They Took Everything by Vote, So I Disappeared Chapter 07

They Took Everything by Vote, So I Disappeared Chapter 07

Mom had no idea how she made it back home.

When she opened the door, Dad was sitting on the couch smoking.

The atmosphere in the living room felt suffocating.

“Did you find her?”

Dad didn’t turn around

His voice was impatient.

Mom said nothing.

She walked numbly to the coffee table and placed the copy of the confirmation she’d gotten from

Mr. Bennett on it.

“What’s this?”

Dad picked up the paper and glanced over it.

Ash fell from his cigarette onto his pants, but he didn’t even notice

“Red Mesa High Desert… a federally classified project?”

He shot to his feet, his voice rising sharply.

“How is that possible?”

“How could she possibly pull something like this off?”

Kelsey walked out of her “walk-in closet,” still holding an unironed dress.

“Dad, Mom, what’s going on?”

“Did you find Erin?”

“I’m still waiting for her to iron this dress!”

“Forget about the dress!”

“Your sister went to the Red Mesa High Desert!”

“She’s doing research there!”

Mom suddenly exploded.

She grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and hurled it onto the floor.

Kelsey froze.

Then she let out an exaggerated laugh.

“Mom, are you so mad you’re not thinking straight?”

“Erin? Doing research?”

“She hasn’t even gone to college yet.”

“They probably wouldn’t even trust her to sweep the floors!”

“Shut up!”

Dad glared at Kelsey and pointed at the copy on the table.

“It’s right here in black and white!”

“She was specially admitted with scores ranked in the top ten nationwide!”

“Weren’t you the ones saying she’d gone off to work somewhere?”

The smile froze on Kelsey’s face.

She walked over and stared hard at the document.

Black print on white paper.

A red official seal.

So glaring she could barely look at it.

Kelsey had always thought she was the most accomplished daughter in the family.

She was pretty.

She’d secured a place in a graduate program without trouble.

She was used to Erin following behind her like a shadow, taking whatever she no longer wanted.

But now, that shadow had suddenly stepped out and risen to a height Kelsey could never reach.

“Why didn’t she tell us?”

“What gave her the right to make that decision on her own?!”

“Because you all voted away her chance to go to Westbridge University!”

The front door swung open.

Bryce walked in, reeking of alcohol.

He had just gone drinking with an investor, trying to save the deal.

Instead, the investor had thrown a drink in his face.

“How could she be so selfish?!”

Kelsey shrieked.

“Our family doesn’t have much money.”

“Haven’t we all been making do?”

“But she secretly found herself a better way out and just took off!”

“Not even a word!”

“What does she think we are?!”

“Enough!”

Dad grabbed his favorite antique coffee pot and smashed it onto the floor.

Ceramic shards scattered everywhere.

The living room went completely silent.

The only sound left was Dad’s heavy breathing.

“Bryce, go to the Department of Defense liaison office tomorrow.”

“See if you can find out exactly where that facility is.”

Dad’s expression darkened.

“If she’s at a federal research facility, then her stipend and allowances should be sent home.”

“I’m her father.”

“Even if she flew to the moon, she’d still have to listen to me.”

Winter came early in the Red Mesa High Desert.

By October, the first heavy snowfall had already cut off the mountain roads.

The staff housing was well heated, but I still developed chilblains on my hands.

That evening in my room, I applied the medicated hand cream Professor Warren had given me while going through the day’s experimental records.

roommate, Dr. Harper, was a woman in her thirties with a doctorate.

She walked over carrying two cups of hot water.

“Erin, finish putting that cream on and get some sleep.”

“We’ve got a major test tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Dr. Harper.”

I took the cup and warmed my hands around it.

Dr. Harper sat beside me and looked at the red, swollen skin on the backs of my hands.

“Look at you.”

“You’re not even twenty, and you work yourself way too hard.”

“How come I’ve never heard you talk about your family?”

My hand paused over the page.

“There’s nothing worth talking about.”

“You don’t miss home?”

“No.”

I looked up at the darkness outside the window.

“It’s nice here.”

Dr. Harper smiled and didn’t ask anything else.

Everyone here had their own secrets.

There was an unspoken understanding at the facility: no one asked about the past.

The next day, the facility opened a scheduled communication window.

Everyone was given ten minutes to use a secure phone line to call an immediate family member.

A long line formed outside the phone room.

A lot of people picked up the receiver and started crying before they could even say a word.

I didn’t get in line.

Instead, I took a broom and went to clear the snow outside the lab.

Professor Warren walked over and handed me a shovel.

“Not making a call?”

“No one to call.”

I took the shovel and pried up a chunk of ice.

Professor Warren looked at me and let out a long sigh.

“Erin, avoiding it won’t solve anything.”

“I’m not avoiding anything.”

I straightened and met his eyes.

“I just cast that one vote for myself.”