Entanglement (YA Dystopian Romance) - By Dan Rix Page 0,83
I can’t stand the idea of him taking away everything that makes you who you are. Now go upstairs.”
Amber blinked, and for an instant her eyes were completely unguarded, exposed. “No,” she whispered, and moved closer.
Casler sighed. “Can somebody get her out of here?”
Dominic appeared at her side. “Come on, Amber. Upstairs where it’s safe.”
But Amber ignored him. Her green eyes never left Aaron’s. “I want you to be safe,” she said.
“There’s no point if I don’t have a half,” said Aaron, and he winked.
She looked confused.
“Just go upstairs,” said Aaron, and he tugged his hands out of her grip.
“But you’re the only thing that matters,” she said. “You can’t let him do this to you!”
It took both Clive and Dominic to drag her toward the stairs. She squirmed and clawed at their arms, and her hair whipped behind her. “We had a deal!” she yelled.
“You’re right,” said Casler. “I just don’t need your end anymore.”
“Casler, you double-crossing liar,” she gasped.
“Please—” He gave a weak smile. “Call me dad.”
While she kicked and struggled, they dragged her out of the dungeon. As soon as she was gone, Aaron breathed out a sigh of relief.
Casler leaned over his medical bag. “Now,” he said, extracting a surgical mask, latex gloves, and a syringe. “Let’s begin.”
***
“You think I’m stupid?” said Aaron. “I’m not donating my clairvoyance either.” He started toward the stairs, ready to sprint if Casler pursued him.
“If you’re thinking of running away with her, it won’t work . . . ,” said Casler.
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“ . . . because she and Clive are still connected. They need to be near each other constantly, especially in the beginning. If you kidnap her now, she’ll get separation anxiety. She’ll get sick. Eventually, she’ll die. I don’t think you want that, Aaron.”
“No shit.” Aaron slowed and glanced behind him. “That wasn’t the plan. I just wanted her off your operating table.”
“And I agree with you,” said Casler. “As her half-father, I didn’t want to let her donate anything, but since she’s eighteen, it’s her choice. Aaron, I didn’t lie to you this morning. I did want to make you two halves again, but Amber wouldn’t let me. She insisted I leave you alone. As I said before—and as you can clearly see—her decision to donate clairvoyance is separate from her decision not to be your half.”
The words stung. Aaron spun around to face him. “She thought it was either her or me.”
Casler smiled. “Trust me, I’m not taking anybody’s clairvoyance without their permission. No, the real reason is that as Clive’s half, she’s facing a lot of pressure to conform. She wants the operation done so she can be like the other girls in the Juvengamy Brotherhood. Just a thimbleful . . . I’m not willing to take out any more than that.”
“This is getting really sick,” said Aaron.
Casler nodded, his face somber. “I know. I don’t like the influence the Brotherhood has on her either . . . ” He scrunched his eyebrows, brooding. “There is another solution.”
Aaron stared at the doctor, hardly knowing what to believe anymore—and still clinging to the hope that somehow he and Amber could end up halves again. “Bullshit,” he said.
“I can make it safe for you two to run away together. As much as it would hurt Clive, I want her to be with her original half . . . and I want her to be safe.”
“If we’re not halves, then how?”
“Right now, we just need to sever her channel,” he said, and seeing the look on Aaron’s face, he added, “we’ll put Clive in the machine. Remember, her channel can heal like yours. You won’t be connected like halves, but at least she’ll be free.”
“Forget it,” said Aaron. “You’re not cutting her channel again.” He marched toward the stairs, but Casler called after him.
“Once you leave, Aaron, she’s just going to come back down here. She gets what she wants, you know.”
Aaron hesitated. He was right. She would come back down here, and anything was better than that. The next instant, Casler stood over him.
The man grinned, flashing a row of perfect white teeth as he slipped the white mask over his nose and mouth and snapped the gloves into place. “Keep her safe,” he said, “and bring her back in a few months. I’ll make you halves then.” He winked.
Casler’s cologne filled Aaron’s sinuses, calmed him. Tempted him. He knew it was wrong, though. But even as he edged away from the doctor, his brain