T-PAIN
I'm almost freaked out that Addi put her hand on me so aggressively. Freaked out in a good way. Considering she'd only ever lay a hand on Johnny when she was beating him to a pulp, I'd say this is good character development. Right?
She'd rushed in and out of the tent, then ordered me in a chair as she took a seat on the bed, looking down at me with an air of righteousness. Like she was sure of this one thing she was doing. "Haven't had the time to properly catch up," she tells me.
I nod. I had tried a couple of days ago and she had pushed me away—of course, I'd forgiven that. I thought she'd made the right decision. The Addi I knew before would've done something stupid. Pardon, I meant that she would've done something careless. But now she's thinking responsibly. Occasionally, a little recklessly, but something has changed. Like a tiny gear has finally slotted properly in her brain, allowing her to have a few bursts of brightness.
"So tell me, what's been happening?" Addi asks.
"Not much since I got here," I admit, chuckling uneasily.
She shakes her head. "Tell me something happier. Before it all fell apart."
"Why?"
She shrugs. "It doesn't have to be depressing all the time."
I made so many memories back at 2002. Happy ones, sad ones, pretty evenly split. Addi is right about one thing—no one really likes to reflect on the sad ones, do they? They're only forced to think of those sad moments as the ship sinks. She used to do that a lot. I'm glad she's switching up her brand now.
I guess I missed watching her grow up. There's a lot that I missed. I missed the gang's reunion in Japan, apparently. I missed supporting Johnny as he lost a leg, missed backing Ebony and her level-headed logic. I gambled with this war and got caught and risked never seeing these guys—my family—again.
Never again. Once we're safe, we'll wait out this war. Once the arms are laid down and relative world peace resumes, once I can be sure that they won't be hurt again, only then can we go home.
