Awakening Book One of the Trust Series - By J. E. Swift Page 0,108
that.”
Garrett sighed. “Caitlyn, I’m not saying that I want to eradicate the human race. That is my father’s crazy notion. I am just saying that we are different, we are special. What is so wrong with being special?”
“Oh, there is nothing wrong with being special, as long as one realizes that special does not make you better.”
“In this case it does. As to dating a human or being friends, they could never understand what I am going through. It would never be an even friendship.”
Caitlyn was tired of arguing. “Where is the man that I care about, Garrett? Where are you?”
He looked at her and thought back, “I am still here; you just need to accept the other half of me. Now that the truth is out there, get to know me. Get to know the real me. I promise you will still want me.”
She wanted to believe him more than anything. But one truth remained. “It turns out that we are very, very different.”
“Please don’t take this harshly, but cut the holier than thou attitude, Caitlyn. Question things. Think about what an Actual really makes you. Think about what you want out of this, not what you can be for the Trust. Hell, even think if you want to be in the Trust. There are other options, even besides the Cine Tofa. Think about what you and I can be together. I never wanted to hide anything from you; I never wanted to keep that part of my life from you. I promised the Trust I would mentor you the best way I knew how and I would train you with the Trust methodologies. I may have kept things from you, but I never intentionally lied.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “You are right about one thing. I need to think. I need to think about a lot of things. I need time.”
Garrett looked hurt. Even as mad as she was at him, she did not want that for him. But she knew she needed to say more to him.
“I need time away from you, from all of this. I don’t know what to think about everything.”
“If that is what you need, I will give that to you.” He smiled tentatively at her. It was the smile he gave her so many times before that melted her heart. “But before I do, please give me the opportunity to show you, really show you, my past.”
Caitlyn hesitated. “I don’t know.”
“Please?”
She shuffled her feet as she thought it over. “Okay.”
“Tomorrow we will go to the training facility. And after I show you, if you still need time away, I will give you as much as you need. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Chapter 31
Caitlyn met Garrett at the training facility, unsure exactly what to expect from him. She was still so uncertain about everything. He walked through the door, a subdued smile gracing his face. She felt anxious; the man in front of her a stranger in a sense. She didn’t know what to expect from this. What if this ended up shattering every good memory that they had? Garrett sensed her nerves and he laid his hands gently on her arms.
“Relax. It will be okay. I should have shown you this a long, long time ago. Close your eyes.”
Caitlyn did as she was asked, taking a deep breath. She felt his lips brush lightly over hers in a final act of reassurance.
The room they were in was almost pitch-black, save for a tiny nightlight in the corner. The door squeaked quietly open, illuminating the fact that this was indeed a bedroom.
A woman with curly blonde hair came creeping in, a suitcase in her hand. She walked over to the bed, where she shook the tiny body that laid there. The little body just grunted and turned over on the other side, showing the child’s face to them.
It was with stark realization that Caitlyn realized the boy was Garrett.
“Garrett.” The woman whispered loudly. “Garrett. Wake up.”
The young boy sat up slowly rubbing his eyes. “Mama?”
“Yes, it’s Mama. We have to go.”
“Go where, Mama?”
“Away.” She produced a jacket and helped Garrett out of bed, putting the jacket on him.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“He…” his mother’s voice hesitated. “Daddy is busy, but he will try to join us later. You can bring your favorite toy with you if you would like.”
He nodded quietly and reached for a bunny that was on his bed.
Before Caitlyn had a chance to absorb the scene, everything became foggy, the faces becoming nothing more than a blank