Chapter Twenty-One

Ian

Would she show up? And if she did, would it mean anything? Ian had been sitting at the table near the adventure books for an hour. He had no idea when Sara might appear. He’d come at noon, and he’d sit here all damn day if he had to. Every time the stairwell door opened he glanced up.

The last three times he’d checked it hadn’t been Sara. He heard the door again, and he glanced up and there she was. And she was holding the key to the art room. Without talking to him she headed in that direction.

His heart raced as he grabbed his books and followed behind her. Just because she wanted privacy didn’t mean she wanted him. But what if… He paused while she opened the door and walked in behind her. Once she closed the door she looked at him and said, “I tried to do the right thing, but it’s not…it’s not the right thing, and I can’t do it anymore.” She sniffled. “I’m so sorry I broke things off with you. Can you forgive me?”

His throat felt tight and he couldn’t form words, so he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He was almost afraid to say anything in case he’d misunderstood. He cleared his throat and said, “I love you.” And then he waited.

She pushed against his chest and took a step back. “I love you, too.”

Thank God.

“We must find a way to leave.”

Why does she sound scared? “What happened?”

“He threatened to have me committed or taken before the Directorate, so I’ve been acting like the perfect Blue, but I can’t do it anymore. I don’t belong with him. I belong with you. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that all I need to be happy is you. Just you.”

She was echoing the words he’d said to her, so he did the same. “What about your family and having kids?”

“I’d make do without them.” She searched his face. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Before, I didn’t think it through…about everything we’d be giving up.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a slow breath. “You don’t want to give up those things.”

“I didn’t say that. I said we needed to think about it.”

She laughed. “Guess I am a Blue. So full of myself I thought you’d drop everything for me.” She backed up and swiped at the tears rolling down her face. “The joke is on me.”

“No. Wait.” Ian put his hands on her shoulders. “If you said, ‘we’re leaving tonight,’ I would pack a bag and go. If it comes down to you or the rest of the world, I choose you.”

Before she could argue, he leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers. There was no resistance; she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Finally, the strange, out-of-sync feeling he’d had for weeks disappeared. This was where he belonged.

A knock on the door startled them both. Ian said, “Sit down and open a book. I’ll get the door.”

Sara sat and opened one of the books Ian had brought with him like she’d been reading it. He opened the door and smiled at Miss Enid. “Hello, did you come to join our book club?”

“No. I wanted to check on you. Everything all right?” She glanced over at Sara, who sniffled. “You’re not sad about the books, are you?”

Sara set the book down and shook her head. “Ferrin is being impossible. Ian is nice enough to listen to me vent.”

“I offered to punch him,” he joked. “She won’t let me.”

“Westgates have always been difficult. I’m glad you have friends to help you cope. Why don’t you keep the key, in case you need a place where he can’t find you?”

“Thank you. I appreciate it. When Ferrin and I build our estate I’m going to bribe the architect to include a few hidden reading rooms.”

Miss Enid laughed. “Not a bad idea. I better get back to work.” She ducked out and Ian locked the door.

Sara started to talk, and he put his finger in front of his mouth while he listened for footsteps. Once he heard Miss Enid walk away, he came back and sat next to her. “How is this going to work?”

Sara held up the key. “This will make things easier. We can pack some bags and hide them in here. What do you think we’ll need?”

“I can go to Dragon’s Bluff and buy supplies for a camping trip. My dad and I do that all the time, so it shouldn’t draw suspicion.”

“Your dad?” Sara reached out and touched his face. “You have a good relationship with your parents. I shouldn’t ask you to give that up.”

“I don’t have to give them up. Once we’re settled someplace, I can contact them. They won’t understand why I’ve run away, but they won’t hold it against me like your family will. If you walk out on your family, you know they’ll never take you back.”

“Doesn’t matter. Turns out I’m more a political pawn than a daughter.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So, you’ll grab camping supplies. I’ll need different clothes. Running away in heels and dresses won’t work.”

