I’m starving, I didn’t have a chance to eat breakfast this morning and I’ve been up since Hardin barged into Zed’s apartment to get me.
He takes a slice of pizza and places it on a napkin for me. Then he grabs his own and folds it in half, the way my father used to do. Before taking a massive bite, he asks, “How did everything go last night . . . well, this morning, I guess.”
I begin to feel uneasy watching him, and the smell of the flowers reminds me of the hours I used to spend in the greenhouse behind my childhood home, escaping from my drunk father screaming at my mother.
I look away from him and finish chewing before answering him. “It was a disaster at first, as always.”
“At first?” He tilts his head and licks his lips.
“Yeah, we fought like we always do, but it’s sort of better now.” I’m not going to tell Zed about Hardin breaking down and falling onto his knees in front of me; it’s too personal and only for Hardin and me to know.
“What do you mean?”
“He apologized.”
He gives me a look I don’t like much. “And you fell for it?”
“No, I told him I wasn’t ready for anything yet. I just told him I’d think about it.” I shrug.
“You aren’t really going to, are you?” Disappointment is clear in his voice.
“Yeah, I’m not going to dive right back into anything, and it’s not like I’m moving back into that apartment.”
Zed puts his slice down on his napkin. “You shouldn’t even be giving him a minute of your time, Tessa. What more does he have to do to you to make you stay away from him?” He stares at me as if I owe him an answer.
“It’s not like that. It’s not that simple to just cut him out of my life. I said I’m not dating him or anything, but we’ve been through a lot together and he’s been having a really hard time without me.”
Zed rolls his eyes. “Oh, drinking and getting high with Jace is his version of having a hard time, then?” he tells me, and my stomach drops.
“He hasn’t been hanging out with Jace. He was in England.” He really was in England, wasn’t he?
“He was just at Jace’s place last night, just before he showed up at my place.”
“He was?” Of all people, I never thought Hardin would hang out with Jace again.
“It seems a little shady that he would hang out with someone who had such a big part in everything when he seems to hate me being near you.”
“Yeah . . . but you were in on it, too,” I remind him.
“Not in telling you; I had nothing to do with when they embarrassed you in front of everyone. Jace and Molly set the whole thing up—and Hardin knows that, that’s why he beat Jace’s ass. And you know, I wanted to tell you the whole time; it was always more than a bet for me, Tessa. But to him it wasn’t. He proved that when he showed us the sheets.”
My appetite is lost and I feel nauseous. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
Zed nods and puts up a gentle hand. “You’re right. I’m sorry for bringing all of that up. I just wish you would give me half the chances you give him. I’d never do things like hang out with Jace if I were in Hardin’s position, and on top of that, Jace always has random girls over there—”
“Okay,” I interrupt him. I can’t listen to any more about Jace and girls at his apartment.
“Let’s talk about something else. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings just now. I really am. I just don’t understand. You’re too good for him, and you’ve given him so many chances. But I won’t bring it up again unless you want to talk about it.” He reaches across the table and puts his hand on top of mine.
“It’s okay,” I say. But I can’t believe Hardin would be hanging out with Jace after we got into that fight in the driveway. That’s the last place I thought he would be.
Zed stands up and walks over to the door. “Come on, let me show you something.” I stand and follow him. “Wait there,” he says when I reach the middle of the room.
The light shuts off and I’m expecting pitch black. Instead my eyes are greeted with neon green, pink, orange, and red. Each row of flowers glows with a different color, some of them brighter than others.
“Whoa . . .” I half whisper.
“Neat, isn’t it?” He asks.
“Yes, very.” I walk down the row slowly, taking in the sight.
“We basically engineered them, then altered the seeds to glow like this.” Suddenly he’s behind me. “Watch this.” His hand moves to my arm and he guides my hand to touch a petal of a glowing pink flower. This flower isn’t glowing as bright as the rest—that is, until my fingertip touches it and it comes to life. I jerk my hand back in surprise and hear him chuckle behind me.
“How is that even possible?” I ask in amazement.
I love flowers, especially lilies, and these man-made blooms look similar to them—they’re officially my new favorite.
“Anything’s possible when science is involved,” he says, his face lit up by the flowers and his smile bright.
“How nerdy of you,” I tease, and he laughs.
“You aren’t in any position to call me nerdy,” he teases back, and I laugh.
“True.” I touch the flower again and watch it glow once more. “This is incredible.”
“I thought you’d like it. We’re working on doing the same with a tree; the problem is that trees take much longer to grow than flowers. But trees live much longer; flowers are too fragile. If you neglect them, they wilt and die.” His tone is soft, and I can’t help but compare myself to the flower, and get the feeling he’s doing the same.