A Fortunate Accident – Chapter 13

“Hey, Skylar! I saved you a spot!”

Is that Kalvin? I haven’t seen him since I passed him sleeping on the couch again this morning. It wasn’t safe for him to be anywhere near me, and even though another room opened up for him to take, he refused to go. He insisted on sleeping in the same room as me, ‘just in case.’

The entire camp is in upheaval. Workers are disassembling all the buildings into flatpacks, and staff members are running every which way. A huge flatbed truck backs up to a crane that lifts flatpacks and stacks them on the back. I step out of the way of a bulldozer that trundles by and duck under the branches of a tree to get into the open field.

“Skylar!”

I turn around and around until I find the source of the voice calling for me.

Kalvin is waving from the front seat of a giant all-terrain vehicle about ten meters away. Takemo is sitting next to him, of course. Because I’m sure these two bonded over me repeatedly electrocuting them. I sigh and try not to show my hesitation. I think Kalvin and I are fine, but I figured I was on the outs with Takemo. This is not out of the question since sometimes my very presence seems to annoy him, but he’s waving to me as well.

Is it a trap?

I dodge puddles of rainwater and hoist my bag farther onto my back as I approach the vehicle.

Looking up at Kalvin makes my neck ache.

“It’s like you’re on a throne or something,” I say, squinting into the sunlight.

“Well, I am a king, baby,” he says with a wink.

I groan. “I walked straight into that one.”

“Come up here and be my queen. No more princess for you.”

I huff a laugh as he leans out to grab the ladder and offer me a hand.

Fine.

I climb up the three ladder rungs, and instead of putting my hand in his, I give him my bag. I’m wary of touching anyone right now.

Yesterday, it took four hours for the effects of the plant to wear off. I’m finally no longer electrocuting everyone and everything I touch. Emily bandaged my fingers up, and they’re still sore. I hate that plant. Hate it. There was nothing even remotely great about what it did for me. When I took the plant that allowed me to use telekinesis, I could control the effects. But this electro-plant? I couldn’t control it at all. Maybe with time I could learn, but the side effects were too much for me.

Takemo backs into the truck and leaves room for Kalvin and me to sit next to him, but it’s not enough.

“Can you move over just a little more?” I wave at him to indicate Takemo should push back.

“Did I suddenly develop cooties overnight?” he asks, scooting over a few more centimeters.

“You’ve always had cooties. But after yesterday, I need some distance from everyone.”

I settle my bag between Kalvin and me so we can’t accidentally bump into each other. Two men climb into the front seat, start the vehicle, and drive us off into the jungle. I cringe as we trundle through and make a path, mowing down trees left and right. Birds scatter and take flight. Monkeys flee from the area. We’re causing quite the ruckus.

“Hey, do you think this is a good idea?” I ask Takemo. “Not only are we doing damage to the forest, but this could be a signal to the military that we’re on the move.”

“They’re on the move too,” Takemo responds, lifting his voice over the roar of the engines. “India flew drones over their camp early this morning. Now is the perfect time to move out.”

I sigh and stare out the window. Takemo leans forward to talk to the driver, and Kalvin joins him, so I have a chance to finally watch Saif’s vidmessage from yesterday. I wanted to watch it last night, but the lab tech cautioned me not to put on my wristlet for a few hours after the plant wore off.

When Saif’s face appears before me, my heart aches. Damn it. I was just getting used to having him around, and then here I was becoming accustomed to not seeing him. And now? Now I want him more than ever.

“Skylar, I’m so, so sorry. What can I say except that I’m an asshole, and I made a foolish decision the other day out of spite and jealousy. I even dragged Kalvin into this mess, and he hadn’t seen you in weeks. I’m sure he hates me now too, and that’s not what I wanted at all.”

Shit. This is such a mess. I rest my head back in my seat.

“I won’t go into this in a message because that’s not how I want to apologize to you. I’m going to figure out where you are, and I’ll be there with you because I promised to be from the beginning. I’m angry at myself for breaking that promise. I swear it’ll be the last time. I hope to see you soon.”

The message ends, and I sigh. I don’t know how he’ll find me now that we’re on the move, and though I saw his face and heard his tone of voice, I’m not sure how genuine he’s being. I’ve been played before, too many times to count, and each time, it was because I gave someone the benefit of the doubt, and then I let them walk all over me. I’m tired of being a doormat. But I’m also tired of being so hardcore that no one will touch me. Why can’t there be a middle ground somewhere?

“Feeling okay?” Kalvin asks, sitting back in his seat.

“No.” I close my eyes and lean my head against the window, but the vehicle rocks, and I’m thrown to the side against him.

