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“Bryce, just leave, OK? Continue to ignore me like you always do. No need to change now.”
“I, er, I don’t ignore you.”
That earns him a snicker because if he doesn’t want to be accused of ignoring me, maybe he shouldn’t.
When we first met, I had tried to engage by talking about robotics or joking around like I do with Declan. I’ve given up on trying. When he isn’t looking over my head, Bryce is staring at me like I’m a bug he wants to shoo away.
“I don’t need your help,” I state.
“Actually, that’s the thing. I’m the one who needs your help. Let me explain.”
That gets my attention. Before my suspicious brain cells express their objection, my mouth is already moving.
“With what? With your top-security project?” I cringe at the sound of my voice, petulant but eager.
“I’m advising a freshman team. They’re competing in a grasping challenge. Let me in and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Seriously? You think that bullshit is going to get you in my room?”
“It’s all I got, Ana Banana.”
I suppress my smile even though he obviously can’t see it.
“Did you just call me Ana Banana?”
“I’ll stop if you open the door.”
What is there to do but let him in? He’s being nice for once. I might as well figure out why.
She’s been crying. The knowledge grasps my insides and twists. Ana haughty, or annoyed, or angry I can take.
Sad Ana feels like an accusation and an order: You failed. Fix it.
It makes absolutely no sense, but nothing does when it comes to her.
“Do you want to go downstairs to talk?” I ask, my eyes stinging at the effort not to look at the rumpled bed sheets behind her.
Instead of answering, she begins closing the door. Sticking my foot out to stop her, I change my question. “Can I come in?”
She leaves the door open and walks to her en suite bathroom. “Go ahead. Get the pep talk out of the way.” She blows her nose and runs the tap.
I’m eager for the chance to look around. Surprisingly, it isn’t what I imagined a young girl would want for her bedroom. For one, it’s sparse. Nothing on the walls except a television on which flashes the screensaver of a video game. Everything except the screen is gray or black or white.
There’s only one substantial piece of furniture: a bed with built-in shelves, a movable desk, and a lounging chair attached. It’s like an apartment with all the units attached except with no, like, personal style. In the starkest and least welcoming way, Ana has surrounded herself with the basics for sitting and sleeping.
What if she doesn’t feel at home here? I want her to feel like she belongs.
When she comes out, her face looks newly scrubbed and her nose red. She’s just a kid. A lonely and frustrated kid.
“Moving to a new place is never easy.”
“How would you know? You’re attending a university within twenty miles of your old high school.” The second the words leave her mouth, she presses her lips into a tight line. “I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
“It’s true. Leaving the area wasn’t in the books for me.”
“Why?”
I shrug silently, at a loss for words because I’ve never had to articulate my reasons out loud. My family wouldn’t have blamed me if I accepted one of the out-of-state offers I got after high school. However, something deep and unspoken keeps me here. Unspoken till now.
