The Similars (The Similars #1)(32)

“But they’re your parents!” I exclaim, before I can stop myself.

Levi’s gaze locks on my own. “Jane and Booker Ward are no more my parents than they are yours.”

“Of course they are. You’re a clone of their son, aren’t you?”

“You just said Mr. Ward is Oliver’s stepdad. Which means I don’t share his DNA. Only Mrs. Ward’s.”

“But Booker loved Ollie like a son. That is not up for debate.”

“Either way,” Levi says. “I’m a stranger to them, a science project gone wrong.”

“I don’t believe for one second that Mrs. Ward wouldn’t want to know you or want you in her life. Did you see that note they sent? Actually see it?”

“No—”

“Then maybe it’s not true. Maybe your guardian lied to you.”

Levi throws up his hands. “Fine,” he says, as he starts walking again, quickening his pace. I scramble to catch up with him. “They’ll be on campus after fall break. We can settle this debate then.”

I give him a blank look. Levi continues, “The dedication ceremony? The one honoring Oliver Ward? Some of the teachers were talking about it yesterday. I assumed you already knew. They’re building an arts wing in his honor. Donated by the very ‘real’ Jane and Booker Ward.”

“They’re coming to Darkwood?” I can barely get out the words. “Jane and Booker?”

“I’ve been considering ways to introduce myself. ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ probably won’t suffice.”

“And when you meet them, it will be obvious they’ve never heard about you,” I say quietly. “You’ll see. Jane could never reject you.”

Levi responds by lengthening his strides. I try to keep up. We’re nearly there.

“I don’t know why no one told Booker and Jane about you, or why you were lied to,” I go on, dogging Levi’s steps. “But once they meet you…”

“I’ll replace the son they lost?” Levi’s face is so sad, it’s more than I can take. “Don’t you get it, Emma? Maybe they could have been something more than strangers before, but now that their son is gone, I’ll never be anything to them but a slap in the face. A reminder of everything that’s been taken from them. Look, it’s not like you were happy to meet me either.” He laughs. Does he find this funny? “Don’t worry. I’ve managed for sixteen years without parents. From what I hear about curfews and nagging, why would I want to start now?”

He strides off, and I let him go as I consider the weight of what he told me. For all intents and purposes, Levi is an orphan. Worse than that—he is parentless. An orphan is someone who’s lost their mother and father. Levi never had parents to lose.





Jaeger


At the hospital, a receptionist informs us that Prudence Stanwick is no longer a patient. She was checked out on the same night she was admitted.

“Checked out?” I stammer. “How? Who took her?”

“Doesn’t say.”

“But that can’t be right. She was unconscious. She couldn’t have just left!”

The receptionist sighs, more interested in her plum than giving me answers.

“I can’t help you, miss. The patient was released.”

And just like that, my world crumbles again.

No Prudence? If she’s not at the hospital, where is she? I wonder. She’d call me if she was okay.

I’m not a runner, but I run now. There are rocks along the edge of the road. I pick one up and pitch it into the woods that line the road. Then another rock and another. And with each one, I yell.

I sense Levi next to me as I pick up a fist-size stone and toss it, hard, like a shot put. It feels good. I don’t want to hit anyone or anything, but I need to move, to channel my anger into something physical. Levi hurls one too. I’m surprised, but also grateful. Maybe he understands, at least a little bit, how I feel.

“They must have transferred her to another hospital,” I say as I throw another rock. “It’s the only answer that makes sense.”

“Maybe she went home. If she was well enough to travel, they might have sent her home to her family,” Levi suggests.

“No. She would have buzzed me—”

“Not if she isn’t on your approved list of outside callers,” Levi reminds me.

I forgot about the blocks on our plums. But Pru’s dad is on my approved caller list. Wouldn’t Pru borrow her dad’s phone to get in touch with me? I pick up another rock, squeezing it in my palm. Something about this feels wrong and unsettling. Where is Pru?

I let the rock slip out of my hand and hit the ground. I’m done with this. I’m ready to go back. I start down the road, back to campus. I hear Levi toss his rock, and then his footsteps follow me.

After a few minutes, Levi interrupts the silence. “If she were dead, we’d know.”

I stop in my tracks. “Excuse me?”

“I said, if she were dead—”

“I heard you.” My voice is low.

“They would have told us,” he explains. “There’d be no reason not to.”

I’m so tense, I feel like a rubber band about to snap. “Prudence Stanwick is my best friend. Oliver Ward was my best friend, but he died. So aside from my bot, Pru is pretty much the only person I have left in my life. Which means her being dead is the worst thing you could say to me. Ever.”