Middle Ground by Katie Kacvinsky Read Free Book Online Page B

apartment, where I was crashing tonight, and then I was pulling at Justin’s jacket because it wouldn’t let me close enough to his skin. He pushed me back against the plastic seats and started to climb on top of me when a high-pitched ring interrupted us. Justin peeled his lips away from mine. We looked at the wall screen in the front of the car and a yellow light informed us we had a message waiting.
    “Are you on call tonight?” I asked.
    He shook his head. “No, but we should take it.”
    He reluctantly slid off me and I sat up and adjusted my dress, which was nearly stretched off one shoulder. Justin touched the screen to accept the message. I froze when an image of my dad stared back at me. He sat behind his desk in his office, a place I knew too well. I swallowed and met his eyes. Even through the wall screen, he could use them like weapons.
    “Hello, Madeline,” he said, his voice steely and formal. The screen lit up the dark space around us in a white glow, exposing everything. I hadn’t spoken to my father in months. During that time, I convinced myself I was brave enough to stand up to him. Now I wasn’t so sure.
    “Dad,” I said, trying to compose myself after the shock of seeing him.
    He looked at his hands, clasped calmly in front of him. “Interesting prank you pulled tonight,” he said with a small smile.
    I looked at the clock on the corner of the wall screen. It was almost 1:00 a.m. “Do you ever sleep?” I asked him.
    He sighed. “I might sleep a little better if my daughter’s behavior weren’t lethal to my career.”
    “Dad—”
    He held up a hand to silence me. “What you did tonight was very foolish, especially considering your situation.”
    “No one can prove it was me,” I said. “I didn’t use my real identity on the computer. I’m not stupid.”
    He laughed at this. “No, you certainly are not stupid. That isn’t the problem. It would just please me if you’d focus your intellect on more law-abiding goals.” His eyes passed over me and concentrated on Justin for a few seconds. Disdain crossed my father’s face, like Justin was a kidnapper holding me hostage. Justin stared back at him with indifference. He could repel emotions as easily as my father could.
    “I’m not trying to fight
you,
” I told him.
    “Encouraging kids to drop out of digital school isn’t fighting me?”
    “DS is corrupt,” I said. “It’s gone too far. It trains people to be so plugged in, they’re addicted. By the time kids are done with school, they can’t unplug. Ever. You started a disease.”
    “You don’t understand what I’m trying to do.”
    “You’re blindfolding people,” I said.
    My dad took a deep breath. “People need to be controlled, Madeline. There need to be rules to maintain any kind of order in this world. I’m trying to make this country a peaceful place. I want you and Joe and everyone else’s children to be safe. That’s all I’m trying to do. I wish you could accept that.”
    “And while you’re so busy rescuing people you forget to listen to them. You forget they want choices, that they’re human.”
    “And you forget that you’re crushing your mother’s happiness. Do you forget that she’s worried sick about you? That you’re tearing your family apart?”
    “That’s not fair,” I said. “This isn’t all my fault.”
    My dad’s eyes fell on Justin again. “It’s interesting how trouble always finds you when you’re with certain people.” Justin’s hand squeezed mine tighter. He had never spoken a word to my father and he seemed determined to keep it that way. “I’m getting tired of bailing you out after you make mistakes, especially when you associate with people who drag you down to their level.”
    I tightened my lips. “If you’re so disgusted with my life, then just stay out of it,” I said, but I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. I didn’t want distance from my father. I wanted acceptance.
    My dad stared