unzip Selia's borrowed bustier that I'm still wearing. My hands fumble with the zipper and Hand steps in and pulls it down for me. I let it fall to the floor and turn around to face him.
Hand smiles. "Shit, Junco, you look like a goddess." He reaches for the t-shirt and pulls it over my head as I slip my arms though the sleeves. Then he grabs my hair and gently lifts it out of the shirt, feeling it between his fingertips like it's something precious as it falls down my back.
"I'll take the couch, Junco. You can have my room, OK?"
I laugh. "You're kidding, right?"
His smile is sad as he fishes into his pants pocket and pulls out a comm. He flips through the menu and holds it up to me.
It's a picture.
Of a family.
He's got a wife and kids.
"Oh."
"They're staying out on the reservation right now, for safety reasons, you know," he explains.
That seriously hurts. "Right." I walk off down the hallway and find his room and flop down alone on the bed. Feeling very lonely. And wondering just how big of a mistake I made when I went back to the RR with James and traded Hando, and the life he offered, for the Seven Siblings nightmare that has become my reality.
Chapter Ten
The mess is quiet this afternoon because all of my officers are in the middle of war games with their squadrons out on the scrub, so it's just Aren and I, plus the first-year cadets, who never even look at me, let alone bother me at my dinner table.
I feel his eyes on me and I shift on the bench, becoming uncomfortable.
His fork clanks against his plate as he scoops up some food but before he can shovel it into his mouth and prevent the words from coming, they come out.
"I can't cover for you any more, Junco."
I finish chewing my chicken, swallow and take a drink of my orange juice before I answer. "So don't."
He lets out a long draw of breath, which tells me that he's frustrated but not yet mad. "Do you have any idea what he'll do to you if you get caught?"
I just shrug and pick up a roll.
"It won't be pleasant, Junco."
No, he's definitely not mad. Concerned. This stops me and I pay a little more attention to him. "It's my dad, Aren. He won't do anything horrible. I mean, he'd be pissed, yeah. But trust me, he'll understand. All I have to tell him is the reason—"
"Don't," he says, cutting me off and looking around nervously, "you dare tell him anything about weapons, Junco. I told you that at the beginning of the year, but lately you act like there are no words coming out of my mouth. What the hell are you doing when you're gone?"
Now he's pissed. And this isn't about weapons, either. He's pissed because he knows when I leave over the weekends I'm meeting someone else.
"That's jealousy, Aren. I'm not interested in jealousy. I told you I'm not cheating on you, so if you wanna believe I am, you can do that alone. We're done."
His fist pounds on the table in front of me and I jump with the silverware before I can catch myself. I look around and now we have the attention of the entire lower class.
I get up from the bench and grab my tray, but he snatches my arm before I can get past him. "Let go of my arm," I say, glaring down at him, "or I will break your hand right here in front of all these kids."
He knows I will and lets it go.
"I'm sorry you're not on board with what I do on my leave days, but I really don't care, Aren. I'm doing it."
"So we're done?"
I don't have time for this so I just give him what he wants. "Yeah, we're done." I dump my stuff in the trash and hand my tray to the kitchen staff who are watching us with a little too much interest.
Aren is next to me before I can make a hasty exit and takes my hand, leading me out of the hall and then into the cold spring evening.
Council 1 Cadet Academy is a large sprawling acreage that lies just southwest of Council 3 in the hills that are commonly called the Black Forest from their original name last century. I can see the ziggurat of Peak City climbing up towards the
Hand smiles. "Shit, Junco, you look like a goddess." He reaches for the t-shirt and pulls it over my head as I slip my arms though the sleeves. Then he grabs my hair and gently lifts it out of the shirt, feeling it between his fingertips like it's something precious as it falls down my back.
"I'll take the couch, Junco. You can have my room, OK?"
I laugh. "You're kidding, right?"
His smile is sad as he fishes into his pants pocket and pulls out a comm. He flips through the menu and holds it up to me.
It's a picture.
Of a family.
He's got a wife and kids.
"Oh."
"They're staying out on the reservation right now, for safety reasons, you know," he explains.
That seriously hurts. "Right." I walk off down the hallway and find his room and flop down alone on the bed. Feeling very lonely. And wondering just how big of a mistake I made when I went back to the RR with James and traded Hando, and the life he offered, for the Seven Siblings nightmare that has become my reality.
Chapter Ten
The mess is quiet this afternoon because all of my officers are in the middle of war games with their squadrons out on the scrub, so it's just Aren and I, plus the first-year cadets, who never even look at me, let alone bother me at my dinner table.
I feel his eyes on me and I shift on the bench, becoming uncomfortable.
His fork clanks against his plate as he scoops up some food but before he can shovel it into his mouth and prevent the words from coming, they come out.
"I can't cover for you any more, Junco."
I finish chewing my chicken, swallow and take a drink of my orange juice before I answer. "So don't."
He lets out a long draw of breath, which tells me that he's frustrated but not yet mad. "Do you have any idea what he'll do to you if you get caught?"
I just shrug and pick up a roll.
"It won't be pleasant, Junco."
No, he's definitely not mad. Concerned. This stops me and I pay a little more attention to him. "It's my dad, Aren. He won't do anything horrible. I mean, he'd be pissed, yeah. But trust me, he'll understand. All I have to tell him is the reason—"
"Don't," he says, cutting me off and looking around nervously, "you dare tell him anything about weapons, Junco. I told you that at the beginning of the year, but lately you act like there are no words coming out of my mouth. What the hell are you doing when you're gone?"
Now he's pissed. And this isn't about weapons, either. He's pissed because he knows when I leave over the weekends I'm meeting someone else.
"That's jealousy, Aren. I'm not interested in jealousy. I told you I'm not cheating on you, so if you wanna believe I am, you can do that alone. We're done."
His fist pounds on the table in front of me and I jump with the silverware before I can catch myself. I look around and now we have the attention of the entire lower class.
I get up from the bench and grab my tray, but he snatches my arm before I can get past him. "Let go of my arm," I say, glaring down at him, "or I will break your hand right here in front of all these kids."
He knows I will and lets it go.
"I'm sorry you're not on board with what I do on my leave days, but I really don't care, Aren. I'm doing it."
"So we're done?"
I don't have time for this so I just give him what he wants. "Yeah, we're done." I dump my stuff in the trash and hand my tray to the kitchen staff who are watching us with a little too much interest.
Aren is next to me before I can make a hasty exit and takes my hand, leading me out of the hall and then into the cold spring evening.
Council 1 Cadet Academy is a large sprawling acreage that lies just southwest of Council 3 in the hills that are commonly called the Black Forest from their original name last century. I can see the ziggurat of Peak City climbing up towards the
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