Page 51 of Bound By Stars
Pressure builds inside my skull, and I wince.
Footsteps pound down the hallway.
“Say something, Wes.”
“I’m fine.” My voice is hoarse. I push his hand away and open my eyes. I try to sit up, but I’m too exhausted. “What are you doing here?”
Someone is calling for help outside my door.
“I got ILSA’s message and came as fast as I could.” Jupiter’s face is almost gray, eyes wide. He cradles me in one trembling arm, pulling me closer against his chest.
I can feel his thumping heartbeat. Too fast.
“I thought…” He scans me like he’s ILSA searching for damage. Then his eyes go distant. His free hand shakes, hovering over my stomach.
I weave my fingers into his, holding it steady.
Is he really this worried aboutme? An Earther. Just barely a friend.
When I press my other palm over his heart, he finally sees me again. “Everything is okay. We’re okay.”
He stares back and then swallows hard. “Sorry. Yes. Let’s get you to the med wing.”
With his help, I get to my feet. “ILSA already—”
“Please don’t fight me on this, Weslie.” There’s something more than worry in his expression. Like he just watched someone die. He looks down at our hands still clasped between us, the only barrier between our bodies. “Please.”
My heart swells, and I surprise myself by nodding.
I don’t pull away, mesmerized. How does he survive every day being so open, so vulnerable all the time?
My eyes flick from his thick lashes to his mouth.
“Weslie! Are you okay? What’s going on? What’s the emerg…” Asha whips around the open door and into my room, freezing when she sees us. Her wide eyes narrow and her concerned frown turns up at the edges. “Did ILSA really wake me up to witness you two stare longingly into each other’s eyes? I mean, I assumed it would happen eventually, but I would have been happy to hear all the details afterward.”
“The emergency was dire,” ILSA announces. “Weslie and Jupiter have each experienced a boost of adrenaline and their biological response seems to be heightened arou—”
“Thanks, ILSA!” I cut her off, voice softening as I continue. “Really, I mean it. You saved me. Thank you.”
Expressions shuffle across her face screen before she settles on a single, simple heart icon.
Tar appears suddenly, almost slamming into his sister. His eyes shift from me to Jupiter to Asha. “What happened?”
Jupiter steps away, rubbing his neck. “The oxygen to her unit was cut, and the door was sealed. The whole block was compromised.”
I’m suddenly very aware that I’m only wearing my tiny pajama shorts and an oversize T-shirt that hangs past them. I cross my arms over my chest.
“How is that possible?” Asha puts a hand over her heart, rushing to my side, shrugging off her silky pink robe and wrapping it around my shoulders. “Was it a malfunction or did someone shut it down?”
In the hall, a porter holding an emergency O2pack stands aside as two people in bathrobes pass the doorway, arm in arm.
Jupiter shrugs. “I don’t know, but the crew’s emergency override keys worked on everyone else’s doors in her block. It took three times as long to get her out.”
“Figures I would end up with the faulty door.” I shake my head. Maybe there’s more to it, maybe it wasn’t a matter of chance at all, but I can’t think about that right now.
Tar twists his mouth, exchanging a pointed look with Jupiter.
“Okay, enough. If I know Weslie—and we’re basically best friends now, so I absolutely do—she needs to get dressed and have a big breakfast. I’ll meet you in the dining hall, Wes.” Asha pushes Tar through the door and leans back through the opening. She glances at Jupe and then back to me, widening her eyes. “Details.”
