“Hey.”
Darcy quickly tapped the table in front of her, and the screen disappeared. She turned in the too large chair to see that her best friend, Stephenie, had entered the library.
“Hey,” Darcy replied. They hadn’t spoken much since their fight the other night in the cafeteria. It had honestly been driving Darcy crazy to go so long without talking to the only human onboard. Of course, she had conversations with the other aliens, and she spoke to A-rec in their private chambers…but there was just something about speaking to another HUMAN. She had been terribly lonely during their fight.
“I’m sorry about everything,” Stephenie said. She wandered over and took a seat in the large chair beside Darcy’s. “It’s just… God, it’s been so stressful lately. Ee-rah has pretty much been MIA, and it’s been… Well, he was the reason I chose to stay here in the first place. I didn’t expect I’d be by myself in our chambers as often as I have been.”
Darcy raised her eyebrows at her best friend. “I know the feeling.” God, why was she like this? Why couldn’t she just…not be a bitch for a while? It’s like it was programmed into her, and as much as she wanted to be kind and understanding it always came out wrong or bitchy, and she ended up regretting it in the end. She couldn’t count the number of times that had gotten her into trouble in the past.
“I’m sorry,” Stephenie said again. She lay her forehead on the table in defeat. “It’s been…hard to adjust, I guess. I know you understand.”
“I really do,” Darcy said. She wasn’t expecting to hear that from Stephenie. Stephenie seemed to be adjusting so well compared to Darcy. Perhaps her best friend was suffering more than she let out. “I’ve missed you,” Darcy admitted.
“I’ve missed you, too.” Stephenie sniffled. She didn’t lift her head from its spot on the table. “I don’t think I told you everything that’s going on with Ee-rah.”
“What is it? Did he hurt you?” Darcy asked, anxiety rising in her throat. If that mother fucker laid a hand on Stephenie, she was going to kill him. Okay, maybe he was too big for her to take on herself, but she didn’t doubt she could talk A-rec into helping her.
“No,” Stephenie sniffled again. “It’s nothing like that… It’s just… When he found me, another Toxhocan had found me first. I don’t know his name or who he was. I’m pretty sure he was working with I-ya because when he found me, he was mad- like, really mad. He was running after me and…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Oh my god.” Darcy’s stomach dropped. “Did he…rape you?” After all, these aliens seemed to think they could just claim a woman as their Mate and she’d go along with it. When they got back to their planet, Darcy was going to liberate the Toxhocan women no matter who it pissed off.
“No!” Stephenie cried, finally lifting her head up. “Nothing like that. I think he was probably going to yell at me and put me back in the pod or something. I really don’t know. He was the first alien I’d seen, and I was kind of freaking out.”
“Go on…” Darcy replied impatiently.
“Anyway, Ee-rah found us and he… Well, he KILLED the other Toxhocan.” She looked like she was struggling to form words. “And that’s a big no-no where they come from. So… He’s in BIG trouble when we get back to their planet. I mean, maybe even bigger trouble than I-ya. I don’t know. No one will really tell me what’s going on about that, and I feel so out of the loop. Like, he’s my Mate! I should know what’s going on!”
Darcy didn’t know how to respond to that. She knew what SHE’D do in that situation, but for some reason she doubted Stephenie would react the same way. “Have you tried throwing stuff around?” Darcy asked.
Stephenie smiled naughtily at her best friend. “No.”
Darcy was only partially joking when she suggested it. “You know, I bet these guys would be so shocked to see a human woman throwing shit around, they’d probably just give you what you wanted… Actually, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea now that I think about it.”
Stephenie giggled. “Can you imagine the looks on their faces if I just started throwing the biggest tantrum known to man?”
“Definitely not something that would work on Earth,” Darcy replied. “But here? Fuck it. It’s worth a shot.” Her lips rose into a wicked smile. “They wouldn’t even know what hit them.”
“Oh, but I’d feel so awful. I mean, seriously? A FIT? Like a two year old?”
Darcy shrugged. “Might as well.”
“You are a horrible influence.” Stephenie giggled again. “But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t considering it.”
“Do IT!” Darcy taunted. “I bet you won’t!”
Stephenie rolled her eyes and stood up. “It’s about dinner time. Do you want to come to the cafeteria with me? I’m kind of starving.”
Darcy let out a groan and stood. “More dessert? Yum.”
“You are literally the only person I know who would complain about that,” Stephenie said, wrapping her elbow with her best friend’s.
“What can I say? I’m a freak, I guess.”
As they were leaving the empty library, Darcy could have sworn she saw a large shadow darting away, just out of sight.
Chapter 5
Thecafeteria was surprisingly busy when they entered. It seemed as if all of the inhabitants of the ship were there, sitting around a table in the middle.
