“Hey,” she said, “can you take me home?” The parking lot was tranquil again, though the same couldn’t be said for the raging protest down the street. Her quiet, cozy bedroom beckoned, and she couldn’t wait to curl up in bed, duck beneath the covers, and try to forget what a hot mess her life had become. She wanted to feel normal, even if it only lasted for an hour.
“Yeah, we’ll leave as soon as Aelyx is ready.”
“What?” The modicum of composure she’d achieved since leaving the janitor’s closet vanished, replaced by tensed neck muscles as she glanced around for him. “He’s here?”
“Yep. Went inside right after you did. He didn’t catch you?
Catch her? That implied he cared enough to seek her out, which sure wasn’t the case these days. “No, he must’ve gone to the office.” She hated the idea of driving home trapped by Aelyx’s side. A girl could only take so much awkward. “Any chance you can drive me now?”
While Barry shook his head, something from behind her caught his attention, and he pointed to the top of the steps. “There he is.”
Don’t spin around! Stay calm. As pseudo-casually as possible, Cara glanced over her shoulder, slowly turning to face the building. Yep, it was him, all right, jogging toward her and holding her backpack.
“Hey!” She reached for her bag. “I looked everywhere for that. Where’d you find—”
Before she could get the next word out, he tossed the bag aside and scooped her into his arms, lifting her off the ground until her legs dangled like a participle. His mouth was at her ear, whispering, “Sacred Mother,” and he hugged her so tightly he may have cracked a few ribs.
Just to add to the list of things she didn’t see coming today. She pushed against him, struggling to breathe.
“Are you okay?” he asked, lowering her feet to the ground and taking her face between his palms. She pushed those away, too.
“Of course I’m okay! What’s your problem?”
“What’s my problem?” His gaze narrowed, sweeping her from head to toe. “You left me behind, Elire!” She hadn’t seen him this pissed since the day he’d nearly liberated one of Marcus’s arms from its socket. “At the most dangerous time possible!”
“Oh, so I’m Elire again?” Striding forward, she jabbed an index finger at his stone chest, but the contact sent a thrill up the length of her arm, so she dropped it to her side. “Unh-uh. You don’t get to call me that anymore. I’m Caaah-ra now, remember?”
“Blake had to stop a fight on the way to your locker, and you were gone by the time he got there. When you never made it back to the office, we went looking for you and we found this”—he snatched her backpack off the asphalt and shook it accusingly—“on the floor next to your locker with another note. What was I supposed to think?”
“Look, I’m sorry you were scared, but—”
“Scared? I was out of my mind! We tore the school apart trying to find you.” He distractedly ran his fingers through his hair and paced a circuit around her as if burning off angry energy. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“Because it’s in my bag!”
“Wh—” He froze pre-yell, probably realizing he didn’t have a counterargument for that. “Well, you know where the first place I looked was?” Aelyx stopped pacing long enough to deliver a scorching glare. “The base of the stairwell. I expected to find you there with your neck broken.”
Holding his gaze was like trying to stare at the sun—it burned an imprint of his scathing features into her mind so that she continued seeing him even after closing her eyes. She wanted to strike at Aelyx, scoop together some of the hurt and rejection he’d heaped on in the last week and throw it back in his face, so she squared her shoulders and spat, “Sorry to disappoint you!”
Her words immediately produced the desired effect. “Is that some kind of depraved joke? Because it’s not funny.”
“It’s not a joke. After the way you blew me off, I’m surprised you care.”
His posture sank, the muscles in his shoulders rounding forward. “I do care.”
“Whatever. You’ve been avoiding me like cholera since that day in your room.”
The crinkle of cellophane caught her attention, and for the first time since their argument began, Cara noticed they’d attracted quite the little audience. A few of Barry’s friends had joined him, sitting cross-legged on the ground and leaning forward in rapt attention. One soldier propped against his Hum-V was even munching popcorn from a Smartfood bag. He nodded for her to continue as if she’d pressed the pause button, and now he wanted to resume watching Romancing the Clone.
“Sorry, guys, show’s over.” There was more fighting to do—so much that the air felt thick with the weight of things they’d left unsaid—but it would have to wait. She picked up her book bag and climbed into the armored Hum-V.
When they pulled into her driveway and her knights-in-shining-Kevlar stationed themselves around the perimeter of the property, she unlocked the front door and bolted for her bedroom. She didn’t want to argue anymore.
But just as she was pushing her door shut, Aelyx wedged his foot against the doorjamb and blocked the way. Since it seemed there was no avoiding him, she turned with a resigned sigh and dropped her bag at the foot of the bed while he stepped inside. He closed and locked the door behind him while she crossed to the window.
“The reason I stayed away,” he said in a low, tentative voice, “is not what you think.”
Pushing aside the curtain, she watched two young soldiers stand guard, weapons at the ready, and wondered what the hell had happened to her life. “How would I know what to think? You wouldn’t talk to me.”
“I know. I could’ve handled that better.”
Could’ve handled that better? Was that his idea of an apology? She spun to face him. “Gee, you think?”
He splayed his hands like a beggar and sighed. “This isn’t easy for me.”
“Love’s not easy for anyone! Why do you think the divorce rate’s so high?”
“Love?” Turning to her dresser, he idly lifted the tiny porcelain pig Tori had brought back from her last trip to Peru, flashing a sideways glance and a grin that made her belly quiver. “Are you in love?”
Her whole face went up in flames. Had she really said the L word out loud? To the guy who’d dropped her like a lubricated dumbbell? “Figure of speech. I meant relationships are hard.”
He set down the pig and advanced slowly. “The way I acted ... It wasn’t you.”
“Oh, no.” She held up one finger and backed away until her bottom met the frosty windowpane. “You’re not even human. You don’t get to use the It’s not you, it’s me line!”
“Are you going to listen or not?” He took another step forward, and she inched from the window along the wall. “You were right when you said I was keeping secrets.”
Of course she was right. Aelyx was more transparent than Saran wrap. “What does that have to do with dumping me?”
“I felt guilty.” He pushed a loose tendril of hair behind his ear, drifting closer as his gaze dropped to her mouth and held there. “I couldn’t let things go any further until I was ready to tell you the truth.”
She backed into the corner, clinging to the smooth plaster while her heart raced in anticipation of his next move. “You didn’t seem so guilty when you practically tore off my jeans.”
He shrugged and offered a grin. “A testament to your superior kissing skills.” Closing the distance between them, he trailed his index finger across her collarbone and settled it at the base of her throat, where her pulse thumped wildly. “But today, after almost losing you, I made a decision.”