“Tell Sophia hello and I miss her and that I’m okay.”
The soldier cleared his throat.
“What?” I snapped. “I’m not telling them where I am just that I’m all right.”
His eyebrows rose. “Careful.”
I huffed and rolled my eyes but chose to focus on my friend. “I’ll call you next week, okay? Same time.”
“I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” he said. “I love you, Ara. Don’t forget that.”
My throat tightened. “I love you, Trevor. Always.”
“Time’s up,” the soldier barked, then before I could say goodbye, ended the conversation.
I stepped back, more heartbroken than ever, and wiped the tears from my eyes. The soldier had already shifted his attention to the next person in line, a girl who didn’t look much older than eighteen, which was fine with me. I didn’t want to talk to him again, anyway.
I turned away from the desk, ready to head to my room so I could wallow in self-pity, but froze at the sight of Ramirez standing only a few feet away. He was staring at me, a curious expression on his face and his eyebrows raised. What he was thinking, I didn’t have a clue, but seeing him had me changing my mind about wanting to be alone. As dangerous as it was to spend time with him, I really needed a distraction right now.
Tilting my head to indicate he should follow, I moved away from the stairs and deeper into the hotel. After a few steps, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Ramirez was behind me. I had to bite back a smile when I spotted him only five feet back. He winked, which made me flush like a teenager, and I looked away. Yes, this was definitely a very bad idea.
We’d been outside the first time we talked, and no one had disturbed us, so I headed that way. Like before, someone was playing the piano when we reached the music room, but I barely registered the music as I made my way toward the same door I’d followed Marc through the other day.
The afternoon was cool and sunny, and the air clean and crisp. I’d been so busy the last couple days trying to create a routine so I didn’t go crazy that I’d barely been outside, but now wondered why. It was so pretty here, and being mid-September, the weather was nice, which wouldn’t last. We’d been told the winters here could be brutal.
The thud of footsteps pulled my attention from themountains, and when I turned, Marc was heading my way.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, grinning.
I snorted out a laugh. “What century do you think this is?”
“I know what century it is. I’m just an old soul,” he replied with a smirk, then sobered after only a second. “So, you got to call home.”
“I did.” I exhaled and slumped against the porch railing. “Finally.”
“That’s good.” Marc looked past me, trying to feign nonchalance but not really pulling it off. “Who’d you call? A brother?”
Clearly, he’d overheard my conversation, had heard me tell Trevor I loved him, and was wondering who’d I’d been talking to. That he wanted to know had a sliver of satisfaction shooting through me.
“A friend,” I replied. “My best friend, actually.”
“Oh.” Marc licked his lips, then said, “Is he the only one you have back there? What about family? Someone else?”
“No.” I shrugged to let him know it didn’t matter. “I’m alone in the world except for Trevor.”
“Oh,” Marc said. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. My dad died during RNAB-55 and my mom in 2062 during the influenza outbreak, so it’s been that way for a while.” I paused then asked, “What about you?”
“My mom’s still hanging on,” he said, “but my dad died when I was a baby.” He copied my shrug. “That’s how most people are these days, though, right?”
“Pretty much.”
I crossed my arms when a cool breeze swept across the veranda, hugging myself as I stared at the mountains. They were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen, which was understandable since I’d never traveled, but it didn’t stop me from missing home. It was worse now that I’d spoken to Trevor. I hadn’t expected that, but maybe I should have.
Marc cleared his throat. “We probably shouldn’t make a habit of this.”
I looked away from the mountains, my eyebrows raised, and even though he was right, said, “You’re the one who keeps staring at me.”
