“Grass,” I said with a smirk.
Cy wasn’t amused at first, but then his expression softened, and he allowed the smallest trace of a smile to form on his lips.
“Our first breakfast. What’s the occasion?”
“I wanted us to have a conversation about the other night.”
“What about it?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
He had at least narrowed it down, but I still didn’t know if he was pissed that I had bailed on him or if he knew about Benji.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Obviously,” I said, making a downward motion over my torso with both hands. Not a scratch on me, and I was looking mighty fine with my eleven billion mismatched layers.
I picked up my burrito and took a bite.
“This is serious, Rory. I need to know you’ll be okay.”
I stopped chewing. “Why?” I asked, my voice muffled by the pound of food in my face.
Cy picked at his grass, moving it around on the bottom of the bowl. He poured the entire cup of vinegar over the green leaves, letting them swim around for a while. “Rory…tell me something you’ve never told anyone.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to.”
“That’s weird.”
“You’re weird.”
“So are you.”
“Exactly,” he said in a flat voice. “Tell me about what you’ve buried.”
“This conversation has taken an awkward turn, like, before it even started.”
“There’s a point.”
“Okay, so you go first.”
Cy took a bite, thinking while he chewed, and then put down his fork the moment he swallowed. “Okay. I believe in fate.”
“Lame.” My response came automatically even though I was a devout disciple of fate. I needed to believe that what had happened to my parents and Sydney happened for a reason. I needed to believe that they were taken, and I was spared to fulfill some purpose, that the universe needed to leave me here, emotionally crippled and alone in my pain. And as crazy as it sounded, I believed Cy played a part somehow.
“I have a reason to believe. I believe you came here, where Dr. Z was, and that we met for a reason.”
I liked this weird conversation. Finally, someone sounded as crazy as me. “Why?”
“Your turn.”
“I’m really a lizard,” I said, sticking out my tongue and pulling it back in quickly.
“Very funny.”
I took another bite of burrito and pointed to my mouth, signaling that I couldn’t speak.
Cy seemed frustrated. “Okay, we’ll try this another way. Why do you always put yourself in danger?”
“I don’t.”
“Walking alone in the dark. Antagonizing men with a history of violence against women. Driving so fast that you wrecked your car, which is why you’ve been a pedestrian for the last twenty months. Walking out too far in an angry sea. Frequenting the dangerous side of town—alone, at night—for absolutely no reason. Getting on the back of a motorcycle with a complete stranger, who was clearly drunk. That’s not even half of it.”
I squirmed in my chair. Some of those things happened before I knew Cy. Even more happened in high school the six months after my parents died. All of them, no one knew about, not even Dr. Z.
Cy put his elbows on the table. “Spending so much time with Benji Reynolds?”
The last sentence nearly caused me to choke on the bite of burrito in my mouth. I swallowed. “Benji? He’s harmless.”
“What do you know about him?”
“What do I know about Benji? Not as much as you know about me. How in the hell do you know all of that?”
“Just answer the question.”
“You first,” I snapped.
“I’m thorough. What you should be asking is how I could learn all of that about you but have to ask what you know about Benji. He has no records. There is nothing available on him or his family anywhere, not even a birth certificate. I couldn’t even access his school records at KIT.”
“Are you hacking into the school’s mainframe?”
“That’s not important. You have to stay away from him, Rory. Something doesn’t add up.”
“You’ve got that right.”
Cy lowered his voice. “You can’t trust him. Think about it. A wealthy, preppy kid follows the campus recluse like a lovesick puppy? Have you ever asked yourself why?”
“Are you saying I’m not good enough for him?”
“Of course not.”
“Because he’s lonely, Cy. He doesn’t belong, and neither do I. That’s all it is.”
“He doesn’t belong? He’s athletic, personable, and approachable. The women at this school fawn all over him. He could literally have his pick. He chose you and only you. He refuses to even acknowledge anyone else. You’re far from naive, Rory. Does none of that strike you as odd?”
I began to feel sick in the pit of my stomach, and my breakfast threatened to come up. “Stop.”
“You can sense danger, Rory. You couldn’t have missed this. Benji wants to gain access to Dr. Zorba’s lab. That is his final objective.”
I laughed once. “That’s ridiculous. I thought I was paranoid.”
Cy reached his hand across the table. “How many times has he asked to accompany you to the lab?”
I put down my fork. “Stop it, Cy. Right now.”
“I’m worried. I can’t protect you much longer.”
“I don’t need protection. You’re kind of pissing me off right now.”
“I can live with that. I can’t live with knowing that I’m leaving you here to fall into a tailspin until you wind up like your parents.”
“You’re not making any sense, and by the way, f**k you.” I took another bite of burrito for show because I definitely wasn’t hungry anymore.
Cy sat back, huffing in frustration and looking around the room. After a few moments, he let his shoulders fall, and he leaned in again. “Promise me, Rory. Promise me, you’ll stop tempting fate. I can make a promise to you. You have a beating heart. You have blood running through your veins. No matter what you may think, I assure you, you can die. And you will, if you continue on this course of self-destruction.”
I raised my eyebrows. “It sounds so sexy when you say it.” Although I was skilled at masking my feelings, everything Cy was saying was freaking me the hell out. How does he know those things about me? Why is he so suspicious of Benji? Is he a stalker? Is he Majestic?