Concisus (5 page)

“Well it’s nice to see you too.” I coolly greet him.

He puffs his chest. “Don’t get flippant with me. Thanks to you, my team is weeks behind in its work.”

I step right up to his over-inflated chest and stare into his face. “I’m so sorry if my untimely return home was an inconvenience to you. I should have known you had more important things to do.”

He appears smug and rubs his knuckles against his shirt. “Apology accepted. Just don’t make a habit of getting lost. My team can’t afford to waste any more time rescuing you.”

His words sound like a joke, but his tone says otherwise. I ignore them and turn to Gabriella. “Are Jake and Molly here?” I ask.

Gabriella bites her lip and glances sideways at Elliot. “I’m sorry, they’re not. They prefer to work in the base lab whenever we’re not working in the field.”

I thank Gabriella and say goodbye. Before the door completely closes, I hear Elliot’s cross tone. “Everyone back to work. We’ve let her waste enough of our time already.”

No wonder Dr. Brant thinks so highly of our team… at least she used to. Right now, I’m not so sure. There’s one thing I’m sure of—next to Elliot, anyone with an ounce of respect for other people would make a better team lead.

As soon as I enter the base lab, Jake and Molly assault me with hugs. They relentlessly apologize for not looking harder for Ryan and me, and after several minutes I finally reassure them that I too would have assumed we were dead and not sent a rescue party.

“So where’s Ryan?” Jake asks. “He’s not mad at us, is he?”

“No. The only person Ryan’s mad at right now is himself.” I laugh humorlessly.

“Why should he be mad at himself?” Molly looks confused.

“He shouldn’t be, but that’s not stopping him.” Talking about Kelly makes me uncomfortable. I turn and walk around the lab, taking mental notes on the differences I find. The four computer stations face a wall instead of the windows. The large bay window is on the east next to the door in this lab, and the white-board and storage cabinets are on opposite walls. I run my hand along one of the four long lab tables that runs the length of the room and turn back to face Molly.

“He broke up with Kelly,” I explain.

Molly’s lips tilt up in the barest hint of a smile which quickly disappears. “Wait. Did he break up with her or did she break up with him?”

“Ryan broke up with her.”

“Yeees. It’s about time,” she chirps.

“I thought you liked her,” I blurt. Molly had always acted so nice to her.

Molly emphatically shakes her head. “No. I like Ryan and he liked her. That’s the only reason I was nice. Every time she sees me, she calls me Polly then pretends it’s an accident.” She shakes her finger at me. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s no different than how you are toward Jackson.”

“What do you mean?” I’m caught off guard. I’d barely spent any time around Jackson before the flood and didn’t think I’d made any judgments about him.

“Like it isn’t obvious to everyone except Andi how much you dislike him.”

“Andi knows,” I say miserably. “I reacted badly to her wedding news, but it’s not that I don’t like him. He’s a sweet guy, but he’s not right for Andi.” A thought dawns on me. Molly always seems so sweet and nice toward everyone. I’d always assumed it was genuine and never imagined any of it was feigned for the benefit of her friends.

“Have you only been nice to Brody because I’m dating him?” I ask.

She eyes me cautiously. “Why are you asking? Have you broken up with him?”

Me and my big mouth
. I dread breaking up with Brody, and the last thing I want to do is talk about it. But I don’t want to lie to Molly.

“Not yet,” I say.

“Ha!” Molly exclaims and turns to Jake. “I told you she didn’t lose her ring, Jake. Now you get to do dishes for the next week.” She looks back at me with an amused glint in her eyes. “Does this mean that you and Ryan are together now?”

“What?” I sputter. “Am I the world’s worst actress, or do I have an obvious tell?”

Jake bursts out laughing. “Did you hit your head during the flood and forget about all the time we spent together? Of course, Molly and I knew something was going on with you and Ryan. We were just waiting for the two of you to figure it out.”

Jake has a point. After all the time we’ve spent together, they sometimes know me better than I know myself.

“So I take it then that neither one of you were overly fond of Brody?” I ask.

They both sheepishly nod.

“Can you do me a favor and keep quiet about me and Ryan for now? We want to give Kelly and Brody some time before we go public.”

“Sure,” Molly says.

