The Void Between Stars: Book 4 Of The Orion Series

Unhappy

"Hey."

I startle awake. Amy is sitting on the couch by my feet. I blink profusely at her, groggy and confused. Sitting up, I grope around for my glasses. Once I find them and put them on, I speak in a raspy voice.

"Amy? Fuck, what time is it?"

"Around nine."

"Shit. I am so, so sorry I fell asleep down here—"

Amy shrugs, picking off some nail polish so she doesn't have to look at me. "It's fine. John and I agreed you probably needed the sleep." She flashes me a wicked grin. "Besides, it gave us enough time to plunder all your riches."

I roll my eyes. "Amy–"

"So what's with Olivia?" She's back to picking at her nails.

"Well," I say, with an unintentional angry edge to it, "she's my girlfriend, and you called her a hussy."

Amy flicks her eyes at me. "Were you guys fighting when John and I showed up?"

I'm about to rebuttal, but instead just sigh. I'm too sleepy to try and fight it. "Kind of? We had a weird discussion, and I ended up getting annoyed with her. Then you showed up and you know the rest."

"What was the discussion about?"

I narrow my eyes. "Amy."

"What? I'm just worried about you."

"You called someone you don't even know a hussy!"

"And I'm sorry!" she whines at me. "But—"

"If there's a 'but' you're not really sorry."

Amy rolls her eyes. "But I sensed the tension right away, yaknow? And I just went into..." She claws her hand at the air a second. "Rawr. Protective sister mode."

I clench my hands into fists. "I don't need you, or anyone, to try and save me! I don't need protection! Fucking hell..."

"Oh, so that's what you were fighting about, huh?"

I glare. "Amy."

"She's just a rebound, anyway."

I'm shocked. How could she say that so flippant? Also, since when did I give her permission to validate or otherwise comment on my romantic relationships? "Amy!"

My sister rolls her eyes. "Come on, how long have you guys been seeing each other? If you two are fighting already, you're doomed."

I laugh, and it goes from my nervous laugh into an angry one. "Why are you doing this? Why are you saying any of this? You're acting so horrible right now."

Amy smacks me upside the head. It's not hard, but I wasn't expecting it, so I'm surprised. "Because I want to know why you're fucking around with Olivia instead of figuring out how to get back with Tristan!"

And now I'm angry all over again, and when I speak it's not so much speaking as it is shouting. "Fuck, Amy! My life isn't a reality TV show! Stay out of my fucking love life, will you?!"

Amy looks wounded. And normally I'd care, but I was too angry now. When the expression doesn't slide off her face, I feel bad.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

Amy shrugs, tucking some hair behind her ear. "So I was texting Scott. He mentioned something about an interview or something?"

I sigh through a closed mouth, willing myself to calm. Once I have, I chuckle. "Wait—you text Scott?"

"Yeah! He is sooooo nice!"

I grin wickedly. "Do you have a crush on him?"

Amy rolls her eyes. "Duh. But that's gross, he's way older than."

"He's younger than me."

"Oh."

"Besides," I tell her through gritted teeth, "I'm ten years older than Tristan."

"Oh. I didn't know that. I thought he looked younger, but not that much younger."

"When it comes to love," my words are more wistful than I mean them to, "so long as both parties are adults, age is just a number."

"Oh."

There's a slightly awkward silence. I don't feel like talking much, so I stand up and stretch. "I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'll be a better host, promise."

With my arms still stretched over my head, Amy gets to her feet and hugs me. "Tomorrow I won't be such a shitty little sister."

I hug her back, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. "You better not be."

We make our way upstairs, parting ways at my bedroom door. I open it slowly, allowing it to swing open by itself. Taking a deep breath, I walk in.

I haven't been sleeping in here. Tristan's ghost rattles around my head too much, and I didn't think I could stand the pain of sleeping in here, alone. As I walk slowly to my bed, I run my hand along my dresser, trying to not think about anything at all.

His scent is everywhere and I nearly whimper. I make my way to the foot of the bed. I stand there, simply staring at it. When I left for rehab months ago I hadn't bothered making my bed, and it was still a crumpled mess. Heaving a sigh of contempt, I take out my cell from my back pocket, tossed it by my pillows, and began to undress. Once I was in my black boxers I crawled into bed, pulling the covers over me.

For a while I do nothing, just stare at my plethora of posters. My eyes shift over each one. With each one, I can hear a song from that band in my head. It helps calm me. For a moment there's a pang a pain in my chest; I used to do this when I lived in the trailer. Yet I shove away that correlation, because everything is so different now. I'm safe now. Life is good now.

I turn over on my side, staring at my phone that sat inches away from my face. I wanted to do something, but I was struggling. It felt stupid. Futile. Yet before I knew it, my phone was in my hand. His name was still the only favorite contact in my list, his name listed first.

The phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Orion?"

My breath hitched at Tristan's voice. It felt like I was in space suddenly, floating, no air for me to breathe.

"Orion?" Tristan asked again.

I'm sorry, I say in my head.

"Orion, are you there?"

I still love you. Do you still love me?

"Orio?"

I suck in a sharp breath. "M'sorry," I mumble as I jerk the phone away from my ear. Before Tristan can say anything else, I hang up on him.

I curl into a ball, staring at my phone. I feel numb. I guess it's better than pain. After a few minutes, my phone buzzes. Half expecting it to be Tristan, I'm disappointed when the message is from Jake.

Hi. Wanna hang out tomorrow?

I pick up my cell, and it feels like a dead weight in my hands, unnaturally heavy.

Maybe. Amy and John came in today and are staying with me this week. I'll let you know.

Sounds good. Have a good night Ori.

I can't help but wonder, did Tristan reach out to Jake to check on me? Did Tristan even have Jake's number? I probably freaked Tristan out just now. Scolding myself, I curl further into the fetal position.

A part of me wants to cry, but my eyes remain dry. I have no right to cry; I am not the victim in this situation. So instead I just stare at my phone until I'm whisked away into a deep, thankfully dreamless, sleep.