I sat on the couch, one hand covering my mouth, as the girl just stared in confusion.

Slowly, she began picking up the broken pieces of the remote, piling them up by the door. I wasn't sure how to respond, or whether she even wanted a response.

"I'm...I'm sorry...," I mumbled out, as she finished dealing with the remote.

"Yeah...well. I bit of an explanation would be nice," she replied, crossing her tanned arms over her chest. Her long black hair swished as she walked across the room and plopped down at one of the dining table chairs. Then, she leaned against the back of it, still staring at my skeptically. "I'll wait."

How did I even start? "Um...my name's Calestia."

She tilted her head to the side, impatiently waiting for me to continue.

"The boy..." I realized I still didn't know his name which made me even more suspicious. "He brought me here."

She narrowed her dark eyes at me. "Right. Noah just picked you up off the streets and brought you here. How specific."

I hated how she was actually close to the truth. Except the truth was worse, as he literally found me in the trash.

I shrugged.

She stood up again and walked towards me, staring down at my bandaged leg. Before I could stop her, she poked it. I winced. "Geez!"

"What sorts of meds did he get you on? I didn't even think he still had any." She didn't bother meeting my gaze.

"I don't know. I don't even know why he took me in."

She put her hands on her hips with a little humph. "Noah was always one to bring in the strays."

I felt myself blush a bit. "Excuse me? I'm not just some-"

At that moment, the door opened, and the boy, Noah, walked in. His face paled the second he saw the girl. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dude, I messaged you."

"Yes, but..." He looked at me, then looked back at her. Then looked at me again. He let out a sigh. "I guess it's too late for you to pretend you didn't see her?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, bit late for that. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone, though," she responded.

Noah seemed to visibly sag in relief. "Thank you."

He entered the living room with a take out bag and dropped it on the kitchen table.  The girl's attention immediately shifted from me to the steaming black boxes that Noah was laying out.

The smell wafted towards my spot on the couch, and I couldn't help my mouth from watering. I hadn't had Chinese food in what felt like decades.

Noah smacked the girl's hand away lightly as she started to reach for it. "Emma, no," the boy said to her. A stare down immediately followed. The girl pouted and crossed her arms. "We need to save some for her. And I know the second you take that it's gonna be yours."

Emma just rolled her eyes.

"Thanks," I murmured from my spot on the couch. I felt a little guilty, though. After all, Noah was doing all this for me -- getting me food, making sure I didn't die -- and I wasn't really giving anything in return. I didn't really understand why he'd go to such measures when he didn't even know who I was.

He didn't even know how much of a risk I was putting him at.

I probably had to leave.

"So, why are you here again?" Noah asked Emma as he started to portion out the food.

Emma sighed loudly. "Don't you have eyes? Can't you just read what I sent?"

"I can, but you're also sitting right in front of me."

Emma twirled a strand of her straight dark hair. "Fine." She glanced at me and I realized she may have not wanted me to hear. I attempted to look disinterested. "I saw you know who again at work today."

"That's unsurprising."

"I know right. Maybe I need a restraining order," Emma replied. Noah walked to me and handed me a plate covered with lo mein, rice, and dumplings.

"Thank you..." He just nodded, and I picked at a dumpling with my fork. It looked steaming hot.

"So...," Emma started, and I could tell what was coming next. She was looking straight at me. "Where exactly did you two meet?"

Noah looked a little uncertain as he sat back down. Maybe he wasn't sure if I was comfortable with him sharing.

I swallowed the bite of dumpling that I'd just put in my mouth. "Um...he just found me-"

"On the street. She'd gotten shot." Noah interrupted me quickly. I frowned.

Emma noticed. "On the street?" She looked at Noah, narrowing her eyes at him. Then, she let out an exasperated noise. "Don't tell me it was at the trash facility."

I wasn't sure whether I'd be condemning him by answering that question.

In the end, I didn't have to.

After another second of Emma glaring Noah down, he finally gave in. "Maybe it was at the trash facility."

"Really Noah? Again? We talked about this." Emma seemed sincerely disappointed. Noah didn't respond. "And that makes her a whole lot more suspicious, too. How the hell did you get shot at a trash facility?"

I felt my face go red. I also didn't have a response.

"Emma, just leave her alone. She's hurt. No point grilling her about it," Noah responded, in my defense.

"Actually, I think there's a really good point in grilling her about it. You brought a stranger into your house, Noah. A stranger that you found in the trash." Emma put her fork down pointedly. "Where do you think she came from, Noah? Hm?"

The room was dead silent. She'd figured it out. She knew I wasn't just odd. I was genuinely putting them both at risk just by being there. The Equator didn't appreciate just anyone being allowed past their borders.

Noah looked more embarrassed than I felt. Like he hadn't really thought that far into it. "Look...I...I...," he stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I just saw that she was hurt. I couldn't leave her there to die."

"So, you knew then. When you brought her here."

Once again, he went quiet.

"You knew that she wasn't one of us. That she can die."

My blood went cold. They couldn't know that. If they knew that, they'd know that they couldn't help me. Because they'd be risking their lives.

Emma definitely didn't want to risk her life for me.

And how had Noah even known? If she was right...

I remembered Noah dragging me from the trash...he'd brushed my hair behind my ear. He'd checked then, hadn't he? That was all the information he'd needed.

And yet he still had brought me in.

"So what? So what if she doesn't have a chip? She's still a person. She still deserves to live."

Emma stared at Noah for a moment. Then, she stood up from the table, not even bothering to bring the takeout with her. She didn't say another word before storming past me and straight towards the door.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Noah was on his feet seconds later, following quickly. He glanced at me for a second, "Don't move. I swear I'll be back."

He didn't even wait for my reply before leaving me alone again in his apartment.