Page 24 of Slavic

Slidingoff the chair,Iwalk slowly toward him.Iget within a few feet of him before stopping.Itlooks likeIcould take a big leap and float right out.Whenhe sees me hesitate, he touches the wall to show me it’s solid.Ican feel his gaze on me asIease closer.

“Talkabout a view,Wow!Youjust had to do this didn’t ya?Upuntil now, in the back of my mind, we could’ve found a way to get back home.Imean yeah, we were on the run, and there isn’t really anything for us to go back to, but home is home.Now,Ican’t pretend this ain’t real.IreckonIcould lie to myself and say thatI’min a planetarium staring up at all the things that few have ever truly seen.Butthat’s not going to change the fact thatI’mon a spaceship, standing next to a creature that could snap me in half, … with no damn underwear on!”

Angrily,Iwipe a lone tear off my cheek and look up. “Wecan’t go home, can we?”

Hemakes a few gestures with his hands like an explosion, or maybe something fading away.

“Shakeyour head yes if you are trying to tell me it’s too far, or no … if it’s gone altogether.”

Hehesitates before shaking his head no, butIcan tell this wasn’t something he wanted to tell me.Heseems almost as sad asIdo.Ashis words sink in,Iquickly fathom the what’s and whys are becoming overwhelming in my mind.RealizingIcould rapidly spiral into anguish,Imake myself push this information aside to deal with later.Rightnow, all that matters is mine andRowan’ssurvival.

Abright flash speeds by the big window thingy, andIlean forward a little to see it better.Partof me wants to ooh and ahh at the sights in front of me, butIcan’t seem to find any enthusiasm at the moment.Hepoints at something in the distance, and it takes me a second to make it out in all the vast darkness.

“Isthat another ship?”

Henods yes.

“Arewe going there?”

Anotheryes.Hepoints at himself and then back at me, shaking his head no.

“Solet me get this straight,I’venever been good at charades.You’resayingI’mnot, correct?”

Hepoints around the room and then back to the object that really doesn’t look like anythingI’veever seen before.It’sshaped like a round, cylindrical object with multiple arms sticking out of it.Lightsflicker on and off as smaller things move all around it.Hetouches my arm gently, making me look back up at him.

Hemakes several attempts to tell me something with his hands, butIjust can’t figure it out.Untilhe makes a cutting motion across my neck. “Ohh, you’re saying it’s dangerous for me?”

Therelief on his face is almost comical.Hegently tugs on my arm, leading me away from the big window, and then touches another place on the wall.Thistime, a door slides into the wall, and he motions for me to go in.Iglance in before walking all the way inside.Trustis just not something easily given from me, especially now.

It’sa bathroom, or a version of one, anyway.Hetakes a second to show me how each thing works, andIcan’t help but laugh when he gets to whatI’massuming is an alien commode.Justto be an ass,Imake him explain it several times becauseIcan tell this is embarrassing for him.Finally, feeling sorry for him,Iask, “Doyou have a stoolIcan borrow around here?”

Heshrugs his shoulders.

“Ican’t reach any of this.Everythingis giant sized, andI’dprefer not to have to crawl onto that commode.Myluck,Iwould slip and end up face first in somethingIreally don’t want to talk or think about.ThenI’dbe flushed out with all the other turds into space.Imean, wouldn’t that just make this trip all the morememorable?It’sbeen so much fun so far;Ican barely hold in all my excitement asIwonder what’s next.”

Hegrowls out something and for some reason,Ican’t deal anymore.Turningaway from him,Istomp out of the room, heading for the big chair he originally set me down in.Ittakes me a second to crawl up in it and onceI’mthere,Igather all the pieces of material he dropped on my lap.Lyingdown,Isimply pile them all on top of me.

Idon’t even have time to settle before his enormous arms are sliding under me andIfind myself being put in the bed.Mad,Ismack his hands away and crawl out, gathering all the material back in my arms again.Thistime, it takes me several tries to get into the chair because my shoulder and wrist are hurting so damn bad, butI’mnot easily swayed when angry.

Onceagain,Isettle down, completely covering myself over with all the loose pieces.Ihear him let out a long sigh andIprepare for a fight whenIfeel him bump the chair as he leans down.Butinstead of him grabbing me again, he slowly separates the layers until he finds my face.

Hethen gives me this ‘why?’ expression. “Look,Ineed to be in control of something, no matter how big or small.Justgive me this because my mind can’t handle anything else right now.I’mtired and my whole life has been turned upside down.Please.”Thelast part comes out as a whisper.

Gentlyhe runs his hand down the back of my head and then shockingly tucks the material all around me.Closingmy eyes,Itry my best to blank everything out, even though this is a huge improvement from whereIwas.Theunknown is still terrifying.Ifight the tears and the helplessnessIfeel.Iknow feeling sorry for myself isn’t going to help, but damn it, it’s hard to seethe positives.However,Rowanis apparently with a doctor,I’mclean, warm, and momentarily safe, …Ithink.So, thank youLord, for the little things.

Chapter Seventeen

SLAVIC

Standingover the chair,Ifight my own feelings as she curls up under my old garments.Mymind and body are demanding thatIprovide for her, and these feelings seem to be overriding everything else.However,Iunderstand the need to feel like you are in control of something.

Steppingback,Iwalk over to the edge of the bed and sit down, rubbing the rough skin on my head back and forth asItry to get my emotions under control.Thefact thatIhave nothing she needs is practically ripping my insides apart.Frack, even now she is not covered properly.Glancingover at the mix-matched pile of shirts lying all over her,Ihave to stop myself from growling out loud.

Thosethings are not even worthy of touching her delicate skin.Frack, it’s hard to remember the last time they were even sanitized, asIhave not worn any of them in orbital rotations.Sheneeds comfort and proper coverings, but how doIobtain them without alerting others of her presence?IknewIshould have updated the broken garment fabricator, but there was always something else that needed to be fixed first.

Flippingthe bed warmer on,Isit and wait.Whenher breaths even out and lengthen,Ican no longer fight the need to comfort her.Gettingup,Iquietly make my way to the lounger.Slidingmy arms under her small frame,Imake sure not to move her around too much.Shemay be tiny, but her temper has proven to be quite large so far.Slowly,Isettle her into the warm coverings on the bed.Myrelief instantly turning to need onceIsee her lying there, andIforce my arms to release her.BecausewhatIreally want to do is explore that luscious little body of hers.Thereare so many interesting marks and specklesIwant to observe closer.

WhenIrealizedIwas parading her around naked for all to see,Icould have ripped this ship and all its occupants apart, brothers or not.Ido not know howImanaged to contain the fury running through me, asIfelt likeIwas going to explode.Maybethat is why the storage area now looks like a storm hit in there.Tryingto find those garments had me throwing things everywhere.

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