“You wouldn’t have a choice,” Colby said, voicing the concerns that Sparx had but managed to push to the recesses of his mind. “Mating is something we can’t control. Not even when the healers tried were they able to do it. They couldn’t even slow it down.”
“It won’t happen to me,” he argued stubbornly, shutting the possibility down before it could distract him further. “I won’t let it. I have no desire for my heart to reside outside of my chest.”
Chapter Four
“I really am sorry,” Lucy said again. This time, she sniffed, trying to keep the tears at bay that welled up and threatened to spill over. Not only did she hate crying, she was not prepared to for what came with it. She highly doubted the Phaetons manning the shuttle had tissues in their pockets if she started blubbering.
“It’s okay,” Rue said with a wince, leaning down to rub the foot that Lucy had accidentally stepped on when getting into her own seat.
The women on the other side of the shuttle watched with pity in their eyes, making Lucy feel even worse for the kerfuffle. It seemed as though her bad luck and poor coordination had followed her straight into space, no matter how much she’d hoped to leave them behind.
“No, it’s not,” Tabitha snapped from her seat on Lucy’s left. “Every time you’re around one of us, someone gets hurt. First, it was Jessie’s hand, and then Camille’s knee. Now it’s Rue’s foot. And isn’t that the same leg you injured yesterday?”
Lucy pulled farther and farther back at each word Tabitha shot her way. The tally of her accidentally injured friends hit her like an arrow straight to the heart.
“For someone that hasn’t been hurt at all, you sure have a lot to say,” Jessie drawled, her eyes narrowed on Tabitha where she continued to glare at Lucy. Popping her gum, she eyed her for a moment before giving Lucy a nod. “Want to trade seats, Lucy?”
“No, thank you. I appreciate it though,” she said, giving her new ally a grateful smile.
“Don’t worry about it, hon.” Jessie winked at her before going back to her book.
“It really is okay,” Rue whispered, leaning over a bit to talk. “I know it was an accident.”
“The problem is I seem to have an awful lot of accidents,” Lucy said with a frown. “Like…a lot a lot.”
“I know, Goose.” Rue rolled her eyes. “We’ve been best friends since we were seven. I know everything about you.”
Lucy snorted. “Not everything.”
“Oh really?” Rue teased, one eyebrow lifting. “I know eh-va-re-thing, bitch. Unless there’s something you haven’t told me?”
Lucy thought for a moment, trying to think of any small tidbit she may not have blabbed about to her sister-from-another-mister. This was the problem you ran into when your best friend was privy to your entire life down to the details of your appointment for a recurring UTI.
“Okay, so you know me inside and out,” she groused with a frown. “All that means is that you know things go to shit whenever I’m around. You know about the time I accidentally set the church on fire—”
“It was old anyways,” Rue interrupted. “Old wood burns fast. That’s a scientific fact.”
“—to the time my flip-flop got caught on the gas pedal and I mowed down an entire row of mailboxes, plus the neighborhood welcomes sign they’d just installed.” Lucy waited to see how Rue spun that particular clusterfuck.
“Those were bum flops. Seriously. It could have happened to anyone. And that sign was fucking ugly. It deserved to be taken out,” her bestie argued, trying her hardest to do what friends did.
Cheer her up.
Regardless of how much pain Rue was in, Lucy could see she was trying to play it off. Like it was nothing, and she shouldn’t feel guilty. It was a super sweet gesture, one that Lucy appreciated with her entire heart. Especially considering it was something she tended to do—a lot.
That was the problem.
“I’d hoped this would be a fresh start.”
Rue sat back in her seat and pursed her lips, obviously thinking before she responded to Lucy’s whisper.
“A start where Lucy Goosey wouldn’t exist anymore.” That sad statement was even quieter than the first.
“I like Lucy Goosey,” her friend said out of the side of her mouth. Quiet, keeping the secret Lucy didn’t want shared with the world on the down-low. “No, scratch that. I love her. Yeah she’s a little klutzy and goofy, but she’s really amazing and also my best friend.”
Lucy winced at first, hearing Rue repeat the nickname she’d grown to hate over the years. What had started as a sweet endearment that her mom had used had morphed into a childhood taunt that left lasting scars. Not only was she clumsy as all get out, things also managed to fall apart whenever she was in the mix.
“Goose,” Rue said, calling her back from where her mind had drifted. “C’mon. Do you think I would have followed just anyone to space?”
“No,” she admitted, reaching over to link hands with Rue. “I still can’t believe you did it either. Add the fact that it was your suggestion, and I’ll admit, I almost had a stroke from the shock. I mean, I’ve been talking about volunteering since the Phaetons showed up, but you never talked about it before a few weeks ago. Part of me thinks you’re going to change your mind.”
“Never,” Rue insisted, not quite meeting her eye. “I guess listening to you all this time wore me down. You know…true love yada, yada, yada.”
“Could it also possibly be linked to the fact that our place was robbed and we lost everything we owned?” Lucy asked sarcastically, acknowledging what was the actual truth of their predicament. They were two gals with literally no pot to piss in. The only
