Page 101 of Aviatrix

“Oh, so now you’re taking the word of a guy who thinks aliens abducted him over your own fiancé?”

“We’re not engaged anymore,” I remind him. “Tell your daughter.”

I brush past him, but his hand catches my elbow.

I wrench my arm free. Step back. Let the air cool the skin he touched.

“Don’t touch me.”

“I’m not the enemy, Kin.”

I swallow. “Maybe not. But you’re not my friend either.”

“I’m sorry I accused you of sleeping with Eli,” he says, quieter now. “I… the thought of him touching you…” He stops. “It makes me sick.”

Anger boils in my chest. “At least you didn’t walk in on it.”

“I said I was sorry.”

“You want to know the worst part?” I ask, meeting his eyes, those same blue eyes that once made me feel safe. “You didn’t even have the decency to stay out of my bed. You kept sleeping with me. While you were with her.”

“I…”

“You made a choice,” I say, cold and final. “You stepped outside of our relationship. And when you did, you gave me permission to sleep with Eli. With anyone. We are done, Lark. Tell your daughter.”

I spin on my heel and walk out. I may have won that argument, but it doesn’t change what I lost. Doesn’t change that some part of me is still grieving a life I thought was mine.

As expected, Eli’s waiting in the hall, smirking. “That sounded intense.”

“Shut up,” I groan, stopping in front of him.

“Hey.” He straightens, reaching up to cradle my cheek in his hand. “If you want to piss off the Colonel… you know I’m yours, Quay.”

I smile, grateful for the levity. “I’ll consider it.”

“Consider it fast.” He grabs my hand and tugs me down the hallway. “I leave in a few hours.”

I slow. “What? Why?”

His jaw ticks. “Classified. I’ll only be gone a few days.”

My heart clenches. For a second, I consider it. Dragging him to my room, letting myself fall into something that feels good. But it would just hurt. Make everything worse. When he leaves, a bigger piece of me will leave with him. And I can’t survive that right now.

“Say something, Quay.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

I can’t say what I want to.

Don’t leave.

TWENTY-THREE

I’M A GROWN-ASS WOMAN

I watch Eli run through his pre-flight inspection, methodical as ever, before he takes off on whatever classified mission the General’s assigned him.

If it even is a mission.