I pressed my ear to the wall and could hear them moving around.
“I don’t want to fight with you.”
“We’re not,” replied Hellana.
“Good, because I feel like we're battling each other for Eiko’s attention most of the time.”
I could feel the tension through the wall.
“I have seen war, and they treat prisoners better than him,” she stated.
“I’ve interrogated prisoners for years,” Watt replied. “I know exactly what they do to people. They treat Eiko like shit, they treat all destructives like shit. He’s not the first I’ve had to help.” Watt took a deep breath. “Can he hear us?”
“No,” replied Hellana. “I’ve tried to listen in on Astrid. You can’t hear a thing, so say what you have to say.”
My heart was beating as I pressed my hand to the wall.
“There’s something about him,” said Watt with a sigh. “You feel it too, right? This energy that draws you in, and you can’t help but want to protect him. When I came here, I wasn’t excited to deal with a destruction. Their personalities are borderline mental. They don’t care about anything—not even themselves. The whole time, you’re worried they might try to blow you up.”
I heard footsteps and the bed squeak.
“With Eiko, he is the opposite. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Like a scared rabbit,” whispered Hellana.
“What?”
“Eidy and I joke that Eiko reminds us of a bunny rabbit desperate to escape but also has the power to kick you through a wall.”
“That fits him.”
Hellana chuckled. “I feel it, too. The first time I healed him, I was scared out of my mind. Astrid had to go with me. But now—” she sighed. “I felt his energy, and I want him to be happy, but I don’t think it's possible. Eiko won’t even let me try to help. He just tells me to leave.”
“I’m the same. I looked into his mind.”
Hellana gasped. “You didn’t.”
A slap echoed in the room.
“Aw! What was that for?”
“Stay out of his mind. He already had trust issues.”
“I had his permission, and I didn’t read his thoughts. I can’t read anyone’s thoughts. We’re not mindreaders. The worst I can do is induce an emotion. I saw his and tried to calm him down. My god, you didn’t need to slap me.”
“Sorry,” said Hellana. “I thought you could.”
I sat up on my knees and waited.
“He’s so lonely. I have never felt that kind of loneliness. We’ve all had to spend years in one of these shithole institutions. It feels like he has this ball of anger, but it only hides how lonely he feels. There’s so much sadness.”
“He cries at night.”
My eyes grew wide. How did she know?!
“I thought you couldn’t hear?”
“You can’t. I can feel it. This intense sadness and pain. He won’t reach out for help, but I feel like his energy is. Everyone says that a destructive’s power comes from self-preservation. They’re mostly trying to protect themselves, and it gets skewed into viewing themselves as a weapon.”
“I get that.” Watt let out a deep breath. “It makes sense. We barely knew Eiko, and we’re already trying to take on Astrid—the head psycho of this place.”
Hellana laughed. “Oh god, maybe Eiko is the one with mental powers. He’s gotten into both of our heads.”
“Who knows, it could be true. Onabis don’t tend to live long. I doubt we truly understand their abilities.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“That is what worries me the most. If Astrid keeps pushing him, Eiko will break. He hasn’t even lived yet.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, we’re changing the topic. This is getting too emotional. Good talk,” said Hellana. “I think we’re on the same page now.”
“Good to hear. So, how old are you?”
“Eighteen. You?”
“Twenty-one.”
Hellana scoffed. “You act like you're thirty.”
“Hardened by war,” Watt breathed.
“Hmm... perhaps that happened to us both. Do you want to know something funny? I stumbled onto Astrid’s health records.”
“You’re going to get in trouble.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t dig through them to find all of her secrets. Her smoking habits are concerning, though. I just saw her birthday. She’s forty-two.”
“No way, she looks so young,” said Watt. “She must have one of those crazy healers work on her.”
“Molders—they literally can change your face. I find them disturbing.”
