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“Seriously?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously. You’ve adapted to this much better than anyone I’ve seen before.”
“But why? Why are we different?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Mae admitted wearily. “And in a fit of anger, I threw it Ezra’s face. I wanted to get him to side with me, but I understand now that he can’t and he never will. But I don’t hold it against you. You’re special, love.” She smiled and put her hand to my cheek. “That’s something good, not something to fear.”
“Thank you. I think.”
“How is Daisy doing?” Mae dropped her hand and stood up.
“Uh, good. I guess. She’s lying down, with Peter.”
“Good. She needed a nap after that flight.” Mae went over to her luggage and flipped it open. “And I need a shower. That flight from Australia is unbearable.”
“Oh, right.” I stood up. “I’ll let you… get to it.”
“Sorry.” She smiled sheepishly at me. “I should just shower while Daisy is calm and asleep.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” I nodded.
“It was nice visiting with you, though,” Mae said as she pulled out clean clothes.
“Yeah,” I nodded again and backed towards the door. “Do you guys know when you’re leaving?”
“Not yet, but soon. Probably in a day or two.” She looked sadly at me. “But you’ll always be welcome, anywhere we end up.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and slid out of her room.
I missed Mae, but I didn’t like having her here. It made everything feel tense and precarious, like at any minute it could all fall apart.
15
I started up the steps to my own room, thinking about how a shower would feel good myself, but I stopped when I heard something strange coming from the bedroom. Not strange strange, just completely unexpected. It sounded like Peter and Jack were being nice to each other.
“I’m just saying Apocalypse Now isn’t the best war movie,” Peter said.
“You can’t say All Quiet on the Western Front! That movie is so boring!” Jack groaned.
“Just because something is in black and white doesn’t make it boring,” Peter said.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I don’t own it so you can’t borrow it. Apocalypse Now is the best war movie I own.”
I climbed up the stairs and stopped outside the doorway, spying on them before they noticed me. Jack had opened the pocket door that hid his thousands of DVD’s, and he stood in front of it, inspecting his collection. Peter sat at the end of Jack’s bed while Daisy lay curled up in the bed, sound asleep next to Matilda.
“Don’t you have Saving Private Ryan?” Peter asked, looking up at Jack.
“No. I’m not obsessed with war movies like you.” Jack reached up and pulled one off the shelf. “I have lots of ninja movies, though. Or movies with robots. Those are good.”
“I should be happy you’re not pulling out something with ninja robots,” Peter rolled his eyes.
“What are you guys doing?” I asked, tentatively stepping into the room.
“Just trying to find something for Peter to watch, but he’s picky as all hell,” Jack said.
“I’m not picky. I just don’t love something just because it has explosions,” Peter said.
“What’s not to love about explosions?” Jack scoffed. “And besides that, I love lots of movies without explosions. Here.” He grabbed a DVD from a shelf and held it out to him. “Edward Scissorhands. Nothing blows up the whole movie.”
“But you have a crush on Johnny Depp, so that doesn’t count,” Peter shook his head.
“I do not have a crush on Johnny Depp.” Jack rolled his eyes. “And whatever. Do you want a movie or not? You only have like a day to watch this thing. Do you want to spend all the time arguing about what movie it is you want?”
“Hey, don’t rush me.” Peter got up and went over to the rows of DVD’s, brushing past Jack without comment from either of them. “I need to enjoy technology while I have the chance. Who knows where we’re gonna end up after this.”
“Where are you going?” Jack asked, taking a couple steps back so Peter could peruse his DVD’s more easily.
“I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping Ezra can figure something out.” Peter grabbed a movie and flipped it over, reading the back. “I don’t really want to think about it. My plan is to shower, relax, and sleep, because I’m not sure how much I’ll get once we go.”
“I see.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest, and his face tightened a bit. He was worried about Peter, concerned about where the three of them might end up, but he didn’t want to show it.
“Anyway, I think this one will do.” Peter held up Blade Runner.
“That’s what you picked?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “You were just mocking me about my robot movies. And I thought you wanted something about war.”
“I like this movie.” Peter shrugged. “I’m going to go downstairs and watch it, since that’s where I’ll be crashing tonight because my room is dismantled.”
“I have some extra blankets if you want to crash in your old room,” Jack suggested.
“No, I’m good.” Peter walked past me, giving me a small smile, and paused at the doorway. “Is Daisy alright in here?”
“Yeah, she’s fine for now,” Jack nodded.
“Thanks.” Peter waved at him with the DVD and headed downstairs.
I waited until I heard his footsteps disappear into the living room before I went over to Jack. “What was that about?”
“What?” Jack put back his movies on the shelf and glanced back at me. “I just lent Peter a movie. Most of his stuff is still in Australia.”
“Yeah, but you were being… nice.”
“I’m a nice guy,” Jack laughed and pushed a button so the closet door slid shut, hiding all his movies. “And I don’t hate Peter.”
“That’s not what you’ve been saying for like the past year,” I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Do you want me to hate Peter?” He looked at me, his eyebrows arched.
“No, of course not!” I said quickly. “It’s great to see you getting along. It’s just… strange.”
