Ultraviolet Catastrophe (3 page)

I pressed a hand to my eyes. No. Not possible. I looked again, and the image of the dog flickered briefly, pixelating before it snapped back together.

Oh my god. A hologram.

“Mom?”

“Yes, dear?” Her eyes stayed focused on the line of slow-moving traffic through town, but a muscle jumped in her jaw.

“What is this place?” My voice quivered, and she looked up with a small smile. The one she used when she was trying not to freak out.

“Oak Ridge is a very…interesting town. Quantum Technologies develops a lot of really new inventions you won’t see anywhere else.”

My head had started to pound, and I rubbed the back of my neck. My headache was back. But a headache was the least of my worries right now.

I still hadn’t told Mom about the weird flashes of knowledge that popped into my head or being able to solve problems I didn’t even know I’d been thinking about. I realized now it had been going on a lot longer than I’d recognized.

Like, if I wondered what was the airspeed velocity of that swallow over there? Ten meters per second, popped into my brain.

It was amazing and scary at the same time. I knew things I had no idea I’d even learned. Had I read it somewhere once and now it was popping into my brain at random? Unexpected photographic memory maybe?

Whatever it was, it was strange enough that the security robots patrolling the sidewalk and talking to the people sitting at the outdoor café almost seemed normal. Like dining with freaking Cylons was perfectly ordinary.

I winced as I got another brain jolt and blurted, “Mom, why did they design the robot’s ankle bolts like that? The angle’s all wrong.”

A whimper escaped my lips as panic reached up and froze the muscles in my shoulders.

Mom squeezed my knee. “It’s okay, Lexie. Relax. Everything’s going to be all right. We just need to get to your dad’s, and we’ll explain.”

She followed the signs toward Quantum Technologies headquarters but turned off the main road into a small subdivision of post-war track housing before I could get a glimpse of the facility. She pulled up in front of a shabby ranch-style house and parked the car. I stared at the empty flower boxes and overgrown front garden and tried to breathe. The place looked abandoned.

“This is Dad’s house?” My voice rose in shock. Evidently, his neglect didn’t just extend to his only child.

Mom’s lips thinned, but she nodded. “Just remember your dad’s very busy at work. He doesn’t have time to focus on gardening.”

“He could have gotten a Cylon to do it,” I muttered.

I pushed open the car door, and a wave of sticky heat instantly turned my dark hair frizzy and coated my skin with sweat. I tugged at the strap of my tank top and slowly turned in a circle to check out the rest of the neighborhood. It was full of houses just like my dad’s, though most of them looked neat and tidy. Half a dozen kids played basketball in a driveway down the block, but otherwise, the hot, humid afternoon was silent. Even the trees felt like they were asleep, their leaves heavy and still.

Mom struggled up the front walk with my suitcase. “Grab your bag.” She’d packed light, just an overnight bag, and I frowned at it sitting on the back seat before gathering the rest of my things.

Mom grabbed the key from under the front mat and went inside, and I paused. She knew where the key to Dad’s house was? Robot security guards weren’t the only freaky things going on in this town. A bead of sweat trickled down my back, and I squared my shoulders to follow her.

Inside, the house seemed nice enough if a little bare. The front door opened directly into the living room with a long hallway off to one side leading to what I assumed were the bedrooms.

“Your room is the last door on the left.” Mom glanced around the house and shook her head before dumping my suitcase on the floor and heading back outside for the last load.

I stared at her. She knew where my room was, too? What the hell was going on?

The house smelled of cologne and stale air, like Dad was only here often enough to shower. Maybe he was. Yet another thing I didn’t know about him. I tucked my hair behind my ears and tightened my grip on my bag. I wasn’t going to find my room just standing here.

The first door was open, and a quick peek inside at the navy bedspread and sparse decorations confirmed it was my dad’s bedroom. My heart did a little flip at the picture of me and Mom on his nightstand. The next room was empty, though it seemed to be a decent size. Might be nice for an office or something. I didn’t pay it too much attention; I was already drawn to the last door on the left.

My hand shook as I turned the knob and pushed open the door. I don’t know what I expected, but it looked just like any other room. Full-sized bed, a large wooden dresser, plain vanilla walls. Empty of personality. Dad obviously hadn’t gone to any trouble to make me feel welcome here. To make his daughter feel at home. I tried to ignore the disappointment clogging my throat and dumped my suitcase on the bed.

I heard Dad’s voice floating in from the hallway. I was tempted to wait for him to come to me, but instead, I took a deep breath and headed toward the kitchen.

