Control

xvii | lauren

HE SLEEPS LIKE A BABY, WHICH WAS PRETTY CUTE. Falling asleep wasn't Aidan's first choice - it definitely wouldn't be my first choice if I was dragged into an isolated room, tossed onto a hospital bed and restrained by the waist and wrists. I was told he tried to fight back, but exhaustion took over and he passed out.

I sat across from his bed, watching him. A trail of drool escaped from his mouth and made its way down his cheek and neck. A few times, he tried to shift onto his side, but of course, he couldn't because of the restraints.

A laptop sat on my, well, lap. Hacking into things wasn't really my point of expertise, but Mom insisted I tried to do this. She filled me in on the details on why Aidan was brought here, because clearly seeing his sister here wasn't the only reason his mother brought him here.

I needed to get into his chip. I needed to reprogram it back to what it was.

When we were stuck in the forest, Aidan was once under the Institute's control. He attacked me without reason, and ultimately, I thought something was wrong. Later, I found out it was the Institute's doing, and then it stopped. The Institute tried controlling me many times in the months I was gone, but nothing happened to him. I couldn't get him to do anything for me, either. He made sure I couldn't.

He was a computer genius after all, or just a genius in general. An idiot, but a genius.

I guess that's why the Institute needs him for this.

He jerks awake, making me jump, almost dropping the device. His first instinct is to wipe the drool off his face, but remembers he can't. Then his eyes fall on me, and they didn't look happy.

"I should've known this was a trap," Aidan told me. "I should've known."

"Your mom told me to bring you here. She said she wanted you to see your sister. I didn't know all this was going to happen," I tried defending myself.

"I never wanted her to be apart of this all. She was supposed to be safe in London," He said in a quiet voice. "She can't, not, remember me."

"She won't," I said. "They got rid of the memory-erasing part of the operation. That was only for us."

"Why?"

I shrugged.

Aidan brought his shoulder closer to his cheek, trying to wipe the liquid off onto his sweater. I walked over and pulled out the same bobby pin I used to pick the lock on the door. I unlocked one of his wrists, then handed him a tissue.

"Thanks," He muttered, wiping it off. "Want to do the other wrist while you're at it?" His eyes fall to the computer. "What are you trying to do?"

"Break through all the firewalls you put around the code to your chip, that's what," I say bluntly. "Or we can skip over all of this and you can do what the Institute wants of you on your own will."

Aidan raised an eyebrow when I mentioned the Institute wanted him for something. "I'm not working with them." Not me. Them.

"They made it so that we're a team. I'm the one leading everyone, but you're the brains in the background."

He gulps, not expecting that. "You probably have all the power in the world. I don't want any of that, Lauren."

My body tenses up when he mentions my name. It always sounded so nice when he said it. It makes me feel good, but yet him saying my name makes me nervous.

Aidan goes quiet. He's not even looking at me, more like staring into space.

"Aidan, we need you," I say, my voice quivering.