Page 100 of Stardusted
But as the doubts rose, I remembered the distress he’d shown at Oasis when I’d seen his real form. That had looked real enough. And so did the regret in his eyes now, as he watched my emotions play out on my face.
Like before, I tried to compare this version of him—the true version—with the one I knew. His calm, steady presence behind the bar. That polite, dimpled smile. He charmed old ladies as easily as he breathed. Then there was the way he’d helped me that night he’d found me run off the road. His quiet concern and his competence. Hell, he’d even opened my car door for me and waited to make sure I got inside my apartment.
Like a good guy. A good alien. A good, alien guy.
I knew he’d hidden his true self, but if that’dallbeen acting, he deserved an intergalactic Oscar. Beyond the whole shiny-skin-and-murderybot-killer thing, he’d really passed as just another nice Midwestern guy. He served drinks. Drove an SUV. Had a butt that looked like it’d been engineered for denim.
So then…whatwasreal?
It had to be somewhere in the middle.
Was I looking at the real Sky? This tense, stressed-out version with a day-old beard and worry shining in his too-blue eyes? The mysterious alien visitor with the weight of the world on his shoulders who was pacing my living room and pleading with me to let him protect me?
That fluttery feeling was back, coupled with curiosity that itched like a rash I shouldn’t scratch. I shook both off. I couldn’t afford to wonder about him. About his past. About his species. About any parts of his…anatomy. Butt or otherwise.
This was my life. Not his mission.
“No,” I said, tightening my arms across my chest. “I’m not skipping midterms. There must be another option that doesn’t involve messing up my future.”
“Hard to have a future if you’re dead,” he muttered, clenching his teeth.
The retort hit home hard enough I flinched. When I gaped at him in dismay, he winced and hung his head.
“Sorry. That was uncalled for.” He inhaled deeply and seemed to gather himself before raising his face and trying again. This time with less vehemence. “But even if I’m wrong and the Enilcan’ttrack you directly, the last place the halix was seen was the university. You can bet they’ll be watching. There are probably more Enil on their way here already. That one in the lab was just…one. Of many.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth before fixing me with a resigned look. “I’m telling you the truth. It isn’tsafe.”
I tried not to focus on the idea of an army of angry mechanical creatures from outer space and instead on the factthisparticular alien was arguing against my autonomy. I wasn’t stupid. I understood the stakes. But surely…surely there was a compromise here. If he could track the Enil, he could keep an eye out. That meant I shouldn’t have to become a paranoid shut-in like those people I’d read about on the internet.
I squared my shoulders. “I appreciate that you’re trying to keep my brain matter intact, but Sky, I can’t just hole up in my apartment indefinitely or until this invasion is done or whatever.”
“It’s not indefinite.” He swiped a hand through his hair, gritting out, “And it’s not an invasion.”
“Potatoes, potahtoes,” I muttered, brushing off the flat stare he angled my way.
I still had a thousand unanswered questions, but my mind felt foggy. Probably because of all the new info I’d been cramming into it. The truth was so much more complicated than I could’ve anticipated.
But that didn’t mean I was about to blindly follow orders from some overprotective alien with a savior complex. I shook my head again. “No, Sky. I can’t.”
Challenge glinted in his eyes, a flash of stubbornness that sent equal parts apprehension and exhilaration zipping up my spine. I held his gaze, though. I was proud of the fact I didn’t waver.
An impasse. A good, old-fashioned standoff—except instead of the Wild West, we were in a sci-fi thriller.
A chill ghosted down the back of my neck. What happened if we couldn’t come to an agreement? Would he stop me? Would hemakeme stay? Would he steal me away inside his flying saucer?
A lump lodged itself in my throat, but something, my trusty gut instincts maybe, told me…no. He wouldn’t. After all, why bother trying to reason with me or explain any of this? If he was going to abduct me, that spaceship would’ve already sailed.
Maybe that was against his Creed, too, abducting humans.
Sniffing, I looked away. Another bright flash of blue lightning snuck through my blinds, evidence the fall storm was still going strong. Crazy weather for a crazy night.
And itwascrazy. Insane. This whole thing.
This was what I got for not letting it go. For going after Professor Stern. For poking the UFO-shaped bear. Now I had acryptic alien burn mark, an agitated extraterrestrial in my living room, and killer robot stalkers.
God, what a week.
When I turned back to Sky again, something in him had shifted. That tense frustration had drained from his expression. He gave a long-suffering sigh and squinted at me. “Okay. Fine. If you’re insisting on still going to class, then I’m going with you.”
“You’re…what?” I blinked at him. “You can’t justgowith me to class. That’s not how college works. There’s noTake Your Alien to SchoolDay!”
