MAD

chvpter 16

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...

Violet Warrendale

...

Reid lays across the bottom of the bed, a pillow under his chest as he flicks from screen to screen on his phone. The ridges of his back are clear through his thin black long sleeve, and his sweats sit low on his hips so that the elastic of his boxers peaks through. I, however, sit with my knees to my chest and my back to the headboard. The baggie of pixie dust in my pocket burns like I'm hyper-aware of what it means.

I dismiss it, shutting my thoughts down until I'm consumed with absolutely nothing except Reid's keen interest in his phone.

My mind is a silent battlefield where thoughts claw at me, but none manage to scream an actual idea. Like the memories of my life are just lurking, out of reach, but close enough to leak every negative toxin they can. It all boils into this prickling and silent boredom. Impatience, irritability.

It churns with throws of rage and pinches of fear, but I don't move. I don't really breathe. Instead, I watch Reid. He's so determined, but his cool wears thin with every second that ticks past. We've taken to ignoring each other.

I've only been comfortable in silence with three men; my brother, Scorpius, and Elias. Now Reid fits neatly at the bottom of that list because even though I can be quiet around him, I still can't forget his presence.

"You ever wanna fuckin' scream?" He grunts, making his phone blink into blackness. He tosses it beside him, and it bounces across the comforter slightly.

I glance away, pretending that I was focused on the nail of my forefinger which is stained red from the warehouse ink. The labour hours are much the same as work in Lake Darling. Our city produces a hell of a lot more though.

Gleaning that as a rhetorical question, I chew my lip, "What you want from it?"

I try to figure a way of asking about his phone in Lake Darling, but nothing I can think of would pass his veil of defence.

"Anything that I'm not meant to get." He mutters, laying his head so that he's facing away from me, but then he tightens his arms around the pillow under him and the muscles in his back ripple.

"I got the IMEI and EID off mine, but it's useless unless I can get it to someone outside." I mumble, and he makes a noise like he's almost impressed.

"I got the Service Provider Code, and Connection Address." He huffs frustratedly, "No good unless I get it outside too."

"Really?" I ask, genuine.

He glances over his shoulder at me, but our eyes snag. Despite the prickly encounter in the bathroom, Reid puts our hostility aside and cracks a grin, "I can show you."

Sensing his offer could lead to prying questions, I switch topics. "What labour did you get scheduled to this week?"

He arches a brow slightly, swiping his hand across the mattress to shove his phone aside, before he shifts onto his back. My dismissal frustrates him. "Unpacking supply vehicles again. You?" He drawls, bored.

"Army consumables production. I wan' get into the device assembly line but the Soldiers don' trust me to handle tech because I was flagged." At least that's what Thai said.

"Yeah, fuck. Get my hands on parts for a Comm-Tech and we'd be out for real." He leans back, looking at the ceiling like he's abandoning hope of a real conversation. He knows about Thai's plan, but he doesn't know she told me about it at dinner. God he lies like he breathes.