Chapter 3

The whole flight, Brett sat between me and Tiana. She was the one chattering away with him now, while I sat in silence, half-heartedly texting the AI.

"Will you really show up?"

"If you want me to, I'll be there."

My heart skipped a beat, and my face began to heat up.

Brett's voice came from beside me. "Why is your face so red? You'd better not be getting a fever again. That's the last thing I need."

He started rummaging through his bag for something, but quickly realized he hadn't brought any luggage with him, including the medicine he always carried for me.

"Stop looking. I don't have a fever. And you don't need to bring that stuff for me anymore."

Brett opened his mouth to say something, but Tiana pulled his attention away. She'd spilled her drink on herself, and I watched as he patiently dabbed at the wet spot on her leg with a napkin without a single word of complaint. That stung.

But then, for some reason, Tiana turned to me.

"Mara, Brett used to take care of you like this, right? I feel kind of bad being the third wheel between you two."

I had no idea why Tiana always had this uncanny ability to make things painfully awkward. I smiled without answering and stood up to go to the restroom.

That was when the plane hit a patch of turbulence. I lost my balance, and my body tipped straight backward. A ringing filled my ears, and just as I thought I was going to hit the floor, a pair of strong hands caught me.

In that split second, the AI's words flashed through my mind. "I'm right here. I won't hide, I won't back away, and I won't run. I've got you."

But when I turned my head, all I saw was the shiny bald head of a man who looked about 50.

"Careful there, sweetheart."

I scrambled to my feet. "Thank you, thank you so much, sir."

The next second, someone grabbed my wrist. It was Brett, and he didn't look pleased.

"Mara, you're not a little kid anymore. Are you seriously pulling stunts like this just to get my attention?"

I was still drowning in embarrassment from what had just happened, and hearing Brett scold me on top of it made me feel even worse.

"Brett, what are you even talking about?"

He didn't care that I'd almost fallen. "What I'm saying is, can you stop acting so helpless? Would it kill you to not depend on me?"

He looked completely serious. If he could say something that harsh, he really didn't care about me at all anymore.

I sniffled and muttered, "Got it."

Then I turned and walked straight into the restroom without looking back. I locked myself in and sat there in silence for ten minutes.

By the time I came out, I'd made up my mind. I was done having feelings for Brett.