Page 29 of Stowaway to the Stars: A Duet
“Don’t talk down to me,” Darcy snapped back, squaring up to the large creature before her. “With proper rationing, we can work this out so we don’t starve. We HAVE THE MEANS of figuring this out! You just don’t want to.”
“You are a menace,” the Toxhocan growled.
“And don’t fucking forget it,” Darcy replied, stepping forward.
A-rec grabbed hold of her arm again- only this time much harder than before. He gave her a little shake. “Enough of this!”He growled. His gray eyes seemed to peer into her very soul. Darcy had never seen him so furious before.
“Fuck you!” Darcy yelled. She pulled her free arm back as far as it could go and let it snap forward, striking him directly in the abdomen with her fist. A-rec didn’t so much as flinch.
The world came crashing down at the pain that radiated through her hand and up to her wrist. “FUCK!” She screamed, cradling her arm. Okay, maybe that had been a stupid idea.
She whimpered and clutched her hand against her chest. “Fuck,” she said, quieter this time. “You broke my hand.”
“No,” A-rec said, all empathy gone from his voice. “YOU broke your hand. Acting like a damned fool.”
“Fuck you,” Darcy said again, but her heart was no longer in it. She had never broken anything before, and by God, it HURT.
“Take her to the medic,” Ee-rah sighed, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger as though he were developing a migraine. “Get her hand fixed and then take her to your bedchambers. I don’t have time to deal with this right now.” He grumbled something as he left the cafeteria.
“Darcy…” Stephenie whispered. She looked truly hurt at the actions of her friend. She didn’t bother to say anything else after that. She just shook her head and took off after Ee-rah.
All eyes were on Darcy and A-rec.
“Don’t touch me,” Darcy said as she was scooped up into A-rec’s arms. He cradled her against his chest as if she weighed nothing at all. “Put me down. I can take care of myself.”
“Shut up,” A-rec said, pushing through the staring crowd and leading her out of the cafeteria.
Chapter 6
Darcyhadn’t said a word since they left the cafeteria earlier. Once her hand had been fixed in the medic station, A-rec brought her to their shared dorm room. She was pretty sure he even locked them in at one point when she looked like she was going to bolt. Now he was just sitting at his computer desk, scrolling mindlessly through tabs. It was ridiculously human looking. You know, except for the gray skin and horns.
The silence that filled the room was thick, uncomfortable.
Darcy was aware her earlier behavior had been unacceptable… She couldn’t remember the last time she had acted that way. What was it about these guys that made her so crazy?
That wasn’t the only question that danced on the edge of her mind.
Stephenie had asked her before. Why had she chosen to stay here if she was just going to be so miserable the entire time?
She still didn’t have the answer for that one.
Sure, she could easily blame Stephenie and say she chose to stay because she felt the need to protect her best friend from these big ol’ guys…but she knew in her heart that simply wasn’t true. It was so untrue, in fact, that she knew if she TRIED to pull that card, it would just fall flat. If it wasn’t for Stephenie’s sake… then why DID she choose to stay? She had the perfectopportunity to return home, and she chose not to take it. Would she choose differently if given the chance to go back? She didn’t know.
She rolled on her side, facing away from A-rec.
Should she apologize? Part of her wanted to, but another part of her held on stubbornly. Was she sorry she threw a toddler sized fit and slammed a chair on the ground like a psycho? Yes. But WHY she had done it still stands. It wasn’t right to just bring these random women to a brand new planet and expect them to just deal with something so literally life changing. They deserved to have a choice, and she wasn’t going to back down on that.
She felt so…voiceless.
She could hear A-rec shuffling around behind her, heard the door to the shower room open and closed.
She rolled on her back and stared blankly up at the ceiling. Everyone was mad at her, and she’d be a fool to say she didn’t deserve their anger. Was there even a point in trying to mend her friendship with Stephenie right now? It wasn’t like she was going to give up her stance, and Stephenie certainly wouldn’t turn her back on Ee-rah… But damn, Stephenie was the only other human around, and it was awfully lonely in space.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize. Apologize for what exactly? Demanded to be heard in a room so intent on keeping her quiet? That wasn’t happening.
She supposed the real person who deserved an apology was A-rec. While her punch didn’t do HIM any damage, she had still hit him, and that wasn’t okay.
She slid off the bed and stretched. Her hand and wrist had been completely healed, but it was still a little stiff. She gave her wrist a twist a few times to work it out.
