Page 78 of Red

“We are.”

I wave my hand for him to go on.

“That will be his story to tell. Use your intelligence and stay safe, if not for yourself then for him.” He pats my arm and leaves me.

I stay in the quiet for a bit longer. I’m not sure if I can ever forgive Graden entirely, though I don’t need to cause issues in the house I’m stuck in. I want to help. If this war ends, maybe Stark will relax enough to let me go home. I should get away from him—from all his caring and those hands. Him sitting in that chair across from me, a book in his lap, sweet talk between chapters. My heart is too attached.

Lirea makes me jump when she leaps in front of me at the door. “You need to come with me.” She takes my hand and walks me through the kitchen, into the med room across from the amphitheater doors. “So, you have to tell me more about the humans you got close with.” She sits on one of the tables, while I leap up to sit across from her. My legs dangle high in the air in comparison to hers.

“Well, there was Gretch, who I do miss. I think she got mixed up in it all because she has nowhere else to go. She reminds me a lot of you, actually. She loves to have fun. We got tequila drunk at a makeshift bar one night. I haven’t danced like that since I went into the cities.”

“Girl, I know there were guns and things, but I am jealous.” She does a giddy swing with her legs.

The forum doors swing open and closed a few times as people shuffle by the open door. The second meeting must be over.

“Jealous of me carrying around a gun and being told to shoot a beast if I see one?”

She sits up a bit taller, flicking her twin braids over her shoulders. “Well, not that part. But Tripp, was it? Do tell me more. Your cheeks turned the color of cherries when you mentioned his name.”

I glance at my feet. “Stop. That’s not true.” I feel the color return to my cheeks.

“Did too. Did you— Oh, you got drunk with him, too, didn’t you?”

“I might have.” I can’t help the smile at the memory of me twirling out in the snow.

“Aloka, girl, you’re so much more than I expected.”

I laugh, and so does she.

“So, Tripp and you . . . ?” She wiggles against the tabletop.

I rub my face. “I did stay the night at his place.”

Lirea’s mouth falls open as a large crack comes from the hallway. We both twist to see Stark stalking past. Our eyes connect, and he glares at me before disappearing out of view and the front door of the house slams shut.

“I can’t believe it—with the enemy.” She practically leaps off the table at me.

“No, I slept on the couch. I might’ve considered getting naked, but tequila is to blame and I stopped myself.” It’s what I tell myself. At least I managed to stop from making a regrettable choice. Tripp . . . isn’t who I want.

She stands in front of me with a small vibration, like she can’t be still any longer. “Still, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

The memory of Tripp’s protective remark about hurting Hudson floods my mind. “He was . . . I don’t want to say sweet, ‘cause like at the end, I wanted to turn my gun and shoot him. Though he was a good teacher and definitely easy on the eyes for a human.”

We laugh, hard. It’s a lot like how it felt with Gretch those days on the couch while her ankle healed.

“So, how were things while I was away?”

“Depends. Jocko was sad his friend was gone, and so was I. Nikki was the same. She likes you, I think, but you know, if you didn’t come back, she’d probably have been okay.”

I laugh and then her smile falls.

“Stark, though, I’ve never seen him like that. He left for over twenty hours each day, looking for you. I think he thought you were dead or something after the first two days because everyone got too scared to talk to him.”

“I thought he’d be happy. Pratt’s will has ruined his life.”

She leans against the table beside me. “Yeah, well, I don’t know if Stark and happiness mix. Have you ever seen him laugh? Or even smile?”

Him standing at the mirror laughing while I threatened to claw him with my fingernails comes to mind, but I don’t mention it.