Pounding on my door snaps me out of sleep. I leap up at the same time Sparkle does.
"Another raid? So soon?" I ask, rubbing my eyes as Sparkle reaches for the door.
But it isn't Officer Boer bursting into our room. It's a smaller but no less formidable force of nature.
"Alison, what the hell?" Sparkle asks.
Alison ignores her. Instead, she walks up to me and smacks me across the face, hard. My head snaps to the side, and I emit a decidedly girly squeak that only escapes out of sheer surprise in the moment.
"Why did the police just drag Harriet out of our room in the middle of the night, saying they had a warrant for her arrest?" Alison shouts. "You did something. I know it! Harriet always keeps a low profile. Is she covering for another one of your stupid mistakes?"
It has to be Lexi White, punishing Harriet for taking pictures of her inside the club. My phone is in hand, and I'm halfway out the door when Alison yanks me backward so hard that I stumble into my bed.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"To get her out of jail, you idiot! I'll post her bail."
Sparkle and Alison stare at me.
"She's that dumb? Really?" Alison asks Sparkle.
Sparkle releases a sigh. "Yes, she is."
"They'll imprison you, too," Alison says, speaking slowly as if she's talking to a child.
Her words barely register as I frantically search on my phone for the nearest police station where Harriet might have been taken.
"That won't stop her," Sparkle says to Alison. She takes the phone from my hands so I'm forced to look up at her. "If you go to the station, you'll only make things worse for Harriet."
Now she has my attention.
"I don't know what the two of you did, but if the police think that Harriet has coconspirators in her crime, they'll try you both for treason."
Even I know the punishment for Throwbacks found guilty of treason. Retirement.
"Something must be done. I'll tell a teacher or the headmaster—"
"Our teachers are all Throwbacks," Alison interrupts. "And the headmaster will dismiss her from this program, guilty or not. What's it going to take for you to see that your bad behavior only leads to pain?"
Alison's face twists. She's terrified of what might happen to Harriet. My tone softens at the sight of tears filling her eyes.
"I'll find someone Evolved to set things right," I promise her.
"How?" she chokes out.
"Your parents are Evolved," Sparkle suggests, pulling Alison closer so she can rest her head on Sparkle's shoulder.
"Then help her," Alison says, her body slumping now that she isn't charged with anger. "Harriet never makes a mess, lets me play my music as loud as I want, and she doesn't borrow my clothes. Plus . . . she makes me laugh. No one's done that for me in a long time."
"I'll fix this."
~ ~ ~
Part of my brain is freaking out that my best friend is in a Throwback prison cell, but I shove those useless thoughts down. I have to act, not panic. I leave Alison crying in Sparkle's arms as I go outside and send a message to my mom to meet me at a coffee shop outside of the Throwback jail.
I take the bus so that my bike doesn't attract too much attention, but even with all the stops, I beat Mom there. The coffee shop is open, and I send messages to Mason and Justus as I wait for my coffee.
My mom comes in the door just as I take my first sip, scalding my tongue. Immediately, I jump up and hug her. Mom grips me back fiercely.
"You came."
She pats my back twice before pulling back. "Always."
I'm not too choked up to notice that Mom is well dressed, and her hair and makeup are perfect, considering it's three in the morning.
"I need to make the right impression," Mom explains when she sees me examining her. "Your dad is calling up our lawyer to see if he can talk to the police about your friend's case."
A tear escapes my eye, and Mom brushes it away.
"Thank you."
"I'm . . . I'm glad you came to me," Mom replies, her voice trembling a little. "This is how it's supposed to be, the parents taking care of their child. I'm sorry it was the other way around for so long."
"You're here now. What do I do, Mom? It's my fault that she's there. She took some pictures inside an Evolved club for me for a—uh—class project. We didn't know it was illegal."
Mom's posture straightens. "Your dad and I will sort this out. It's a misunderstanding, and when the police understand that Harriet has Evolved friends, they'll release her immediately."
I nod, unable to speak without more tears spilling.
Mom gives my hand a squeeze. "I'll call you as soon as I can."
"I'll be here."
"But your classes—"
"Can wait."
Mom nods, not arguing for once. She makes her way out of the coffee shop, across the street to the station. She doesn't wring her hands once. The strange twisting of my heart isn't only from fear for Harriet's well-being. It's something else, too. Something that I've never felt for my parents before. Gratitude.
