Genesis Girl by Jennifer Bardsley Read Free Book Online Page A

eighteen-year-old Vestal?”
    “Because he’s lonely. Because he wants a daughter.”
    “A daughter?” Seth flexes his neck. “I don’t believe it.”
    “It’s true. He misses you. He misses your mom. He’s lonely, and—”
    “Don’t talk about my mom!” Seth jumps up and kicks the tree trunk with his dress shoe.
    I follow him, and we stand underneath the branches.
    “I’m sorry,” I say. And I genuinely am. What happened to Sophia was awful.
    “You have no right to talk about her, and neither does my dad!”
    I wait a second, not saying anything.
    “She was a good mom,” Seth whispers. “The best.”
    I put my hand in his. I’m not sure he notices.
    “She didn’t deserve any of that crap. That’s why I posted the video online. That’s why I started Veritas Rex .”
    “She deserved better.”
    Seth thinks I’m agreeing with him. “Yeah.” He nods. “She did.”
    It’s hard not to get riled up when the conversation has turned to everything I stand for as a Vestal. “It’s not only the video, Seth. Your mom didn’t deserve to die in the first place. There never should have been a cancer epidemic. As soon as people realized cell phones were evil, they should’ve stopped using them.”
    Seth looks at me, bemused. “I wouldn’t go so far to say cell phones were ‘evil,’ but they were shitty technology.”
    Even now, he’s completely brainwashed.
    “Shitty technology that killed people! And the tech companies didn’t care. They wanted money, and the customers wanted tech. It’s disgusting! The Brain Cancer Epidemic was the whole reason Barbelo Nemo founded Tabula Rasa to begin with.”
    “Is that why?” Seth asks. “I thought you guys were fancy spokespeople or something.”
    Irritation coils inside me. “That’s only a small part of it.”
    “So what’s the rest?”
    “We follow a sacred calling. We are beacons of light in a dark world that’s forgotten what’s important.”
    Seth rolls his eyes. He clearly doesn’t get it.
    So I inch closer to him. “For centuries holy people … nuns … monks … hermits … they locked themselves away and took on the sins of the world. They were living sacrifices of prayer, and it made the whole world better. They kept knowledge alive through the Dark Ages. Vestals are living sacrifices too. We are reminders that you don’t need chips and you don’t need texts, and you shouldn’t give away every last piece of yourself for one more hit.”
    “Because selling yourself is so much better?”
    I square my shoulders. “Yes.”
    “But you’ll never have a normal life. Doesn’t that bother you?”
    “Of course not. Not when ‘normal’ is so messed up. Not when ‘normal’ gave a whole generation of people brain cancer.”
    “ That I get.” Seth rubs the cord of his pendant. “My mom was always talking about you guys. Did you know that? She loved all things Vestal. That’s why I took your picture.”
    I wonder what Seth’s mom would say now.
    We stand there in silence looking out across the city. The whole world feels huge and empty. If I reach up my arms, they’ll touch sky forever. There’s nothing holding me in and nothing protecting me. The only person between me and disaster is Seth.
    “I should get back,” I say. “Your dad will hate me being out so late.”
    Seth looks at me suddenly, like he’s remembering why he brought me up here in the first place. “Why worry about a liar like him?” He steps closer and encircles me in his arms. “We’ve got all night.” Seth smiles a wicked grin and bends down, brushing soft lips against mine.
    I know what he’s thinking. He’s thinking he’ll ruin my relationship with Cal forever.
    But I’m the one who will ruin Seth. By the time I’m done with him, everything he knew to be true will be shattered. Veritas Rex will never be the same again.
    So I curl my fingers around Seth’s neck and deliver a perfect kiss. I let Seth put his infested hands all over me. They run down