“Hey now.” He holds my shoulder and steadies me. “No need to throw yourself at me. I’m right here.” He chuckles when I sneer at him. “Sorry, sweetheart.” He pushes me back upright to my seat. “At least you’re not electrocuting me anymore. That sucked.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

He waves off my apology. “It’s not your fault.”

“It was really wild, though,” Takemo says, getting into the discussion. “It was a flash of pain and then the scene from your childhood.”

“I saw you in the flight school simulator,” Kalvin says like the information is no big deal. “I had no idea you were so nervous. It never shows.”

“That’s the way I like it.” I turn my face to the outside.

Unwillingly sharing my memories with these two is so embarrassing. I wish I could rewind time and erase the entire experience.

We’re quiet for a few minutes as the vehicle stops, and someone runs out in front of us with a rifle. The man shoots the rifle into a copse of bushes, and a pair of giant squids slink out from underneath and slither away to a creek to our right.

“Holy shit,” Takemo breathes out. “I didn’t know they came on land.”

The man in front turns around. “Yeah, mating season is a little weird around here. We need to scare them out of the underbrush, or we’ll squish them.”

Good. I do not want to think about how many times they made a trip like this before they figured that out.

The man with the rifle outside pops a thumbs up and runs back to the vehicle in front of us.

Once we’re moving forward again, I clear my throat. Might as well deal with this embarrassment once and for all.

“So, Takemo, you saw bits of my childhood when I shocked you the first time?”

“I did.” His jaw works back and forth. “Did that bastard really deny you food and a bed?”

I shrug like it’s no big deal. I have to hide the trauma somehow. “Yep. I slept on the floor of a closet for several months.”

“What?” Kalvin’s eyes are wide. “What are you talking about?”

I pluck at my pants and don’t meet Kalvin’s eyes. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me yet.”

“And he wants to take the Amagi away from you now?” Takemo asks.

“Yeah.” I sigh and turn to face him. “My mom is the face of this operation, but I know it’s him. He’s been jealous of me since I was a baby.”

“I know men like him,” Takemo says, nodding. “They can’t make a life for themselves, so they take from other people instead. They justify it with things like ‘she doesn’t deserve her success’ or ‘she wronged me’ or whatever. And even if they get everything, they’re never satisfied. That’s why I’ve always concentrated on my own businesses.”

“You got pretty mad at me when you assumed I cheated the auction. And you were happy to take my mom’s business because you thought I didn’t deserve it,” I remind him.

“Yeah, but —”

“Don’t ‘but’ me.” I tap my temple. “Do I need to repeat back everything you said to me?”

Kalvin points to me. “She has a mind like a steel trap.”

He scowls. “Fine. You’re right. Unfortunately, I lost sight of what was important because your mom and Dominic were such horrible borrowers.”

“I can imagine,” I grumble.

“The absolute worst.” He runs his hands through his hair. “Most people borrow money and then just pay it back with some interest. Or I invest in their business. But your mom? She kept coming back and coming back and asking for new terms and more time and on and on. And that Dominic? He was manipulative at best, threatening at worst. I had to ban them both from my office.”

I can only imagine the rumors out there about my family now because of the way they handled things. I wouldn’t blame Takemo’s staff for talking, especially if Mom and Dom were rude to them.

We could have solved this all had Mom believed in me and not kept the dads on a tight budget and made them crazy for any credits they could get. One thing’s for sure, when I finally have my own network, I’m doing things differently. I won’t ever leave them without suitable compensation. Ever.

“They made me so angry. I saw red every time I saw your name anywhere.”

Kalvin leans over and drops his voice. “What’s going on with your mom and the family business?” he whispers.

“I’m sure you’re catching on, but Mom sold the business out from under me. To him.” I jerk my chin at Takemo. His face is a blank slate. “And now she’s taking me to court for the Amagi, too.”

“What?” Kalvin’s voice climbs. “You can’t be serious.”

I press my lips together to halt a sarcastic remark. “We, uh, should sit down and talk when we get to the next place.”

“Skylar,” he warns, but I shake my head to stop him.

He sighs. “Fine.”

Time to change the subject. Takemo’s figured out the error of his ways, hopefully, and Kalvin is brimming with questions.

“Who did you date about, oh…” I glance over at Takemo. “About five or six years ago? I know you haven’t dated anyone in a while.”

His eyebrows draw together. “What are you talking about?”

“You were younger, maybe early twenties, and she dumped you. Then you went to a bar to drown your sorrows.” I smile politely at him as the vehicle rocks side to side. “The electric shocks went both ways.”

He draws back. “You saw my memories?” He glances at Kalvin. Kalvin grimaces.

“Only the one. So, who was she?”

