Nineteen

 

Sophie put her feet up on the bed and folded them beneath her. Her sisters’ faces filled her phone screen for the second time in as many weeks. Nicole looked like her usual self, and Deacon and Mitzi waved cheerfully at Sophie before racing off-camera. Katie, on the other hand, looked pale and solemn.

“How did it go with our parents?” Sophie asked Katie.

She felt guilty that she hadn’t checked in with her earlier. She’d known Katie would be in conflict with them after their dinner the other night. It felt like a million years had passed since then, though, and she’d had other things on her mind.

“It’s been rough,” Katie said softly. “I guess they were expecting me and Nicole on Sunday, even though I told them we weren’t going to be there. They’ve been giving me the silent treatment ever since. Mama’s only been cooking enough for her and Dad, and they look away whenever I walk into the same room as them.”

Sophie’s heart jolted. Katie didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. Their parents had always been difficult, but never to this extent.

“I guess you haven’t heard from them, Nicole?” she asked.

Nicole shook her head. “They’re probably burning my effigy as we speak.”

Sophie cringed. “If they are, they’re burning mine too.”

“They only need one, it’ll look like all of us.” Nicole gave her a wry smile. “Seriously, Katie, I’m sorry you’re going through that. You’re still welcome to stay with me.”

“Or me,” Sophie said. “I have space.”

“Isn’t your friend still there?” Katie asked.

“Yes, but…” Marsha would definitely be sleeping in Sophie’s room from now on. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of the things that might happen there. “We can find some space.”

Katie and Nicole traded a look that Sophie didn’t quite understand. “You can always put a sleeping bag on the floor,” Nicole said. “I can lend you one, if you’re that desperate to live the high life in the big city.”

“Is it adult-sized?” Katie asked.

“Well, it’s Deacon’s.” Nicole looked guilty. “I think you’d fit. No, I’m sure you would.”

“Let me check this over with Terry before you decide anything,” Sophie said. “He’s not in a great mood lately.’

“He seemed to be fine when we met him,” Katie said. “He was really nice. I liked him.”

“Things changed,” Sophie muttered. She didn’t want to get into the whole thing, so she quickly changed the subject. “Is the farm okay for now, though, Katie?”

“Yeah, I’m surviving. I feel like our parents will have to break down and talk to me eventually.”

“That would be good,” Sophie said pensively. “I don’t want to burn bridges with them just because they’re controlling, but…”

“You want them to respect you and your choices,” Katie said. “We all do.”

Sophie hung up just as Marsha breezed into the room. She didn’t seem as tired as she normally did after a shift. In fact, she had an air of excitement about her.

Sophie had been dreaming of kissing her gorgeous lips again all day, but now that Marsha was here, she was suddenly shy. What if in the intervening hours, Marsha had somehow lost interest?

Her fears were allayed as Marsha tumbled onto the bed beside her and pressed her body against Sophie’s. Sophie hugged her tight, looking into her eyes for confirmation before bringing her lips to Marsha’s again. This kiss was longer, calmer, sweeter, and Sophie appreciated it more now that she knew it wasn’t going to be the only time. This was the start of something—something big.

Tingles raced through Sophie’s core, making her want more than she was ready for. “I can’t stay for long,” she breathed, taking the excuse to back away and catch her breath. “I need to talk to Terry. My sister might come and stay here.”

Marsha caught her by the hand before she could get up. “Before you do that, I have an idea. Terry’s in no mood to do either of us any favors right now, but if we could do something about that…”

“What did you have in mind?”

 

***

 

Marsha was glad Sophie knew how to use Google and Facebook. If she’d been doing this on her own, she never would’ve been able to figure out where Gary worked. Sophie had done it in a matter of seconds.

They’d discussed their plan at length last night, and now that it was nine-thirty in the morning, they’d come to put it into practice. Unfortunately, the telecommunications company Gary worked at spanned several floors, and Marsha gazed at the outside of the large building in defeat. “We’ll never find him.”

“Don’t be silly,” Sophie said. “We just have to go in and ask.”

Marsha decided to let Sophie take the lead for this part. She followed her in and watched her expertly interact with the humans at the reception desk. The problem was that the receptionists didn’t want to give any information out to random strangers.

“He’s a friend of ours,” Sophie said. “We have a delivery for him.”

“Really?” The receptionist scanned both of them as if looking for a package.

Sophie didn’t miss a beat. “A small delivery.”

Marsha was impressed by the ease with which she lied. She was going to have to work on it herself—it seemed important for humans.

Not today, though. Today was all about honesty.

Coming here had been her idea. Terry was Sophie’s best friend, and now that their connection was deepening, Marsha had realized Sophie meant the world to her.

Seeing Terry’s suffering, she had to do whatever she could to take it away. Even if that meant potentially putting her own safety at risk. And she didn’t think that was a big concern. Even if Gary didn’t believe them, he wouldn’t tell anyone else, either. She hoped.

“I’ll call him and see if he’s willing to meet with you. May I have your names?” The receptionist picked up the phone and spoke softly, then turned back to them. “He says he’s not expecting anything from you, and that whatever you have, he doesn’t need.”

Marsha winced. “Tell him ‘please.’”

The receptionist checked with Gary, and then her lips pinched. “You can go up to office 405. He can spare three minutes, and not a second longer. He says you better have something to say, or he’ll make it one minute.” She pointed them toward the elevator.