“Where can you find jeans without drawing attention?”

“Good question.”

“Sporting goods stores have clothes for hiking, like jeans and cargo pants.”

“What are cargo pants?”

“Pants with cars on them,” he said.

She poked him in the chest. “Liar.”

He laughed. “They’re pants with lots of pockets so you have places to put things when you’re camping or hiking. I think we should make you look like a Red. So if anyone sees me leaving they won’t be suspicious.”

“How?”

He thought of the females in his Clan. “We’d need an auburn wig and some padding.”

“What about the theater department?” she asked. “They probably have those things.”

“Probably, but how would we get to them?” He had an idea, and there was something Sara needed to know.

“Julie might help us. She walked by the pi sculpture while we were talking.”

“She knows about us?” Panic flared in her voice.

“Yes. In her research she found Blue males arranged accidental deaths for Blue females who were too much trouble, and the Directorate never questioned the incidents. That’s how she got me to leave you alone. She knew I wouldn’t worry about myself but I’d never put you in danger.”

“Unfortunately, I believe it. The way Ferrin talked about having me committed doesn’t seem like a lone incident.”

Smoke shot from Ian’s nostrils. “Are you sure I can’t kill him before we leave?”

“If I can’t, you can’t.”

“Fine. We leave. Where do we go?”

“Remember what Einstein said? To hide from the rich, we go where they’d never imagine we’d live. I say we find a down-on-its-luck neighborhood and rent an apartment while we figure out where to go next.”

“What about money? I have a couple hundred dollars saved up from summer jobs but that won’t get us far.”

She smiled. “Money is one thing I have covered.”

He rolled his eyes. “Right. I forgot I was running away with an ice princess. How much cash can you get your hands on without causing suspicion?”

“I can withdraw about fifteen thousand before the bank alerts my parents.”

Ian laughed.

She glared at him.

“Hold on. Culture shock. I need a minute.” He shook his head. “Okay. That’s a lot of money but once we start paying rent it will disappear pretty fast. I could find a gym to work at, but I don’t know how much it would pay.”

“There are those pawn shops Julie mentioned, where we could sell my jewelry.”

Ian touched the necklace she wore. “It would be funny if Ferrin funded our escape.”

“I’d leave these diamonds here, because he could probably have them traced.” She sighed. “I hate that my only contribution is the valuables I own. Makes me feel useless.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’ve never thought about how you could earn money because you never needed to. Once we’re in the human world, we’ll figure it out.”

“I’ve bought enough clothing. I could work in a dress shop.”

“Sounds good. Back to our plan. We have some money to start with and jewelry we can pawn. What else do we need?”

There’s so much we don’t know about the human world,” she said. “If we research our options and come up with a plan, when could we leave?”

“We should leave on a night when you wouldn’t normally see Ferrin.”

“Monday or Wednesday,” Sara said. “But what about curfew? I don’t have a roommate, but you do.”

“You don’t have a roommate?”

“No.”

“But the rest of the Clans do.” That was messed up. “Why is that?”

“I asked my mother about it once and she said Blues are used to living a certain way, so we can pay extra not to share our living space. And I know that sounds snotty, but can we get back to our escape plan, please?”

“Should we wait for the weekend? Maybe leave early Saturday morning?”

“Ferrin will notice if I miss a meal. I could tell him I’m going home for the weekend. I don’t think he’d call my parents unless it was an emergency.”

“If you go home for the weekend, and I go camping, we could meet up late Friday night.”

“Can we be ready to do all of this by then?”

“I don’t know.” He grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “I’d love to leave as soon as possible, but I don’t think we should wing it. I’ve read about the human world for classes but nothing specific. I’d rather be prepared. We’re in a library. There has to be information here about where it would be the easiest to hide. I can spend as much time in the library as I want. No one is monitoring me. For now can we just enjoy being together?”

Sara stood and tugged on his hand. “Let’s go back to our wave.”

