leave this room for meals and to use the washroom.”
A snarky response—why don’t you just have Radcliff throw me in detention—wells up my throat. But I swallow it down. Logic is my only play. “Hiding won’t keep me safe, Mom. And while you can order me to stay here, you can’t enforce it.”
“Tace will.”
“No, he won’t. He needs me. Mom, everyone on this base needs me.” Huh. That’s a ton of pressure. Maybe staying in my room isn’t such a bad idea.
“Then you’re coming home, Lyra. Back to your room in our unit. That door can be locked.”
She used my real name. She’s really upset. This must have been building all day. “I can’t be seen.”
“Yes, you can,” she snaps. “The cat is out of the bag, Lyra. Jarren knows. Besides…” Mom glances at her hands. They’re clutched tight together in her lap.
“Besides, what?”
“I’m tired of pretending you’re dead. Of ignoring the pitying looks. The awkward conversations. And there’s a few people who I thought were my friends that have been…avoiding me.”
I’m a selfish idiot. I had no idea what she’s been going through and it didn’t even occur to me to ask. I’m also a self-absorbed idiot. Scooching closer, I wrap an arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. Is Dad having problems, too?”
“I’m sure he’s getting the same response, but you know your father.”
“Yeah, not the most sensitive when it comes to others’ emotions.”
“Just like your brother. I swear I could give him my fiercest scowl and he had no clue I was upset with him.”
“Yeah, I had to tell him to go apologize to you and he was always clueless as to why.” But he would do it. A pang echos in my chest. I miss my brother, but I’m glad he’s safe. And I understand why my mom’s being such a...well, a mom. “I’m sorry you had to pretend I was dead.”
“Not your fault. We needed to keep you safe. But now—”
“Locking me in my room isn’t the answer. You know that, right?”
“I know.” She sounds just like a pouting two-year-old.
I hide my smile.
“It’s just I don’t trust Tace to keep you safe. He has the entire base to protect.”
“Then you’re just going to have to trust me to keep me safe.”
“It’d be easier if, when I look at you, I don’t see my little girl with her pigtails and chubby cheeks.” She strokes my cheek.
That isn’t chubby. At all. “Would it make you feel better if I roll my eyes and act like a hormonal teenager?”
“Actually yes. I think this trouble with Jarren has robbed you of your youth. You should still be attending soch-time and complaining about it.”
“I don’t miss soch-time. At all. Do you want me to tell you why?”
“I know why.”
“Then you know why I need to go help Beau discover what Jarren’s hiding out there in the woods.”
“Smart ass.”
I tsk. “Name-calling? Now who’s acting like a teenager?” Ah, there’s a smile.
Mom stands and smooths her shirt. “I’m not going to apologize for being a mother.”
“Don’t worry, I know it can’t be helped.”
“Be careful tonight, Little Miss Know-it-all.” She gives me a kiss on my forehead.
As she leaves my room, I silently disagree with her. I’m not a know-it-all. Otherwise I would have realized that her and Dad’s lives have been altered by Jarren’s attack as well as mine. I vow to be less self-absorbed in the future.
I join Niall in the living area. He’s sitting on the couch. “Was it bad?”
“She wanted to ground me.”
“Really?”
“Don’t give me that look. It’s not a good idea.”
“You can’t blame me.”
I just shake my head. “I’m sorry we won’t have any time together tonight.”
“That’s okay.” Niall stands. “I need to get some sleep. My duty schedule’s been changed and I have the night shift.”
“Is it because Jarren’s on Yulin?”
“No. We all have to take a night shift rotation. It’s just my turn.”
“How long are the rotations?”
“Fourteen days.”
I step in close, wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him in for a kiss.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?” Niall asks.
“Because I can.”
He dips his head and gives me a kiss. “Same reason.”
“Nice to know we’re in agreement.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t expect it all the time,” he teases.
“Well that would just be boring.”
“Nothing wrong with boring, Mouse.”
“Sorry, but I draw the line at sensible.”
“Whew. I better quit while I’m ahead.”
Beau’s already in his office and ready to go. This time I don’t insert my tangs. Beau raises a thin eyebrow in question.
“They make me