“I imagine you are. Aren’t you supposed to be grounded?”
“Um.” He waited. “Yeah.”
“I’m sure you had a very good reason for being out and about in the middle of the night.”
“Um…” She tried to think about school, homework, the library. Maybe he’d think she’d been out studying. That was a good reason, right? As if he’d actually believe she was studying. There was no point in saying anything when he’d know she was lying, so she kept her mouth shut.
“Can you at least tell me how you managed to sneak out of the building without alerting security?”
“Why do you even bother asking? You already know.”
“As a courtesy.”
She swallowed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fair enough.”
God, he just stared at her, as if he could split her open by looking. And if she stood there long enough, with him hovering over her, she might spill it all. She inched away from him, down the hallway, hoping he’d just let her go.
He said, “Anna. There’s no shame in asking for help. Or advice. Or for anything at all, really. We’re here for you.”
She choked up a little on that but fiercely shut down the emotion, not thinking or feeling anything at all. “I know. I’m okay. Really.”
“I know you are, sweetheart. But nothing will stop us from worrying.”
“Good night, Dad.”
“All right. Sleep well.”
She scurried down the hall and to her bedroom, relieved. That could have gone so much worse. At least he hadn’t gotten her mother involved.
FIVE
ARTHUR came back to bed around three in the morning. Celia was waiting up for him.
“Well?” she asked, as he closed the door and began unbuttoning his shirt in the glow of the lamp on the nightstand.
“That girl has so much on her mind I can hardly make sense of it all. Poor thing.”
“But she’s okay, she’s not hurt or in trouble?” She had reconciled herself to not learning the details. But she wanted reassurance. A basic, simple yes or no. Was it so hard?
“She’s fine, for now. But she’s determined to have this secret life of hers.” Tension in his mouth, around his eyes, showed through his habitual calm. His anxiety made her even more anxious.
Celia rubbed her face. She was exhausted, but there was no way she could sleep while worrying about Anna.
“If you tell me she’s okay, not doing drugs or working at a strip club or anything, I’ll trust you. But I really wish you’d pry, just this once.”
“It wouldn’t be just once, that’s the problem.” He finished undressing, switched off the light, and climbed into bed with her. His skin was chilled, and she shivered at his touch. They hunkered under the covers together to warm up, and he wrapped his arms around her. Only then did Celia start to relax. “She found one of the old Olympiad escape elevators and got it working. That’s how she got out of the building. May I recommend not sealing it up, at least not right away?”
“Because if we know where she is we can keep an eye on her. Yes, I know. At least let me put a camera in there.”
“If I may be so rude as to point it out, this was what you wanted: You wanted the children to find each other and help each other learn to use their powers. If they’re taking the effort farther than you’re comfortable with, you can’t complain.”
“I just wish she’d talk to us. She’s never shown any sign of having powers—what could she possibly be doing?”
“You should ask yourself if you really want to know,” he said, chuckling. “I’m sure it would appall us.”
“I always hoped she wouldn’t have powers. That she’d have a nice, boring life.”