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“No, I can’t,” I replied, gesturing to the control panels. “I have to stay.”
“Then so do I.” His eyes met mine, scrutinising and unblinking. “And I do have a reason to stay.”
“Take your family with you—”
“Not my family, Jeremiah,” he said brusquely. “You.”
“I’m not worth it—”
“I beg your fuckin’ pardon?!”
That stopped me so hard, I recoiled. “Pardon?”
“Don’t sit there and tell me you’re not worth it. Worth what, Jeremiah? What aren’t you worth, exactly? What is your life not worth?”
Oh, wow.
He was actually mad at me.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I mumbled, now looking at my half-eaten dinner, having lost all appetite. “I just meant...”
He put his container on the control panel desk, then took mine and put it there too. He took my hands and wheeled us so that our knees were touching. “Jeremiah, look at me.”
My eyes met his, and where I’d expected to see anger, there was only sadness. “I’m sorry,” I murmured quickly.
“You are worth staying for.”
His eyes were full of sincerity. It was a little difficult for me to understand that he would want to stay for me.
“What I meant was that if you stay for me, if you stay behindbecause ofme, and if something were to happen to you, I’d never forgive myself. Never.”
He pulled my chair a little closer. “Then we need to make sure nothing happens to either of us.”
“It’s easy to say that, but Tully, this storm could be bad. And I meanbad.”
He smirked. “I know. I watched your interview.”
I rolled my eyes. “I mean it. I would be worried for you and your family. I’ve never been through a cyclone before. I know theoretically what to expect, but firsthand...” I shook my head.
“My parents have a cyclone-proof cellar, so they’ll be fine. They’ll take everyone in, including the old couple next door. They’ll all be fine,” he said. “I’ll be here with you.”
I stared at him. “No you won’t.” I looked around at the room. “Tully, this place is old, and god knows how it’ll hold up.”
“So why is it safe enough for you but not for me?”
“Because... well...” Damn. “That’s not my point.”
He laughed. “And you’re forgetting one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Storms are my thing. I love them.”
“Yes, storms, Tully. Not cyclones.”
“But I get to be here at ground zero with all the latest techn—” He glanced at the prehistoric radars. “Well, with all of last century’s latest technology.”
“My point exactly. It’s crazy to expect you to be here.”
