Uninvited (Uninvited, #1)(24)

“Davy?” I jerk at the sound of my name, almost forgetting Gil still stood next to my window.

Gil’s head cocks and he looks over at Sean. His shrewd eyes widen behind his lenses. “Are you and he—”

“No!” My voice comes out harder than I intend.

“Sorry. He went after you when Brockman followed you . . . and he hardly talks to anyone inside the Cage. Even me. And I try talking to him all the time. All I get is monosyllables out of him. Guy’s like a wall. Guess that’s what happens when you’ve been treated like a deviant all your life. Can you imagine? When you’re just a kid? A toddler?”

I watch Sean back his truck out, thinking about this. Thinking how Sean had known he was a carrier practically forever. As a foster kid, he had to have been one of the first groups tested.

I slide my gaze back to Gil. “How long have you known you’re a carrier?”

He pushes up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “Since last summer. I applied for a position as a camp counselor. Everyone had to get tested.” He shrugs as if it should have been nothing. A formality. Only for him it had been the end of everything. I understood that too well.

“You’re a nice guy, Gil,” I say suddenly. I have Mitchell to tell me that, but I don’t know if Gil has anyone to tell him. I hope he does.

He grins and then sighs. “Yeah? Well, tell that to the rest of the world.”

I smile, and the curve of my lips feels brittle and every bit forced. “Are you headed home?”

“No, work.”

“Need a lift?” I offer before I have time to consider whether I should. He’s a carrier, but it makes no sense how this boy could be dangerous. I’m not dangerous, and I don’t want others to judge me without proof. They do, of course, but I don’t have to be like them.

He nods to the street bordering the parking lot. “It’s not a long walk.”

I shrug. “I don’t mind. Get in.”

He grins widely and walks around the front, sliding into the passenger seat.

He directs me out of the driving lot, and he’s right. It’s not far. We travel maybe five blocks before I turn left into a gas station.

I pull up front. “You work here?”

He nods. “Stocking and cleaning. Can’t be trusted for much more.” He rolls his eyes. “I used to get paid well for tutoring but no one will hire me now.”

“What did you tutor?”

“Math, computer science . . . your geek subjects.” He grins again. “I used to dream of going to MIT. Maybe work for the CIA someday.” He snorts and waves around him. “Funny, right? It’s a long way from this.”

“No. Not funny,” I murmur, shaking my head. “I had dreams, too.” I flex my hands on the steering wheel and look forward again, oddly in no hurry to leave.

“You want to come in and get an ICEE? I don’t start for another half hour.”

I smile at him. It suddenly feels right to be here with him. Better him than an empty house. “Sure.”

Turning off the car, I follow him inside.

He waves to the woman behind the counter. “Just getting some drinks.”

She smiles, eyeing me curiously.

We take our drinks outside and sit on the curb away from the door. The cold cup sticks to my palms.

I swirl the straw around the frozen red ice. “I don’t think I’ve had one of these since I was twelve.”

“You’re kidding!” He looks at me in horror. “That’s criminal. I can’t get through a week without one.”

“You might have a problem.”

He shrugs as if he’s known this for a long time and it doesn’t faze him. He slurps long and deep from his straw. “You could come here anytime. After school. You shouldn’t wait another five years until your next ICEE.”

“Yeah. I shouldn’t let that happen again,” I agree, feeling oddly content beside this boy that I hadn’t even known existed a month ago. He smiles as he stares out into the parking lot, and I’m suddenly glad to have made at least one friend in the Cage. My thoughts drift back to Sean. Maybe I’d made more than one.


The party is in full swing when we arrive. Zac holds my hand, and I cling to his just a little bit too hard. Like I’m afraid he’ll let go of me this first time around all our friends again. Or maybe I just need to feel his hand around mine, holding me after the day I’ve had.

Our friends? They are more Zac’s friends than mine or they would still be calling and coming around. Zac’s the only one. I shoot him a glance, my heart aching and swelling at the same time. I’m beyond glad he’s proven himself loyal, but what does it say that none of my other friends have? I attended Everton Academy since kindergarten. Many of these people have been my friends for that long.

We climb the porch steps of Carlton’s house. His parents are at their lake house. They practically live there full-time now, leaving Carlton to finish out senior year. His mom is scared to be this close to San Antonio. And she’s not totally off base. Our little suburb is hardly crime-free. Just like the rest of the country, crime is on the rise.

As I step over the threshold, I wonder what Carlton’s mom would think if she knew a carrier was inside her house. I almost smile as I imagine her swooning in a dramatic faint.