I hold up my hand, needing him to stop.
“If Coach finds out my true ability, he won’t let me play on the team.”
I’m ready for him to leave now, so I stand. “That sucks. I’ll make you a deal. You get your team to stop using their abilities when you play Norm schools, and I won’t tell Coach about your real ability.” I walk toward the door. He brushes his hand along my arm as I pass by, and I immediately jerk it away. “Oh, and you wanted my help picking a college?”
“Yeah.” It kills me to hear the hope in that single word.
“I think that school in California might be your best choice after all. Unless there is something even farther away.” I walk out the door.
Laila is nowhere around. Did the Healer come by to discharge us?
Halfway down the hall I see my dad walking toward me. I run the distance between us and throw my arms around his waist. “What are you doing here?”
“They flew me out to interview the suspects. I would’ve come either way, to see you. Are you okay?”
“I will be.”
“I was thinking …”
I look up.
“Maybe you’d want to stay with me in Dallas for the holidays to get away from the Compound, away from everything, for a while.”
I see Laila coming down the hall behind him. “Did they discharge us?”
“Yeah.” She nods to my dad and gives him a side hug. “The Healer said it looked fine.” She touched her neck.
“You okay?” he asks her.
She shakes out her hand. “My knuckles are a little sore, but I’m all right.”
“I was just telling Addie that she needs to come stay with me for the holidays. You should come too.” My dad reaches into his back pocket and pulls out two tickets. “The high school football team is playing in a holiday bowl.”
I raise my eyebrows at Laila. “You can see your Norm boyfriend. What was his name? Rowan?”
She laughs. “Whatever. If I remember right, there was a certain cowboy that you set your sights on.”
“Cowboy?”
“Yeah. He had the boots, the relaxed pose …”
An image of his brown eyes and dark hair come into my mind. “Trevor.”
A warmth spreads through my chest, and suddenly Trevor’s there, his image so clear that I almost reach out and touch him. The hallway, the hospital, is gone. He’s kneeling in front of me as I sit on a wooden staircase, an intense expression on his face. His chest brushes against my knees, and my heart picks up speed. “Are you okay?”
I open my mouth to answer, but the question comes again, in Laila’s voice. “Are you okay?” She has a hold of my arm and shakes me a little.
The wide hallway of the hospital is back. I take a deep breath, confused. That felt like a Search, but … no. I look between Laila and my dad. They both stare at me expectantly. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. Yes, I want to go home with you, Dad.”