Salvation 2035

Chapter 25- Refuge

『Abel』

     The door is opened with a mighty swing, revealing the tall stature of my cousin. Despite the fact that she's barefaced and in sweats, she still gives off strong lawyer energy. Her eyes scan over us from behind her giant, round glasses, which are at the tip of her long nose.

     "Somehow I knew you'd turn up sooner or later," she grins, pushing her massive frames back on her face.

     "Hey, cuz," I give a little wave.

     "Not even gonna hug me?" She turns to address Tsuki and Keisha. "This is what I get for practically raising this kid? Sheesh!"

     "Alright, alright," I reluctantly walk and wrap one of my arms around her.

     "Anyways, what's going on with you these days?" she asks casually. "Watch any good shows lately?"

     "Seriously? You know that I'm a fugitive and you're just going to have a casual conversation out here?" I blurt. "Did you know we were just being chased by a bunch of bounty hunters?"

     "Uh huh," she pats me on the shoulder, moving me out of the way to better see my companions. "So who are you two?"

    "How about we talk about this inside? Hmm?" I suggest.

     "I'm just messing around!" she laughs. "Come on now, you know you're always welcome in my home!" Ugh, she knows just how to make me upset.

     The entrance opens up into a small foyer, with a washroom being almost immediately to the right of it. From there is the large family room, in which she's decorated it with all sorts of mahogany pieces of furniture. I'm pretty sure all of the furniture in this place is mahogany. Anyways, if you keep going straight, there's the dining room and kitchen, followed by the porch. However, there's a hallway to the left that leads to the library and a guest bedroom. The staircase to the second floor is somewhere around there too. Up there, there's two other guest bedrooms, the master bedroom, another living room, a balcony, and... Well, to put it simply, this place is huge.

    I briefly introduce Serafina to Tsuki and Keisha the best I can without arousing too much suspicion, but it seems she has her own priorities. I guess telling her that Tsuki was just another prisoner and Keisha was a self-identified nomad wasn't enough detail.

     "So, Tsuki, what crimes were you in for?" she prods.

     "Uh, refusing arrest, stealing a car, stealing some other stuff, breaking and entering, and vandalism, I think," he replies.

    "You think? You've forgotten the crimes you've been sent to jail for?" she inquires.

     "It was a long time ago."

     "How long ago?"

     "I was fifteen, so about five years ago."

    "Fifteen? Well, surely you remember your trial."

     "I didn't have one. They said it was only for adults," he shrugs. Despite the fact that Serafina's getting heated by this exchange, Tsuki appears to be doing just fine. I'm sure she's going to go into her rant about how the justice system is broken. It's not that I disagree with her, it's just that I've heard it so many times. Coming home from school, overhearing her argue with someone at one of my football games... I basically have it memorized at this point.

     "That's unbelievable!" she exclaims. "Your guardians must have been told about this, right?"

     "Kinda hard to do when they're six feet under. That's why I did all those crimes; I had to survive," Tsuki explains. "I know it's wrong to do all that, but hey, I had to do something to stay alive."