“What happened?” I asked Jack.
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said.
Reyes snickered. “The guards like picking on him. He backs down pretty fast. Not so big down here in the Pit, are ya?”
Raine and Mica laughed, too.
I was suddenly overcome with pity for Jack. “Reyes, that’s enough! You’re behaving like a child.”
“What? I’m the bad guy here?” Reyes turned to look at me. I had never seen him look at me that way before. Was it anger? Hatred? “The president wants to kill you because of that bourge, and I poke a little fun at him and I’m the bad guy?”
“He isn’t the bad guy either. The president wants me dead because of a decision I made, so don’t blame him for this.” I was startled to hear myself say all that. But I believed every word.
I was done blaming the bourge and Jack for the mess I made of my life. What I did was foolhardy and stupid, and it was the reason the people I loved most in life were in danger. It was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and start dealing with the consequences of my own actions. And I knew Jack could be a good ally. He could help everyone down here and make a difference.
“Give him a chance. He can help us get organized and push back against the bourge. He knows how they work, and he can anticipate their decisions. He can teach you all how to fight. How to defend yourselves.” I looked from Reyes to Raine and Mica.
They all burst out laughing. Jack rolled his eyes.
“The way he cowers in front of the guards and you think he can teach us how to fight?” Reyes laughed in disgust. “Why are you defending this guy? Why are you living with him?!”
“Reyes, we’ll talk about this later,” I said in a low voice. I should have known his temper would get the better of him. I should have known he would make a scene.
“We don’t need to talk about it later. I see your answer written all over your face,” he said bitterly. “You know, Sunny, I waited four long years for you to marry me. I put up with your excuses when you kept postponing our marriage. I even stood by you when you chose to be a plaything at this idiot’s bachelor party instead of coming to me for help. And then you went and married him! And I’m supposed to be the sympathetic one in all of this. I’m supposed to understand that you married him to save Summer… to save the entire Pit. And up until now, I think I’ve been very tolerant. But I will not sit here while you stand by his side instead of by mine.” With that, Reyes scraped his chair back from the table and stomped out of the room.
I looked around the table. Mica and Raine stared at me while Jack pretended to be interested in his stew.
“He’s just hurt, Sunny,” Raine said.
Mica gave me a deadly glare and made a show of pushing himself away from the table to follow Reyes. A few seconds later, Raine left, too.
“That went well,” Jack said when we were alone.
“Don’t.”
I could feel a headache coming on. I rubbed my temples, trying to hold it at bay. I was stunned Reyes felt that way. He made it sound like I had taken him for granted all these years. He obviously didn’t understand me. But then again, he had always wanted me to be someone I wasn’t.
I was vaguely aware of a shift of mood in the room. The dinner hour was done, and the evening entertainment was starting. Someone dragged a stool in front of the room and started singing. Other people joined in. I used to love staying here after dinner with my parents to hear the songs and listen to the stories. But I hadn’t been here since my mother was Culled. Now my father was gone, too. There was no enjoyment left in it for me.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there with my head in my hands, but I remembered Jack was still sitting with me. I looked across the table at him. He seemed to be enjoying the song. It was an old one about how we came to be in the Pit. I used to love this song when I was little because there were a few verses only the children sang. The song was a bittersweet one about how we were saved, only to be cast down into slavery. Jack had his chair turned completely around to watch the singers, so I couldn’t see his face. I waited until it was done before I suggested we leave.
“Ready to go?” I thought I saw him rub his eyes before he turned back to me. His lashes were still wet. “Are you okay?”
“The song was… moving.” He stood up and walked toward the door. I followed him.
“How about you? Are you okay?” he asked, once we were back on the stairs headed for the fourth level.
“Yeah.” Lying was easier.
“You want to beat me up again?”
“Sure.” It might just be the thing I needed right now.
As soon as we entered our apartment, I went directly into the bedroom and took off the vest. It felt so good to get the weight off my shoulders and chest. It had almost been the death of me in the laundry room. Jack was lounging in a chair when I returned to the living room.
“So, you and Reyes have been engaged for four years.”
I ignored him and went to the sink to get a glass of water.
“How old are you?” he asked after a moment.
“Seventeen.”
“Seventeen? I married a teenager?” He sounded shocked. “Wait a minute, are you telling me that you and Reyes got engaged when you were only thirteen?”
“Yes. What’s so strange about that?”
“I’m twenty and that’s a young age in the Dome to get married. Usually people wait until they’re about twenty-five.”
“Well, when you face certain death at thirty-five, you speed up your life a little bit.”
“You’re right. That was thoughtless of me.” He had the decency to look ashamed. “Now I really deserve that butt kicking you want to give me. Let’s warm up with a few push-ups.” He fell to the floor and starting doing push-ups.
I joined him. Working out the other night really had helped ease some of my anger.
“Speaking of getting your butt kicked, what happened today?”
He shrugged it off. “Just like they said.”
“I’ve seen you fight, Jack. I can’t imagine you cowered.”
“And what do you think would’ve happened if I grabbed the guard’s gun and shoved it down his throat?”
I thought about it for a moment. Not that I wouldn’t want to see a guard eat a gun, but he was right. All the guards would’ve been on him. “I see your point. You were right about Reyes and his friends, too. They’re not going to cooperate. Maybe we can find someone else who wants to learn your skills.”
I had decided I didn’t want to give up on my plan to help change things. After all the hardship I had brought on my father and Summer, I owed it to them to try to make things right. I didn’t want to fail.
Jack stood up and went into his T’ai Chi stance. I followed. He began the fluid movements and I tried to keep up, but he seemed to be going a lot faster tonight.
“So you want to start stopping people in the hall and ask them if they want to join the rebellion?” Jack asked, his tone light.
“Well, it sounds stupid when you say it like that.”
“Alright, we’re all warmed up now.” Jack faced me in a defensive stance. “Take your best shot.”
“I don’t feel like it anymore.”
“Come on.” He flicked a hand out at me, stopping inches from my face. “Pretend I’m Reyes. You must be mad at him.”
I threw the heel of my hand toward his face, which he blocked easily. I followed with a roundhouse kick at his stomach. He pushed me away.
“That’s weak, Sunny,” he said. “Come on. The other night you just about ripped my head off when you were mad about Summer.”
I had been really mad about Summer. Even the thought of her now in the clutches of that crazy president was making me angry. He had my father, too. My anger snuck out of the place where I thought I’d had it tucked safely away and gripped me again.
I threw a punch as hard as I could at Jack, then another. He blocked them both, but I kept coming at him. First with my right leg followed swiftly by my left. He threw a right punch at me, but I pulled my head back and he missed. I instinctively knew he was going to follow with his left fist, and I ducked. He missed again. He was smiling at me. I came at him to wipe the smile off his face, but he turned, and I missed. He grabbed me from behind.