Genius (CENTURIES series: Book #2)

'Why-The-Arm' (Bonus Chapter) (Eli's P.O.V)

Christ, he thought and leaned forward on his elbows, cupping his face again. How could this be his world? He thought when he escaped, his only problem would be to stay hidden. But no problem there. He was smart, he knew how to keep low.

Then he met Caleb. Learned that he was smart as well -or well, in his own way. If C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S had discovered him, they would've sunken their teeth into him as well. Caleb was lucky he hadn't been scoped out. Maybe because he had been on the streets longer than Eli had. Better hidden.

He remembered thinking; 'I shouldn't stay with this guy. If they find me, they find him, too. No fucking way am I letting this smartass get dragged into my world.' And he hadn't. He had been prepared to leave his ass behind, but then Caleb made the mistake of introducing him to his little sister.

Elana. Beautiful, innocent, doe-eyed Elana who won him over with her first toothy smile. He had never seen anything so unharmed by the world before, something so... sweet. She'd looked upon him and smiled, even when he had all but glared down at her the first time. She extended his hand up to him, blinked those brown puppy eyes and then he was at her complete mercy. That kid... she could whip him into doing her bidding without even uttering a word.

And that's when he learned she was a deaf-mute. That she couldn't speak. Couldn't hear.

Caleb hadn't been able to communicate with her, he had never learned how to sign. And neither had Elana, of course. Caleb had felt powerless, because even with all his intelligence, he didn't know how to teach his little sister how to communicate.

But Eli did. He knew ASL. Had been taught it while in there. He knew how to teach this little girl, knew how to connect brother to sister.

So he did. He taught them both. Showed Elana different things, like an apple, then a spoon, then showed her the hand sign. After a little while, she learned to associate the two. She was so smart. Probably took after her brother.

The minute she had been able to create sentences on her own, she had looked up at him and signed; Beastie.

At first, he was like, what the hell? He felt hurt and yet strangely proud. Hurt that she would call him that, but proud she had been able to spot one when confronted. It would help her in life. Help her say goodbye to him.

But then she had signed it again and then smiled - as in, ear-to-ear, I love you. She had seen the beast within him and still smiled up at him. Accepted him.

And that's how he fucked it up. He couldn't leave after, the thought of leaving the two that had become his family, the only people who accepted him for what he was, pained him. More than the acid-like drug those shitheads had injected him with.

So he stayed. They were quite the unbreakable trio for a little while there. Then Caleb got the idea to apply for this school-bullshit he had seen an add for. Eli warned him not to. Told him it was crap and that they wouldn't accept someone like him. Like them. They could have all the talent in the world, but if they didn't wipe their asses with green, they weren't welcome.

- Rejects of the world. That was what they were. Caleb didn't want to see that. He went and fucking applied anyway, the gullible fuck. And when the reply came back, guess what it said?

Yeah, go figure the fuckhead went psycho on the school. He was drunk that night, not on alcohol but on justice. How the world could reject him, deny him the chance to prove himself and provide for his sister. He wanted to make it in life while Eli wanted to fake it. He had seen where proving yourself got you, people like them... according to the world, the only place they belonged was in a secured lab where they performed tests on them.