Page 127 of Bound By Stars
I wipe my face with the front of my hospital gown.
“Even though she never listens to her infallible creation in dangerous situations.”
The doctor opens and shuts a drawer, crosses the room, and lays a stack of clothes on the bed beside me. Not mine, but better than the sack I’m in now. “I believe you have someone waiting to see you. Do you feel up for company?”
Jupiter. I nod.
I must look like a disaster. I brush my fingers through my tangled curls as best I can.
“I’ll let him know it’s okay to come in.” She tucks the tablet under her arm and walks out the door.
My legs, weak from nearly two weeks of disuse, wobble as I pull on the white cotton pants. Panting from effort, I reach behind my back, grasping the ties on my hospital gown. I get the matching shirt over my head, pull my hair out of the collar, and barely make it back under the blanket. The smallest effort has wrecked me. My eyelids fall closed.
Thud, thud, thud.
I sit up, watching the twisting doorknob. “ILSA, I’m so grateful you saved me, and I love you, but please power down.”
A tall man about my mom’s age steps into the room.
My heart sinks. Maybe Jupiter is still too angry to see me after I forced him into that escape pod. The last time we saw each other I was chasing after—I swallow the sob rising in my throat, the sharp pain filling my chest—Reve.
The man’s charcoal-gray suit jacket hangs open as he enters. He keeps one hand in his pocket as he shuts the door behind him. I don’t see a badge or emblem. He doesn’t look like an officer. But why else would this stranger be in my hospital room?
“Hello, Weslie.” His voice is clipped and formal. He positions himself, straight backed, at the foot of my bed like he’s assessing me.
I glance down at the restraints lying on either side of me in the sheets. “I didn’t have anything to do with the attack.”
“I know. The ship came into communication range just before it exploded. The station watched the live feed before it went down. You were quite a hero. Saving two heirs and going back for the porter.”
Reve. I close my eyes and hear him in my mind.I love you, Wes.Behind my eyelids, he’s swallowed by flames again. I catch a sob in my throat and exhale slowly.
“So can I go, then?”
The man tilts his head. “Where? You’re pretty far from home.”
“I’ll figure it out.” My plan was to find my dad, but that’s off the table. Jupiter’s mom said I had compensation from the contest. I’ll be fine on my own. I just have to get out of this room.
He clears his throat. “Maybe I can be of assistance?”
“I’m all good, but thanks.”
He rests his hand on the footboard, squinting and staring into my face.
I feel exposed. Whoever this guy is, I’d really like him to leave. “Well, I’m gonna—”
“You have Nova’s eyes.” His voice is quieter, but not softer. The same stilted tone.
“You know my mom?”
“Since we were born. Our families were close throughout our childhood. But we rarely got along. Your mom was always looking for a fight, but I kind of liked that about her.”
“Doesn’t sound like my mom.” It sounds like me.
“Seventeen years can change us, I guess.” He takes a breath, slipping his other hand into his pocket and examining the ceiling. “When we left for our Earth Experience Mission, we decided to give it a go, but we broke up before the ship even reached Earth.”
I pull my knees and the blanket up to my chest.
“Nova disappeared before we all headed back to Mars. No one ever heard from her again.” He lowers himself into the chair the doctor left at the end of the bed.
