“Please Rommie, please please please?” Harper followed the android around as she kept casting him irritated glances. “Please let me go?” Rommie sighed.
“No.” He crossed his arms.
“So,” he asked casually, “did Trance get anywhere then?” Rommie looked uncomfortable. “Hah!” He almost leaped with his little victory. “So now what are you going to do? You know I’m the only one who’ll pull it off!” She rolled her eyes.
“You’re giving yourself far too much credit Harper. You didn’t exactly succeed earlier, did you?” The hurt expression on his face indicated she’d hit a nerve and she was about to apologise before being cut short by his retaliation.
“Well, that was then. Besides, who’s been sorting things out up until now, huh? One little backlash and you all think I can’t handle it. Well I’ll show you that I can handle it. I can handle anything you super-strong ubers and androids can, I’ll show you…”
“Harper!” Rommie interrupted. “No one’s questioning your abilities!”
“You didn’t exactly succeed earlier. I may not have your photographic memory, but you only said it a minute ago!”
“Well, I was frustrated. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”
“Wow. You said it,” he commented dryly.
“But that’s not the point. It’s not about your ability, it’s about your mental and emotional state!”
“Oh, yeah, let’s not forget that. The poor little kludge who can’t handle anything! Well, don’t you think I’ve been through worse than…someone I love trying to…starve herself to death…ok, point taken! But…”
“No buts Harper. You’ll take time off and relax” His face suddenly lit up.
“Hey, how come you’re ordering me around? When Dylan goes away…and Beka…and Tyr, they leave me in command! It doesn’t happen often, but it has! Which makes me your superior officer! Which enables me to order you around!” He snickered. “So, if you don’t mind, why don’t you go and relax and I’ll do whatever I want!” Rommie sighed as Harper ran out the door. She knew she could easily stop him, but for some reason she didn’t. She frowned.
“Am I turning soft?” She shook her head. “Oh I hope not.”
****
Beka sighed as she slumped down on the bed, turning her face away from the offending plate of food. Trance obviously hadn’t understood why she suddenly wouldn’t eat after “doing so well”, but it didn’t matter. She just wouldn’t. She closed her eyes, hoping to be able to go to sleep, but it didn’t work. It was way too early and she had too much on her mind.
“Stop obsessing over Harper and Rommie,” she told herself sternly. “It doesn’t matter. Why would it matter?”
So she’d enjoyed having him around a lot, and that obviously wasn’t going to happen anymore. Maybe he’d still try to, out of misplaced loyalty, but she wouldn’t let him. The last thing she wanted was for him to be around because he felt he had to be. If he was going to be with her, it would be because he wanted to, and she felt awful now that she knew he hadn’t wanted to all along. He’d done a good job of pretending, she could admit that, but this just proved there had been somewhere else he’d been pining to be. She almost felt sick when she thought about it.
“So don’t think about it. It doesn’t matter, I know now and that’s all.”
But it still hurt. She crawled under the duvet and squeezed the corner of it in her hand. Tears were trying to escape and she blinked them back, taking her breath in with short gasps. She wasn’t going to cry. Not like this, not over nothing. Because it really was nothing. All she wished for now was for him to lay his cards on the table. Tell her the truth. No, of course, she couldn’t handle the truth, could she? She couldn’t stop a sob from escaping when she thought about that. Everyone probably knew about Harper and Rommie. Maybe they’d all talked about it and decided they shouldn’t tell her yet. That Harper and Rommie had to keep their relationship a secret for her sake and he should still go stay with her. She buried her face in the pillow, trying to stall the tears for as long as possible. She felt so stupid! Why couldn’t they just be honest with her? She could handle it.
But that wasn’t all. It wasn’t just the truth. When it really boiled down to it, the relationship itself hurt too. She didn’t like the thought of Harper and Rommie, full stop. She wasn’t sure why though. Harper was allowed to love anyone he wanted. She knew no matter how much he loved a woman, he’d still care about her and they’d always have a special relationship. So, when it all boiled down to it, why did it bother her? She suddenly raised her head from the pillow and her eyes went wide.
Dear God, she wasn’t in love with him, was she?
