Eternal: Chapter Eight, Part 2

“Can I get you anything?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“No, thank you.” After another moment, she asked, “What are your plans for today?”

“I’m meeting with the lawyers and explaining what we’re doing with the movement, also giving them what we have so far since it seems we’re mostly done anyway. That way they can look over it and make sure there’s nothing illegal…yet.”

“Yet?” One of her eyebrows arched.

“We are taking down the government,” I reminded her good-naturedly. “That isn’t exactly legal.”

“What is anymore?” Nick inquired, walking through the door and surprising us both. I hadn’t expected him for another hour. “Here’s what you asked for,” he added, handing me two writeable disks. “The information for accessing the website is in with that disk.” He pointed at the bottom disk.

“Thank you.” Opening my binder, I slipped the disks into the front pocket. “Valetta, if I had another set of disks made, would that be okay or would it be better to print the site layout and frames of the commercial?”

“Printed would be better;” she sat forward on her elbows, resting her chin on her interlocked fingers. “Technology doesn’t tend to work there.”

“This is what you asked for,” Nick said, gesturing sharply to the binder, his brow furrowed.

“No, this is perfect, Nick,” I said, turning toward him. “I need another set. This time a printout of the site layout, no coding, and a storyboard using frames of the commercial.”

“What for?”

“We have…stakeholders.”

“Who?”

I looked at Valetta and she gave me an almost imperceptible shake of her head. “I can’t say.”

“Okay…” His brow knitted in confusion, and his eyes were tinged with sadness. “You’re going to tell me sometime, right?”

“Of course,” I said, smiling, though I was unsure I’d ever be able to tell him.

He smiled—that beautiful crooked smile—and I felt my stomach twist in guilt.

Nick went to his room for whatever reason and then left again, probably to start the others on my latest request. Since Nick had come to stay with us, I sometimes wondered what my life would have been like if I had been with him. Granted, that meant not having Drei, but would things have been less complicated? Probably not, though it didn’t stop the question from arising.

“He can never know,” she whispered.

“I know,” I said, still staring at the door. “But I don’t think I could ever admit that to him.”