Bloodline [h.s.]

fifty-two.

Recap

During the fundraiser event, Bee was attacked by the man who gave her the envelope that revealed Kai has not been honest about his motives. With a knife to his abdomen, that man revealed himself to be an Allegiance assassin. The next morning, Aiden utilised his training to squeeze whatever information he could out of the agent before ultimately killing him. In doing so, he discovered that there is more to the rivalry between Alec Gallagher and Martin Shepard than he thought, and much of it ties back to Allegiance and Kai. Aiden is hesitant to share what he's learned with Bee and doesn't know what to make of this new revelation. Overwhelmed with what has transpired in the last few weeks, Aiden and Bee decided to take a trip to Nantucket to have a break from it all. However, they find that forgetting their daunting present is not as easy as they had hoped.

*     *     *

BRIDGET GALLAGHER

At the age of eleven, I experienced my first earthquake. The chandeliers in my family's foyer swung and rattled, my mom's favourite heirloom cracked, and the tide rose on the beach. Nick, being the know-it-all he is, explained to Cara and I that the earthquake was a release of energy.

When stress increases between the earth's plates, there is only so much the geological faults can take before energy surpasses friction. The energy has to go somewhere. So, it erupts into the earth's crust and we deal with the aftermath.

Hence, the danger in avoiding the magnitude of our reality. Over the past few days in Nantucket, we danced aimlessly around the daunting cloud of debris that followed us here and what waited for us at home. I didn't leave the bed until the cusp of nine. There was no mention of our families, not a word about Allegiance. The stress was present, but left recklessly unaddressed.

I finished my coffee and enough of my work to keep my father from noticing my absence. All calls from my brother, I sent straight to voicemail. His reaction to my encounter with Jack hurt more than anything my father would have said. Peter had me convinced he was different from our parents, better than them. But he reacted just as we were raised to.

"Aiden," I called after hearing thud through the music vibrating through the floor under my feet. He had been working out since before I had woken up. "Aiden?"

With nothing more than a gut feeling, I followed the distinct sound of a drop downstairs. What was waiting for me in the basement made my heart sink. I still hadn't seen Aiden yet as I called his name a third time. A rack of weights had been knocked over. Glass scattered the basement floor in shards. I first found the remote to the speakers, turning the blaring music so I could hear myself think. With elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands, I found him sitting against the wall, trying to ground himself.

All that neglected energy does not simply disappear. The faults finally slipped, and the shockwaves are devastating.

Shallow breathing and humid anxiety. I was met with the signs of a full-blown panic attack I have grown to recognise, and he has yet to understand or even accept. Rapidly inhaling for oxygen he couldn't accept, he heaved and rocked. All the panic he had been avoiding emitted itself in heat. His body was sweltering hot as he flinched away from my touch.

"Tell me what you need." I lowered myself to the ground.

His face was covered by his trembling hands. I hushed him as I contemplated how to calm him down. He frantically clawed at his neck as another wave consumed him. This one was so strong he couldn't speak.