Expiration Date (Books 1 and 2)

59 You're Still My Act of Defiance

Iris~~

"Iris. Iris, wake up." A hand brushes over my hairline. My neck aches, and I work my eyes open. The back of a seat greets me.

"What time is it?" Forget what time. What year?

"A little after noon," Erik's voice is soft unlike his lap. "We're almost there." Colorado Springs. I've never traveled this far. Before I Expired, I'd barely traveled out of Maryland. We wouldn't have made it this far if Brydan had turned us in.

The moment Brydan stepped foot on the bus, I thought it was over. I hate to admit it to myself, but my heart didn't only skip a beat at the sight of him out of fear, but because I wanted to see Jonas.

Erik's hand locked around my wrist—not hand—when he saw Brydan. His message was clear. I wasn't going anywhere unless Erik wanted it. Brydan tried to reason with us, tried to explain that Jonas genuinely cared for me, that Erik is Jonas's cousin, and that Erik should take pity on him. Erik dismissed it all by saying I'd be killed the moment I'm in the Society's hands.

"I saved you," Erik told him.

At that Brydan looked uncomfortable. "And I took you in."

"Only for you to turn us in," Erik said. "You still owe me."

Brydan looked out the window, and I dared a glance. There was Jonas, a letter in his hands. Hands that I was already too familiar with.

"After this, I owe you nothing." Those were the last words he said to us before he left the bus.

Now our bus rolls past large orange rock formations instead of kings reading letters on mountain roads. These roads are fresh, the asphalt dark as if they were just paved.

"Garden of the Gods," Erik says.

I squint, trying to picture a god using the rocks as his garden. "Why is it called that?"

"Someone suggested that it would be a good place for a beer garden, but his friend said it was too glorious for that." Why am I not surprised alcohol was involved?

"What is it that you hold over Brydan?"

Erik runs his hand over his jeans. We both changed into a pair when we reached his hideout—a small house at the outskirts of the town in Tennessee.

"I was twelve. Brydan and Jonas were both thirteen. Jonas's and my father brought us to Germany with them. There was a plot to kidnap Jonas."

My heart seizes despite knowing this story takes place years ago. Now knowing Jonas, I can't imagine anyone cruel enough to kidnap him, especially as a child. But that's now. I understand the hatred toward the Society; I still feel it myself.

"There was a mix-up, and it was Brydan they tried to take. I sort of saved him."

"You at twelve held off kidnappers?"

"I—I didn't hold them off. I stopped them. Brydan wasn't trained like I was. He didn't have a gun with him when he stepped outside. I did. I followed him outside because I was bored. That's when I saw the men trying to drag him away."

"But still, how did you—"

"I shot and killed them, Iris."

I try to swallow, my throat suddenly dry. "You were twelve."

"So? It's easy to kill someone when they don't have an Expiration Date marked on their arm."

My stomach churns at his words. He was killing at such a young age.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Iris. I know you like my cousin, and I know you think he likes you, but Jonas has only ever had the well-being of the Society on his mind. You were a way to ensure it."

"What do you mean?" Don't say because I'm Expired.

"I overheard Colton and Jonas talking. Their plan was to make sure you were happy enough at the Society so that you wouldn't want to leave and I would stay."

That churning in my stomach tightens into a knot. It couldn't have all been about Erik. It couldn't have. Not when Jonas is Expired too.

But what if it was? What if it didn't matter to Jonas that we both beat our deaths? He talked about what he should do a lot. Making sure Erik stayed and became his Tresais was certainly on that list of should's.

"If Jonas gets to you, you're never leaving the Society again. You'll either be killed or become a prisoner for the rest of your life. Iris?" he asks when I don't give any response. "Nod, if you understand."

Numbly, I obey.

He places his hand on the side of my hair, rubbing his thumb between my cheek and hair. He smiles at me. "We're going to get through this. I promise. You're still my act of defiance."

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