I froze just inside the door.

Dad’s fingers were tangled in the hair at the back of Mom’s neck. Her hands inched toward his waistband. Their bodies were pressed so close together I couldn’t figure out where one left off and the other began.

Mom and Dad were kissing.
Kissing?

Oh. My. God.

I stumbled back, tripping over a bag in the hallway, and they jumped apart. Mom’s fingers flew to her lips, and she wiped them furtively.

“What are you
doing
?” I could barely get the words out.

Dad tugged at the front of his shirt and gave me a hesitant smile. “Lexie. It’s so good to see you. I can’t believe it’s been almost a year.” He crossed the room and pulled me into a huge bear hug.

I inhaled the warm scent of soap and the faint tang of metal that always clung to his clothes. Part of me wanted to stay there forever, to feel safe and loved for a change, but I pulled away. I’d grown out of being Daddy’s little girl a long time ago.

Dad stared at me, shifted his weight. “Um. You look good, honey. I like your hair long.”

I tugged self-consciously at the dark brown strands. I’d gotten Mom’s beautiful brown eyes, but unfortunately, I’d also inherited her unruly hair. Before we’d left, I’d straightened out the frizz and left it down from my usual ponytail, though now I didn’t know why I’d bothered. I was only coming to visit Dad.

“I’ve been growing it out for a while. Not that
you’d
know. And stop trying to change the subject. When are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“Language, please,” Mom admonished from where she had retreated to the kitchen sink.

I glared at them, and when Dad glanced at Mom for help, I lost it. “You two were kissing. What aren’t you telling me? Is one of you dying?”

Mom raised her eyebrow at Dad and shrugged. “I’ve been putting her off since we talked Thursday night. She needs to know the truth.”

He shook his head, absently running a finger over the frayed cuff of his shirtsleeve. “Maria, you know we can’t tell her everything. There are security clearances and non-disclosure statements and…”

The breath whooshed out of my lungs. “Hold up. Security clearances? Seriously, what is this about?”

Mom ignored my questions and frowned at Dad. “You promised when the time came, we’d be straight with her. The time is now.”

Dad let out a huge sigh. “I know, but I thought we’d have more time to, you know…” He gestured helplessly. “…prepare.”

Screaming was quickly becoming a viable option in this conversation, next to running from the room. Or melting into a puddle of freak-out tears. “One of you start talking. Now.”

Mom picked up a kitchen towel and began pleating its edge. It was never a good sign when she wouldn’t even look at me. I sank onto one of the hard kitchen chairs before my knees gave out.

Finally, she looked up, her eyes glistening, and my stomach clenched. “Do you remember playing school with your dad when you were little? He’d have you pretend to do homework while he worked through problems of his own?”

I nodded. I’d loved feeling like Dad and I were working on the same equations, like I was helping him, even if it had only been pretend.

“They were actually tests. IQ tests to be exact. And you scored very well.”

Oh god. This was insane. I clutched my hands together in my lap so they couldn’t see them shaking. “How well?”

“Your results were off the charts, Lex,” said Dad. “You were solving math equations most of our scientists can’t finish.”

I shook my head, my muscles tensing. “Not possible. You guys are crazy.” But even as I protested, my skin began to crawl. Was that why I’d had the weird flashes of knowledge all my life?

I pushed away the ache in my stomach and tried to focus on Dad again.

He tugged at the collar of his shirt, his eyes shifting away. “When we saw how smart you were, we also realized what that would mean for you. We wanted you to have a normal childhood, to fit in and experience life as an ordinary kid instead of as a guinea pig. And that required some drastic measures. We needed to protect you. That’s why we did it.”

I stared at him. “Did what?”

“We had to make you average.”

“Average?” I barely had to work at school and was still near the top of my class. If this was me at average, what exactly was I?

Mom grabbed her purse off the table and pulled out my bottle of ADHD meds. They rattled as she set them on the counter, and something clicked in my brain. Something that sucked the air from my lungs.

“Oh my god. Those aren’t ADHD drugs, are they?” It felt like I was trying to inhale razor blades as the panic attack started to take hold. “What did you do to me?”

Dad put his hand on mine and tried to squeeze, but I jerked out of his grasp. The last thing I wanted was that lying asshole to touch me.

He frowned and slid his hands to his lap. “We had to mask some of your intelligence. These drugs altered the neuron chains in your brain so not all of them fired. It was enough to slow down some of your thinking, to help you fit in more.”

The room spun, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Everything went fuzzy around me until I could only feel my jagged breathing, hear the blood pounding in my ears.

