Page 48 of Reluctantly Abducted
Somewhere up there, Ry'eth is following the rules we both agreed to follow.
My marriage ended with a whimper, a slow, grinding descent into separate lives under the same roof until we finally admitted what we'd both known for months. I mourned that relationship the way you mourn something that's been dying for a long time, with resignation, with relief, with a dull ache that fades a little more each day.
This is different. This is sharp and sudden, a wound that hasn't had time to scab over. I've known Ry for just seventy-two hours, yet the absence of him feels like a physical thing, a presence in my chest where something vital has been removed.
We never slept together, not in the sexual sense. Just that one night of holding each other, his cooler body curved against mine, his arm draped over my waist, his breath against my neck. More intimate, somehow, than any night I spent with my ex-wife in our four years together.
How is that possible?
I press my hand against the cool glass of the window, my eyes fixed on the stars. Three days ago, I would have given anything to be right here, back in my apartment, free from alien abduction. Now, all I can think about is what, who, I've left behind.
"Goodbye, Ry," I say softly to the stars. "I wish..."
But wishes don't change protocol. And protocol says this is the end.
I turn away from the window, from the stars, from impossible wishes. I have a life to return to, appointments to reschedule, explanations to fabricate for my three-day disappearance, a future to rebuild.
But as I move through the familiar spaces of my apartment, spaces that now feel simultaneously too large and too confining, I know with absolute certainty that nothing will ever be quite the same again.
Three days with an alien has somehow rewritten everything I thought I knew about connection, about intimacy, about myself. I've spent years trying to find my place after leaving the military, searching for purpose in a civilian world that never quite made sense to me.
Now, I'm not just lost in the civilian world, I'm lost between worlds.
I make my way to the bathroom, flicking on the harsh fluorescent light. My reflection stares back at me, same face, same body, same person I've always been. Except for my eyes. There's something different there now, something changed. I wonder if anyone else will notice, or if this transformation is visible only to me.
Tomorrow, I'll have to explain my three-day disappearance. I'll have to fabricate some believable story, reintegrate into my life, pretend that the most profound experience of my existence never happened.
But tonight, I allow myself to remember every moment with Ry'eth, every touch, every glance, every flare of light beneath his skin. I let myself feel the full weight of what's been gained and lost in just three days.
And as I finally collapse onto my bed, exhaustion overtaking me, my last conscious thought is of cool blue skin glowing beneath my fingertips, and words left unspoken in the humming chaos of the transport beam.
Chapter Fourteen
Ry'eth
It's been one full rotation cycle since I watched Owen dissolve into light and return to Earth. One day of trying to compile my final report. One day of failing to find the right words to describe the assessment while maintaining scientific objectivity.
I stand outside my brother Zeph'hai's dwelling in the coastal district, the sound of the mineral sea a constant murmur in the background. I've delayed this visit as long as possible. Both my brothers have attempted to contact me since my return, their messages carrying tones of concern that I've ignored. But I can't avoid them forever, especially with my Council presentation tomorrow.
Before I can activate the entrance signal, the door slides open. Zeph stands there, his expression shifting from surprise to obvious relief.
"Ry'eth! You're back." He reaches forward to clasp my forearm in the traditional greeting between siblings. "We've been worried. Your communication silence was... concerning."
"I had reports to complete," I say, the excuse sounding hollow even to me.
Zeph gives me a look that says he doesn't believe me but won't challenge the statement. "Come in. Kav'eth is here too."
I hesitate. "I just came to inform you of my return. I have preparation to do for the Council presentation—"
"Which isn't until tomorrow," he interrupts. "You can spare an hour for family."
The word 'family' now encompasses more than just my brothers, I realize as I step inside. The dwelling is warm and filled with unfamiliar scents, human cooking, I recognize after a moment. In the common area, I see Kav'eth sitting beside hishuman partner, Derek, while Jake, Zeph's human, appears to be explaining something animated about Earth entertainment.
They all look up when I enter.
"The prodigal brother returns," Jake says with a smile. I've learned enough about human expressions to recognize the warmth in it, though the reference escapes me.
Kav'eth rises, his formal posture relaxing slightly. "It is good to see you well, Ry'eth. Your lack of communication was concerning."
