Free Orion Cross My Sky by Rosa Sophia Page A

don’t know. I just like lookin’ at stars.”
    “I’ve read a lot about astronomy.”
    “Maybe you can teach me.”
    “Sure.” She was excited at the prospect, and this seemed to please Orion. “Did your parents name you for the constellation?”
    He shook his head. “I don’t know. Mom always said she just liked the name.”
    “Hm. I’m not sure why my parents named me Tammy. I think there was another Tammy in my family at some point, but I don’t know much about my family history.”
    When history came to mind, she thought of Alex at the library, and wondered if she could help her investigate. For some reason, she was morbidly curious about her family’s past. Maybe because she hoped to find a reason for the pain her father had put her through.
    “I gotta admit I’m a little intimidated by your family.” Orion let go of her hand to tighten his scarf as they walked.
    “Why’s that?”
    “You know your father is one of the most influential men in the area, right?”
    She pursed her lips in contemplation, stepping carefully over each crack in the sidewalk as they strolled along. “I know that’s true, but it’s not something I think about much. To me, he was just my father.”
    “You say ‘was’ as if he’s not anymore.”
    “Things with…I mean, things with my father and I…they aren’t good right now.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “He has a brain tumor. I just found out.”
    A desperate sensation passed through her, and she resisted the urge to disconnect and drift out of her body. She hadn’t done that since her father had last touched her, and she didn’t want to do it with Orion beside her. She didn’t want to forget a single moment with him, and if she left her body for even a second, there was a chance she wouldn’t remember tonight.
    Her memory was foggy. Sometimes memories seemed like distant dreams, and she wasn’t sure how to differentiate nightmare from reality.
    “Tammy, did you hear me?”
    She turned and looked at him, realizing they were across the street from Clearwater Park. He took her hand again and led her across the street to her favorite place.
    “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “How’d you know?”
    “How’d I know what?”
    “This is my favorite spot.” She sat down beside him on a park bench overlooking the dark lake. The nighttime chill settled over them.
    “I didn’t know that,” he said. “Did you hear what I asked you?”
    “No. I’m sorry.” Had she drifted away? It occurred to her she didn’t trust her own mind to remain within her body.
    “It’s okay.” He slid close to her, putting his arm around her.
    The gesture made her tremble and her mouth went dry.
    He continued, “I said I was sorry about your dad, and I asked what happened between you two.”
    “What?” she squeaked, gasping.
    “I mean, did you have a fight or something? You told me things weren’t good between you. Tammy, you okay?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t…I don’t know if I can talk about this, okay?” If he knew what had happened to her, how she’d been touched, he would surely hate her. She hated herself, so what was left to love?
    They were quiet for a long time. As the world darkened around them, they leaned back and looked up. Orion kept the scarf around the right side of his face. On his left, she could see the fabric over his nose lift slightly as he breathed, his eyes wide as he looked up at the stars.
    “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” He kept his gaze trained on the sky.
    She held her breath, the familiar urge to slip away overcoming her. She wanted to drift from this place, become a part of those cold stars. She remembered what she’d read, that many of them were ancient, and the light she was seeing was coming from light years away—so far away, her small human brain couldn’t possibly comprehend the distance.
    “Tammy?” He moved his gaze away from the sky, put his arm around her, and pulled her close. He was looking at her,