Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Unmasked

SmileMan: Did you make it?
The minutes ticked by into hours

Smileman stood up, then sat down, then stood up again. Their knees hurt, but they couldn't just sit still and not move. They paced up and down the length of the room following the border of the carpet. Dim blue light from the television spilled onto the floor. On the screen two actors engaged in an overdramatized admission of undying love.

Personally, SmileMan didn't think they were going to last a month, but that was usually how this show's plot went, she was sure to learn at some point that they were probably long lost brother and sister, and that the secretary was carrying his secret baby.

SmileMan didn't really like late night television, but with the way they had grown up sitting in front of screens late into the night, It was a habit that was almost impossible to break.

SmileMan glanced at the screen again.

Come on.

Starrwhisper: I'm Ok, thanks. Talk to you later and tell you all about it.

Smileman relaxed back into their chair with a sigh, too relieved to do much else, A part of them felt bad for all of this, all the problems they had put Eris through. Perhaps it would have been better if they had just never gotten involved, but even as they thought that, they knew that's not how it was ever going to work.

That just wasn't in Smileman's nature.

Plus, it had been years since they saw any action, this was going to change that.

Outside they could hear the sound of dogs barking in the distance.

They closed the laptop with some measure of relief and stuffed it back into the cushions, and not to soon either as in that moment the sound of quiet footsteps came padding up the hall. SmileMan looked up to find their adult daughter standing in the hallway entrance rubbing her eyes. Even in this Dim lighting, SmileMan could see the dim purple rings under her eyes.

Worrying about her oldest son no doubt.

Had been for weeks.

"Mom? What are you doing up at this hour?" she yawned and put a hand up over her mouth tugging her blanket tighter around her shoulders.

"I'm old I can do whatever I want." Paula Ramirez said shoving the computer just a little bit deeper into the couch cushions, "I think I should be the one asking you those questions."

Clara sat opposite of her on one of the low couches and rubbed at her short-dark hair, "I'm worried about Angel."

"You're always worried about Angel, but that boy can pull through anything." She frowned, "You hadn't been so worried about him up until now? What's changed."

"I don't know...." She paused for a moment leaving the silence open to the barking dogs. There were more of them now than there had been a few minutes ago, "I.... I heard from.... Somewhere that Admiral Vir and Angel's friend maverick were on that ship..... and I. If that's the case it means he's lost two friends, and now he is running well.... Whatever it was he was involved in before Adam disappeared. Is he doing ok? Is he happy, and what if the government catches him."

Paula reached across the intervening space and rested a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "All we can do is have faith in his abilities ."

"I know." She wilted slightly in her seat, "I just miss him."

"I miss him too." And she wasn't lying.

Not that she would ever have admitted to having favorites, because she didn't, but Paula had a special bond with her oldest grandson. Paula frowned even as she thought of Ramirez and stood to glance out the window, "What has got those damned dogs so riled up." She pushed aside the curtain and peaked out into the darkness just in time to be fully blinded as the spotlight was turned on their house.