“I’m sure they’re only erasing all her wrinkles,” laughed Watt. “They’re the only asters who can have non-government jobs. You should—”
“No, thank you,” replied Hellana. “I’ll pass. It's super gross to watch when they’re doing a nose job.”
“What about other enhancements,” laughed Watt.
“Knock it off.”
I heard her slap him.
“Aw!”
The door to her bedroom opened.
“Shit!” I jumped up and returned to my spot across the room. My foot caught the leg of my bed, and I was slammed onto the floor. My ankle screamed with pain. “Damn it,” I said through clenched teeth. That hurt.
The locks turned. I grimaced as the door opened.
“Eiko?” Hellana stood in the entryway. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I groaned, crawling to the far wall. “Nothing happened.”
“Really?” asked Watt. “It looks like something happened.”
Hellana hurried to me. “What did you trip on?”
“Nothing.” I laid there with my arms over my face as my foot blared with pain. “Leave me alone.”
“My god, men are such whiners.” She grabbed my leg and yanked it toward her.
“Aw!” I rose onto my elbow.
If she knew I was hurt, why was she being so rough?
She quickly healed it and patted my thigh. “There you go.”
I climbed to my feet and went to my desk. Facing straight forward, I hoped she couldn’t see my reddened face.
Hellana leaned against the desk right beside me. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?”
“I fell. My foot caught on—” I tapped a pencil on my sketchbook. “I fell.”
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No.”
“Alright, then.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“You—” I sucked in my lips.
“Yes?” said Hellana.
“You can…” I shifted in my seat. “If you only talk to him and leave me alone, you can stay.”
Hellana perked up. “Really?”
“Just talk to him. Not me.” I hunched over. “Go sit over there.”
“This is great!” She bubbled with excitement. “We can have lunch together from now on.”
“Just him.” I pulled at my hair. “Go do it with Watt.”
“Social interaction is healthy,” she stated. “It’s good for you.”
Groaning, I slumped onto my desk.
“Sorry, sorry.” Hellana went to sit by Watt. “I’m overwhelming you again. Looks like male bonding is over,” she whispered to Watt.
He chuckled. “Be careful, or Eiko might change his mind.”
“Oh no, I’ve been approved, so I’ll be joining your little club.”
“You don’t have other things to do?” I groaned.
She pressed her hand to her chest. “My job is to take care of you. Sometimes, I teach the younger kids, but other people can do that.”
“Won’t they miss you?” said Watt.
“Shut it. Someone would probably love to learn white tattoos, and you’re the only one here who can do them.”
I let out a huff through my nose. This was a mistake. They were so loud.
“We better keep it down,” said Watt. “Or both of us are going to get kicked out.”
“True, what are you reading?” Hellana read the cover. “My word, that is propaganda. Why would you read such trash?”
“To educate myself on propaganda,” said Watt.
Hellana eyed him. “That doesn’t make sense.”
They continued to bicker back and forth as I drew random swirled lines. Letting them stay in my room was a huge mistake.
***
They were having a damn tea party in my room. I hated it when I only had books about rich women and their tea parties. Now, I had one taking place in my room, and I hated them even more in real life.
“Eiko, come and eat,” said Hellana.
I was regretting letting those two into my room. This was my personal space. I hunkered down at my desk. I’d eat when they left. They could be social; I didn’t want anything to do with it.
“Come on. I set it up so we could have a proper meal.”
“Go eat in your room,” I muttered.
Hellana arched a brow. “Do I need to move everything to the desk?”
I turned in my seat and glared at her. She didn’t back down. The woman was serious, and Watt was having difficulty not laughing. With a groan, I went over and sat on the floor.
“Why do you eat so much junk food?” Hellana asked Watt.
“Why not?”
“You should take better care of your health.”
I picked up my plain, boring sandwich with some meat and cheese.
“That’s what healers are for,” said Watt.
She scoffed at the remark. “We are not here to fix problems caused by carelessness.”
