If I obey, then it is more than my life at stake.
I wish we had made a plan…something other than rising up and refusing to work until there are changes. For that to work, enough people need to be with us, and most people are afraid. This is the only planet they have ever known, and we don’t know how to live here.
There’s a soft tap on my door and I jump up to answer it, knowing it could only be Patrick. That doesn’t stop me from hesitating as I touch the door handle. What if it’s someone else? I don’t want to talk to anyone else and pretend that everything is all right.
I draw in a breath and yank open the door. It is Patrick. Relief sweeps through me, and I step forward, falling into his arms.
I’ve been torn between angry and devastated ever since I got the news. And now I’m just exhausted. I don’t know how to fix this. Or if it can even be fixed.
He holds me close and walks me back inside, shutting the door softly.
“It’s not fair. They can’t do this.” Or at least I wish they couldn’t. But they can. And they are.
“Shhh. We’ll figure something out.”
“What? What can we do?" I want to overthrow them. But my disrupted life is not worth the turmoil it will create in everyone else’s. A revolution for revolution's sake will achieve nothing worthwhile.
“I don’t know yet, but we will do something.”
I pull away, shaking my head. “There’s nothing I can do."
He holds my hands. “That’s not true. You know everything. Right now, you are the most dangerous person in the colony."
I laugh and pull my hands away. "I’m not dangerous."
“I’m serious, Chloe. You know where the alien is, and everything he’s told you. I’m sure there are things you haven’t told the people in charge about him, and they probably suspect as much.”
He knows me a little too well. “Of course, I wasn’t going to tell the leaders everything.”
I haven’t told Patrick everything either, and we don’t have any secrets.
He considers me for several seconds. “How much do you like this alien?”
“Enough that I don’t like the distance that is formed between us.”
“And why is there a distance?”
I sigh. “Because he is stuck in the cell. He needs to be useful and to be around people. His kind isn’t used to being alone… And once he has sex, he is bound the woman which kind of gets in the way because he can’t be my mate while he’s in the cell.”
“Do you want his as your mate?”
“It’s safe to imagine it while he’s in the cell, isn’t it? I enjoy talking to him and spending time with him. And he enjoys learning, and he especially likes the photos of things I look at down the microscope, so whenever I run tests on him, blood samples and such, I share the results.”
“You do know back on Earth some women dated and married guys who were doing life sentences, right? It was a thing.”
I stare at him. “Tiril isn’t doing a life sentence.”
“Isn’t he? They will never release him. How long until they kill him?”
“How long until they kill me for knowing too much?” That is the fear I don’t like to talk about. “Or are they hoping that having a baby will make me afraid of stepping out of line?” We haven’t even discussed the whole baby thing. “Are you okay with the baby?”
“I played the part of excited father to be.” He takes my hands. “I am happy to be the father of your children…even though this is not how I wanted it to be.”
“Same. And as much as I love you, I really do want a man for myself.”
Patrick gives a dark laugh and kisses me on the forehead. “Don’t we all.”
“If we find the perfect guy, we can share him.” It’s what we always say, but it's always been a joke.
