The Golden Couple (The Samantha Project Series, # 2) Read online

  “I was coming to see you. What are you guys doing over there?”

  He blocked my path to their door. “You know, guy stuff.”

  I laughed. “Guy stuff? What does that mean? Why are you acting so weird?”

  “I’m not. Why don’t you go hang out with Brittany for a while?”

  “She’s watching TV. I’m not supposed to ‘bother her’ while she’s watching her shows.”

  “Maybe you could read a magazine.” Colin continued to block me from his room.

  I laughed again. “What are you talking about? I don’t have anything to read. I was just gonna hang out with you in your room. See what Jack and Erik are up to.”

  “No!” Colin exclaimed. “I mean, why would you want to do that? You’ve seen us all day. You’re probably sick of us.” He smiled. He was definitely up to something.

  “I’m not sick of you. I’m not sick of any of you. Now let me by, please.”

  As I tried to push past him, he leaned down and kissed me. He kept kissing me until I finally pulled away. “Colin, that was nice but it’s kind of awkward standing outside the motel like this.”

  Colin looked defeated but he was determined to keep me out of his room. “Then let’s watch TV with Brittany.”

  “You really wanna watch celebrity gossip shows? Because, I’m telling you, she won’t let us change the channel. And she won’t let us talk.”

  “That’s okay.” He opened the door and we went inside. Brittany didn’t even notice.

  After a couple hours, we were up to date on which celebrities had recent nose jobs, which were getting divorced, and who had better hair at the latest award show.

  Colin looked at his watch, then got up to leave. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  “Um, okay,” I said, giving up on trying to figure out his odd behavior.

  A few minutes later, Jack, Erik, and Colin all showed up at our door. “Ladies,” Jack said in a formal tone, “we request your presence in the room next door.”

  Brittany and I looked at each other, then back at them. “Is something wrong?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Nope, nothing’s wrong.” Colin came over and took my arm like he was escorting me down the aisle.

  Erik did the same to Brittany. They walked us over to their room. Jack opened the door. Inside a string of cactus-shaped lights hung from the ceiling. Under it sat a table with a small white cake topped with candles. Next to the cake were some pizza boxes and bottles of soda along with a small pile of presents. As Brittany and I stood there perplexed, Colin, Erik, and Jack said in unison, “Happy birthday!”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Dana Point

  It is my birthday, I thought. I had completely forgotten about it. I didn’t even know what day it was.

  “How did you—”

  “I told them,” Colin interrupted. “Last night.” He put his arm around me and walked me to the table.

  I glanced over to see Erik with his arm around Brittany. “I know it’s technically not your birthday, but since your birthday already passed and it’s so close to Sam’s, we thought we’d celebrate them together.”

  Although Brittany was my twin, our lab-created embryos were placed in different mothers and the surrogate had Brittany a week before I was born. She loved reminding me that she was a week older than me.

  “That’s so sweet,” Brittany gushed, kissing Erik on the cheek. “And you guys even got us presents?”

  “It’s not much,” Colin admitted. “We were limited to what they had at that gas station.”

  “So that’s why you two were so secretive,” I said. “I couldn’t figure out why you wouldn’t let us look in those bags.”

  “And pizza? How’d ya get that?” Brittany asked.

  “The guy at the front desk said there was a pizza place down the road a few miles. I just got back from picking them up,” Jack explained. “On the way there, I passed a small grocery store and picked up a cake and some soda.”

  I grabbed a paper plate and some pizza. “I can’t believe you guys did all this. I wondered why you wouldn’t let me in your room, Colin.”

  “Yeah, you really fought me on that. And then I had to sit and watch all those hours of Brittany’s TV shows.” Colin smiled at Brittany.

  “Hey! Those shows are considered news,” Brittany insisted.

  “I’m not sure that knowing the real hair color of some actress is news, but okay,” Colin kidded.

  “Time to open your presents,” Erik said after we finished the pizza. He grabbed one of the packages from the table. “Who’s first?”

  “Oooh, me!” Brittany raised her hand like she was in class.

