Hadrian's Colony: Interlude: Carlisle Pt. Two
Notes: Time to finish up this riveting conversation and get this show on the road! Gravity wave...space lane...whatever.
PS, it's raining in Colorado today--like, a LOT of rain--and now I really want hot chocolate. Gonna have to go get me some of that as soon as I get this posted.
Title: Hadrian's Colony: Interlude: Carlisle Pt. Two
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Interlude: Carlisle Pt. 2
Photo by Giancarlo Duarte
She wanted to lashout at him. What do you know about his pain, or mine? But that would beanother misstep, she was sure of it. Carlisle stared coldly for a moment beforesaying, “I need fresh clothes.”
“In the drawer behind you.” A seam appeared in the wall thatCarlisle was certain hadn’t been there before, and she found sleep clothes withbuilt-in undergarments and socks inside. They were long-sleeved, and the clothadjusted to fit her as she slid into it, then—a wave of warmth rippled over herbody, and she stared down at the clothes with incomprehension. How—
“It warms or cools based on species assessment and ambienttemperatures if you’re more than a few percentage points off normal,”Desfontaines told her. “You can turn that functionality off if you don’t carefor it.”
“No,” Carlisle said hoarsely. “No, I…it’s fine.” It was morethan fine, it was the first time she’d felt warm in days, maybe weeks. Maybelonger. She wasn’t going to thank this arrogant son of a bitch for it, though.
“Good. Want anything else? Water? Food?”
Both sounded good, now that she felt more assured that hewasn’t going to throw her into a storage compartment or something. “Yes.”
Desfontaines got up and moved over to the small mess area, slidinga door back to reveal a plethora of boxes and cans. He dispensed hot water froma tap in the wall into a mug, then added two scoopfuls of powder to it. Everymove he made was economical, and unnaturally quiet too. Carlisle didn’t quiteknow why, until she realized he was standing right beside Kieron.
He’s trying not to wake him. Well. Say what you wouldabout this asshole—and she could say a lot—but at least he was dedicated to her—toKieron.
He grabbed something else out of the cabinet, then came backand handed both items to her. One was a meal bar, which was fine but not asfancy as she’d expect for a man who was supposed to be responsible for most ofan entire planet’s net worth. The other… “Oh,” she whispered after she tastedit. Chocolate. How long had it been since she’d tasted chocolate? She drankmore deeply, then again, finally tipping the mug back so that the last fewdrops rolled into her mouth and across her tongue.
“Kieron’s a die-hard coffee fan, but he likes hot chocolateevery now and then,” Desfontaines said from where he’d sat himself down again. “More?”
Carlisle evaluated the state of her stomach and shook her head.“Not yet.” She hadn’t had much to eat or drink over the past few days, and thelast thing she wanted was to make herself sick in front of this man.
“All right.” He nodded, then stretched his lengthy legs outin front of himself and crossed his joined hands over his middle. It was alanguorous pose, but the intensity in his eyes showed it for a lie. “Now thatyou’re all fixed up, I want to talk to you about what’s going to happen next.”
Carlisle’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Already thinkingabout where you’ll get the best bounty for me?”
“On the contrary. No one wants you,” he replied, and damnbut if that didn’t hurt a little. “No one out there remembers Hadrian’s Colony,”he went on, perfectly matter-of-fact. “No one cares about your little powergames and the price you paid for them. No one gives a shit about the Generaland how hard he tried to be a god. The only person left who gave a shit about findingout what happened back here in the first place is lying on the floor overthere.”
“Why did you let him come?” It wasn’t the question she’dintended to ask, but slipped out despite herself. “If you love him so much, whylet him do this to himself?”
Was that pity in his eyes? “You don’t understand howlove works very well, do you?”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “You don’t—”
“Keep your fucking voice down.”
Carlisle’s mouth snapped shut. They both sat in silence fora moment as Kieron shifted on the cot, finally settling again after a fewseconds.
“I want to make something very clear to you,” Desfontainessaid once he was content that Kieron was asleep again. “Kieron Carr is a goodperson in a way you’re not capable of being. I don’t say that to offend you,”and it didn’t offend her at all, actually, “but because it’s the truth. Helooked at you and saw someone worth saving, someone worth risking his life for.I enabled that because he needed me to, but that’s as far as it goes. I’m nothere to help facilitate a better relationship between the two of you. I preferthere to be no future relationship between the two of you, but I’m not naïveenough to think I can put him off now.
“So. My proposition to you is this. Once we’re done withthis planet, I equip you with a ship and a stipend. You go do whatever it isyou want to do—explore new places, look up your old flame, hire yourself out asa mercenary, I don’t care. Go learn how to live like a human again, but do itsomewhere far away from Kieron, because you’ve hurt him enough.” His words cutlike knives, shredding her but also freeing her from the weight of expectationsshe knew she couldn’t live up to.
“You’re not a mother, even though he’d like you to be,” hewent on, looking her straight in the eyes. “And that’s fine, you shouldn’t takeon a role that you’re not prepared for. It wouldn’t be healthy for either ofyou to try and fail right now. I’ve got him, all right? I’m not perfect, but Ilove Kieron. I’m going to marry him. I’m going to live the rest of my undoubtedlyamazing life with him, and I’m going to make sure he has everything he needs tobe healthy and happy, and that doesn’t include you right now. It can’t.” Thenhe smiled, just a little. “It’s okay. I’ll make sure you don’t hurt him.”
Carlisle slumped back against the wall, a matching smilecoming to her lips. “Thank you,” she murmured, then looked down at her emptymug. “Can I have another hot chocolate now?”
“Absolutely.”
