Survivors

Consolation

I unplug my phone and rush to my room. I bury my face in my knees. I take deep breaths, but nothing helps.

My dad is a goddamn alien.

That information is fairly cool, but I can hardly process it seeing how I just got a heartbreaking email from my dead mother.

I am not sobbing. My tears are silent, rolling down my cheeks slowly until they drop onto the cold floor. I hear the noise of a deep robotic breath and glare at the mirror. It keeps silent.

"Can I come in?" Someone asks. I nod, but then notice they can't see me. I start to stand up to open the door but they come in anyways.

"Hi." I mumble into my legs.

"Hey, what happened to you?" I feel Xavier's weight on the end of the bed.

"I'm just sad because of my mom sending an email. She's dead, Xavier."

"Anything else?" He asks. I think about the whole alien heritage thing.

"No."

"Well, if you're not gonna do the talking therapy, here I go." He takes a deep breath. "I got a message from Abuelita. The last thing she said was her yelling at me."

"Damn, dude. That's rough." I offer.

"She called me a hijo de puta, man! That's ugly language!"

"Why was she so angry at you?" I ask.

"Okay. So I might have crashed into her Ferrari." He starts.

"Your grandma has a Ferrari?" I raise an eyebrow.

"All questions will be taken afterwards!" He interrupts. "She was pissed, of course, because Ferraris are expensive despite the fact that she has, like, five. But no, this one was special because that's where my dad was conceived." He shudders. "And she was even angrier because I crashed into it with the car my uncle drove to prom in with his now-wife. She has sentimental attachments, as you can tell." He coughs and looks at me. "That's the last thing she ever said to me. Screaming in my ear."

I feel unsure of what to do and pat his back. He suddenly hugs me and starts crying.

"I want to go home, Ro."

"We all do." I say, tears starting to form in my eyes. He wipes his face in his sleeve and lets go of me.

"Sorry. I'm sorry for coming to see you." He slowly backs away.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine." He says. "I'm gonna be fine. See ya, princesa." He forces a smile and gives me some weak finger guns.

I sit there for what seems like forever. I want to go home, too. So does Jade. And Maggie. And Wessa. Maybe even Regeit.

I might have a home somewhere. If my dad's planet still exists. But I don't know if he would like me. He left my mom alone while she was pregnant, after all. Maybe he wouldn't like me.

So I just decide I have no home.

But that may be the wrong answer. This is supposed to be my home. This room that has nothing to do with me. It was just designed to be functional.

Perhaps I need to personalize it.

I have literally nothing I can think of that would look good. Maggie has her onion lights, or Bruyaavs as she calls them. Maybe I should do something like that.

I can't personalize the room. I have no decorations available.

Except for... those.

I pull out the sheet of glow-in-the-dark star stickers. I'm starting to get sick of stars, to be honest.