  “Here, catch.” Erik tossed her a package.

  Brittany opened it to find some fruit-flavored lip gloss packaged in a small cactus-shaped tin. “I love it! I had some like this when I was a kid!”

  Jack laughed. “Keep in mind that the gas station didn’t have much. Sam, you’re next.”

  He handed me a small paper sack. Inside was a pair of little green alien earrings made of plastic. “These are hilarious!” I said, trying them on.

  “They were in the sale bin,” Jack confessed. “The guy said they were left over from his store in Roswell. I got Erik a matching keychain. He’s always been fascinated with aliens.”

  Erik smiled, pulling out his new key chain and dangling the plastic alien so we could all see.

  Brittany opened another present, which was a pink t-shirt that said ‘Arizona’ and had palm trees printed on it. She raced into the bathroom to try it on.

  Then it was my turn again. I opened up another bag to find a plastic snow globe that had a cactus scene inside.

  “I thought it would remind you of home,” Colin said. “The snow part, not the cactus.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I got that.”

  Jack stood up to take the pizza boxes to the trash. “Well, that’s it. Sorry we couldn’t do a better job.”

  “You guys did a perfect job! Check these out.” I turned my head side to side to show off the aliens dangling from my ears.

  Brittany came out wearing her new shirt. “Yeah, thanks! This was awesome!”

  “I’ll cut the cake,” Colin said, getting up.

  “I have one more thing for Sam.” Erik headed to the door. “It’s in the van. Go ahead and cut the cake.”

  When Erik came back, he had one hand behind his back. “It’s kind of dumb, but I got these for you, Sam. Here. Happy birthday.”

  Erik handed me a jar with tiny holes in the lid. Inside were some bugs flying around. And then I saw a light. Fireflies! It was a jar of fireflies. But it was so much more than that. The fireflies were a memory that Erik and I shared. A memory of the few but meaningful nights we spent sitting and talking on his porch swing, looking out at the fireflies lighting up the field behind his house.

  “Thanks, Erik.” I glanced up at him, but he looked away.

  Colin set a piece of cake on the table next to me. “Sam, I didn’t know you liked fireflies.”

  I held up the jar. “Yeah. I like how they look like little sparkly lights in the grass. They make me happy.”

  “Then I’ll have to get you lots more.” Colin kissed my cheek, then went back to the cake table to serve everyone else.

  Erik was sitting across from me. I caught his eye and thought to him. “Thanks for the gift. It means a lot. Really.”

  He looked away again. “It’s just some fireflies.”

  After that, Erik cut off his thoughts so I couldn’t hear them. It left me wondering what the gesture meant. Did he still have hope for us? Or were the fireflies his way of ending whatever it was that we had together?

  After the party, Jack did some work on his computer and Erik accepted Brittany’s invite to watch TV in our room. Colin and I went outside and sat on some metal lawn chairs that were sitting off to the side of the motel next to a rusted-out grill.

  “Nice night,” Colin commented. “Must be weird having your birthday witho
ut snow.”

  “I hadn’t thought about it, but yeah, that is weird.”

  I knew that this was my chance to tell Colin everything. I couldn’t put it off anymore.

  “Colin, I know I’ve been avoiding talking about what happened to me.” I kept my eyes on the ground. “And I guess the reason is because I’m kind of nervous about it.”

  “Why?” Colin scooted his chair closer to mine and held my hand. “You can tell me anything.”

  “I’m worried about what you’ll think of me after I tell you.”

  “Sam, why you would you say that? You know I’ll love you no matter what.”

  “Yeah, but this is … well, okay. It all started back at Dave’s cabin.” I told Colin how I was captured right before Christmas and held at GlobalLife, where they did a procedure on me that gave me special abilities. I explained what GlobalLife had done to my genes all those years ago. And then I told him how I escaped from GlobalLife, found my way to Texas, and met Erik and Brittany. I stopped before continuing, waiting for his response.

