Page 94 of The Restoration Program

Nicole scoffed. “And I do?”

“Two people with no parenting experience whatsoever is better than one.”

She glanced to where Ryan had already taken his seat at the central table. He frowned at her questioningly. She gestured vaguely at Carlos and Holly, then held up a finger.One second. The tears had slowed, but Holly’s arms were still crossed, and she squeezed her eyes shut when Carlos tried to meet her gaze.

“You can’t fix this,” Holly told him venomously.

“No surprises there. I just wanna listen, if you want to talk,” Carlos said. He rubbed her slender shoulder, and Holly slowly melted. She leaned into him, letting him drop a muscled arm around her. “It’s alright,chica. You’re okay. Are your folks that bad?”

Holly sniffed, bloodshot eyes drifting to where her parents were seated rigidly amongst the others, watching their daughter. She whimpered, “He broke up with me, Carlos.”

Then she turned her face away and buried quiet sobs into his shirt.

Carlos shared a look with Nicole. “I’m so sorry, Hol,” she said softly. Truth be told, she wasn’t surprised, and she knew Carlos wasn’t either. Alex’s presence in the meetings was a distant memory.

“Hewasn’t even the one to tell me. He got one of his stupid friends to do it for him. You know what I found out? What they call me around school these days. Alex’spet girlfriend. Guess his ex-pet girlfriend now.”

Nicole lowered her gaze. How many times had she thought of herself in the same vein, without admitting it aloud? Others, like Ryan’s parents or coworkers, were certainly saying the same behind her back.

She cleared her throat delicately, setting a hand on Holly’s back. “Look… I know you don’t want to hear this, but you’re young. Guys are dumb at every age, butespeciallywhen they’re seventeen. If he can’t appreciate you the way you are, that’s his problem, not yours,” Nicole said. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Holly. You have so much to offer the world, far beyond romance.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve got the perfect boyfriend,” Holly sneered.

“No relationship is perfect. Andespeciallynot like this.” Nicole pretended not to notice the way Carlos’ attention shifted to her, hanging on her words with silent focus.

“Does h-he hate carrying you around too?” Holly asked thickly. “Alex said it felt gross.”

“Well… no. Ryan doesn’t mind that part. But he and I have had our rocky days, too,” Nicole went on. “Even when I was human—I meannormal, you know? But it’s not easy feeling and acting the way we used to when… things just aren’t the same anymore.”

Holly sniffed, but her guard was slipping. “So what do you do?” she asked softly.

Nicole swallowed, wondering why her throat felt tight. “We put in the work and make little sacrifices for each other’s happiness everyday.”

“What does that look like?” Holly asked skeptically, taking a step back from Carlos and wiping her eyes.

“It looks like—” Nicole stammered for a second.Ryan’s tongue runs up her thigh while she struggles helplessly. He’s binding her wrists, digging angry red marks into her skin. She’s trapped—“It isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, but Ryan and I always stick by each other at the end of the day. If Alex wasn’t willing to do that for you, who needs him, anyway? One day, someone will come along who can be that person for you. I promise.”

“But it’s not just Alex! How am I supposed to meet someone else when I’m like this? Not just another boyfriend, but… anybody? I’m isolated. I can’t go anywhere without my parents. And when I turn eighteen, what happens then? I can’t rent an apartment. Who knows if online colleges accept students who are fuckingdead. I won’t be able to get a real job.”

Holly started breathing hard, her words clipping into short sobs again.

“When I try to explain this to my parents, they shut me down,” Holly said. “They can’t understand why I’m not weeping with joy every day to be alive. They just don’t get it. I… I’m alive, but I’m alone. For the rest of my life—or however long this is supposed to be—I’malone.”

Nicole’s insides twisted. In another life, Holly might feel misunderstood by her parents because of her clothes, her choice of friends, her lack of interest in school. This was another monster entirely, and all Nicole could do was step forward and pull Holly into a tight hug.

“You’re not alone,” Nicole whispered. Holly stood rigidly, but she didn’t pull away. “You have us.”

“She’s right,” Carlos said. “Look, the world is as new to this NüPrint shit as we are. You’ve got time for the world to adjust before you’re an adult. Out of all of us here, you’ve got the best shot of living a full, happy life, Hol.”

Holly sniffled, and she finally embraced Nicole back. “You guys aren’tthatold.”

“Last week you asked me when I was going to start bringing in a walker,” Carlos scoffed.

Finally, Holly cracked a smile. She lifted an arm in Carlos’ direction. “You getting in on this, or what,Abuelo?”

The sensation of his arms encircling them both made Nicole’s heart stutter. It was rare that she got more than a handshake from another NüPrint, let alone a full-on group hug with tears. As Holly wept into both of their shoulders, Carlos leaned closer to whisper in Nicole’s ear.

“Little sacrifices, huh, Zhou? Is that what you call just now when he ripped you away like a fucking kid?”