Page 61 of Between Earth and Eternity
“That was uncalled for, Kent. I will report you to—” Runa starts.
“I was directed by Alister himself to make this clear to Miss Andrews. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him yourself,” he snaps, spit flying from his mouth.
She glares, then abruptly stands. “Come, Miss Andrews. I’ll escort you back to your room.”
I stand so quickly, I nearly knock my chair over. Runa doesn’t wait for me to catch up as she hurriedly guides me back through the crew corridors. I try to think of something to say.
Thank you would be a good start, but she doesn’t give me a chance. We arrive back at Ring Ten, and I open my mouth, but before I can get a syllable out she says, “Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Andrews. Have a nice day,” and quickly storms off, her heels clicking loudly against the floor.
“Skyler!” I turn to see Payson exiting his room. “I stopped by your room, and Ori said they took you in for questioning. I was worried.” He puts a hand on my shoulder.
I look at it for a moment before shaking it off. “Oh, really? That’s comforting.”
My reaction startles him. “What happened?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” He cocks his head, trying to follow. “Were you questioned too?” I get my answer when hislips form a tight line. “I just had to lie for you and Laz,” I say, my body shaking. “Shouldn’t you be in quarantine?”
“Shh.” He brings a finger to my lips. “Not here.” He scans his thumbprint, and the door to his room slides open. He gestures for me to step inside, and for a moment, I think about walking away, but I need answers. I sigh, and he follows me in.
“I saw you two yesterday. On Sega,” I say, spinning around. He blinks a few times. “Why did you lie about being sick? And who was that man?”
He folds his arms and shrugs. “It was nothing. He is an old friend of Laz’s.”
“You’re lying.”
He remains still, not uttering a word.
“I thought we were friends,” I add.
“We are, Skyler.” He sounds hurt.
Good. The feeling is mutual. I cross my arms, too frustrated to speak.
He pinches the bridge of his nose before looking back at me with a sad expression, his blue eyes weary and pleading. “I care about you, Skyler. I know it’s confusing, but it’s easier if you don’t get involved. I promise it’s for the best.”
“You can’t ask me to trust your empty promises, Pace. That’s not fair. Especially now that I’ve been dragged into whatever this is.” I shake my head fervently.
“This isn’t all on me. I told you that you needed to be careful. The dinner . . . that was not good.”
“Oh, so now it’s my fault that you’re keeping something from me,” I snap.
“No. I’m just saying it’s not hard to wonder why their eyes are on you, but it’s over now.”
I’m not convinced to simply let it go as if it was nothing.
And it’s far from over. I want to tell him about Alister’s threat, but if he’s going to keep secrets from me, then it’s only logical Ikeep some of my own. I’m carrying so many already, so really, what’s one more?
“Can we just forget it?” he asks.
I bite my lip and have to look away. “Maybe you can, but I can’t,” I whisper. I push past him, heading for the door.
“Skyler, please? What do I have to do?”
I pause, but I can’t think of a single thing left to say. “I don’t know, but I need some space.” I don’t look back as I leave him standing there, staring after me.
“Okay, this might sound crazy, but hear me out,” Ori says, joining me in my library reading nook a few days later. She decided she needed to finally see it for herself.
“Oh no. I’m not loving the sound of this.”
