Page 98 of Red Flag, Green Light

People change.

For better or worse, people change.

People. Change.

Life happens, and attentive fathers break.

Life happens, and happy brothers close off.

Life happens, andpeople change, and we heal, and we grow, and we step forward—past fears, and insecurity, and anxiety, and pain—into a world that is kinder because we are kinder. Becausewehave changed.

Life has a way of never staying quite as consistent as I would like.

But, sometimes, the inconsistencies lead to love.

And, sometimes, empty houses become full again.

“I love you,” I say, because there’s nothing else I can. “And I’m here for you. No matter what.”

Ceres buries her face against my neck and whispers, “Yeah. I know. Weird choice, but…” Emotion tightens her words. “…I appreciate it. More than you know.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

Well. That’s not what I meant to say.

Ceres

My mother’s phone number could have changed. It’s a possibility. It’s a possibility that after I get the nerve to presscall, someone I don’t know will pick up.

It’s also a possibility that my mother’s phone numberhasn’tchanged…but still…someone I don’t know will pick up.

There’s a chance my mother won’t pick up.

There’s a chance she will.

There’s a chance I won’t know what to say.

There’s a chance I default to what I normally do and say something stupid.

There’s a chance I’m making a huge mistake.

There’s so much chance that I am glad—so, so deeply glad—I waited until Friday for this moment.

Buried against Mars, huddled upright in blankets in the center of our spaceship, I stare at my mother’s contact information. Night hasn’t fallen yet, but it’s creeping into the sky, and I can’t shake the knowledge that whatever happens in the next few minutes will be harder to deal with in the darkness than in the daylight.

Even if the darkness happensherein this world of netting and nonsense.

Seated behind me, Mars nestles his chin over my shoulder and keeps me wrapped in his limbs, safe against his chest and atop his crossed legs while he toys with my necklace. “Do youwant me to press the button?” he asks.

I shake my head. “What did you ever do with the key to this?”

“To this?” he murmurs, tugging on the padlock.

“Yes.”

His lips graze my cheek as they move toward the shell of my ear. “Would you be upset if I told you I melted it down into a useless droplet that could never set you free again?”

“That’s perhaps the only right answer, actually.”

---