Unremarkable (Anything But) by Lindy Zart Page B

but they knew he’d been running since. The scars on his face; courtesy of his father, were jagged slants over his cheeks and forehead that hid the man’s true features from any who didn’t look too closely at him.
    “ Good evening, Juli,” Lee said as he slid past Christian.
    Christian turned, catching the bright smile Juli bestowed upon Lee before he entered the house. One of his eyebrows lifted when she turned her attention to him. “What was that?”
    She avoided his eyes when she answered, “What was what?”
    “ That. ” He pointed a finger at the closed door.
    “ The broken glass? That is the result of some idiot who can’t control his temper.”
    “ Touché.”
    Juli placed her hands on the railing of the porch, it creaking as she flexed her fingers. Looking out into the forest of trees, she said, “It’s personal.”
    Christian moved to stand beside her. “What is?”
    A cool breeze picked up, playing with the tendrils of her hair, sweeping them up and out. Juli grabbed a handful of hair and held it still. “This grudge you have against Natasha. You were almost polite with Honor and that’s saying a lot for you, but with Natasha…you act like you hate her. Why?”
    “ Honor helped me.” He shrugged.
    “ No. It’s more than that. What is it about Natasha, specifically, that bothers you so much?”
    Christian turned so that his hips rested against a pillar, crossing his arms. “When I was turning, I was kept locked up, and every day I was there, she came down and stared at me. She wouldn’t speak; she would just look at me with this expression on her face.”
    “What kind of expression?”
    He searched his brain for the right words to describe it. “I don’t know. It was part pity, part hatred, and part fear, but also almost sympathetic. It was strange, hard to explain.”
    “ That’s why you hate her?”
    “ No. I hate her because she reminds me of me. She’s like me, yet she acts like she is better than me, even though deep down she knows she isn’t, which is why she tries so hard to distance herself from us. It’s a circle of self-righteous vindication. She’s trying to convince herself of something she'll never believe, because it isn’t true, no matter how much she wants it to be. She wants to think, to believe, that she is better than us, than me, but she knows she isn’t. And however hard she tries, she will never convince herself otherwise. I may be shit, but at least I don’t pretend I’m not. All she does is pretend.”
    “ So you’re saying she’s messed up?”
    “ To summarize.”
    “ And you’re not shit. You’re fierce, strong. You’re brave.”
    Christian glanced at Juli. “All that and more,” he softly mocked.
    She opened her mouth and he tensed, straightening as his eyes searched the dark woods around them. Christian cut his hand through the air when Juli tried to speak again. He put a finger to his lips and jerked his head toward the countryside before them. Her lips thinned and she gave a brusque nod, silently tiptoeing into the house to warn the others they had company.
    The darkness sparked to life with flashlights and voices, booted feet thundering on the earth as a group of two dozen or more swarmed for the house. Christian cursed and stormed through the front door. Everyone was ready, awaiting his command.
    “We need to split up, form into groups of three or four, and decide on a meeting place. What time is it now?”
    “ Almost ten,” Jax answered.
    “ How did they find us?” Angela asked.
    “ I don’t know. It doesn’t matter right now.” Christian’s eyes cut to Natasha and away. She was the only new one to the group. “Twelve hours from now, meet back here. They should be gone by then. If you see anything suspicious, you leave, head back into the woods. Approach from the back. Get your partners and let’s go. They’re almost to the house.”
    “ Why don’t you fight?” a voice spoke up.
    Christian’s head swung toward the