Ian followed her and did his best to push aside the anxiety in the back of his head that said coming up with a plan might take too much time. So he’d have to speed up his research. Once they were on the couch behind the copper sculpture, he pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. It felt like he couldn’t get close enough.

“Everything okay?” Sara asked.

How could he say this without sounding like a total idiot? There probably wasn’t a way, so he’d just go with it. “I thought I’d never hold you like this again, so I’m taking a moment to appreciate it.”

She reached up and touched his face. “I’m not going away, ever again.”

God, he wanted to believe that. “Promise?”

“Promise.” And she pulled his face down to hers. That was all the encouragement he needed. He pressed his mouth against hers and reveled in her warmth and the taste of her lips and her raspberry scent. He was never letting her go again. Never. They belonged together.

…

Sara

An hour later, Sara lay wrapped in his arms. Being there with him, listening to his heartbeat, she felt like her life was back on track. Too bad it had to end. “Ian, I need to go.”

“Nope.” He held her tighter.

She laughed and he released his grip. They sat up and he kissed her on the forehead. “I wish we could leave right now.”

“Me too,” she said. “And thank you for not giving up on me. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.”

“When Ferrin told me I was bothering you, I was ninety percent sure it was a lie, but the ten percent doubt bothered me.”

“He caught me looking at you and I had to say something. I swear if you hear me say anything negative about you, it’s an act to keep us safe.”

“Same thing,” Ian said. “From now on I won’t doubt you and you won’t doubt me.”

“Agreed.” She stood. “You should go first so I can lock up and keep the key.”

“Is it safe for you to carry the key?” he asked. “Maybe we should stash it somewhere nearby.”

“I wouldn’t want to lose it.”

“It would be great if we could make a copy.” Ian rubbed his chin. “But I’m not sure how we’d do that.”

“Asking someone to copy a key would draw unwanted attention. I’ll hold onto it and let you know if I come up with a hiding place.”

“So, I’m going.” Ian pulled her into a hug. “Yep. This is me, walking out the door. Here I go.”

She laughed. “You’re not actually moving.”

“I just got you back. I hate walking away from you.”

“Soon we’ll be together all the time,” she said. “For now, you study books and buy camping supplies. I’ll stock up on cash and things we could sell if we had to.”

“When will we meet back here?” he asked.

“Tomorrow I have dessert with the Junior Women’s League, and then I could come here. Or we could meet Wednesday after dinner.”

“I want to see you tomorrow, but I don’t want to push our luck. I’d hate to screw up and get caught right before we make our escape. So I guess I’ll see you Wednesday.” He kissed her one last time and looked at her like she was the most amazing person on the planet. “Okay. Here I go.”

Ian left the room, and she had to stop herself from grabbing him and running away now. The thought of going back to Ferrin made her nauseous. She could do this. A few more days and she’d never have to deal with him again.

When she exited the room, she looked around. No one in sight. She headed downstairs to see Miss Enid.

“Thank you for suggesting I keep the key. Is there someplace to keep it here at the library where I can access it? I wouldn’t want Ferrin finding it and asking questions.”

“I see.” Miss Enid pursed her lips. “What would draw the least attention?” She scanned her desk and then smiled. “Here.” She lifted her inbox and placed the key underneath.

“Thank you again,” Sara said.

Once she was back in her room she called Elenor’s. “Hello, this is Sara Sinclair. I was wondering when your spring line will come in? I know I’m rushing the season, but I’m in the mood to refresh my wardrobe.”

“I can have some items delivered this evening if you’d like to see them tomorrow afternoon,” the saleslady said.

“Thank you. I’ll stop by directly after lunch.” She dialed Lavinnea. When her friend answered, she said, “Want to go to Suzettes for lunch tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“Good, and I called Elenor’s and asked them to pull out their spring stock a little early.”

“Shopping soothes the soul,” Lavinnea said with a laugh.

“Ferrin will need to think it’s your idea, so can you invite me at dinner tonight?”

