Page 48 of When Eden Falls

I froze, the memories replaying again in my mind. I sat up attempting to shake them away. “I…” I scratched at my scalp. “I don’t know. I didn’t know how to. I…I needed time to reflect. To digest what happened.”

“Are you okay?” Cora shifted closer, offering me the glass of tea.

I closed my eyes, sucking in the warm, citrusy fresh aura of home. “Is this?”

“Eonian tea.” She smiled. “Just how you like it. Yuska fetched us the hot water. Rooke gave her the box of teabags this morning. He apparently retrieved it yesterday from the ship.”

I stared down at the orangey brown beverage trying to understand Rooke’s motives. Yesterday he had been disappointed…no, angry with me. And today he was offering sentimental gifts? Did he feel bad for what happened last night? Nux, I wanted to slap him across the face…hard!

I took a sip, sighing gratefully. “Thank you. It’s a lovely surprise.”

“We always run to you when we have troubles,” Cora said. “Please understand that we’re here for you, too, Eden. We have each other’s backs, remember? And we’re terribly sorry for being unhelpful over the past few days.”

“She means, we’re sorry for being lazy-ass cows,” Zamya stated, sincerely. “We’ll start exercising today. I was thinking we could ask Yuska if we could go for a run on the beach.”

“I doubt going outside is an option,” I groaned, thinking of Havav’s opinions and comments from last night. “No thanks to yesterday.”

“Well then.” Zamya slapped her thighs with her palms and stood up. “We’ll have to run in the corridors.”

“Ha, I’m sure he’ll love that.”

“Frigging bastard.” Zamya flashed me a smile. “Speaking of egotistical males, Rooke has asked you to turn your radio on.”

I hummed a non-comprehensible answer as I sipped the tea. I didn’t want to speak to him. Not today.

My mood didn’t improve. If anything, it worsened. I felt frustrated and irritable, snapping at everything and everyone. Zamya and Cora were no longer required to isolate, and Cora had been summoned by Havav. She’d been gone most part of the day.

I watched Zamya jump about the room in an attempt to exercise. I knew I should join her, but I was restless with no motivation. A horrible, contradicting combination which worsened my frustration even more.

The door opened and Cora breezed in with more books in her hands, no doubt from the library.

Zamya stopped and panted. “Everything okay?”

“Yep.” Cora smiled, placing the books on the coffee table. “Havav wasn’t quite so interrogating today. He actually helped me find some information I was seeking.”

I groaned at the sound of Havav’s name. Zamya peered at me.

“Judging by the information we received from The Orka and what I found in the library today, it looks as though our current position is somewhere on the western side of North America.”

“You didn’t tell Havav about The Orka, did you?” my tone was brusque, ignoring her information I would’ve normally found interesting.

“No,” Cora replied. “Rooke made it clear to keep schtum.”

I grunted my approval, but it sounded more like annoyance.

“And because of that, he’s told me I can no longer speak with Troy over the radio. Rooke also insisted that I tell you to turnyourradio on. He actually asked me using a large variety of colourfully explicit words.”

Zamya glared at me. “Have you still not done it?”

“Nope.”

“Eden!”

“Look, Zam, if you want to talk to him, why don’t you turn it on?”

“Why are you being so petulant? Have you and Rooke had an argument?”

I didn’t respond. I merely looked down at the ancient engineering book laying in my lap.