Chapter 203: Sync
The couch groaned quietly under my weight as I sat in the living room, the room dim with the setting sun casting gold through the blinds. The air was thick with the sort of silence that followed aftershock. It had been only a day since the broadcast. Since the truth. Since I had shown the world who I was and what we were up against.
Outside, everything was still on fire. Politically, socially, culturally. But in here, in this apartment, we had fallen into a strange stillness. The kind that settles when there’s nothing immediate to fight. All four girls were home, none of them had gone back to their respective jobs. It wasn’t like they could. Not after the Masked Syndicate’s identity was revealed. Not after my identity was revealed.
Not that money was a concern. Between my passive income from old jobs, Camille’s impressive investments and influence, and our fallback option of government funding—if we ever really decided to use it—we were far from desperate. What did worry me was the time. The hours stretching forward, empty, quiet, dangerous in their own way.
In the background, I heard Camille’s teasing voice filter through the hallway, followed by an audible squeak from Alexis.
"So, when exactly were you going to tell us you kissed him, Doctor Alexis?" Camille teased.
"I didn’t plan for it to happen," Alexis snapped back defensively.
"I imagine you didn’t plan for Evelyn to be your blindfolded witness either," Camille added with a laugh.
There was a short pause.
"I couldn’t keep it a secret. It was relevant information," Evelyn said plainly, though I could tell from the flat tone that she was putting on her most professional voice to mask the obvious blush.
Sienna, off in the kitchen, was humming quietly as she stirred something aromatic. The home felt lived in, almost peaceful.
I leaned my head back against the cushions and exhaled slowly, eyes half-closed. This wasn’t going to last. I couldn’t just exist in this limbo. I couldn’t ignore what was coming, or the things I still needed to prepare for. But Alexis had been right, I couldn’t afford to take another job. Not in my condition. My body was burning itself out.