“Of course.”

Sara hung up the phone. What else could she do? Not much right now, but there was no way she could sit still, and Ferrin was bound to call her at any moment. Maybe she should beat him to the punch, or she could leave and go to Dragon’s Bluff. He wouldn’t track her down there. She’d make sure to be back for dinner. If he complained about her absence she’d tell him she’d run to Bath and Beauty.

She exited by her terrace window, shifted, and flew to the gate. She waited in line to sign out with Dragons from every Clan. Once she did that she shifted and took flight. The sky was full of Dragons coming and going, since it was the weekend, so she had to pay attention to her air space.

From above it wasn’t hard to spot Bath and Beauty. She landed on the road beside it and headed toward the jeweler who’d been kind to her. He was helping another customer when she came in so she browsed while she waited. After finishing his transaction, he looked at her and said, “That’s a much better use of those diamonds.”

“I completely agree.”

“What can I help you with today?”

“I need a present for my friend. I wanted to buy her a bracelet.”

“Anything in particular?”

“I can’t buy anything to rival what her intended might give her, so I’m looking for something in white gold.”

“I’ve always thought it prettier than platinum,” the jeweler said.

“I agree. I love the shine.”

He pulled out a tray of bracelets. “These are meant to be mixed and matched so you can wear one at a time or all three together.”

She touched the bracelets set with small diamonds. If they ever needed to sell jewelry for money these would stand out far less than something platinum with large stones. “I’ll take one round cut, one square cut, and one with mixed cuts. You can put them on the Sinclair account.”

“Would you like them gift wrapped?” he asked.

“Yes, please.” If anyone happened to find them she could claim they were a gift for Lavinnea.

After leaving the jewelers, she went to Bath and Beauty to purchase raspberry shampoo and conditioner. What else could she do? Take a Hike was across the street, a store she’d never visited. Based on the name, they should have cargo pants or jeans. Could she go in without drawing attention to herself? Probably not.

“Are you thinking about rebelling against society by going into a middle-class store?”

Sara turned to see Julie smiling at her. “I was. How did you know?”

“Blues pretend that store is invisible. You’ve been staring at it.”

“You know me,” Sara said. “Not a proper ice princess.”

Julie frowned. “I know.”

“Ian told me you knew about the pi statue.”

Julie’s eyes went wide. “Tell me you’re not doing anything illegal.”

Sara laughed. “Of course not. Friends can still talk. He thought I should be aware. Thank you for your discretion.”

“So he no longer wants to write the book?”

“It’s a fantasy,” Sara said. “Nothing more.”

“Good.” Julie pointed at the sports store. “Do you want to go in with me? It will be an entertaining social experiment.”

“Sure. I bet someone asks me if I’m lost.”

They entered the store and several people did a double take at a Blue in the store, but no one spoke to them. “What are you shopping for?” Sara asked.

“Einstein and I are going to collect specimens from the forest, so I needed some new boots and jeans.”

Sara laughed. “I can’t imagine wearing either of those.”

Julie pretended to be offended. “Are you too good to wear jeans?”

“Yes,” Sara nodded emphatically.

Julie grabbed her arm. “You’re trying on a pair. I insist.”

This couldn’t have worked out better if she’d planned it, but she needed to act like she wasn’t interested. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Come on,” Julie said. “I want to see the look on the salesladies’ faces.”

“Fine.” Sara followed her back to the racks of clothes and watched as Julie started searching through them.

“No one is going to help you find your clothes, princess,” Julie teased.

“They’re not?”

“No. This isn’t one of your boutiques. Find your size. Take it into one of those dressing rooms, and try it on.”

“This should be fun.” Sara grabbed several pairs and did as Julie instructed. Once she found the correct size, she checked her reflection in the mirror and then stepped out to see Julie. “I believe my grandmother is rolling over in her grave.”

“Those fit you nicely.”