  “I don’t know what to say, Sam. Other than that I hate GlobalLife even more now. I wish I could have helped you get away from them. If you could have got a message to me somehow I would have done something, Sam. I would have found a way to help. I would have got—”

  “Wait. Don’t you think I’m some kind of freak? After what I said? GlobalLife changed my DNA. I have these powers, these abilities. Doesn’t that make you think differently of me?”

  “Why? You’re still the same person.” He paused. “Listen, Sam, I admit that the whole genetic manipulation thing is kind of freaking me out but it’s not because of you. I’m freaked out by the fact that some corporation can do something like that and get away with it.”

  “But, Colin, I’ll never be normal. I’ll always be like this.”

  He turned his chair to face me. “Yeah, and I hate that they messed with your genes like that. But I don’t see you any differently. So you have better hearing than me. I already knew that. And you used to tell me about those dreams you had, so I knew about that, too. You said you have enhanced vision and strength? I’m jealous but that’s cool. And now you can read minds.” He hesitated. “Okay, that’s a little strange. Well, maybe more than a little strange. But I can get used to it, as long as you let me have some private thoughts.” He smiled.

  “I won’t read your thoughts, Colin. Erik said it’s intrusive and I agree.”

  “Erik? Does he know about you?” Colin looked confused. I hadn’t yet told him about Erik or why we were even going to California.

  “Um, there’s more I haven’t told you.” I paused. “Erik is like me. He was part of the same project except he was held at the GlobalLife lab in California. They actually kept him there for years, until Jack took him. As far as we know, Erik and I are the only people who have this genetic enhancement.”

  “So GlobalLife is after both of you?”

  “Yes. And there’s more.” I told Colin about how Erik and I could communicate telepathically. He accepted that better than I thought he would, so I continued. I told him about the timer that was running inside Erik and me and how it was programmed to kill us. I explained how Jack hoped our twins’ DNA would disrupt the timer, slowing it.

  “Hold on. So you’re telling me that you’re gonna die?” Colin stood up. “Sam, why didn’t you tell me this right away? You need to go to the hospital! See some specialist. Get this timer thing out of you!”

  “Calm down. None of that will work. This isn’t something that can be fixed in a hospital or at a doctor’s office.”

  “Why aren’t all of you freaking out about this?”

  “Because it doesn’t help, Colin. And getting angry about it doesn’t help either. So we’ve decided to take action. We have a plan for how to fix this. Brittany’s DNA will help me and the DNA from Erik’s twin will hopefully help him.”

  “But that just buys you time! That’s not good enough! There’s gotta be someone who can stop the timer before it goes off!”

  “GlobalLife can, but we can’t go there.”

  “Then I’ll go there. I’ll get whatever you need.” Colin was determined.

  “No, Colin. It doesn’t work like that. We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” I explained Jack’s theory about why GlobalLife put the timer in us and told him about the missing base pairs in our DNA.

  By the time I was done explaining everything, Colin was furious, but not at me. He was mad because he felt so helpless. We went back to my room, where Brittany and Erik were still watching TV. Brittany was wearing Erik’s sweatshirt again.

  Erik noticed there was something wrong the second we walked in. “You told him,” he thought to me.

  “Yes. Everything,” I thought back.

  “He doesn’t look too good.”

  “No, he didn’t take it too well. But finding out your girlfriend might be dead in a couple years is a lot to handle.”

  “Yeah, I haven’t quite accepted that either. About myself, I mean. Well, and you, too, but not in the girlfriend way.” I could hear Erik’s mind fumbling. “You know what I mean.”

  “We should probably get some sleep, Brittany,” I said, signaling the guys to go.

  Erik got up. “Yeah. We’ll see you tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed your birthdays!”

  “Can I sleep in your shirt, Erik?” Brittany asked.

  “Sure, I don’t care,” he said, thinking nothing of it. But Brittany took it as a sign that he liked her. Her face was beaming with joy.

  Colin stood there in a daze. “See you in the morning, Colin.” I gave him a quick kiss. Rather than leave, he hugged me and wouldn’t let go.

  “Um, okay, Colin. Goodnight.” I wiggled out of his arms.

  Colin and Erik left.

