The Unfortunates(106)

“She has to be locked up until the blood tests come back.”

“My room will do just fine,” Kade states, folding his arms. His statement wasn’t a question, but a command. But I don’t want that. He said he can’t love me and that means Fortunate or Unfortunate, he won’t let himself feel love. Besides, how can I let myself be with someone who didn’t want me when I had nothing?

“No,” Albert rebuts. “She needs to be locked up in the cells. No chance for escape.”

I slump into myself as the party appears to be breaking up. One by one, they filter from the room and soon the only three remaining are Kade, Kathryn, and John. I’m still in shock, and thankfully, none of them try to touch me. I’m not sure I can stomach it… because of her selfishness I was forced to live this life. I lived every day of my life without love, without parents. I grew up believing my only responsibility in life was to keep Fortunates happy. I didn’t have play time. I didn’t get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was only allowed to shower once a week. It was hell and it was all for nothing.

“The blood test will take a few days, but when you come out… we’ll be here waiting for you.”

I nod, unable to formulate my thoughts and feelings into words. After a few small eternities, they head for the door.

“Did I have a name?” I ask finally, and she stops in her tracks.

I don’t look at her.

“Anna,” she tells me. “For the brief few minutes I held you, I called you Anna.”



∞ Kade ∞



“Anna’s a pretty name,” he muttered, crouching to her level.

“But it’s not the name I grew up with,” she replied, her pretty violet eyes locking with his.

She was mad and confused and sad, but Kade didn’t feel the same. He thought he was going to lose her—he almost did—but now, now she was alive and better than ever. Once this is over, she’s free. Actually free. He knew there was something different about her from the moment he saw her, from the moment she fought him. He knew she was wired differently, that she was too curious, too controlling, and too sarcastic to be an Unfortunate. This was fate. That he truly believed. When Portia told him she saw Nine running across the field, his heart swelled into his ribcage and cracked in two. He’d never felt so betrayed in his entire life and the look on her face when he caught her, the look of total defeat… it wasn’t something he ever wanted to see again. He was going to heal her and it had nothing to do with the fact she could possibly be a Fortunate. Fortunate or Unfortunate, Nine wasn’t going to die. He was going to save her, protect her and respect her. It took him a long time to come around to the fact that she meant everything to him. He was seconds away from murdering his brother and everyone else in the room. For Her.

Nine wanted Kade to love her and he did—holy shit he did—but he didn’t admit it because he knew nothing good would come of it. Her death would be the only thing to ever transpire from the love Kade gave her. He knew he loved her. He felt it in the way his stomach fluttered whenever she was around and the way his heart ached when she wasn’t. Kade thought it was all connected to the way she made him feel when they were intimate, and in the beginning it was, but somewhere along the line she wrapped herself around his heart, attaching herself to all of his organs while she was at it. To cut her out would mean death. It would kill him. You can’t survive without your heart…

…and that was exactly what Nine had become to him.