Starcrossed

Chapter 6b: Rigel (part 2)

Chapter 6 (part 2)

Rigel (RY-jel): the 7th brightest star visible from Earth
    

I'm still in a lousy mood the next morning. I haven't had any serious alone time with M since Friday and being apart from her sucks. And she'll have Taekwondo this afternoon, so we won't get a chance today, either. At least we have four classes together.

Feeling a serious need to see her, I walk a little faster to Geometry. Before I even reach the classroom, I sense her brath and the knot inside me starts to relax. I turn in the direction of her vibe and see her hurrying toward me, a worried expression on her adorable face.

"I'm so sorry!" she whispers the moment she reaches me. "I couldn't get out of the house last night. Would you believe—"

"Hey, M!" It's Sean, striding down the hall like he owns it, a big grin on his face. "It was great meeting your family last night. Hope we can all get together again soon. Oh, hey, Rigel." He totally says it as an afterthought, like he didn't even notice me standing here. Jerk.

I barely nod. "Sean."

"Well, catch you later, M." With another smile and a wave—completely for M—he continues on his way.

"He met your family last night?" I ask. "Why didn't you tell me that?" It sounds way more like an accusation than I mean it to. Insecure, much?

And it makes M look worried again. Maybe I'm the jerk.

"I was just about to. It's why I couldn't get out to meet you. The O'Garas—all of them—dropped by right when I was about to leave. And get this: they bought a house right around the corner from me, and bought their van from Uncle Louie! All those Echtran paparazzi are bad enough, but this is taking stalking to a whole new level."

No kidding!

"Last night was totally not your fault, M," I say, trying not to frown so she won't think I'm mad at her. Because I'm definitely not. But this Sean thing is even worse than I thought. "I'll bet Allister's behind this. He probably found that house for them, maybe even convinced the previous owners to sell."

"Now that you mention it, I don't remember a house that close to ours with a "For Sale" sign. So . . . you really think he brought them here to spy on me?"

I can tell she doesn't want to believe that. I don't blame her, after those evil Echtrans almost killed her last month. We both assumed—hoped—the threat was over for good after that. And maybe that threat is. I have a growing suspicion that this is a completely different one. Not to her life, maybe, but to her happiness. And definitely to mine.

"To spy . . . or maybe to influence you," I say carefully. "Allister knows you don't like him much, which means it'll be hard for him to do that himself. Maybe he figures people your own age—"

The bell rings and we have to sprint for our seats. "We'll talk more at lunch," she whispers.

I just nod. Because I'm not sure I want to tell M what I really suspect—that Sean was brought to Jewel to steal her away from me.

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