  “What’s wrong with Colin?” Brittany asked.

  “I told him everything that’s been going on. He didn’t take the news about the timer too well.”

  “I thought Jack was fixing that.” Brittany didn’t fully understand the seriousness of the timer but I figured that was a good thing.

  “Well, he’s working on it. But it’s not fixed yet.” It will never be fixed, I thought. Slowing the timer wouldn’t fix it. Erik’s days were numbered and so were mine. My birthday was just another reminder of how little time I had left.

  The next morning, we packed up and headed to Dana Point. Traffic was a nightmare, making us late getting to the house where we were supposed to pick up Luke’s stuff.

  “I’ll go park the van at the beach parking lot,” Erik said as he pulled over to let Jack out. “Is 20 minutes enough time?”

  “It better be. While I’m gone I want all of you to stay in the van,” Jack ordered. “Don’t go walking on the beach. We can’t be too careful.”

  “Jack, wait,” I said, as he stepped outside. “I think I should go with. I’m the one who had the dream about this. I should make sure this guy is the same guy I saw in the dream.”

  Jack considered it. “Well, I guess that’s not a bad idea, although I told him it would just be me.”

  “You said you told the guy that you were Luke’s uncle, right? Then tell him I’m your daughter. Luke’s cousin.”

  “Fine. Let’s go. But don’t say anything. I’ll do the talking.”

  We walked up to a small blue house that was right on the beach. The house didn’t look like much, but given the location, it was probably worth several million dollars. Jack rang the doorbell, but nobody answered. We rang again. No answer.

  “He probably took off,” Jack mumbled, annoyed with himself. “I knew we should have left earlier. I forgot how bad the traffic is. Even worse than when I lived here.”

  “Maybe we should go around back. Maybe he’s outside.”

  We walked around to the back of the house and saw a man sitting on the deck reading a newspaper. It was the same man from the dream I’d had days earlier. “That’s him,” I whispered to Jack.

  “Excuse me, but are you Mr. Blackstone?
” Jack yelled up at the man.

  The man looked around, confused.

  “Mr. Blackstone? Harold Blackstone? We’re down here,” Jack yelled again.

  The old man walked to the side of the deck. “You Mr. Reid? You’re late!”

  “Yes, I’m terribly sorry about that. I wasn’t prepared for the traffic.”

  “It’s California. We’re known for traffic. You should have left earlier.”

  The old man seemed very cranky. He hadn’t seemed that way in my dream.

  “Should we go to the front door?” Jack asked.

  “Yes. Hurry up.” The old man took his paper and went inside. He met us at the front door.

  “Again, I apologize for being late. I’m sure you’re a very busy man,” Jack said.

  “Who’s this?” The old man pointed at me.

  “Oh, this is my daughter. Agnes.” I shot Jack a look. Agnes? I thought. That’s the best fake name he could come up with?

  The old man smiled. “That’s a nice name. That was my mother’s name. Come inside.”

  Jack smiled at me. I had no idea how he knew that little fact. But hearing his mother’s name seemed to brighten the old guy’s mood a bit.

  “Shame about your nephew. He was a good kid. Just a little lost. Needed some help getting back on track.” The old man sat down, so we did as well.

  The house was all white inside except for the furnishings, which were dark leather and wood. Very masculine. The back of the house was all windows, providing a jaw-dropping view of the ocean. I could see massive waves off in the distance. Jack said the beach was known for surfing, which is probably what had drawn Luke there.

  “Did Luke stay here long?” Jack asked.

  “Oh, I’d say he was here for maybe five or six weeks. Not long. I barely noticed him living here. He was real quiet.”

  Jack glanced at his watch. “Well, Agnes and I are in a bit of a hurry. I’m taking her on a tour of colleges, and we have an appointment at USC soon. So if we could just get Luke’s things.”

  “All right. They’re in his room. This way.” The old man led us to a side bedroom. It was very small. There was just enough room for a twin bed, a tiny desk, and a bookshelf. “His stuff’s all there in that box. He didn’t have much. Just some surfing trophies and some books.”