AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He hesitated.“Early clones often failed due to faults in their genetic manipulation or faulty cybernetics, sometimes both.”His answer was rushed, as if there was more to the story, but he didn’t want to talk about it.He pointed at the basket of tomatoes resting on the small counter next to the sink.“What do you wish to do with these?”
She took the hint.He didn’t want to talk about his previous clones.“A salad, I guess.I have zucchini and corn too.No lettuce, though.Most of it died in the last crop because we couldn’t harvest it quickly enough before the rainy season.”
“I’ll roast everything outside,” Rhys promised.
Hannah looked at the kitchen’s outside door.Through the empty space where a screen was once nailed, she could see that the fire still burned.“Damn it,” she muttered.
“What is it?”
“I left the fire alone.I swear to God I’m not usually so irresponsible.”She leaned against the counter, holding her wrapped hand against her.
“You’ve hardly slept since we arrived,” Rhys replied.“I was also looking out for the fire.It’s contained.”He put a hand on her shoulder, a clumsy gesture at comfort.
She could feel the heat of him through his gloves and her T-shirt’s fabric.It was an innocent move, one that felt like he was imitating humans he’d seen in old holographs, rather than from a place of compassion, but she felt it as acutely as the burn making her hand throb.It shouldn’t make her breath catch, but it did.She thought back to her earlier conversation with Jasmine, who’d been so excited at the possibility of having a cyborg clone boyfriend.
Stop that.Don’t think of RH103—Rhys—as a potential boyfriend.That’s probably the worst thing to be doing right now.
Both of them were trying to rebuild their lives, establish a new normal for their respective people.They needed clear heads for that.Hannahneeded a clear head for that.She was sure Rhys wouldn’t have such problems.
“Hannah?”
She blinked and Rhys removed his hand.Idly, she wondered what his looked like under the gloves.She’d only seen a brief glimpse when he’d unlocked his ship.
“I can finish making our meal,” Rhys said.“That’s within my capabilities.”
“I can help,” she said, turning around to remove a bottle of dried wild basil from the spice rack her father built decades ago, but Rhys took it from her.
“I can manage this,” he promised.“I won’t be long.”He gathered some of the vegetables resting on the counter and tucked them into the tomato basket, along with the spices Hannah picked out.Without another word, he left the kitchen.
She stared at his retreating back, surprise holding her in place against the tile floor.
It was nice to have someone else cook for her.
She unwrapped her hand and flexed it, inspecting the damage.As she suspected, there wasn’t any significant damage, but she still appreciated Rhys’s concern.She hadn’t had a warm and fuzzy feeling like that since long before the earthquake.
She set the table and rummaged around a cabinet for a bottle of dandelion wine from her modest stash.Indecision warred within her.Did cyborgs drink?Would it have any negative effects on his electronics?
She shrugged and set it on the table, then set to peeling the hard-boiled eggs.
Rhys returned a short time later, bearing roasted vegetables.He and Hannah took seats at the table across from each other, and she nudged the bowl of eggs to him.“Help yourself.”
He speared two with his fork and set them on his plate.“Thank you.”
“I should be thanking you,” she corrected.“And I probably will every day for the rest of my life.”
“I also mean, thank you for sharing a meal with me.For sharing your home.”
She felt herself flush.“It’s nice to have company.”
“What about your friends?You were speaking with your neighbor earlier.You two seem close, at least to me.”He hesitated for a second.“I’m unsure about regular human interaction.”
The thought of Jasmine and how she’d pulled away from her oldest and dearest friend sent shame and guilt spiraling through Hannah.She hadn’t deserved Jasmine’s easy camaraderie or forgiveness.“We are,” she said.“We’ve known each other our whole lives.Our parents were friends, our grandparents were friends, going all the way back to New Eden’s colonization.”
“I have a lot of questions about the early colonists.”
“So do I, mostly about how shortsighted and ignorant they were.You can’t hide from technology or the rest of the galaxy forever.”
“Has the planet never had contact with another people since the settlement was built?”