This was not happening.

My own parents have been drugging me to make me stupid.

Nausea roiled in my stomach, and I tried not to puke as I shoved my chair away from the table. The legs screamed against the ceramic tile of the floor as I jumped to my feet. It was almost as loud as the scream that came out of my mouth. “Drugging me? You drugged me to keep me
normal
? I’ve been on those meds since I was five!”

I wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to hold myself together. Trying to stop my heart from clawing through my chest.

“Honey, I’m so sorry.” Mom’s voice broke, and she swallowed. “There was no other way.”

Mom took a step toward me, looking like she wanted to hug me, but I threw up a hand to stop her.

“Don’t you lay a finger on me,” I snarled. If she touched me right now, I’d break. “You’re going to stand there and tell me there was no other way besides messing with my brain? That’s bullshit!” I slammed my hand down on the table, too furious to even feel the fire that shot through my palm.

“Watch your language!”

I glared at her. “Don’t ‘language’ me! You’ve lied to me my entire life! I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”

Fury. Betrayal. Disappointment. They all swirled through me, forming a ball in my chest so big I could barely catch my breath.

What could I have done — what could I have
been
— if I’d never been given those drugs? Everything in my life belonged to some other girl. Some other Lexie with a different brain.

No wonder I’d never felt like I’d fit in at school, like my mind had never functioned quite right. All the fogginess, all the strange flashes of knowledge. Things I never should have known.

It was all their fault.

“Why are you telling me this now?” My raspy voice sounded like it was coming from someone else. Somewhere else.

Mom met my gaze, her lips thinning before she spoke. “We don’t think the pills are working any more. Those headaches you’re getting? We think your brain is resetting itself.”

“So what?” I willed myself to stand still instead of running to my room and slamming the door. I needed them to tell me the truth, to tell me what was so horrible about me that they felt the need to literally change who I was.

Dad shifted in his chair and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Now that the medication isn’t working, we want to make this right. You’re moving here to Tennessee. You’re going to live with me and go to Quantum High where you can be accepted for your intelligence.”

I blinked at him, shock pushing away the hurt and betrayal for a moment. “There’s no way in hell that’s happening. I am not moving here to live with you. My friends, my school, my life is in Ohio. You can’t do this to me!” My voice rose to a screech.

Mom twisted the towel even tighter but shook her head. “I’m sorry, honey. I know you’re feeling angry right now, and you have every right to be. But you have to know we’re doing this because we love you and want to protect you.”

“And you couldn’t have found another way to protect me besides drugging me into stupidity? Yanking me from my home?
Lying
to me?” I could barely stand to look at either of them, all remorseful and weepy. I turned and stared down the hallway, trying to stop my body from trembling. I was such a messed up mix of emotions I didn’t even know how to feel.

Screw this.
I did know how to feel. Pissed off.

I whirled on my heel and glared at both of them. “I hate you. I hate what you’ve done. I hate that you lied to me. I don’t care what your reasons were or what lies you’re still telling, but I am done. I’m not living with people who’d lie to me or a father who’d rather spend time with a microscope than his own family.”

“Lexie!”

Mom’s shocked gasp almost made me feel guilty, but I shook it off. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought we were all being honest in this caring-and-sharing session.”

Dad put his hand on Mom’s arm. “It’s fine, Maria. She has every right to hate us.”

Rage surged through me again at the patient tone of his voice. Of course, he was calm.
His
parents hadn’t just messed with his entire life. “Wow, it’s like you’re a rocket scientist or something! Yes. I do have every right to hate you. And trust me, I do.”

Mom’s breath hitched, and she turned away to stare out the window over the sink. Her shoulders trembled, but I gritted my teeth. Her betrayal hurt even worse than Dad’s. We’d been a team. I’d trusted her.

She’d lied to me about
everything
.

The shock of it made the room spin again, and I threw out a hand to steady myself against the wall. Dad stood helplessly in the middle of the kitchen, glancing between the two of us. His face was as pale as marble, and the lines around his eyes looked like they were carved into his skin.

And then suddenly, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t be there in the same room as them. I couldn’t breathe in the air, polluted with their lies and regrets. I couldn’t listen to their excuses.

There was no apology they could give that would make this right.

Tears burned behind my eyes, and I gulped for air. “You wanted to protect me from something that might have been a threat, but instead, you destroyed any trust between us. You’ve lied to me my entire life about who I really am. I can’t forgive you for that.”

My voice broke, and the tears streamed down my face as I fled down the hall to my bedroom.