But another part still wants to believe he’s the boy I’ve been through this with. The boy who held his breath and waited for permission to kiss me. Who didn’t leave me behind out there in the dust storm, but fought for my life like it was his own. Who held me like I was all that was keeping him afloat. Part of me still wants to reach out to him.
Except he’s refusing to make eye contact with me, staring straight ahead as we walk, jaw squared.
Do I want to say something to him because he’s the closest connection I have to the top of the tree right now? Is it my instinct for safety that drives that urge? Or is it because he’s Hunter?
‘So,’ I say softly, testing the waters.
His gaze slides sideways, though he doesn’t break his stride. For a moment, our eyes lock, before his gaze flicks ahead once more. He doesn’t reply, but he’s listening.
‘Remember at the start of all this, when we were on the bridge, we joked that we could claim this place? And you said we couldn’t, because technically I was staff, so the base wasn’t abandoned?’ I manage a feeble smile. ‘Guess you could have saved yourself a lot of trouble, planted the GravesUP flag right then and there.’
He closes his eyes for a moment, jaw clenched, but his expression doesn’t even flicker. He gives me nothing else. It’s like I took a jab at him, rather than trying for a weak joke.
My throat thickens, and for a moment there’s a dangerous ache behind my eyes. I swallow hard.
This is the reminder I need. Whatever my stupid heart wants to believe, Hunter’s not on my team. I have to watch my own back.
I’ve given him too much already – parts of myself I swore I’d keep safe from now on. I have to remember that I don’t belong in his life.
1 HOUR, 53 MINUTES REMAINING
The warm air of the greenhouse washes around me as we walk through the door, and it nearly brings tears to my eyes. Coming back here feels like stepping into a haven I’d lost. Plants trail down from their frames and burst from their pots, and the rich scent of damp dirt fills my nostrils. Fish glide silently, serenely around their pond. Something inside me releases, a little more at peace – the animal part of me wants to be around nature and knows that for a moment, it is.
It feels like a lifetime ago that Hunter and I were here, eating tomatoes and a stolen packet of cookies, planning wild schemes that we so nearly pulled off. Everything’s changed since then.
I walk over to the main control panels against the wall, hunting through the tools set down nearby until I find a crowbar. Digging it into one of the seams around the edge of the panel, I start wrenching the cover off.
Hunter makes his way over to the plants where he stashed his bag. I watch him sidelong as he pulls his cuff from the bag’s side pocket and discreetly slips it onto his wrist.
Nico and Grace part ways and start to explore. Each of them keeps me in sight, but a greenhouse is a treat nobody wants to miss on Mars.
I pull the cover free and set it aside, then crouch to look at the spaghetti tangle of wires I’ve revealed. I hate that I’m doing this – the idea of killing a place like this makes me ache – but if it’s the plants or me, I’m going to choose me.
Off to my right, Hunter stretches like a guy trying to be super casual, then comes sauntering over to join me in looking at the wires. He lifts one hand to cover his mouth and angles his body away from Nico before he talks.
Hunter is not good at stealth.
‘We need to talk,’ he murmurs.
‘Now you want to talk?’ I mutter, eyes on my work.
‘Cleo, please,’ he whispers. ‘I have a thousand apologies to make, let me start with one. We don’t have much time.’
I don’t say anything for a moment, yanking a wire free of its connector as I start to shut down the heating system.
My head and my heart are right back into the same battle they’ve been waging since his sister arrived. Since before that. I don’t want to talk to Hunter Graves. And also, I do, because my heart still doesn’t know who this boy is.
‘Just a minute,’ I mutter, and yank out another wire. Then I rise to my feet, turning so my back’s to Hunter.
‘You done?’ Nico calls from across the room.
‘Not even close,’ I call back. ‘But I can’t shut everything down at once, or a fail-safe kicks in. This is the greenhouse, it’s protected. Something goes wrong, you know how hard it is to convince the neighbors to hook you up with more seeds, fresh fish? I’ve done a few, now I need to wait a few minutes before I keep going.’ I mean, who knows? That could be true. Sounds good.
Nico’s silent a long moment, but he doesn’t know if I’m telling the truth, and I did yank some wires out, after all.
I let out a slow breath and drop my voice until it’s almost inaudible. There’s only one way to do this, and I know it. ‘Get in close,’ I murmur. ‘Touch me.’
‘What?’ Hunter’s reply is soft but startled.