“No problem,” Jake assures me.

I spend the rest of the morning talking about the flood, being stranded in the forest and my time in quarantine. I attempt to leave out the part about Dr. Brant grounding Ryan and me. I don’t need them worrying about the future of our team, but they already are because they don’t like Elliot. They work in the base lab just to get away from him. They’re anxious for our team to re-form and are disappointed that we have to wait.

I volunteer to get lunch for all of us, but on the way out of the dining hall, I run into Brody. He stops short and blankly looks at me. He doesn’t look shocked or happy to see me. He cocks his head and runs his fingers along the blond stubble on his chin.

“So you really are alive.” His deep brown eyes are unreadable.

“Apparently,” I nervously quip.

“Everyone said you were dead.” His voice is flat.

“I know.” I search his broad face and confirm that he no longer has any power over me. I feel nothing toward him. As much as I suspected it, the fact still startles me. It seems impossible that the intense physical attraction we once shared could completely disappear.

“Meet me for dinner, dining hall A.” As usual, he demands instead of requests.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” He scrunches his brow and looks at me as if he can’t comprehend what I’ve said. Maybe Andi was wrong and his lack of feelings for me was just an act.

I take a long, deep breath. “Look. I don’t want to hurt you, but I had a lot of time to think as I made my way back here. We really are two very different people. I just don’t think we could make each other happy long term. You deserve someone who can.”

“So I guess this is it then,” he sounds as if he’s commenting on the weather, not the end of a relationship. I’m sure he’s holding back his real emotions.

“I guess so.” I close my eyes briefly. I really don’t want him hurt.

“Rachel will be happy.”

“Who’s Rachel?” I blurt.

“Everyone said you were dead. So I started seeing Rachel.” His expression lacks any sign of malice or remorse. He’s not mad or trying to make me jealous.

“Oh, is she nice?” I hide my bewilderment. Pods or no pods, I hadn’t expected him to recover from my supposed death quite so easily. I guess Andi avoided mentioning Rachel in order to spare my feelings.

“She doesn’t have your inhibitions,” Brody says wryly.

I blink. Just how the heck am I supposed to respond to that? I don’t. I’m not about to give into his baiting.

“I’ll see ya around.” Without warning, Brody turns and walks away. If I’m the one who broke up with him, then why do I feel dumped?

After my encounter with Brody, I don’t feel up to visiting anyone else. I spend the rest of the day hiding in the lab with Molly and Jake. They let me help them, though there’s little to do. Elliot has them deciphering his notes from his latest dissection which they put into the database. I am pained to see their talents wasted on simple data entry. I resolve to convince Dr. Brant to change her mind and let me and my team back into the field together.

Chapter 4

At the end of the day, the three of us head to the dining hall where the entire gang has gathered for dinner. I assume Andi spread the news that I’m back on the base. With everyone’s accompanying boyfriend or girlfriend however, we no longer fit one table which reminds me of my problem with the pods. I sit next to Jake, one of the few people at the tables without a date.

I greet everyone with a wave. Everyone nods or says “hey.” They all know me well enough to know my aversion to being the center of attention, except for Jackson who leaps from his seat when he finally recognizes me.

“Oh great, Brett. I was hoping I’d get to see you soon. You just have to tell me everything that happened to you out there. Is it true you were attacked by a flower?”

I’ve never dined with him before because he usually works in the kitchen during dinners. Tonight must be his night off. Lucky me. I bet Andi has something to do with it. Trying to hide my mix of embarrassment and annoyance I sweetly ask, “Didn’t Andi tell you already?”

“Well, yeah,” he says drawing out the words. “I just wanted the story direct from the source.”

“Well this source has been tapped dry.” I look down at my plate and spin my fork in the spaghetti, but I feel Jackson’s expectant stare. “My entire time in quarantine I had to retell the story to everyone and their brother,” I explain. “I need a break from storytelling.”

Jackson looks really disappointed, but then his face brightens. “So after dinner then?”

“No,” I say flatly.

Placing a hand on Jackson’s arm Andi explains, “Honey, I think she needs a longer break than that. When Brett’s ready, she’ll tell us in her own words what happened.”

