(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Fifty-One - Loose Ends

RILEY

I GAZED AT the moon, at how its glow cleaved over treetops. My hand lowered the visor mirror and I clasped the ruby studs on my earlobes. 

"I like them," I announced. "What do you think?"

He took a second to glance in my direction and lingered, making a sound of approval. When he passed the cabin, he stated that the party was closer to town. 

"How many of you are there?"

He shrugged. "In general, two hundred and then some. Not many of us think about having kids, so it's going downward. In Oakwood, fifteen." 

"Why so few children?" 

Luc gave a long sigh. "They don't want to bring kids into this and maybe die before they grow up. Not everyone agrees, though. We have elders who do nothing short of pressuring those of age to reproduce."

I couldn't imagine anyone harrassing him about things of that nature. I winced, picturing priests with glowing eyes going around and asking about baby-making and doom. "Does it matter to you if people like us go extinct?"

"It matters more to me that those of us here can live a long life. What happens to the future of our kind... I don't know," he said with his brows lowered. "Disappearing from old age and not having descendants wouldn't be the worst way to go."

"Are there elders at the party waiting to ask you about that?"

"No doubt. Definitely going to dodge them."

We stopped to pick Ben at his place. He lived in a condominium at the edge of town entirely inhabited by mutants, in his own penthouse. During the whole ride, he scooted to the front to switch radio stations. I showed him the new earrings. 

"Are you nervous?" he asked me.

"No." I leaned into the small mirror, combing through frizz to salvage whatever I could. Why didn't I bring a scrunchie? 

"What did you do with your Dad before?" The millionth question since Ben settled. 

"Dude," Luc piped in, only half-serious. "You're giving me a headache, already."

He smiled widely. "My pleasure."

"My Mom came back," I let out. "With her girlfriend."

His head swiveled from Luc to me. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes," I laughed. "It's a good thing." I hoped...

He picked a strand of my hair and twirled it around his index finger. "Your hair is so soft. What do you do with it?" 

I eyed him weirdly. 

"Just thought you needed the extra confidence." He winked. "Since someone else here would never admit it even if you put a knife to his throat."

I'd told him everything from A to Z when Luc crashed in drunk, and I didn't think he would let any of us forget soon. 

Luc frowned over the wheel, and I wondered how much of it he remebered. He'd said many things he'd never dare in his normal state. Frankly, it still jarred me. Which part of that hadn't been a deception? For a moment, we could lie down and forget about the chaos outside, and I'd thought I won something when he agreed to pass me the bracelet. 

"Ignore him. He's a little special."

"Better than being a broody bastard in my humble opinion," Ben shot.