I’m not giving him any room to wiggle out of this. If he’s going to have insight into my life and my past, then I get to peek into his.

He pauses, and I wonder what he’s considering before telling me anything. I could jump on the duonet next time I have access and search for his past lovers, but I’m going to do this the old-fashioned way — pump him for information.

“Elizabeth Brooks. We went to school together.”

He turns away from me and stares out the window. I give it three breaths before I reach over Kalvin and whack Takemo on the arm.

“Come on. Spill it,” I demand. “I’m sure we’re going to be in this car for another twenty minutes, at least.”

He sighs. “Fine. Liza and I dated for most of secondary school and into university. We just had that spark, you know? And I was prepared to spend the rest of my life with her, and anyone else she wanted to add to her network. She had everything I wanted in a woman — a good family, excellent taste, the right social connections, and a kind heart. My friends gave me such shit about her because she…”

“What? Go on? Nothing you can say will shock me now.”

Kalvin is sitting, facing forward, not participating in the conversation.

“Well, she wasn’t very pretty,” Takemo says, cringing. He puts his hand to his chest. “I never said that, not once, to her, to anybody. But, for fuck’s sake, everyone said it to me all the fucking time.”

Takemo dated someone who wasn’t the standard of beauty he seems to love now? Say it isn’t so.

“What happened? It sounds like you loved her.”

“I did,” he insists. “But she fell into the vanity trap. New nose, new lips, new body, new attitude. She got the whole Adonis makeover, and suddenly, everyone wanted her. Liza was wined and dined by most of the elite Rio social set. She dumped me not long after, and now she has a huge network. I haven’t dated anyone else since.”

I nod slowly. “Huh. Your girl got a glow-up, a new sense of pride, and decided she wanted more than you.”

He stays silent.

“And you’ve not dated anyone since?” I ask, thinking back on everything I know about him.

“Nope. I’ve had dates, like for dinners or parties or events, but that’s all they were. One event and a thank you. Occasionally, we’d sleep together, but I kept it business.”

And he owns sexbot love hotels, so there’s that.

“I see.” I nod slowly and consider the situation. “I think it’s interesting the memories that were chosen for exchange between us, don’t you?”

“What did you see from me?” Kalvin blurts out. He was holding it back, but he couldn’t wait a moment longer.

“Your mother,” I say simply.

“Oh.” His face falls. “I didn’t want to tell you about that. At least, not yet.”

“Sorry,” I whisper.

Takemo looks at us both and narrows his eyes. “Are you suggesting there was a rhyme and reason to what we each saw?”

I peer down at my hands, singed and bandaged up, and I remember the entity in the Sonoma desert, the one Kalvin and I ran into when we were marooned. It shocked me too and flew through the memories in my head.

Huh. I wonder…

“We’re approaching the new campsite,” the man in front says, turning around to face us. “I need you to stay here in the vehicle until we reestablish the fence.” He reaches for his rifle. “Three people were attacked and wounded on the way here. I don’t want any more casualties.”

Yikes. Takemo, Kalvin, and I glance at each other.

The vehicle trundles to a stop, and both men upfront open the doors and drop to the outside.

Takemo grabs his coat and bunches it up into a ball. “Now seems like a good time for a nap.” He sandwiches the coat between his head and the door, slouches down, crosses his arms, and closes his eyes.

Okay, then. I’d love to nap, but I don’t do that in public.

Vulnerability is not the kind of emotion I’m used to. And now both of these men know things about me I would never tell them. Kalvin is warm next to me, and I want some of his warmth to stop the coolness creeping into my heart. It may be hot and sticky in the jungle, but I am slowly becoming the Ice Queen.

I reach over to take his hand in mine, and he pulls away from me. Disappointment covers me from head to toe. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, and he’s looking out the window on Takemo’s side.

Sigh. Fine. I get it. I wouldn’t want to be with me either.

The disappointment doesn’t fade. Instead, it seeps into my pores and decides to stay for a while. Nothing has been going right lately. I’m wary of my own memories, and none of my relationships are flourishing like they should be. I wish I could get a do-over.

I prop my elbow on the door, stare out the window at the jungles of Rio, and try to forget the two frustrating men in the car with me.

Rio, Rio. Something about this place just does not sit right with me.

Scientists have been trying to figure this planet out for a few hundred years now, why Rio has so many analogous flora and fauna to Old Earth. And besides a theory about aliens seeding a bunch of similar worlds, no one has ever figured it out.

But I have different pieces of the puzzle than those scientists do, and a picture of Rio’s history is forming in my head. It’s hazy and unfocused, though, and I’m unsure what I’m looking at.

But I need to figure out what it is.

Fast. Before anyone else gets hurt out here.