While they rode upward, Marsha gripped Sophie’s hand. She let go the minute the doors swung open. They wandered the halls, and Marsha kept her eyes peeled—such a funny human expression—for Gary’s huge shoulders and bushy beard. When Sophie pointed out his office, Marsha almost didn’t recognize him in his white button-down shirt and tie. He sat behind a computer, and there was no trace of his usual grin as he looked up at them.

They went in and shut the door. “Sorry to spring this on you,” Sophie said. “We didn’t have another way to get in touch.”

“We’ve already said everything that needed to be said, so I’m lost as to why you’re here.” Gary folded his beefy arms.

“You missed something the other night,” Marsha said. “A piece of information that we believe is vital. How long has it been now? Do we have to go?”

Gary rolled his eyes. “The three minutes thing wasn’t that serious.”

“She often misses these things,” Sophie said, “because…”

“I’m an alien.” Marsha waved away his objections before he could start them. “Not the kind you think.”

“What kind, then?” Gary asked. “Did you fly in from outer space?”

“Exactly,” Marsha said.

Gary’s face screwed up, and he looked to Sophie. When she nodded, too, his expression filled with disdain. “I don’t know what you two are trying to achieve, but I’ve had enough.”

“No, Gary, we’re serious,” Marsha said in a hushed voice, getting the words out as quickly as she could. “Terry knows, and he’s been protecting me from the start. He didn’t want to say anything because it could put my entire life at risk. If the government found out, I’d be locked up on an air base getting chopped into pieces. We haven’t told anybody, but given the situation, we thought it would be best to tell you.”

Gary narrowed his eyes at her. Now that his jocularity had vanished, he was terrifying. “I’m seriously supposed to believe this? Tell Terry to try harder next time.” He turned to his computer. “That means leave.”

“Terry has no idea that we’re here,” Marsha said. “He was willing to let your relationship go for the sake of my safety. That’s the kind of guy he is. But he’s miserable now. He’s crazy about you, and he shouldn’t have to let you go. If you understood where he was coming from, you’d want to be with him, too.”

“I already asked you to leave.” Gary spun away from the computer. “But fine. If you’re determined to keep up this farce, then prove yourself. Do some magic or something.”

“I’m an alien, not a witch.” Marsha forced a laugh. “When I came, Sophie and Terry figured out I was for real by quizzing me on outer space trivia. I have databases installed on a microchip, and—”

“Never mind.” Gary shook his head. “I’m done. If you two are having some shared delusion, have fun with that. If you managed to bring Terry in on it, too, great. I’m not going to be joining this party.”

“Gary, you’re an engineer,” Sophie said. “You must believe in hypotheses, experiments, evidence.”

“Not interested.”

“Love, then.” Her voice was soft. “You can’t tell me you don’t believe in love.”

“I’ve already asked you politely to leave. Do I have to call security?”

Holding up their hands, Marsha and Sophie backed out.

 

***

 

That hadn’t gone the way Sophie had hoped. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d seen how angry Gary was when he broke up with Terry, and she knew how crazy telling him the truth would seem.

She’d gotten caught up in Marsha’s innocent belief that doing the right thing would always make things better. Maybe that worked on her home planet, but not here.

Now she was scared Gary would tell Terry they’d dropped by his office. Worse, what if he told someone else? He hadn’t taken them seriously, but if he told the wrong person, who knew what could happen? They might’ve put Marsha at risk, and for nothing. Their plot to get the two lovers back together hadn’t even worked.

Sophie’s heart was heavy as she waited for Marsha to come home from work. The day had been long without her, and her Latin class had been exceptionally boring. She sat with her feet on the living room table, staring at the TV screen but not absorbing anything that was happening on it.

When the front door creaked open, she perked up—then immediately frowned. There were two male voices coming through the hallway, and she didn’t recognize one of them.

“Terry?” she called.

Terry stumbled into the living room, his arms around a tall man Sophie had never seen before. Both of them reeked of beer. “This is… I forget,” he said. “I forget, this is my roommate.” The man chuckled, hugged Terry close, and palmed his ass.

“Picking up a stranger?” Shock filled Sophie’s voice. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“You’re such a buzzkill,” Terry groaned. “I forget, let’s go.”

“Terry, stay here for one second. You—” she spoke to the stranger “—can go. Terry’s room is on the left.”

The drunk man stumbled away.

“Isn’t it a little early to be this sloshed?” Sophie said. “This isn’t like you.”

“Being single isn’t like me, but there you go.” Terry swayed on his feet.

“I thought Gary was the love of your life.”

“And he’s gone forever, so who cares? I don’t need him.”

Sophie had never seen him this far gone. She wished she had better news for him, but she had no words of comfort. “I’m just asking, is this really what you want? Is this the person you want to be?”

Terry’s glazed eyes focused on her for a second. “I can’t always do the right thing. I’m allowed to make bad decisions sometimes.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, but don’t you think you might regret this in the morning?” She leaned forward, pleading with him. “What if Gary comes back and says he made the wrong choice? How would you feel about this then?”

“Fuck.” Terry’s face drooped. “I don’t want to think about Gary.”

“Terry, honey, this isn’t the way to do it.” She sat back, satisfied that she’d done all she could.

Terry left the room unsteadily, and she heard his voice in the hall. She couldn’t hear the words he used, but a minute later, the door opened and slammed shut.

Terry came back and collapsed onto the couch. “You owe me one orgasm.”

Sophie thought of her failed attempt to win over Gary. “How about a nice movie instead?”