Page 21 of Bound by Stars

Weslie

Twenty-five days to Mars

Heart racing, I launch myself along the wall as the lights go out again.

A white glow floods the dock. Asha grabs her brother, ushering him up the ladder, and the lights shut off.

“ … forty-seven, forty-six … ”

Skye disappears up the ladder and Meridian starts the climb behind her.

I brace myself to push off, aiming for the opening of the tunnel and waiting for light. The room bursts with a too-bright white glow. Pushing off, I follow Curran and Hale, who grab the bottom rung. Darkness cloaks the room again.

“ … thirty-five, thirty-four … ”

The heel of a boot hits me in the center of my chest. Light explodes, burning my eyes.

I hit the side wall, tumbling across the giant painted 4 in the opposite direction. I can’t stop. I reach for the first bar I pass, but my fingertips graze it.

Darkness. My palm hits the next bar, and I jerk to a stop.

“ … twenty-eight, twenty-seven … ”

“Hurry!” When the light comes on, Jupiter is alone, holding the bottom rung of the ladder and waving for me to follow.

I push off toward him, launching myself into the sudden darkness.

Light floods the space. My trajectory is off.

Jupiter reaches for me, stretching as far as he can. “Grab my hand!”

Our fingers brush. I twist. The lights go out. Our hands lock together in the dark and he pulls me to him.

“ … twelve, eleven … ”

Lights flash on. Jupiter pushes me ahead of him, and I scramble up the ladder.

Lights off. Gravity presses down on me, slowing my climb.

“ … eight, seven … ”

White light fills the tunnel. I crawl out of the hatch and turn back, leaning over the edge. Curran and I both stretch down to grab Jupiter’s hands.

“ … four, three … ”

Curran grips Jupiter by the arm, hoisting him up, as I grasp the collar of his suit jacket. The three of us hit the floor together.

The last number in the countdown is cut in half as Asha and Tar seal the hatch, and my pounding heartbeat is the only sound left in the universe.

Beside me, Jupiter lies on the floor, panting and shivering. His hand is still in mine. It’s practically frozen.

I sit up, shrug off my jacket, and drape it over him, rubbing his icy fingers between my palms. The bandage on his right hand is torn and stained with fresh blood. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect,” he says through a shaky exhale, glancing at our hands.

A rush of heat burns in my cheeks, and I let go. “Good.”

On his other side, Curran’s eyes are wide as he stares down at his best friend. His face is colorless and still like a statue over a grave.

“Hey.” Jupiter reaches up and pats his chest. “Breathe, man. I’m okay.”

Curran wakes up. “Right. Sorry.” He sucks in a breath, rising to his feet and offering Jupiter a shaky hand.

Skye helps me up.

Asha braces herself against the sealed hatch.

Tar paces with his hands on his head, eyes wide as he counts our party.

Sitting against the wall next to Hale, Meridian glares at him. “What the hell happened with the departure info, Tar?”

If I hadn’t caught that bar, if Jupiter hadn’t grabbed me, I’d be a frozen bit of space debris right now.

“I guess I got the time wrong.” Tar’s eyes flicker back and forth like he’s rifling through information, trying to find where he went wrong.

“Guess? You nearly got us sucked into space,” Hale snaps.

Locking eyes with him, I cross the room, gaining speed with each step. “Says the asshole who tried to kill me. Again!”

Hale narrows his eyes at me like he’s forming the perfect insult.

Skye steps between us, holding him back and blocking me.

“I have no idea what you’re going on about, dust mite.” Hale glares over Skye’s shoulder.

“You kicked me away from the ladder!” My chest rises and falls with heaving breaths.

Jupiter wraps his fingers around the clenched fist at my side and whispers, “Not worth it.”

I hold Hale’s stare. No way I’m going to be the one to walk away. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

“We all need to get out of here before we’re caught.” Curran throws his hands up and starts down the hall with Tar by his side.

“Dirty Earther,” Meridian says through her teeth.

Skye and Asha herd Meridian and Hale around the corner.

“Don’t listen to them.” Jupiter forces me to relax my clenched fist. Loosening my grip, his fingertips slide along the inside of my palm.

My breath catches in my chest.

“Plus, punching someone in the face only feels good for a second. After that, it’s all bruised knuckles and broken fingers, and he can still go back to running his mouth.”

I step away, brushing my hair over my shoulder. “I took you for more of a peacekeeper than a fighter.”

“I grew up with Hale.” He shrugs and nods toward the hall where everyone else disappeared. “Everyone has a breaking point.”

“You continue to surprise me, Jupe.”

His shoulders relax as a grin stretches across his face. “You called me Jupe.”

Warmth blooms in my rib cage.

When we round the corner, everyone is stopped.

Flanked by five porters, the captain blocks our path with his arms crossed over his white vest, the brass-edged star pin gleaming in the light of the hall. “…past curfew. What makes you think you’re somehow exempt from the rules?”

“I’m so sorry, Dad, we…” Asha snaps her mouth closed when he whips around to face her and Tar.

“I’ll deal with the two of you later. I’m taking you home. We’ll discuss this in the morning.” He nods to the people in navy vests. “Escort each of them to their quarters.”

The porters split, pairing up and separating us.

One pushes me forward with a hand on my back and I slap it away. “I can walk without your help, thank you.” I split right, the porter scrambling to keep up.

“Good night, Wes.” Jupiter walks backward in the opposite direction, that silly grin still painted across his face.

“Night, Jupe.” I bite my lips, starting to turn away, but then freeze when my eyes lock with the porter behind him.

Dressed in his navy porter vest, Reve waits for Jupiter to catch up, jaw tight and a nearly imperceptible sadness in his dark eyes. His blank stare burrows through me, tugging at something deep in my gut.

Cold guilt floods my veins as he tucks his chin and spins away. He was the one who told me to play their game. Make them believe I’m one of them.

“See you tomorrow,” Jupiter calls, following Reve around a corner.

Hours later, when I’m in bed, my mind keeps serving up flashes of Reve. The look on his face. Like I’d somehow betrayed him. And then Jupiter. His sincere grin, right eye squinted more than the left. Every small, patient gesture in the cargo hold.

No one’s ever been that careful with me.

Stop, Weslie. You cannot be lying awake thinking about these boys. Especially not a Big Six heir. He’s definitely off- limits.

I flip over, pressing my face into my pillow.

We are friends. That’s where this ends. I have enough going on without complicating my life with messy feelings.

But my palm still tingles along the trails left by Jupiter’s long fingers, and I let myself imagine more until it bleeds into my dreams.

My eyes fly open. I sit up in bed, my heart already pounding, but my body is heavy, slow like I’ve been drugged.

Red light fills my room, turning the green curtains and dark wood to the color of dried blood.

A nightmare? But it feels so real.

A buzzing, high-pitched alarm rings out in quick bursts between a repeating message that finally becomes clear in my foggy brain. “ Oxygen level critical. Your unit is experiencing a loss of breathable air. Please make your way to the exit promptly .”