Of Monsters and Humanity: The Genesis

Chapter 38 - Terra

Thirty days before....

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" my grandmother asked, brushing my hair to the side and cupping my cheek with her hand.  "You'll miss one whole month with us, including Christmas."

I smiled and pulled her hand away to hold it in mine. "I'll be fine. You guys are going to have an amazing time, and you deserve this. We will have Christmas when you get back," I promised, trying to convince them and myself that everything would be fine without them near me for the first time in my life.

The airport was so crowded, and the building was large and loud. It reminded me of the Loading Deck at work, but I was too upset by the remembrance of it that I couldn't joke about it to myself. It was almost like the heavenly version of the Loading Deck, which I saw as hellish. They were both large and loud and had many things going on in them at once, but one was light and innocent while the other was dark and corrupt.

I helped my grandparents get their bags onto the weighing scale before the nice woman behind the desk put tags on them and sent them on the conveyer belt behind her.

"I'll see you as soon as you get back," I said.

"We miss you already, Abbie Pie," my grandpa choked as he hugged me and called me my childhood nickname.

I squeezed him back and tried to think of myself as a little girl hugging him when I was upset. I tried to shed all of my adult problems and pretend that I was a child again and his one hug ended all of my problems, but the moment ended as he pulled away. I wished I was a kid again. I wouldn't have to deal with medical school or adulthood or Project X or Dr. Balcom or Agent Byligan.

When I waved them a final goodbye before they boarded the plane, I couldn't help but feel like I was sending my guarded grandparents out into the big bad world for the first time. Sure, they had to deal with me and my issues related or unrelated to my parents, but they lived on the outskirts of the city. I was used to big schools and growing cities, they weren't. But I had to trust that they had been on the planet longer than I and probably knew more about the world than I did.

I drove home listening to loud music because my mind was too full of stressed thoughts to drive home without a distraction. In reality and outside of my little world of panic, everything was alright. Realistically, there was no reason for me worried about being without my grandparents for two weeks. I knew how to make food, I lived in a safe house, I had a car that would take me from place to place, I had a job that would pay for food or anything else. My grandparents made sure to pay the bills early so that the water or lights didn't turn off while I was completely alone but, even if that was the case, I had enough money to pay it if necessary.

There was nothing to be worried about, but, naturally, I was worried.

I went home to an empty house and warmed up food I found in the fridge. I thought about my childhood, since the only company I had was my thoughts and I was safe to lament on them as there was no one else around. The only thing that I could work at that age was a microwave, and there was nothing to nuke other than milk in the fridge, and you just don't do that. I did anyway, because Mom would always feed me warm milk and cookies after dinner. Dad would yell at me all the time if he caught me doing it, so I would run to my room and hope that he brought home fast food so that I could eat half and save the rest since I never knew when I would be fed next.

The timer on the microwave startled me from my thoughts. I didn't want to think these things, but after I told Xander about my past, I couldn't help but think about it more than I wanted to. I didn't have many distractions anymore; my life consisted of class, homework, and Project X. I never had time to see Flora Mae or even my grandparents as much as I wished I could.