I suppress a laugh. Andi sounds as if she’s talking to a toddler. Jackson doesn’t seem to notice. He picks a pork chop up by the bone and gnaws it. I watch Jake, expecting to see a bemused expression, but instead, he somberly picks at his food.

“Hey Jake,” I say quietly. “What’s wrong?”

Instantly, his entire demeanor changes. He sits up straight and plasters a fake smile on his face. “Yeah, I’m fine. Never better.” For emphasis, he gives me a playful jab.

I lightly punch him back, but I know something’s bothering him. If he doesn’t want to tell me what it is, I can try to get the information from Molly. I want to invite her to walk with me after dinner, but Troy stands up and interrupts the dinner chatter.

He looks nervous and clears his throat. “Me and Hazel have an announcement to make.” The entire table quiets. I’m extremely curious. Molly had told me Troy and Hazel had married while I was away. What more could they possibly have to announce? Oh.

“We’re expecting!” Troy blurts, confirming what I’d just figured out.

Everyone breaks out in a chorus of congratulations. If anyone else feels shocked by the news, they hide it well.

“So how far along are you?” Wendy asks.

Hazel blushes bright red. “A little over a month. We think it happened on the wedding night.”

I bite my tongue. I think it’s too soon for them to know she’s pregnant and I almost ask if they were trying to get pregnant.

Hazel repeatedly tucks a strand of hair behind her ears as she explains. “We’ll have a better idea after the first ultrasound. We were going to wait a little longer to tell everyone, but I’ve been having such bad morning sickness—”

“That we wanted you to hear it from us first, instead of from a stranger that figured it out,” Troy says.

Too cute. They’re finishing each other’s thoughts. The morning sickness explains how she knew, but poor Hazel may be in for a rough time. I vaguely remember hearing something about early morning sickness being an indicator that the pregnancy could be difficult, but I’m not a doctor. Hopefully, I’m wrong.

I’m not sure how I feel about them starting a family so soon. Out of all the couples, though, Hazel and Troy would be good parents. The two of them really do seem made for each other. I hope they are, because the pods make knowing what’s real impossible.

“In another eight months we’ll have a little Troy junior running around, flaming hair and all,” Jeremy jokes.

Vehemently shaking his head, Troy protests, “Oh no, I hope not. My carrot top is the last thing I want to pass on.”
Huh, I never realized he didn’t like his hair
.

Hazel pats Troy’s hand. “Well, there’s no need to worry. There are no redheads on my side of the family.”

Scrunching up his forehead, Jackson looks confused. “So?”

Again with a parental tone, Andi explains, “Red hair is a recessive gene, sweetie. Both parents need to pass on the red hair gene for the child to have red hair.”

I don’t think Jackson understands, but he shrugs. “Oh.” He drops his head and concentrates on the food on his plate.

The rest of the dinner conversation focuses on wedding plans and babies. Wendy and Adam are engaged now, as are Zachary and Sarah. After a while, I tune it all out and focus on my food. I can’t feel happy for them if their romances are caused by the pods and not their genuine feelings. I consider asking them all to sleep upside down, but considering how well things went with Andi, I decide to wait until I have a better plan. I don’t want to lose all my friends, and I can’t risk my theory getting back to one of the field managers. I doubt the people in charge of the base would welcome my interference.

The group decides to go bowling after dinner. I plan on joining them, but as I stand to return my tray, I catch sight of Ryan leaving the dining hall, with Kelly. My stomach sinks. I usually trust my instincts, but this time I don’t like what they’re telling me. A lump forms in my throat. I tell the group I’m not in the mood to bowl, before my voice completely chokes off.

I quickly exit the dining hall and try to find Ryan, but he’s nowhere in sight. I end up walking the perimeter of the base, hoping to catch sight of him. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but my mind is reeling. I want to trust Ryan, but my gut tells me something’s up. I bury the feeling so I can think more clearly. Perhaps his disappearance is purely innocent. Maybe he ran into Kelly on the way out of the dining hall. Maybe the two decided to try to be friends after breaking up. A dozen different innocent reasons could explain them being together.

A musical sound pulls me from my thoughts. “Chirrrrp.” I look around and see Caper walking alongside me, nimbly balancing on the top of the perimeter fence, as if the barbed wire on top doesn’t exist.