Eris didn’t know what to say, but she didn’t feel like Cord really needed her to answer. It was strange: being with him wasn’t anything like being with Mariel. It was easier, somehow. As though Cord were Eris’s dark mirror. He didn’t expect anything more of Eris than he did of himself—which was to say, not much at all.
Eris leaned forward, letting her chest rise a little more prominently in its push-up bra, trying to catch that familiar rush of flirtation. It seemed like no time at all had passed, like it was summer again and she and Cord were playing their games—and yet everything was different. It was like an echo of that time, a little less sharp, a little less thrilling. They had both changed too much.
“I’ve missed you, Eris.” Cord laughed again, the sound hollow. “You and me, we kind of deserve each other, don’t we?”
There was a time when Eris would have thrilled to hear him say that, yet now the words shot her with a pang of loneliness. She looked up at him and sighed imperceptibly. “Yeah. Maybe we do.”
AVERY
“THIS IS THE craziest party we’ve ever thrown,” Avery whispered to Atlas, their bodies pressed together in the tiny linen closet. She’d been aching for this moment since the night began. It had been exquisite torture: meeting Atlas’s eyes across the room, letting their hands graze as they walked past each other, but unable to do anything more until they snuck away just now.
“Ending on a high note,” he answered, and kissed her.
Avery marveled at the illicit thrill of it, of being wrapped up in the boy she loved—the boy she planned on running away with, in just a few days—when their classmates were just meters away down the hall. It was insane.
She leaned into Atlas, wanting to rip his shirt off button by button and pull him down onto the fluffy towels, but instead she accidentally knocked his head back into the shelf. He cursed, wincing.
“I’m sorry!” Avery exclaimed, stepping back.
“No, I’m sorry.” Atlas laughed ruefully. “I would have brought us to my room, but it was already occupied.”
“Mine too!” Normally Avery would have been furious that some couple was in her bedroom. But standing here with Atlas, her hair disheveled and her blue dress covered in fluffs of white bath mat, she didn’t care about any of it. “I guess that’s the sign of a great party,” she added.
“Like I said, we’re going out with a bang.” Atlas leaned over to drop one more kiss on her lips. “See you out there,” he murmured, and slipped into the hallway. Avery counted to twenty before heading the other direction, unable to wipe the grin from her face.
It was a great party. Avery tried to savor every detail so she could recount them all someday when she and Atlas were old and gray together, living happily ever after. Earlier this afternoon they’d directed the bots to push the living room furniture against the walls, clearing a dance floor in the middle. Now the room was crushed with people, all of them laughing and drinking and having a good time. Gleaming bottles of booze were arrayed on the counter, constantly being replaced from the order she’d placed earlier. Music blasted from the speakers, the volume adjusting to match the voice level. And so far, at least, no one had done anything stupid.
But Avery would have remembered this party forever even if it had turned out to be a total disaster. She treasured every single moment of her time with Atlas, especially now that they’d finally discovered their love for each other.
She wandered toward the dance floor, seeing Risha there with Scott Bandier—that was a new development—and Jess with Patrick, as always. If only she could dance for even a minute with Atlas. Then again, she reminded herself with another irrepressible smile, they had the rest of their lives to dance together.
A hand clamped on her arm like a vise. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Avery gasped. Leda looked terrible. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, highlighting the severe architecture of her face. Her features were drawn and tired, her mouth a thin line. She seemed frail, somehow, in her geometric-printed dress, as if her body were running on nothing but sheer willpower—and drugs.
Avery knew this look; it was the way Leda used to be before exams sometimes, when she’d popped one too many xenperheidren. She would be amped up all day, take the test, then go home and sleep it off. Avery had never really approved, but every time she mentioned it Leda would clam up and get defensive.
Leda let go of her arm. She was shaking with agitation. “I can’t believe you. You’re a terrible friend, you know that? Not to mention, you’re disgusting,” she spat.
“Leda. What did you take?” Avery asked, gently pulling her friend to the side of the room.
“Back off!” Leda raised her voice, clearly not caring whether she made a scene. A few people glanced their way, eyebrows raised. “I know,” Leda said. “So don’t mess with me, okay?”
Avery felt a nervous rush of apprehension. She didn’t dare speak. She was trying to read Leda’s eyes, which were darting wildly all over the party. A sick instinct told her that Leda was searching for Atlas.
“Where is he?” Leda hissed.
“Who?” Avery asked, as innocently as she could.
“Your brother! Or should I say your lover?”
Avery felt sick, as if the world were tilting dangerously. Leda had spoken the words almost at a whisper, and the roar of the room had risen so high that Avery was pretty sure no one had heard—yet. She couldn’t afford to take any chances.