Chapter 7
Darcy stared at the ceiling tiles above her, unable to sleep in the dark room.
A-rec’s arm rested around her waist, holding her close against him.
She had intended to fall asleep alongside him, but it never happened.
Hours had passed with him snoring peacefully at her side.
She willed herself to GO TO SLEEP. She closed her eyes, tried daydreaming inside her head, even tried counting sheep, but nothing came of it. She was still wide awake and very sore.
She sighed and carefully removed his arm from around her so that she could sit up. The floor was cool on the bare skin of her feet. When it was clear A-rec was not going to be waking up with her, she stood and began pacing the room.
This was not right. None of this was right. And no one was listening to her.
A-rec, God bless his sweet soul, was kind and understanding, but he was stupid when it came to human women. Well, stupid when it came to their THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS. He was pretty smart when it came to their sexual anatomy, she had to admit.
She glanced between him and the door. This was stupid. An impulsive move that could get her, and by default, A-rec into a lot of trouble. She should lie back in bed and force herself to go to sleep. She’d be thankful she did in the morning. This was mad, insane even. What good could this bring?
Fuck it. If no one was going to listen to her, she’d do it herself.
She grabbed the giant bathrobe that hung on a hook near the bathroom doorway. It belonged to A-rec, so it fell down passed her feet and drug along the floor. Whatever. It was better than doing this naked, and she did not feel like getting dressed right now.
The door to their dorm room opened with a whir, and she quickly glanced back at the bed to make sure it hadn’t woken A-rec. It was only when he let out a loud snore that Darcy felt it was safe to continue.
The hallway was empty. Of course it was.
It was in the middle of the sleeping hours.
While there was no night and day here like there was on planet Earth (on HOME), there were still assigned hours to sleep and be awake.
Actually, there were assigned hours for everything.
It felt so…strange to not live by the sun.
Darcy hadn’t realized how much her body relied on it for important signals and cues until it was gone.
Everything was so different here. Not just the schedules… but the air itself tasted different, sterile. And the temperature never changed. There was no wind. It was like being in a box, in a cage… And in a way, she kind of was.
She hugged the robe tightly around her, carrying it carefully in one hand like a gown, so she wouldn’t trip over her own feet.
Knowing her luck, she’d trip and hit a wall or something and trigger some crazy ass alarm, and everyone would come running.
That was the exact opposite of what she needed right now.
The hallway was silent, but not entirely.
All around her was the strange vibrating sound of the ship’s engines.
She could not only hear it, but feel it on her feet…
She supposed it was easier to get used to, or perhaps ignore, when there was one person around.
There was no one around, and it seemed like she was even farther away from Earth than ever before.
Her pace slowed until it came to a stop altogether. Everywhere she looked, this way and that, was…chrome walls. Chrome walls, white tile like ceiling curved in a dome like shape above her head, metal flooring beneath her feet. Fuck. Okay, she needed to calm down before she had a panic attack.
Darcy had never been claustrophobic, but now..? There was no sun… There was no moon… There was no AIR.
She couldn’t fucking breathe.
She carefully lowered herself to the floor and pulled her knees up against her chest. She needed to get a hold of herself. No air? That was ridiculous. Of course, there was air on the ship! How else could she have survived this long without it?
She wished she could talk to Stephenie.
She bit her lower lip to hold back a sob.
This was so stupid. How could she have been so damned stupid?
Stephenie was perfectly happy without Darcy now that she had her new Mate.
Why had Darcy chosen to stay here? There was no reason!
And now she was miserable and alone and no one would listen to her, and there was NO FUCKING SUN!
A-rec hated her, and she fucking deserved his hate. God, she deserved it. She had fucked that guy over in more ways than one. He may pretend like he didn’t hate her, but he did. No one wanted her here! Why did she stay? WHY?
She buried her face in her knees. She could just imagine what she would look like if someone happened to be walking by and saw her, alone, curled up in herself, and crying like a baby.
