I turned to the girl; brown, jagged hair and blue eyes. She did look a bit like our family, especially since she had brown hair like dad and eyes like Spencer. But... "Family?"

"Mom, dad, Mr. and Mrs. Davis," Spencer jumped in. "Would you mind stepping out for a bit, I think I can handle this."

"But... the cake and presents..." Dad whined. Dad whining? Wow, I think Spencer gets that from him.

"They'll be here when you get back," Spencer said.

He frowned, then trailed behind the other parents out the door. Dr. Henderson was arguing quietly about something with him, there were the words "behavior" and "issues" in the conversation. Soon after, they were gone.

"Family?" I question again, turning between Spencer and the girl. "Someone want to explain?"

"What, you just thought that our parents were only children?" Spencer asked.

I bit my lip. Things like that didn't usually come up in conversations I have with my family. They usually include yelling, protesting, crying and all that good stuff. "Kinda, yeah, I guess. No one really mentioned anything about that."

"Well Lauren, this is Jessica." He introduced. She started reaching her arm out for a handshake until I shot her an annoyed expression. She instantly pulled it away. "Her father is dad's brother."

"Does he work for the Institute?" I asked, my eyes not off of Jessica.

Spencer hesitated before answering and she jumped in before he could talk.

"He - he used to," She explained. "Before he, my mom and my aunt died in a car crash."

I couldn't say anything to that, didn't know what to say, like in most situations. Hurt was expressed in her facial expressions, I could tell she was holding back tears. My gaze fell on her hands, which were suddenly in Aidan's palms. He rubbed it softly with his thumb.

"That's - I'm... sorry." I managed to say. "So, who do you live with?"

What? Spencer's voice popped into my head. Apparently, the telepathy link was still there. That's the question you ask her?

I look at him, the expression on his face reflecting what he just asked me. Jessica took note of it.

"It's okay, Spencer." She said softly, "I live - or well, lived on the streets since then. Until I was brought here... kidnapped. Been here since... a year, I think it was. It's been lonely."

"Wait," I said. "You were brought here because you're part of the experiment, right? Isn't- don't- you have to be in the isolation. Like. Us." I paused between words, then found myself standing up. "You're. Like. Us. Right?"

I knew she didn't face what Aidan and I have. She wasn't at the Institute when we were thirteen. She wasn't in the isolation. For some reason, for the past year, she hasn't gained back the weight she lost from living on the streets. There was something else about her, something was missing.

I didn't trust her. Not yet.

"Laur," Aidan stood up, his hands placed on my shoulders. "Don't get ahead of yourself, you two just met. You can't instantly not trust Jess."

"What?" I snapped. "And you do trust her?"

I could tell she was hurting more, yet she tried to keep to herself once again. Spencer was giving her a look, saying this-is-her-usual-self. She still felt uncomfortable in the room.

"I actually got to know her." Aidan said. "Unlike you. Jess is a nice person, give her a chance, Laur."

I looked him in the eye hard. "If you give the wrong person a chance, you might end up in a bad situation yourself."

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Neither of us looked away from each other, his chocolate brown eyes were focused on my indigo ones. His breath smelled of peppermint and tea. He. Didn't. Look. Away.

"Dad!" Spencer called, breaking the silence. "I think we're ready for cake and presents!"