Free There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane Page A

slides shut, confirming I’m alone. Then I turn and crawl into my bed, pressing my warm cheeks into the cool cotton as I let out a scream. I’m stuck here, with a bunch of strangers, who expect things from me I can’t provide. Now I know the reason I’ve been brought here. The Order still suspects my mother of something, after all these years. To them, I’m a link to the past, ready to lead them to the evidence they seek. What happens to me when they find out I’m useless?
    I role onto my side and run my fingers under the pillow along the smooth sheet. What I wouldn’t give for one of my mother’s stitches to comfort me. Instead, I curl into a ball and don’t move from my bed for the rest of the day. I hear the door slide open and shut, as Tassie comes to get me for lunch, but I decline. At suppertime, when I reject another invitation from her, she brings back Roe. Roe doesn’t say a word to me, just watches for a minute, and then leaves. No one bothers me again.

CHAPTER 8
     
     
    I open my eyes and see Jak sitting on the edge of my bed, half-asleep, propped against the wall of my cubby. His tall frame is hunched to fit at the end of my bed, and his short blonde hair is tousled from its usual perfect placement, crisscrossed as if he’s been running his hands through it. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Jak talk about being worried, let alone physically show it. His lashes flutter open as I shift in bed.
    “Dreaming about me?” he murmurs.
    I jolt up and throw my arms around him, pulling him tight against my body. His warm arms slide past my sides until they meet behind me, one resting against the small of my back and the other gently holding the back of my head to his shoulder. A sigh escapes my lips, threatening to wrack my body with sobs.
    “Thank goodness!” Tassie squeals. She’s sitting on the edge of her bed, watching intently. “I was so worried about you. No one has had a roomie lose it before. I’m going to pay special attention to you from now on, I promise.”
    I glance up at the camera set deceitfully above us. “There are enough people watching me already. What I need are some friends.”
    Jak laughs. “You talk like you’re in prison.”
    Tears spring to my eyes, and I push myself away from him to cover my face. Tassie slips out of the room, and Jak slides next to me, holding out his hand, then tucking them back at his sides as if he can’t decide how to handle me.
    I wipe the tears from my face, before reaching back toward him. His hand feels warm in mine, and I instantly melt against his side.
    “I’m so sorry for what I said to you, before, the night they took Grandfather.”
    “It’s okay.” His arms wrap behind me and pull me close once again.
    “No, it’s not,” I say, pulling back to see his face. “It was mean and terrible. I thought I’d never see you again, to apologize.”
    “Easy.” He reached up and wipes the last of my tears from my cheeks. “You haven’t lost us. We’re still here. Xara works a couple blocks away, and you and I both work in the Axis.”
    “But I can never leave here.”
    “You’re not a prisoner. They just need you on call for expeditions. You’re part of a very important team. You get to take up where your mother and father left off.”
    “How do you know all this?”
    “I started working for the Director, remember?”
    Right. I’d forgotten Jak was going to finally get to live out his dream. Why did I think he’d forget about me so quick? He’ll be down on Floor 2, close to me every day.
    “Jak,” I decide to change the subject. “Did you destroy my mother’s notebook?”
    “Yes.” His gaze darts away from mine. “I brought it to work yesterday and dealt with it.”
    “Thank you.” I wrap my arms around him again. Now the Order will never be able to point a finger at my mother.
    “Nat.” His tone changes and he presses his cheek against the top of my head. “I missed you.”
    “I missed you too.”
    “I don’t want