Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
I briefly consider just going back to the ship with the others. Every night we finish late, and I’ve always gone to Simone’s. She waits up for me, and we cuddle and kiss and play with Pluto for a while before bed…where we kiss even more and make love. If I don’t go to her place, I’m going to be giving her a very clear statement that I’ve given up on us.
Even though I know it’s probably safest for Simone, I can’t do it. I want to be with her. Just thinking about how she’ll take the news of me being a clone makes me ache with yearning. What if she’s horrified? What if she wants nothing to do with me? What if the possible danger scares her enough that she asks me to leave her alone?
My stomach feels tight with anxiety.
If she’s unhappy with my secret, I’ll just have to live with it. She needs to know, one way or another. It’s not fair to her otherwise.
Pluto meets me at the door, rubbing against my legs and making happy chuffing noises as I take a few steps inside. I glance around the apartment as I reach down to scratch at his tiny ears, but the kitchen is silent. Cookie scents fill the air, telling me that she was working. Unlike normal, however, she hasn’t stayed up to spend time with me. The lights are off and she’s not waiting.
I expected it, but it still hurts.
Crouching down, I try to hug Pluto. In true cat fashion, he wriggles away and then tries to rub against my legs once more, head-butting at my calf. He only likes to cuddle and get petted when we’re in bed, but his independence makes me feel even more unwanted. I let him rub up against my legs for a moment longer before I head back to the bedroom. The door is open halfway, the lights on, but I knock quietly anyhow. “Simone?”
“I’m awake. You can come in.” She doesn’t sound angry. That’s promising, hopefully.
I peek my head in and see her sitting up in bed, the blankets pooled around her legs. She’s holding a tattered, bloated copy of Outlander in her hands. Reading. Okay. Maybe she was waiting up for me after all. “You have a book?”
“I borrowed it from someone in town,” she says, putting it aside. Her expression is guarded as she watches me. “You worked late tonight.”
“Yeah.” We stare at each other for a moment, and then Pluto shoves his head under my hand, demanding pets. I rub his brow and indicate the kitchen with a head nod, feeling awkward. “You finished baking already?”
“I did.” She folds her hands in her lap, regarding me. “You want to talk? Because I don’t like this thing between us. We need to figure it out.”
I’m filled with a rush of gratitude that she’s far more blunt than me, that she won’t pussyfoot around the situation. Simone tackles things head on, and I love that about her. “We do need to talk. I’m…” The words clog in my throat, and I try again. “I’ve…I’ve been holding back from you.”
“No shit.”
“It’s…it’s a rather dangerous secret. A secret that could jeopardize your life as well as mine.” Even dancing around the topic aloud is making me anxious. No wonder Ruthie’s on edge all the time. This is my first time really discussing the truth of who I am with someone else and it’s scaring the shit out of me.
Simone’s eyes narrow as she regards me. “What kind of secret?”
“I’m…hiding out.”
She must notice my anxiety, because she pats the blankets on the bed, a quiet invitation to join her. I do, and realize just how wobbly my knees are. She takes my hand in hers and says nothing about how clammy my skin is. “We’re all hiding out here,” she says gently. “Remember? Humans aren’t welcome on this end of the universe. It’s not such a weird thing to hide out.”
I shake my head. “No, this is a different kind of hiding out. A worse kind of hiding out.”
Her expression is full of concern, her hand clasping mine tight. “Do you need money?”
“For what?” I’m not following.
“A bribe? Is someone blackmailing you?”
I shake my head. “No blackmail.”
She leans in. “Is it worse?”
“Worse?”
She leans in even closer, expression grave. “Say the word and I’ll help you with whatever you need. Just tell me the story we need to go with and I’ll be your alibi.” Simone’s expression is tight, focused. “There are certain plants you can grow over a grave that will disguise the smell, you know.”
I pull back in surprise. “There’s no body!”
“If there is, you can tell me. We can make it disappear.” She says the last word in a hushed whisper.
Sputtering, I shake my head again. “There’s no body, Simone. I—wait. You’d really help me hide a freaking body?”