Soulmate

Chapter 51: Ironic

Alexander

    I didn't understand her, she ran out of my house, and I immediately stood up to follow her, but I didn't know if she would let me come. "Seriously, Dad, what is your problem?" I shouted and I watched as Ian and Viena flinched. Everyone else stared at our drama.

    "It's better if she gets flagged now, then we can at least wipe your memory, and you can meet a better soulmate! I've talked to a few of the biologists, and it can be arranged, considering you work at the lab. We can't have a genetic anomaly in the family. You should understand-" he rambled, his tone calm and even.

    "Shut up!" I shouted, interrupting him. "That is not fair to her! You should have given her a fair chance." Before anyone could say anything else to me, I ran out the door, and luckily Grace hadn't left yet, so I climbed into her truck.

    For some reason, these thoughts came to me as she drove me home in silence. There was too much going on, and it was too hard to think about. "Grace, just so we are clear, you want to give this a chance, right? I understand you think the system is corrupt, but what other option do we have?" I asked, wishing I could stop the drama.

    She gripped her steering wheel, and turned down the classic rock song that was playing on the radio. "Defy the system, start a rebellion, take them down from the inside, but then what? Then, we go back to using sex and love as weapons, and having our hearts broken. Is freedom worth the pain? I think I would prefer this drama to pain, but I'm in constant fear of being flagged," she rambled as she tried to focus on the road. "I don't want to get you into trouble, but I want to be with you; you're my soulmate after all."

    I didn't know if she was telling the truth, but I wanted her to reciprocate my feelings. Her thoughts were holding her back, but I couldn't blame her because I understood where she was coming from. "Okay, I don't want this to be confusing. Can we forget about tonight, and move on?" I asked, watching her closely.

    She was still gorgeous, even if she didn't think we should be together; she was still everything I wanted. There was honestly nothing we could do if she didn't want to be together, unless she purposely wants to get flagged. "Yes, of course, let's move on," she murmured, her hand shaking as she turned up the radio again.

    It was silent again and all I could worry about was her getting flagged. Being in the genetic anomaly laboratory would kill her; I know she wouldn't be able to handle that life. Who could? Who wants to live there and be thought of as a freak? Who wants to be used for tests? If she feels like she has no freedom now, wait until she gets locked away.

    When she pulled in the driveway, she stared straight ahead, and even once I unbuckled, she still wouldn't look at me. "Well, thanks for letting me tag along, Grace," I said, hoping I could get her attention. Finally, she turned to look at me, raising one of her eyebrows. "Don't worry too much." I leaned close and lightly kissed her soft, full lips. "Goodnight."

    "Goodnight," she whispered as I climbed out of the truck with a small smile on my face even though my heart was heavy with fear.

***

    Work was the same routine as usual, and I felt like I was on autopilot because I didn't want to think about our drama. All I wanted to do was tell Grace to knock it off because for some reason this morning I woke up in an awful mood. We were being ridiculous and if things continued on this way, then I probably would lose my mind. Tonight, I was supposed to meet her parents, and I was going to do everything I could to make this dinner work out.

    No one here talked about her, but I wondered who was watching us, and if we had already messed up. There was so much pressure, but I know it'll be worth it. Besides, we're stuck. There is nothing else we can do. Like Grace said, we can't put an end to the system because it's here to solve the problem of painful heart breaks. And it works, so why would we want to be the people to end it? No one would support us. Sure, it's not perfect, but what else can we do? Maybe the thing that needs to be ended is the Genetic Anomaly Laboratory, but no one would listen to me if I tried to end the program.