This, paired with her little stunt earlier and she was sure they would think she was insane.
Hell, maybe she WAS insane… Was there such a thing as an alien mental hospital? Because they would surely admit her.
This was no way to live.
SHE may have made the wrong choice, but she still had a CHOICE, damn it!
She lifted her face from her knees and stared blankly ahead.
There was no debate. It needed to be done.
She rose to her feet on unsteady legs and took a deep, steadying breath.
She knew what she needed to do.
Delete
He was kept in isolation. Only one guard stood outside his door, holding an alien weapon in his hands.
Darcy took a moment to ready herself. She didn’t know how this was going to go, but she hoped that maybe she could get in to speak with him, even if just for a moment.
“What are you doing here, human?”
Darcy smirked at the orange alien glaring down at her.
It was the same one that had argued with her in the cafeteria earlier…
At least she thought so. She had trouble distinguishing who was who around here.
How could she? They all looked the same to her: horns, tusks, tails.
Only their colors were different, and sometimes there were two of the same.
“What? A girl can’t come say hi to the guy that kidnapped her?” She asked tauntingly, shooting the orange guy a smile.
“No.”
“But… Well, can’t I at least talk to him?
” She asked, sticking her lip out dramatically.
She tried to ignore the sickening feeling in her gut.
It didn’t feel right to flirt with another one of these big baddies while A-rec was sleeping peacefully in their bunk.
It felt…like a betrayal almost. Damn. The big guy was growing on her.
The alien lowered his weapon and frowned down at her. “Why aren’t you in bed? A-rec will be missing you.” He was completely unaffected by her charm- or lack there of.
“I just…couldn’t sleep,” she admitted, though she laid the sweetness in her tone on thick. “I was really hoping I could speak with… What was his name again?” She batted her eyes up at the guy as she shimmied forward. Okay, the large night gown thing was so not helping. It was beyond unflattering.
“I-ya.” The orange alien replied. “He was the previous captain of this vessel until Ee-rah took over. He is to remain in his cell until we reach our home planet. There is no reason for you to be here, human.”
Okay, he was starting to get on her nerves. “Can you stop with the ‘human’ bullshit?” There went her flirty, sweet girl facade. And she was just getting started! “My name is Darcy.”
He glared down at her. “Darcy. Return to your room and A-rec. I’m sure he’s wondering where you went.”
So he was going to play that game? “I want to ask the bastard why he took me and my best friend. I think I have the right to know. Now, are you going to stand in my way or do I need to start throwing shit again?” Not that there was anything around that she could actually throw, but still.
When it looked like the alien wouldn’t budge, she decided on a new tactic.
“Look, buddy. Either you get out of the way and let me have a little convo with this I-ya fella, OR I go BACK to my room and tell A-rec that you tried to get frisky with me.” Okay, that was a super low blow.
And really, really shitty of her. It’s not like she actually intended to do it! But… Well, she needed to get in there.
“Frisky with you?” The alien furrowed his eyebrows, confused at her use of human terminology.
Fuck. He was going to make her say it, wasn’t he? “Either you let me in there or I tell A-rec you tried to fuck me.”
The orange guy snorted in disgust. “I would NEVER betray my brother like that!” He said, glaring down at her.
“Yeah, well. Who do you think he’ll believe? Me or you?” She was going to hell. She knew it.
“The rest of them may underestimate you, HUMAN,” the orange alien said, stepping aside to allow her entry.
“But I do not. Remember that.” He glared down at her.
“I will be back in fifteen Earth minutes. Make it quick. Or I’ll go to A-rec myself.
” He turned and sauntered down the hall without so much as another word.
Darcy paid his threat no mind. Instead, she was staring at the closed door.
It wasn’t too late. She had not gone in yet. She still had a chance to turn around and go back to bed. There was no reason for her to be here, anyway. A-rec would be so upset if he knew what she was up to…
She took a deep, steadying breath before stepping forward and pressing her palm to the pad on the wall.
The door slid open.