There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane

Author:Melanie McFarlane [McFarlane, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teen, young adult, science fiction, exploration, discovery, action, adventure, survival
ISBN: 9781944816353
Publisher: Month9Books
Published: 2016-04-04T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Things are very different between Jak and me on the ride home. I’ve lost all patience with his “grumpy guy” act. I’m not sure if he’s still waiting for me to return his “I love you” or if he’s mad with how things played out at the Hall of Records. Either way, I don’t blame him, but I’d like to clear the air before we get back to the Axis.

“Can we talk?” I break the silence. “You know, like we used to?”

“Things aren’t like they used to be, Nat,” Jak states through clenched teeth.

“We haven’t been here that long,” I remind him. “It’s only been a few weeks since things started to change.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, I do. And frankly, if you really cared about me, then you would talk to me. Instead, you keep pressuring me for a relationship with you, or else I get nothing. How is that even fair? I haven’t had a moment’s time to be able to get used to all the changes.”

“It’s hard for me, too,” he squabbles. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to tell you how I felt? Obviously not. You had no idea I could exist as anything other than a friend. This has been going on much longer than a few weeks for me. It’s been years.”

“That’s not my fault!”

He slams on the brakes in front of the Axis, kicks open his door, and flings mine open. I storm out of the car, all the way to the elevator, half-surprised he’s still following me. Inside the elevator I tear into him again. “Think about what you’re saying. It’s selfish. You get to go home every night, back to the world you’ve always known, while I have to live with a bunch of strangers.”

“You should be happier here,” he says. “Everyone knows how much you hated it at your grandparents.”

I stumble over my words. “It’s not about whether I liked it there or not. Here, everyone knows me as the daughter of the Greyes scientists, and even if I could go back home, Grandmother would never let me. She hates me now. You saw them take Grandfather. Do you have any idea what happened to him down there?”

“Yes.” Jak sighs, leaning his head against the back of the elevator. “Yes, I do, Nat. I’ve kept very close tabs on your grandfather since I got here. Who do you think petitioned the Director to have him released?”

“You did that?” My mouth drops open.

He nods. “I did it all for you, Nat. I was also the one who recommended you for the open spot in the Expedition Division. I thought maybe you could finally feel connected your parents again, and work with the same people they did.”

“I don’t know what to say. I had no idea.”

“Like you, I have had to deal with a lot of change as well. I have been working every waking moment to impress the Director and the Delegates. In the middle of all of that, I still did everything I could to make your life easier.

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