The Edge

Adoette: Part Two

You'd think having perfect recall would mean never feeling like you were forgetting something. But feeling like you'd forgotten something wasn't entirely related to memory—at least, not in Adoette's experience. It didn't matter if she knew that her brain was a marvel of science, that there was no way she could forget anything, that everything was fine and she didn't own a lot anyway. Being anxious or nervous always made that feeling rear its ugly head. It was the reason she was clunking around her small apartment, double-checking everything she owned to be sure she wasn't leaving behind anything of vital import.

Her suitcase was already a mild explosion of pastel-colored clothes, various tech items, and toiletries. She knew she should have been folding and packing everything properly, but she couldn't stop looking. At this point, she was only doing it to keep moving, instead of sitting to stew in her nerves.

Helen hadn't reached out since their last conversation, and no one else on the Cosmos—the ship that had once been her family home—had been able to pry answers out of her. Luca was getting more and more nervous. The few times he'd messaged Adoette, he had that Luca is definitely going to need to go back to therapy for a bit vibe to him. It was the same vibe he'd gotten after Cassandra left, then after Adoette had left, and after Arian left, and whenever Matteo was away for longer than a few days.

Adoette had tried to talk to him about that, but every time she did, Luca clammed up and insisted he was fine. So she'd stopped trying. He'd talk to her when she was ready. He always talked to someone—if not her, than Tola or Helen. Adoette didn't care if she didn't get direct answers with regards to his mental state. She just wanted to know that her brother was okay.

As she stared at her sink, her mind spiraling off beyond the search for anything she might still need for the trip, her tablet chirped at her. She pulled herself out of her reverie long enough to see who it was. This time, Matteo was messaging her.

noisereduction99: ETA is one hour. Arian will be meeting us at the station.

axis_mundi: Okay sounds good. He going to be on time?

noisereduction99: Hell if I know.

Noisereduction99: Tola says hi btw. She's really excited to see you again.

Adoette felt the same way. It had been a while since she'd seen her little sister in person—actually, it had been a while since she'd seen most of them. It wasn't like she was avoiding them. They'd just...sort of gone their own ways after Mom died. She'd always been a corner stone of the family, and after Dad died, she'd been one of the only things properly holding them all together. Once she was gone, the ship had felt too empty. Like there was too big a hole where their parents should have been.

Sometimes Adoette felt like an asshole for not checking in more. But then again, wasn't this what families did? Went to live different places, got different jobs, didn't spend their entire lives all up in each other's space and business? That was normal.

Then again, when the hell have we ever been a normal family?

Adoette shook the thoughts away and set her tablet down. For real. Time to start folding.

She was able to get everything packed and her place secure within forty-five minutes. She lived pretty close to the space port, otherwise she would've been a lot more nervous about being late. Besides, their estimated time to land was one hour. It always took a bit longer for them to be ready to receive visitors. There was customs to deal with and some inspections to make sure no one was smuggling anything, especially for a ship the size of the Cosmos. Adoette knew the cops had every right to be diligent, but gosh if it wasn't annoying sometimes.