Silent Flyght – Chapter 23

The door to my room opens, and Ken enters carrying two glasses of water. He takes one look at me folding my clothes and frowns.

“What are you doing, Vivi?”

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m folding my clothes. Just took them out of the pulse washer.”

He sets the glasses of water on my desk.

“Yes, but you don’t fold your clothes. You put them in a pile and hope for the best.”

“I’m trying to grow up a little, okay?”

I place another shirt in my stack, and he sighs. Sidling up next to me, he picks a pair of pants from the pile of clean laundry and turns them right side out.

“You don’t have to help me. I’ve got it.”

“It’s ten-thirty, Vivian, and I’m sleeping in this bed tonight. I’d like us to both go to sleep soon.”

He adds the pants to my pile and grabs a pair of underwear, smiling at them. I snap them out of his hand, and he laughs.

“Your taste in underwear has improved over the years.”

“It’s Marcelo’s taste in underwear, not mine.”

“Marcelo, huh?”

He folds another pair of pants.

“Okay, maybe I like them too.” I cover up my smile by turning away. “I didn’t know you’d be sleeping here tonight.” I yawn and wish I hadn’t. Once I start, it’s hard to stop.

Ken yawns too. “I want to make sure you rest. It’s not like you sleep great, and you should rest as much as you can before we arrive on Palo Alto. There are a million different conversations you need to have with Renata Dellis about Tomu, and I’m sure you want more sleep before you do that.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

He’s always right. That’s something I both love and hate about Ken. At this point, I will blindly follow him anywhere he’s willing to lead. Being apart meant we had years to think over everything we did in the previous version of our relationship and do things right this time. I wish I could change more. It’s been hard, though, trying to be a better version of myself with everything that’s going on. At least I don’t have to worry about Ken taking advantage of me because of his soft heart. I’m lucky there.

“Do you think I was selfish for keeping Tomu a secret from my parents?”

He thinks for a moment while pulling socks out of pant legs. “Selfish? No.” He sighs. “I don’t know what would have been the better choice. You had no good options. Every decision you make is fraught with problems. I have to admit that starting Flyght and building it up to a billion credit company was not as hard as this.”

I turn to him and squeeze his arm. “Thanks for that. Speaking of Tomu, you haven’t told him about… you know?”

He adds another shirt to my pile. “That we’re handing him over to Athens Industries? Nope. He gets what he deserves. I always knew he was an asshole, but I’ve never met a more hateful person in all my life.”

Between the two of us, we finish my laundry, and I put it in a stack in my closet.

“So I shouldn’t give him a pass because he’s family?” I’ve been wrestling with this decision forever.

“The man is a raging psycho who hurt you and your entire family. I think everyone sees that now.” He’s referring to my father. “We need to get rid of him and be done with the whole business.”

“I agree. Still, it won’t look good if we hand him over under-nourished and surly.”

Ken shrugs as he pulls back the covers on the bed and strips off his shirt and pants. He likes to sleep in only his underwear. I like it too, to be honest. But I’ve been told there will be no sex for a few days while I rest up and deal with my depression.

“It doesn’t matter how we hand him over. As long as he’s alive, that’s all that matters. Gus has taken good care of him. He should be fine by the time we get to Concord City.”

Ken and I are quiet as I slip into my pajamas, wash my face, and brush my teeth. It’ll be good to sleep in my bed tonight, not just hide under the covers and wallow for hours on end. The sheets are fresh and clean, thanks to Ken, and I sigh as I climb in next to him. Stretching out my legs, I let the silky fabric slide around my feet before wrapping myself around Ken. He lets out a deep, satisfied sigh as I fold into the space between his arm and chest.

“I’ve been worried about you,” he whispers, leaning closer to lay his lips on my forehead. “There’s nothing more terrifying than finding someone to love and be with forever and then watching them spiral into nothingness.”

“I’m sorry. I’m trying to be a better person.”

“Shhh,” he whispers, tightening his arms around me. “We all see the effort you’re putting in. A lot of this is out of your control, and that’s your main problem. You don’t like being out of control.” He kisses the top of my head. “You need to learn to let go.”

I’m silent, listening to this. I can’t let go. When things are not going my way, I work harder at them until I have a one-hundred percent failure rate. If there’s even a one percent chance I can win, I keep trying. Deep down, I know it’s not healthy. I’ve lived my whole life trying to be the best at what I do.

“I don’t know how to let go of stuff like this. All of these new tasks I’ve been asked to do are so far out of my comfort zone that I don’t realize I’m failing at them until it’s too late. When is it right to let go?”

“You’ll get the hang of it, eventually. If it feels like it’s too hard for no good reason, then you should stop.”

“That’s the story of my entire life.”

His chest shakes with laughter. “Yeah. I get it.”

I close my eyes and try to find some peace.

“Ken, what else did you do on Sonoma while I was with Mat?”

“Hmmm. Jinzo and I went out with Gus and his two younger brothers for a night on the town. They say hi.”

Sure they do. I’d bet a hundred credits they were happy I wasn’t there.

“We went out for dinner at a restaurant in San Miguel. The food and wine were tops, Vivi. Someday I’ll take you there. Poor Gus, though. His brothers said his parents are looking to sell the family home.”

“Ugh. That’s the worst.” I close my eyes and let myself sink down into the bed.

“Yeah. He seemed pretty upset about it.” This time his sigh is weary. “He’s not sure what to think of his mother’s behavior lately.”

I remember what Jinzo said about his prescient dreams of Ken and Gus yelling at each other.

“Is everything okay between you two? You three?”

“Yeah.” His voice is sleepy. “I have no complaints. You’ve chosen well.”

I yawn. My eyes won’t open. “I have no idea what I’ll do with the house once we get it back. It has six bedrooms, but so many of them have memories… Tomu’s room…”

Ken shifts so I can lie on my side. He knows it’s the only way I can fall asleep — on my side, facing the door.

“Go to sleep, Vivian.”

Slowing down my breathing, I fall into the blackness of sleep.

I’m running through long grass with Frogger by my side. He barks and jumps, nipping at my hands as I pump them to go faster. I need to go faster. Run. I can’t see anything past the surrounding darkness. It feels like I’m on Ossun, but I’m not sure. I could be anywhere. I’m not scared, but I’m not happy either. Just running. I’m running, and I hate running.

Why am I running?

This is the last thing I want to do.

A warning klaxon wakes me from a dead sleep. My bedroom pulses with light, and the sound of the siren pierces my brain. I gasp and launch up from the bed, knocking into Ken.

“What? What’s going on?”

My first thought is, “Shit. The hull is breached. We’re all going to die.”

Space is like that. It’s fickle. One moment you’re at peace with the void; the next, the void is taking your ship and your life.

Fuck. I try to get out of the bed, but the sheets are twisted around my feet, and I fall to the floor with a thud.

“Ow! Nanci!” I call out from the floor.

“What’s happening?” Ken shouts over the siren.

“Captain, we have a situation you’re needed for on the bridge. Urgently.” Nanci’s voice is uncompromising. Uh oh. I haven’t heard this side of her before. It can’t be good.

“What? What’s happening?”

“Captain, you must come quickly. This is a Level One situation.”

My heart stops, and I remember my very first days on the Amagi and those manuals I read on our first trip from Ossun to Rio. Oh, shit. Level One?

This can only mean one thing.

All of our lives are in danger.