Dust

XL

"Andrea? Whatever happened to Andy?"

    Gael sputters, gawking at this "Andy" as if he's having a hard time believing she exists. He runs a hand through the strands of his hair, and as the muscles flex underneath the skin of his arm, I look away. "Andy..." he says. "I...wow. Um—"

    "Why didn't you call me?" Andy blurts, stepping further in Gael's direction. Heavy mascara clumps her eyelashes together, a dark mole underneath her right eye. "You could have came to my house, or anything, anything at all. I just can't believe it's taken me this long to find out you're even alive."

    Gael shakes his head at the ground. "Andy, look, there's something—"

    "Shut up," she interrupts with a laugh, closing the distance between the two of them and planting her lips on his. My eyes widen at this, an angry flush going to my cheeks. Shi's protective hand closes around my arm, and when I look at him, he mouths at me to calm down. As if he, or anyone, can tell me how to feel about watching my boyfriend—who I thought I could trust—gum swapping with another girl. It seems like eternity before Andy finally quits sucking Gael's face, and then she just embraces him.

    By now, I'm already done. "I'm sorry, Gael, do you know this girl?"

    Andy steps back from the hug, blinking. "Of course he knows me! I'm his girlfriend."

    My eyes roll, and before Gael can whirl and say something to me, I stomp inside the house, not able to stand a second longer of this. Every time I give my trust to him, he just throws it away again. Someone once told me that trust is like a piece of paper—you can crumple it up and then smooth it out, but it will never be the same. As I storm upstairs, I can't help thinking: How many times can you crumple it and smooth it before it becomes supple? Supple enough that it just tears?

    I shut myself behind the guest bedroom's door, locking it. Crawling back into the bed I had just gotten out of, I pull the covers up to my shoulders and bury my face in the pillows. How could I be so stupid? To fall for Gael's tricks not once, but twice? Suddenly all I want to do is go home. I want to hug Damien until my arms fall off, powwow around Mother's baking, fight with Finn using Styrofoam swords, and, like I told him I would, annex Shi into our household. I want to go home and forget about all of this, about Gael, about the humans, because they are the reason I'm ruined.

    There's a knock on my bedroom door, and I roll over onto my stomach, slamming a pillow down on my head. I know who it is, anyway, and I don't want anything to do with him, not ever again. "Go away, Gael—"

    The door swings open, and I look up in surprise. Standing in the open doorframe isn't Gael, but Shi, looking at me with a measured amount of sympathy. I sit up, scratching the top of my head. "I thought I locked that door."

    The brass doorknob drops to the carpet with a thud, and Shi, having just released it from his fist, looks down at it with a shrug. "You did."

    "Ah...nice," I say, because I don't know what else to say. I've known other Marisians with surprising strength; Damien, for example, but he never seems to use it as liberally. Shi turns, bumping the door shut. There's now a large hole where the doorknob used to be.

    "Are you okay?" Shi asks me, coming to sit on the bed in front of me. He, too, crosses his legs, and we sit knee-to-knee, eyes trained on each other's. Before I can answer his question, a self-deprecating smile blooms on his face and his gaze darts away. "Who am I kidding...of course you're not okay."

    "Oh my God," I say. "A guy with actual comprehension of a girl's feelings? This is a scientific breakthrough!"

    Another shrug. "I grew up with sisters...a lot of them. It only makes sense. Anyway, Gemma...so you're not okay. Is there anything I can do?"