I forced a smile across my face. It was almost a real one. “I’ll be right out, One, you don’t have to worry about me.”
There was not a trace of laughter on his face when he said in a low voice, “If only it were that simple.” He straightened to his full height of ‘giant’ and gestured to the time-piece around his neck. “You have three clicks before I come in there after you.”
“I might be peeing,” I said in pretend-horror.
Coen nudged me into the room. “I’ll take my chances. Three clicks.”
I knew he wouldn’t let us keep the door closed, but luckily there was a second door past the sinks which meant that I wasn’t actually being watched in the bathroom. Emmy went into the stall next to mine, and both of us had a whispered conversation while we peed.
“Tell me everything that happened while I slept,” I said quickly. “The boys got you to spy for them?”
Her reply came back without hesitation. “How did you … never mind. Yeah, they weren’t really taking no for an answer and they seemed to be dealing with something else. It was pretty easy for Atti to get access to her room. He cleans for the dweller-committee.”
She paused for a brief moment, and I could sense her building up to asking me something big. Finally, she whispered, her voice really muffled on the other side of the wall. “You’re going to leave Blesswood again. Will you come back again this time?”
My heart ached a little at the sadness seeping from her. Our lives were being wrenched apart and there was nothing much that could be done to change that. “I’ll always come back for you, Emmy. You’re my sister.”
Normally this would be the point where we hugged, but being separated by a wall, we just finished up our business before busting out of the stalls. Emmy’s eyes were slightly red-rimmed and misty, but she cleared her throat and changed the subject as we washed our hands. “So, do you like Aros? I mean … you did kiss him. I don’t think the others are going to let you choose, though. They seem to like the dynamic they have going on, and sols aren’t allowed to get involved with dwellers, so an illegal lover would really mess up that dynamic.”
I flinched, the memory of their little pact coming back to me as pain once again slammed into my chest. It felt a little like when our mental link was stretched too thin and my heart was shredding through my ribs.
“Will …” Emmy knew me too well; she could read the sadness. “What happened? What did they do to you?”
I had to tell someone, so I spared a quick glance toward the door. I hadn’t even realised that Coen had closed it until then. I leaned in close and whispered, “They made a pact. A pact to not … want me.”
They didn’t want me.
In hurried words, I told her everything I’d heard during my time in Siret’s head. My best friend listened closely, one hip notched against the sink, her expression remaining calm. I knew our time before someone barged in on us was running out, so I did my best to stay on point.
When I finished up, her calm expression had morphed into something else. It was a look Emmy wore a lot: one I had seen a million times growing up. The one which said she knew something that everyone else didn’t. Since Emmy was a genius, it had happened far too often over the past dozen life-cycles.
When she didn’t speak, I growled at her. “What? Just tell me!”
She straightened, taking both of my hands into hers. “Will, you have this terrible habit of thinking and expecting the worst from everyone. Like you push them away before they can do it to you. I mean … how many friends have you had over the last eighteen life-cycles? Besides me. And I think the only reason you never kicked me out of your life was that I literally had nowhere else to go and you eventually had to get used to me.”
“That’s not true,” I burst out. “I love you.”
Emmy chuckled. “You love me now, but don’t you remember when my mum first died and I moved in with you? You shoved rocks under my side of the bed on the floor for weeks. Not to mention that sleeper incident.”
She was still smiling and I couldn’t help but return it. “Yeah, okay, I was pretty sure that the moment you moved in my mum was going to realise what a terrible, clumsy child I was and that it would be much nicer just to have you as a daughter.”