Origin (Lux 4)

It was late once we got back to the cabin, and Kat and Dee fixed spaghetti. It was mostly Kat cooking, since Dee tried to heat up everything with her hands, which usually had disastrous results. Beth had helped with the garlic bread, and it was good seeing her up and moving around. I almost couldn’t remember what she’d been like before Daedalus. I did know she was a lot more talkative then.

And she had smiled more.

I helped Kat clean up afterward. She washed the dishes, and I dried them. The kitchen was outfitted with a dishwasher, something Luc had felt the need to point out, but I think the tedious task was calming. Neither of us spoke. There was something intimate about this, our elbows and hands brushing.

Somehow Kat got a cluster of frothy white bubbles on her nose. I wiped it off, and she grinned, and, damn, her smiles were like basking in the sun. They made me feel and think a lot of things, including some majorly cheesy stuff I would probably never say out loud.

She could barely keep her eyes open by the time we finished. I ushered her into the living room, and she plopped down on the couch. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“I’m going to finish up in the kitchen.” I dropped an old patchwork quilt over her. “Get some rest. I’ll be right back.”

Heading through the rec room, I could hear Archer and Dee talking in one of the rooms. I was halfway there before I stopped myself. Closing my eyes, I cursed under my breath. Dee needed someone to talk to. I just wish it wasn’t him.

I stood there in the dark hallway, staring at the gaudy wood paneling for God knew how long before I forced myself back into the kitchen.

Dee would not be taking him to Olive Garden. That was where I drew the line.

Grabbing the wet dishcloth, I slopped it on the table and cleaned up Luc’s mess. The kid’s eating habits and spaghetti didn’t go together well. Finishing up, I glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight.

“You lied to Kat.”

I turned at the sound of my brother’s voice, already knowing what he was talking about. “You would’ve done the same thing.”

“True, but she’s going to find out sooner or later.”

Picking up a bottle of water off the counter, I chose my next words carefully. “The last thing I want her to know right now is that her face is plastered all over national news. Instead of being concerned about what that means for her, she’s going to worry about her mother and…there’s nothing we can do about that right now.”

Dawson leaned against the counter and folded his arms. He stared at me, and I stared back. Knowing what that look meant, the lowered brows and determined set of his jaw, I sighed. “What?” I demanded.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

I tapped my fingers on the water bottle “Do you?”

“It’s why you’re in here playing Suzy Homemaker. You’re wondering what you’ve started.”

I didn’t answer for a long moment. “Yeah, I’m wondering that.”

“It wasn’t just you. It was all of us. We all did this.” Dawson paused, staring out the window over the sink into the dark void that surrounded the cabin. “I would do it again.”

“Would you? Knowing that Ash and Andrew would die?” Saying their names was a hot slice of pain.

He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t think you want me to answer that question.”

I nodded. We’d answer that question the same way. What did that say about us?

Dawson exhaled heavily. “That’s some shit, though. God, they were like family. It’s not going to be the same without them. They didn’t deserve to die like that.”

I rubbed my jaw. “And Matthew…”

“Screw Matthew,” he spat, eyes narrowing.

Setting the bottle aside, I watched my brother. “We sort of did the same thing, bro. We risked people’s lives to keep Dee and the girls safe.”

He shook his head. “That’s different.”

“Is it?”

Dawson didn’t immediately respond. “Well, then screw us.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, screw us.”

His lips twitched as he looked at me. “Man, what the hell are we going to do?”

I opened my mouth, but I laughed again. “Who the hell knows? I guess we have to wait and see what the fallout will be. I need to figure out how to make Kat look like the innocent victim in this. She can’t hide forever.”

“None of us can,” he said solemnly. Then he added, “I would pay good money to know what the Elders are thinking right now.”

“Easy. They probably want our heads.”

He shrugged, and a couple of moments passed before he spoke again. Whatever he was about to say, I knew he was unsure of it. His mouth worked on it for a while. “I know this isn’t the best time to tell you this. Hell, I’m not sure there is a right moment for this, but it seems like after what happened to Ash and Andrew, I should just keep my mouth shut.”

My muscles tensed. “Just spit it out, Dawson.”

“Okay. Fine. I do need to tell you because, well, I think someone other than us needs to know.” The tips of his cheekbones flushed, and I really had no idea where this conversation was going. “Especially as things start to progress and—”

“Dawson.”

He took a deep breath and said two words that blew my mind. “Beth’s pregnant.”

My mouth opened, but there were no words. Truly no words at all.

Everything came out of Dawson in a rush. “Yeah, so she’s pregnant. That’s why she’s been tired a lot and I didn’t want her doing anything when we were in Vegas. It was too risky. And the traveling had really worn her out, but…but yeah, we’re having a baby.”