Kenji nods at that, then counts on his fingers: “Could’ve pushed her into the ocean; could’ve stabbed her in the throat; could’venever accepted help from the enemy in the first place—”
“I didn’t have enough evidence to kill her,” I nearly shout. “She wasn’t armed; she’d clearly suffered abuse; she might’ve had a legitimate case for seeking asylum. Besides, what kind of assassin faints in the middle of a mission?”
“A smart one,” says Kenji, grabbing the backpack. He starts searching through it. “Why are there so many wet wipes in here? Where are those little crackers that look like fish?”
“At least he came home,” Adam says, coming to my defense. (“Check the side pocket,” he says to Kenji.) “No one’s ever gone into the Ark and come home,right? That’s worth something.”
“Objection,” says Kenji. “That’s like if a kid sets the house on fire for fun, burns it to the ground for fun, but manages to get out alive. We’re happy the child is alive but we’re still angry with the child.”
“I amnota child,” I say darkly.
Kenji turns to look at me. “You are a child. You proved that you were a child when you went on an unauthorized recon mission and came home seeking medical attention for the mercenary who killed you. Seriously. James.I love you.I’d die for you. I’d cut off my arm for you right now if you needed it. But what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Listen, I know I messed up—I realize now that I shouldn’t have brought her back here—it’s just—I don’t know, there’s something different about her. I really think there’s something different about her and if you give me some time to figure it out, I think she could be a really important resource for us—”
Kenji rolls his eyes so hard it’s practically a sentence.
“What?” I demand. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“No, you’re right,” says Winston, snaking the bag out of Kenji’s hands. “We’ve all seen the girl, and there’s definitely something different about her.” He meets my eyes. “She’s beautiful. Really beautiful. Ethereal, looks-like-a-painting kind of beautiful—”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh shit,” says Winston, reaching into the bag. He beams at Adam.“You got the good juice boxes this time.”
“Are there bad juice boxes?” Kenji grabs the bag back from Winston. “I love all juice boxes equally.”
“Look—that’s not what I meant—”
“Alia did a grocery run yesterday,” says Adam, ignoring me. “I told her you like the fruit punch flavor—”
“Hey,” I say, frustrated. No one is looking at me. No one is listening to me. God, this is exactly the kind of garbage that pushed me off the edge to begin with.
No one takes me seriously.
“Yes, okay, she’s beautiful,” I say, admitting this on an exhale. “She’s really beautiful. But that’s not why I brought her back here. I’m not that stupid—”
“Bro.” Kenji pops the straw into his juice box. “Literally no one believes that.”
“It’s true!”
Kenji shrugs. “Whatever you say, little man.” He’s smiling now, his eyes alive with barely suppressed laughter. “Either way, Warner is going tofuckyou up.”
“But I didn’t—”
Adam glances at his watch. “Hey, I’ve gotta pick up Roman soon. Do you think he’s running late?”
“Warner’s never late,” the rest of us say together.
Just then, the door opens.
James
Chapter 19
“What are you three doing here?” Warner takes one step into the room before coming to an abrupt stop.
The sight of him is so familiar it startles me; I haven’t really seen him in days, and sometimes I forget how much we look alike. It’s like staring into the wrong mirror. Our eyes are different colors and his hair is pure gold where mine is more of a bronzed mess, but there’s no mistaking our DNA. When I look at him, I see home.
