Collide (Entangled Teen) (The Taking Book 3) Read Free

hallway that reminds me of the Chemist labs, all business with no hint of emotion or care for decor. Mom stops at the end of the hall and Dad presses his thumb into a keypad beside a door. “This is our room,” he says, motioning me inside. “We had yours linked to ours. They installed the adjoining door the day you arrived.”
    I follow him in, my stomach sinking at the thought of how much things have changed, from a three-story house to just two rooms, one for my parents, one for me, each space the size of my bedroom back home. The only similarities are the furnishings themselves, which are at the very least real blankets, real pillows, real beds.
    “We live here?” I ask.
    Mom drapes her arm around me, hugging me close. “At least we’re alive. For now, that’s all that matters.” I can tell by the way her voice shakes that some part of her never thought she would see me again, but she’s forcing herself to act casual, which worries me all the more. Mom was never one to hide her feelings.
    “Can I see my room?”
    “Sure,” Dad says. He gestures to a door on the left-hand wall, and I press my thumb into the keypad, as he did before, causing the panel to slide open, a gust of artificial air whooshing over me. I step inside and peer around. It’s smaller than my parents’ room and contains nothing more than a bed, a dresser, and a small table and chair. I imagine identical rooms line the halls, and I realize that we, the wealthy people of Prospect Park, are now living like we forced Landings’ people to live.
    Mom sits down on my bed. “Can you tell us about Loge? What happened to you there? Do you feel…different?”
    Loge. A flash of the blueroom. Lydian staring at me, only to betray me later. Emmy lying on the ground, lifeless, and then Jackson and me, our bodies linked together, as though nothing could tear us apart. Tears prick my eyes, and once again, I have to fight to keep them from falling. Crying won’t tell me where he is or what’s happening to him. There’s only one person who might know. “Where is Vill?” I ask.
    Vill—Jackson’s cousin had promised Jackson he’d take me back to Earth no matter what, then dragged me through the portal while I screamed Jackson’s name. My chest aches at the memory, and I press my hand to my heart to try to massage out the pain. I should be angry with him, but he was just doing what Jackson asked. I might have done the same.
    “He’s just down the hall, like Gretchen.”
    “Gretchen?” I can’t keep the excitement from my voice. It feels like forever since I’ve seen her, forever since we sat in her room, sorting through masquerade ball dresses, her choosing mine because I never really cared about those sorts of things. “Can I see her? Them?”
    Mom smiles. “Of course.”
    She leaves Dad behind and leads me down the hall to the last door on the left. She knocks once and then starts to walk away.
    “Wait. Where are you going?” I ask, nervous to be alone. I’ve been alone for so long, and all I want to do is crawl into bed beside Jackson and have him pull me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me. What if I never feel his touch again? What if— No . I refuse to go down that road, refuse to mourn him. Not yet. I know in my heart he’s out there, alive, fighting. I just have to find him.
    “I thought you might want to talk to your friends alone. It’s been a while. Gretchen…she’s…” Mom trails off, shaking her head. “The changes haven’t been easy on her. Certain p eople haven’t been easy on her.”
    My mind shifts to Law, to his cold demeanor, and I wonder if he’s acting the same way with Gretchen. I expected them to be together now, a couple, but something in Mom’s expression has me worried. “Okay,” I say, and then Gretchen’s door opens and she’s there. I smile and open my mouth to say hello, when she bursts into tears.
    I glance nervously at Mom, who just backs away. “And that was why I thought you