Mason charges through the door, his face hard and angry, with Justus jogging behind him to keep up.
"How could you?" Mason shouts at me, and the owner of the coffee shop narrows her eyes at us.
Justus pulls Mason back outside, with me in tow.
"It was a mistake, man. It's not Joan's fault," Justus says.
"Shut up! You're on my shit list, too!" Mason turns to me. "But you! I've known Harriet and Justus for most of my life, and they've never been troublemakers. But a few weeks in your company, and Harriet's in jail, and Justus is lying to his dad."
Justus's eyes cut down when I glance at him.
"I'm sorry, Mason. You're right to be mad at me."
Mason deflates, and his eyes go glassy. "Neither of you has ever been inside juvie. It's a hellhole. There's never enough food, and the kids inside are cutthroat. Lots of kids never come out. And Harriet's not in juvie now that she's eighteen. I can't imagine how much worse it is locked up with grown adults. And . . . she hates to be locked up. She needs her own space."
"I'll bring her back, Mase. I swear."
Justus's fingers intertwine with mine, and the warmth of his hand contrasts my icy cold one. He gently squeezes my fingers.
I rest my forehead on his shoulder. "I wish there was someone I could punch."
"Let's go back inside," Justus says, gently tugging me toward the door.
Mason follows, and we crowd around a little table, drinking cup after cup of coffee. Three hours goes by, and Mom doesn't emerge from the station or call my phone. Dad doesn't respond to my texts, either.
Whether it's all the caffeine or nerves, my heart speeds up so fast that it's hard to breathe. Next to me, Mason has his head buried in his hands.
My fault.
The edges of my vision get dark. I make a noise, and Justus kneels in front of me. He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his. Even now, in my panic, I notice the beauty in the marbled pattern of his eyes.
Justus rests his hands on my knees. "Deep breaths, Joan."
I follow his lead as we breathe together, and my vision returns. At first, I think it's wishful thinking when three figures emerge from the police station. But as they cross the street, I recognize Mom, Dad, and Harriet.
Harriet walks stiffly.
"They whipped her," Mason says, his eyes glued to Harriet.
As soon as he says that, I know he's right. I walked the same way after the headmaster's lashings, trying to minimize movement.
Mason and I lunge for the door, but Mason beats me to Harriet's side. He presses his forehead to hers.
"You're okay. You're okay. You're okay," he chants over and over, like it's a magic spell.
"I'm okay," Harriet finally whispers, and Mason visibly relaxes.
She pulls back and meets my eyes. "Thank you, Joan."
I shake my head. "I'm sorry, Harriet."
"I'm taking her home tonight. Her real home. I'll take care of her," Mason says, his fierce tone not allowing any disagreement.
"I'll send medicine," Justus says.
"Mr. Fasces—" Harriet begins.
"Blaise," my dad gently corrects.
"Blaise brought me a painkiller and antibiotics."
"Thank you, sir," Mason says, and shakes Dad's hand.
Dad's eyebrows briefly rise. "Take good care of her, young man."
"I will, sir."
Harriet passes by me and briefly squeezes my hand. At her touch, the tears that have been hovering behind my eyelids begin to fall. Mason and Justus gently support Harriet as they lead her back to the Lab.
I bury my head in Dad's shoulder, and Mom strokes my back.
"She'd received the full three lashes by the time we talked to the chief of police," Dad says. "We found her hungry, dirty, and tired, but she was released without a formal write-up on her permanent record."
"You guys did it. You saved her. Thank you."
Mom's face is pale and drawn. "I don't know if we would have succeeded in getting her a fair trial, never mind getting her out, if Lexi White, Strand's CEO, hadn't called the chief."
My body goes still. "What are you talking about?"
"We don't know what she said to the chief," Dad says, "but she told your mother and me that Harriet would be released—if we passed you a message."
Mom's hands tremble as they cup my face. "Harriet's punishment was a warning. She has eyes everywhere, and they are trained on you. If either you or Harriet steps out of line again, the result won't be incarceration."
"Retirement," I say, so Mom doesn't have to.
She nods. "But not for you. For Harriet."
My breathing stops for several seconds, and it's an effort to bring airback into my lungs. Lexi White knows that all it takes to get to me is to hurtthe ones I love. And now she knows exactly who they are. I'm under her thumb,at her mercy.