Page 21 of Her Alien Neighbor

“Wow, itisyou,” the woman states without inflection, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Hey, Beth,” Vanessa says, her body stiffening. “It’s, uh, good to see you.”

I notice Vanessa’s scent changes in an instant. It goes from the rich scent of freesia to acrid, and it burns my nose. It is fear I am detecting from Vanessa. She clearly does not wish to be interacting with this woman.

Beth just nods as her eyes travel from the top of Vanessa’s head to her toes. “Been a while.” Her pointed red nails drum against her arm as she waits for Vanessa’s reply.

“Yeah. You look great,” Vanessa says, attempting her best, bright smile. I can tell it is not genuine, but I am not sure Beth can. “Still doing yoga, I see.” Vanessa gestures to the clothing Beth wears, a bright yellow top that leaves her lean stomach exposed and matching yellow pants that seem molded to her skin.

“You look,” Beth looks up and down, once again, “the same. How’s acting going? Famous yet?”

“Well, uh––”

“Of course, you’re not,” Beth interrupts. “If you were, surely you wouldn’t be back here. In this ‘shitty little town.’” Her fingers curl in the air in a gesture I have seen but still do not understand. “Isn’t that right?”

Vanessa clears her throat, her lips forming a tight line. “Actually, I’m here because my aunt recently died.”

“Oh, that’s right. I heard,” Beth says. “So sorry for your loss.” Though she does not sound sorry at all. Then her eyes drift to me. “Who’s this?”

“Right. How rude of me. Beth, this is Axil, my aunt’s neighbor,” Vanessa says. “Axil, this is Beth, an old friend of mine from high school.”

Friend? I cannot fathom a world where Vanessa considers Beth a friend, but perhaps the explanation rests in the word “old” Vanessa used to introduce her.

“Hello,” I say, summoning my manners when I wish to just walk away. “Pleased to meet you.”

I do not like the way Beth looks at Vanessa, as if Vanessa is beneath her. I have spent a significant amount of time studying human behavior, mostly between males and females, and I have yet to understand the peculiar ways in which women interact with each other. It is a verbal minefield unlike anything I have ever witnessed.

“Oh, right,” Beth says, recognition flashing in her small, green eyes. “You’re one of Mrs. Norton’s gigolos. I’ve seen you around.”

It is not a word I have ever heard used, but I do know what it means. I would be insulted if the assumption were not so amusing.

“No, he’s not,” Vanessa quickly replies. “I thought it was weird, too, at first, that my aunt was friends with her young, hot neighbors, but that’s genuinely all it was.”

Hot? Vanessa finds me pleasing to look at? That is an interesting development.

Of course, she has only seen the version of me that I allow her to see. The one that blends in with her kind. She has yet to see therealme. With my ability to change my skin color and hide my horns, the only version of me she will see is the one I chose to maintain when we crashed here.

The humans with the pale skin seem to be least wary of other humans that look like them, in fact, they seem to have built an entire political philosophy around such an arbitrary thing, so that is the shade we chose for ourselves.

If Vanessa were ever to see me in a state of rest, when I am unable to hide my horns and blue skin, I wonder if she would find me attractive at all, or if she would see me as nothing more than a monster. An outsider who does not belong here.

“Come on, Vanessa,” Beth pipes in. “You really believe that? Why wouldtheybe friends with your aunt?”

She speaks of me and my brothers as if I am not here, listening to her mockery. What an astounding boldness, or a dangerously misguided ego.

“That rumor has been flying around for years,” Beth adds. “There’s no other explanation.”

Vanessa straightens her spine, and I see the muscle in her jaw tick. “Fascinating which rumors you choose to believe and which ones you automatically assume are lies. It’s whatever keeps you comfortable, isn’t it?”

Something in her words rattles Beth because she begins to fidget with the keys in her hand and her chin dips. “I really should be going. Can’t leave Trevor alone with the girls too long. They haven’t warmed up to him yet.”

This female’s soul is hideous,my draxilio hisses.Get away from her this instant.

Vanessa sucks in a breath quietly enough that Beth does not notice, but I certainly do. Then Vanessa’s posture changes completely as if a cement block is tied around her neck, slowly pulling her to the ground.

Beth smiles at this, then turns on her heel and leaves without saying another word.

I grab Vanessa by the shoulders before her knees buckle. “What happened?” My voice comes out raspy and panicked. “Tell me.”

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