“Like tripping over random things?” His eyes flicked in my direction.
My mouth fell open. Was he talking about me? I wasn’t going to tell him the real reason I tripped. No one would ever find out I can hear everything taking place on this damn floor.
Watt smiled and soon started to laugh. “When was the last time someone teased you?”
Hellana slapped his leg. “Be nice.”
“Lighten up.” He moved his legs further away from her. “A little fun never hurt anyone.”
“My brother,” I replied.
Hellana’s face lit up. “You have a brother?”
I nodded. “I don’t remember him very well.” I picked at the crust of the bread. “He would do that sometimes—tease me.”
Watt had one of those glazed-bread things again. He reached into the bag at his side and pulled another out. “Catch.” He tossed it to me.
I caught it and felt my chest flutter. Alright, they could stay.
“He’s not supposed to have that,” said Hellana with a heated breath. “Astrid is going to be furious.”
“Astrid won’t show her face since I muted her.” He winked at me. “I’d hurry and eat it. Astrid isn’t the only health freak around here by the sounds of it.”
I opened the packaging.
“I heard you put a seal on her that made it so she couldn’t talk.” Hellana shook her head. “I wouldn’t be making enemies with that woman.”
“It’s fine. She was talking too much, so I made her be quiet. She removed it, so no harm done.”
“Astrid doesn’t care about being healthy,” I said.
They both looked at me.
“She smokes. A lot.”
They both started to laugh.
Watt shrugged. “True, she’s pretty much a chain smoker.”
“She thinks processed food will affect my energy.” I bit off half of the sticky bun.
“I’m only suggesting fruits and vegetables every once in a while.” She eyed Watt. “I’m more concerned about your diet of sweets and soda than Eiko’s occasional snack.”
“It takes a lot of calories to keep this body going.” Watt lifted his shirt and hit his stomach.
His muscles were clearly showing. I knew my body was normal.
“I think I’m good.” He pulled his shirt down.
“Don’t depend on your energy to fix everything.”
“Who would?” replied Watt with a smirk. “I’m simply enjoying the perks.”
“You guys argue a lot.” I rubbed the side of my face.
Watt pulled a bottle out of his bag and unscrewed the lid. “I consider it heated discussions.”
“Or educating the ignorant,” said Hellana.
A smile slipped out, and I started to laugh. Their expressions were pure shock or maybe bewilderment, but it made me laugh more. It wasn’t possible for them to agree on anything, yet they both wanted to hang out in my room.
I rubbed my eyes and saw the soda bottle.
“I’ve never heard you laugh before,” said Hellana. “See, it’s working.” She patted Watt’s leg.
“Knock it off; I almost spilled.” He noticed me looking. “Do you want some?”
I sucked in my lips.
“It’s a lemon-flavored soda. I like it.” He offered me the bottle.
“That’s so unhygienic.” Hellana looked around. “Do we have a glass?”
“If he gets sick, you can fix it.”
Taking it from him, I smelt it first. Little bursts of a fruity scent filtered out of the bottle. I took a sip. It bubbled up into my nose, but it tasted good. I took a longer drink before handing it back.
“Good?”
I nodded. “It’s been so long I forget what soda tasted like.”
“I’ll bring you a bottle tomorrow.” He poured some into his mouth.
“Like I said, we don’t need him turning into you.” Hellana rolled her eyes.
“I’m not going to bring the man a damn juice box. I’d bring him a beer if alcohol were allowed. I know I could use one most days.”
Hellana narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare sneak anything in here and get him drunk. Astrid wouldn’t be the one coming after you. The general would throw a fit.”
“You sound like my mom,” groaned Watt. “Aren’t eighteen-year-olds supposed to be a bit more carefree?”
“My carefree days have come and gone.” She pushed the tray of carrots closer to me. “Don’t turn into Watt. He’s going to find out very soon that being an aster can only do so much when it comes to his health.”
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