Apolonia

I looked to Cy, who was fuming. Something was definitely up, and it was pissing me off that I seemed to be the only one who didn’t know what it was. “I already said I’d work. I can’t back out now.”

“Oh. Okay. Well…will you call me before dinner tonight? Maybe we can hang out for a little bit while you’re on a break.”

“No breaks tonight. We have to finish.”

“Why?”

“We just do.”

He chuckled nervously. “You have to take a dinner break. Call me by seven, okay?” He was smiling, but he couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes.

“I’ll probably just grab something out of the vending machine. I have to go. I’m sorry.”

His welcoming smile quickly faded, and he called after me, “Call me before seven, Rory, okay?”

“I’ll try,” I called back, following Cy into the Fitz.

“Did he want to come in?” Cy asked, annoyed.

“No, he did not.”

This time, Cy and I sat side by side, working furiously, simultaneously recording data and encrypting the files, saving them on two separate flash drives. Our hands brushed more than once, and although Cy seemed not to notice, I certainly did. Every. Damn. Time.

Finally, I broke the silence. “Are you going to explain how you know all those things about me?”

“No,” he said quickly, still typing. He didn’t skip a beat.

“Anyone else would be freaked out.”

“You’re not just anyone. You of all people should know that.”

He kept typing, but I paused. As much as I wanted to turn around and force the issue, we had a pile of work, so we continued.

Our faces were so close when we took turns viewing the specimen under the microscope. It was getting close to dinnertime, and I thought about Benji. He wanted me to call by seven.

I decided that shooting him a text would be less likely to start another argument with Cy.

Hey.

Hey! :) How’s it going? Close to the finish line?

No. Not even close.

I’m going to pick you up at 7 for dinner.

No, you’re really not.

C’mon. I’m going to make you a mini Thanksgiving dinner. With a table and everything.

I have to work.

I’ll be outside at seven. Won’t take no for an answer.

You’re being a little weird.

I just want to have Thanksgiving dinner with you. NBD.

Does it have to be 7?

Yes.

That’s weird.

Just trust me, ok? It’s a surprise.

I’ll see what I can do.

:)

At six o’clock, I hopped off my stool and stretched.

“You must be starving. Why don’t you pop out for some fresh air and enjoy the Gigi’s takeout Benji brought you?” Cy asked.

“Do you want anything?”

“I brought my own.”

“Oh, yeah? Let me see.”

Cy laughed once and shook his head. “No. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I want to see,” I said, picking his messenger bag off the floor. It was oddly shaped, much bigger than usual. “That’s a big lunchbox. What do you have in there? Thanksgiving dinner?”

“Rory, please don’t,” he said, holding out his hand. He was suddenly serious.

I opened it with a teasing smile and pulled out a hexagonal container. It was empty. “What is this?” I said, frowning at Cy.

He sighed. “It’s for the specimen.”

“The rock? You’re taking it to Dr. Z?”

“No, I’m taking it back.”

“To Antarctica?” I said in disbelief.

“No.”

I waited, but he offered no more. “Then, wh—”

“Don’t ask me, Rory. I can’t tell you.”

I felt my entire body pull inward. The answer was right in front of me, but I still didn’t want to believe it. “You’re stealing it from him?”

“I…yes,” he said, sounding defeated. “Technically, I suppose I am.”

“But…do you…” Tears of betrayal swam in my eyes. “Cyrus. Do you…do you work for Majestic?”

He winced at the way I said his name. “Absolutely not. I’m trying to keep it from them, Rory. The only safe place there is.”

“But…why did you let him keep it all this time just to take it away?”

Cy let out the breath he’d been holding. “Because I needed to know what he was capable of learning from it,” he said quickly, as if he’d been keeping the words in for far too long.

After a long pause, I let out a faltering breath. “Who are you?”

“A friend. Please trust me, Rory. You cannot tell him. He is safer this way. Do you understand?”

“And what about the data?”

“Once he forms a hypothesis, it will be destroyed.”

“By you?”

“No.”

“By someone else. Someone you work with. So…you’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

His answer was devastating. I felt like the air had been knocked out of me. “Are you coming back?”

Cy waited for a moment, scanning my face. He stood and touched my arms. “No. And I’ll miss you very much.”

I needed time to think without Cy sitting across from me. I picked up my bag and pulled out my wallet. Unzipping it slowly, I removed a five-dollar bill. “I’m going to the vending machine.”

Cy took a step toward me. “Will you tell him?”

“You’re asking me to lie?”

“I’m asking you to trust me.”

I thought about so much in that moment—truth and consequences, lies and protection. I’d been trying so hard for so long to keep it together, to keep people away, so I didn’t care. I’d made apathy into an art. And one of the only people on earth I wanted to stick around since I’d said good-bye to existing was leaving me. Every time he opened his mouth, he created more questions and no answers, just like in class. But I believed that Cy wanted to keep me safe, and Dr. Z, too.

“I trust you.” Instead of waiting for his reply or reaction, I immediately turned on my heels and pushed through the double metal doors into the hallway and climbed the stairs.

I couldn’t explain why I felt such a strong connection to Cy since day one, how—even though I’d felt dead inside for over two years—Cy somehow made me feel a dozen strong emotions from the moment he walked into Dr. Z’s classroom. I didn’t know much about him, but he knew things about me and wouldn’t tell me why. But something deep inside of me said to wait. I didn’t know everything, but I knew that Cy was the danger I couldn’t stay away from. Learning why might lead me to the answers I so desperately needed to be whole again.