Space Man

Rest

Hours later, Xisuma stirred, blinking groggily as he regained consciousness. At first, he seemed confused, looking around the room as if piecing together what had happened. His eyes landed on me, and I could see the faintest flicker of guilt in them before he spoke, his voice hoarse.

“Hey... looks like I caused a bit of a mess, huh?”

I crossed my arms, glaring at him. “A bit of a mess? Xisuma, you vanished without a word. Do you have any idea how worried everyone was? How worried I was?” My voice rose slightly, and I didn’t bother trying to rein it in.

He sighed, sitting up slowly, though I could tell he was still a bit weak. “I didn’t mean to—”

“You didn’t mean to?” I cut him off, my frustration bubbling over. “You disappeared on me, left everyone scrambling to find you, and when we do find you, you’re in such a bad state that you can’t even stand. Do you think that’s okay? Do you think that’s fair to us?”

His gaze dropped, and for a moment, he didn’t say anything. “I just... I didn’t... I thought I could handle it.”

“Well, you couldn’t,” I snapped, though my voice softened just a fraction. “And you didn’t give us the chance to help you. Instead, you scared the hell out of everyone.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his tone earnest.

I let out a breath, my anger fading slightly as relief took its place. “I’m glad you’re okay, Xisuma. But you need to stop doing this—stop putting yourself last. You’re important, whether you want to admit it or not.”

For a moment, he just looked at me, a mix of gratitude and guilt in his expression. “I’ll try,” he said quietly.

“You’d better,” I replied, my voice firm but not unkind. “Because next time, I might not forgive you so easily.”

Xisuma probably realized I was still angry with him—I didn’t call him Shishwammy, which was usually a dead giveaway that I wasn’t ready to let things slide. After that little talk, I turned on my heel and left the room without another word, still too frustrated to stay in his presence.

I decided to cool off and made my way to XB’s place. Maybe some time away would help me process everything without exploding again. When I got there, I was surprised to find he wasn’t alone. Sitting across from XB at the table was Beef, casually sipping a drink and laughing at something XB had said.

“Hey, you,” XB greeted me with a smile, though his expression shifted when he noticed the stormy look on my face. “Rough day?”

“You could say that,” I muttered, closing the door behind me.

Beef raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment right away. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, looking at me with that easygoing demeanor of his. “Want to vent, or are you just here to brood?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Maybe a bit of both. Xisuma decided to give everyone a heart attack today. Long story short, he vanished, got sick, scared the life out of all of us, and now acts like everything’s fine when it’s not.”

XB exchanged a look with Beef, their usual lighthearted expressions replaced with a flicker of concern. They both looked a little scared, probably because I didn’t use any nicknames—no “Shishwammy,” no “Shish kabob,” not even a teasing “Beefy.” That alone was enough to make them take the situation seriously.

“Wow,” Beef said after a pause, glancing at his communicator and typing something quickly. “Xisuma must’ve really fucked up.”

“Big time,” I muttered, sinking deeper into the chair.