Chapter 60
SIXTY
Bri
“Finally pulled yourself away from Tai, huh?” Elowen looks over at me with a twinkle in her eye. I wish I could argue against the knowing look she is giving me right now. She saw it first, something there. I denied it at every turn, but there is no denying it now.
“The dude lost his arm for me. It’s the least I could do.” I drop down onto her comfortable overstuffed sofa and look out over Bihar. Since I miraculously got us back, I’ve been hovering over Tai in the medbay at the military base.
“Does it count if it was a bionic arm?” she asks, knowing full well it counts, she’s feeling sassy.
Of course she is. I teased her and pushed and prodded about Aro, and now it’s payback time.
“We both know you’d do the same for Aro.”
Elowen stops short, her hands full with a tray of sparkling drinks and colorful snacks. Her wide eyes blink at me, and a smile spreads across her face.
“Did you just say what I think you said?” she asks with a disbelieving laugh.
I take a deep breath and reach for my glass. I’m going to need a lot of this to get through what we went through on Sabaak.
“You might as well sit down.”
She plops down next to me and turns, giving me her full attention.
The story tumbles out of my mouth, starting with when he showed up on the station to “bring me home.” Then there was the argument and the evacuation.
The crash-landing on Sabaak and wandering through the desert.
She laughs hysterically when I tell her about the brethren and the creepiest cult in the universe.
When I express how much I loved Daisy, she declares that she wants a h’axom of her own.
Then I talk through the events that led us home. The little details and shifts between Tai and I pour out. How we both made mistakes and missteps with each other, but somehow it brought us closer. And finally, how he shifted into his battleform when he tried to save me from the Yuhlari.
“You don’t seem surprised by any of this,” I tell her once I’ve finally gotten it all out.
“You wanted your big adventure, and you finally got it. I’m just glad it brought you back here. I can’t imagine a life here on j’Tilak without you.” Her eyes are a little misty when she pulls me into a crushing hug.
“Well, about that,” I say reluctantly.
“What? No. You cannot leave! You just got back.”
“I need to help my family. My mom and my brothers are back on Earth working themselves to death for me. I can’t stay here and live the ideal life knowing what they have done to get me here.
I’d never be able to live with myself.” I haven’t been able to bring myself to call them yet.
I’m still processing what happened. But I know the longer I wait to call them, the more pissed they are going to be.
“You can bring them here! Aro can find a home and jobs for them!” she pleads.
“I appreciate the offer, but Elowen, we don’t have any money to get them here. They are barely making it as it is.”
“I know it’s expensive. I’m sure we can figure it out.” Her unbridled optimism rubs me the wrong way. I’m tired and not in the mood to explain my family’s financial situation.
“Elowen, you have lived a very privileged life. You have traveled all over the universe and never known the struggle of survival on Earth.” I make sure to be gentle with my tone. She’s still my best friend, but I don’t think she’ll ever fully understand what my life was before we came here.
“I know life is rough out there. I know people struggle,” she says, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m not naive.”
I grab her hands and pull her toward me. “It’s different when you’ve lived it.”
That’s enough said. I don’t want to punish her for not knowing what it’s like to grow up like I did. I muster up a smile and redirect the conversation.
“It’s time for me to get a grown-up job.
I’ve gotten my education, and now I’ve had my big adventure.
Now it’s my turn to help them out.” Their generosity and sacrifice have fueled me all this time.
A small part of me feels obligated to give back, but mostly I just love and miss them so damn much.
I want them to have a beautiful life. One that isn’t only work and exploitation.
“You don’t have to do this on your own. We can help,” Elowen pleads with me.
“We’ll figure it out. Let’s talk about something else. Anything else,” I tell her and force a smile. I don’t want her to take on my burdens.
“Are you going to the signing ceremony today?” she asks, bringing the conversation back to Tai.
“Yeah, I’m going to meet him there.” Another complicated topic, and my tone conveys my mixed feelings about it.
“What? You don’t want him to re-enlist?”
"After everything, he's still trying to prove he's good. The service is how he's chosen to do that. I understand it. Someday he'll realize the job was never the point."
I can do my thing while Tai stays in the military. I’ll get back to the genetics lab and figure out how I’m going to raise enough money for the foundation, and someday I’ll make my dream come true.