Glow by Anya Monroe Page A

irritated.
    “It’s crazy,” I tell him, flat out refusing to give into his theories. “And Mom and Dad have been manipulating us. They send Jax here to fetch us, pull on our heartstrings. It’s a game.”
    “I haven’t seen them in six years, I thought they choose to leave. All this time I’ve held this against everyone in my family. Now that I know the truth, I want to see them again.”
    “They tried to force Lucy, the girl you say you can’t live without, into their machine. You’d be walking into a death trap.” I roll my eyes, pacing the room, not wanting to be here anymore. If Lucy doesn’t want me, then I should go.
    This whole thing is a mess. All morning while I was off trying to get my heart and head off of Lucy, Lukas has been strumming up the cowboys’ support. He wants them all to join the fold. And apparently, they’re willing.
    “Just go to Mom’s and Dad’s with me. My hope is they will want to come back to The Light. Lucy and I are going to change things there.”
    He wants this, so bad.
    “Look around, Lukas. The idea of one big happy family is dead. It doesn’t exist in this world anymore. No one has that. Not a single person camped out here has what you’re asking for.”
    “So because they don’t have it, I shouldn’t? I deserve it, Charlie. I do. I am the prophet, I am set apart. And we’re going back to our parents’ house.” He’s angry now, in a way I haven’t seen since we were kids, when Mom and Dad lectured him about what he’s not ever to do. “Never let yourself be consumed by your anger, it will devour you, Lukas, in ways we don’t understand.”
    “Lukas, cool it, okay? I don’t want--”
    “What, now you don’t want something bad to happen to me?”
    Lukas storms out of the study, slamming the door as he leaves. I’ve pissed him off, but I don’t really care. Not anymore.
     

28.
     
    Lucy
     
    I keep retreating to my room. No one else has claimed this space, and I like having it to myself. The compound feels smaller right now than it did for the sixteen years I was crammed in these curved walls. I hear Charlie and Lukas arguing in the study. Charlie tries to be rational, Lukas is everything but.
    There’s a soft knock on the door, and then Basil’s voice. I dread talking to her. She knows what the cost of my cowardice has been. Her being locked up in a dark room for weeks. I’ve been avoiding the conversation I know she’s looking for.
    “Lucy, can I come in?” She carries a plate of food with her as she slips through my door. My stomach growls, I haven’t eaten all day.
    “Of course,” I say, eyeing the carrots. There’s a dip I don’t recognize, and Basil notices where my eyes have focused.
    “It’s bean dip. Fava beans. One of the girls from Headquarters brought them with her. I guess their gardens were pretty impressive out there. Did you see them?”
    “No. I didn’t really get a chance to look around.” I take a carrot and dip it eagerly, taking a bite. “This is good. I mean, I didn’t have high expectations, but it’s better than canned stuff.”
    “Yeah, or better than eating bugs and dandelions.” There’s a hint of the past in her hard voice.
    “Where were you this morning?” Basil asks. “I was looking for you, but couldn’t find you anywhere.”
    “I was with Charlie, but not for long. It wasn’t the greatest conversation….” I don’t know how much to say. Girl-talk-heart-to-hearts aren’t my strong suit. I’ve not exactly followed through with Basil in that department.
    “Do you like him, like him?” she asks, sitting crossed-legged on my bed. Her black hair is tied in a messy ponytail, and it makes her eyes appear bigger, but hollow. Looking closer, I notice a tiny whole near her eyebrows, where piercings must have been before The Light. She had to wipe away traces of herself when she joined.
    I’ll have to do that when I return.
    “I don’t like him any more than my other friends. I mean, I like