Page 67 (1/1)
Conal A way to get Tarver back to his fas, even if I’m not so sure I want to rejoin the world anyalaxy, he’ll get home in one piece
I want so badly to tell his I said e first reatest talents But to tell him would be to betray my father To show Tarver just how nore the way the truth is building inside me like water under pressure
Let him hate me, and think I hate him back It’s safer for both of us
We don’t talk, but the silence is still easier than it has been Neither of us asks why this place was abandoned, or what it was originally for It’s large enough that it can’t just be to houseequipment It had to hold people at some point
We haul on the doors, pry at the shutters over the s, go so far as to atte is solid, despite its neglect, and sealed up tightly We discover a shed not far aith a broken-down hovercraft inside A quick look tells me it was probably broken even at the time this place was occupied We poke around under the hood for a little, checking out the hopelessly gus and leads, then Tarvercoths of rope, cans of oil and glue, tanks of fuel in the back Paint cans and a shovel in the corner Drills and saith plugs This place once had electricity, then, which confirenerator somewhere
I wonder if sos, now, and try to think of how theycarried from a wreck I can’t help but wonder if I’ll always think of ways rope or oil or rusty hammers could save someone’s life
When I finally pry the circuit board’s cover off to find half the circuits , it takesis useless I slam the hood of the hovercraft down, and when Tarver looks at me, he sees the frustration in , circling the building again, this ti the shutters, prying, trying to find a weak spot
"At least you’re hu the wounds fro it to be a jab He glances back, trying half a smile, and I realize it’s an olive branch instead "We’ve finally found circuits you can’t fix"
He looks so tired, so weary, despite his weak atteulf between us I suppose I would be too, if I were hi a hand across my eyes "I wish I knew more If I did, maybe I could fix it"
"I still don’t understand how you know any of this Your father’s the engineering genius, not you I mean--you’re not the sort of person ould’ve studied circuitry and physics in school I mean--oh, screw it"
So much for the olive branch Despite the te over his words, I can’t take credit for what I know "When I was a little girl, aftermore than to be just likehe had, so I wanted to be…worthy of that, I guess I asked so Tarver’s eyes onhe can sense the tension in o back to the shutter he’s working on, focused, not looking at htens How can I tell Tarver, of all people, about the ive him another reason to push me away? And yet, s I said aboard the Icarus
And maybe I deserve to relive it
"If I tell you, will you just listen to et through this Can you do that?"
His deling at his side "Okay"
I take a few deep breaths, like a diver about to jurew up near our su I don’t want to see the moment when realization hits
"His family wasn’t as well connected as mine, but whose is? He was absolutely brilliant, and not just in the subjects ere expected to learn He’s the one who taughtI know about electricity and physics My father turned a blind eye to the tiht it was har to form any real attachers along the edge of the screwdriver, fingertips learning its planes, the sculpted plastic handle "The night before he turned sixteen he asked if we could stop hiding, and be a real couple He said he was going to go tonow that he was an adult, and ask for a position within the coht to be with reen eyes flash in front ofGet through it
"I said yes When I woke I practically flenstairs in anticipation, but when I got there it was like nothing had changed My father said he hadn’t seen him--he didn’t even look away from the news screen I went to his house, and found his parents devastated All gentlemen’s sons are in the reserves--you know that As a h it’s never tested It’s all for show"