“They don’t match my silk blouse.” Sara put on a fake snooty accent. “What does one wear with jeans?”

“Allow me.” Julie grabbed several checked shirts made of soft material and passed them to Sara. “These are called flannel.”

Sara held the shirts out and looked at them. “These are meant for women?”

“Just for that comment,” Julie said, “I’m giving you some T-shirts.”

She passed Sara some short-sleeved cotton shirts. “Aren’t these men’s undershirts?”

“Put it on under the flannel,” Julie said.

Sara put the clothes on and then stepped out for Julie to see. “Is it me or do I look like I should go chop down a tree?”

Julie snorted with laughter.

Sara stuck her foot out to show she was still wearing her black heels. “I’m not sure these match.”

Someone else laughed and Sara glanced over to see the clerk giggling. Sara joined in.

Julie walked over and grabbed two pairs of boots and socks. “Try these on. I don’t know what size you wear.”

“My mother would faint if she saw me in this outfit.” Once she had the boots on she said, “These are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn.”

“I barely recognize you in those clothes,” Julie said. “I guess clothes do make the woman.”

Sara went back into the dressing room and looked at her reflection. If she put her hair up in a hat, no Blue would look twice at her. This could actually work. She changed back into her real clothes and picked up the items she planned to buy.

When they went to check out, the salesclerk said, “I’ve never had a Blue in here before.”

“Blame her.” Sara pointed at Julie. “This is some sort of social experiment about the differences in Clans.”

“Really?” the woman asked Julie.

“Yes. I’m a Green, it’s what we do.”

When they left the store, Sara said, “Thanks for making me laugh.”

“You’re welcome. Maybe we’ll do it again sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

Sara left Julie and flew back to school, getting there a half an hour before Ferrin was due to meet her for dinner. She shoved all the items she’d bought into her bottom dresser drawer. Then she changed into a new blouse and skirt and touched up her hair. She needed to maintain the perfect image for a little while longer, and then she planned to spend the rest of her life in jeans and comfortable shoes.

Ferrin arrived at her door exactly when she knew he would. At least he was predictable.

“Did you have a nice day?” she asked as they walked down the stairs amid the other Blues, heading to the dining hall for dinner.

“I did,” he said. “I worked out at the gym and then I ran some errands in Dragon’s Bluff.”

Crap. Had he seen her there? “I ran to Bath and Beauty for some shampoo. If I’d known you were going I’d have asked you to pick some up for me.” She said this with a straight face.

He looked at her like she’d lost her mind, which made her laugh. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“I don’t know why you insist on using subpar products.”

She stopped walking, blocking the flow of traffic, so the person behind her had to dodge around her.

“Does my hair look subpar to you?” If he was going to be obnoxious, she was going to respond in kind.

“What?” More students shuffled around them. “No. Can we keep moving, please?”

She moved with the flow of people but pretended to be more annoyed than she was, because that was one way to get out of kissing him. When they reached the dining hall she went through the buffet line and filled her plate with linguine and pretended she didn’t notice Ferrin veering to sit several seats down from Lavinnea and Byron. Instead she sat right next to her friend. Ferrin turned and saw where she sat and frowned.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said. “Did you want to sit somewhere else?” It would be rude to suggest they move, but he might do it.

“Of course not.” He came to sit by her and nodded at Lavinnea and Byron.

“I heard Elenor’s is displaying some of their spring styles tomorrow. Do you want to have lunch at Suzettes and then go shopping?”

“Yes,” Sara said.

“I thought we’d have lunch in Dragon’s Bluff tomorrow,” Ferrin said.

“Why don’t we have dinner instead? Unless you and Byron want to join us at Suzette’s.”

“No,” Byron and Ferrin said at the same time.

“I don’t understand your dislike of Suzette’s,” Lavinnea said. “The pie is amazing.”

Byron traded a look with Ferrin. “It’s too feminine. Right, Ferrin?”

Ferrin nodded. “Exactly. Too many flowers.”