Chapter 24

Abyasa

Farrah summons me to her office. I tried to avoid coming here, but I guess it's not to be. I open the door and see Arron, Ramelan, and Fadhlan standing in the middle of the room. The director is leaning on the office wall. Farrah is standing up, behind her desk. I feel like I interrupted something important.

I wave. "Hi, guys?"

"Abyasa," Farrah says, siddling out from behind her desk and hugging me, "we were waiting for you." I feel my face heat up.

"O-okay..." I look away from her.

Farrah claps her hands. "Now that everyone's here, we can move on. Arron, I missed you so much." Farrah pulls Arron into her arms. She waves me over and I hug them both.

"I missed you, kiddo," I whisper to Arron. He looks up at me, confused.

"Do I know both of you?" He asks us.

"Yup." Farrah squishes her cheek against Arrons.

"Agh, Mom, stop it," Arron says, trying to push her face off of his. I see the realization hit him as he starts to recognize us.

I let go of the both of them and see Ramelan and Fadhlan staring at the three of us. I wave at them. They don't wave back.

Fine. Be like that, then.

"So," Farrah says as she sits down at her desk, "I've called you all here because I, one, wanted to see my son, and two, because I want you three to stop doing simulations from now on."

"No, we can't do that!" The director protests. Farrah raises her hand in his face.

"Yes, we can. These three have been through Hell and back over the last two simulations. I was fine with it until the moment my son was in danger." Her eyes shoot daggers at The director.

The director huffs but stays silent. Farrah claps her hands and grins.

"Work on recuperating, and eventually, we'll let you go."

"But how can you trust us not to say anything to anyone?" Ramelan asks.

Farrah's face turns dark. "I know you won't say anything, right, Ramelan?" She leans in close to him. He starts to shake.

"Yes, ma'am," Ramelan says, looking away from her.

I always forget how scary Farrah can be. Even Arron looks a bit shaken.

"Good, now that that's settled, you kids should get some rest. I'll see you all tomorrow," Farrah says. "Director, you can leave. Abyasa, stay."

I open the door for everyone, and they file out. The director glares at me but moves on. I close the door behind them.

"Do you need something?" I ask Farrah. She shakes her head and flops down in her chair. She pulls her hair out of her face and leaves her hand on her forehead. "Why am I here, then?" I ask, looking away, trying not to focus on her face.

"Because I need you to comfort me." She locks eyes with me. I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her tentatively.

"I'm sorry that things have been rocky lately," She whispers, melting into my arms.

"It's okay I-I understand it," I say, but in truth, I'm jealous.

"It's not okay. I haven't been home in days. I can only imagine how you feel."

She really knows how to pull my strings.

"If I'm being honest..." I fade off. I can't bring myself to say this. Farrah looks up at me, her chin on my chest.

I kneel.

"What is it?"

Communication isn't easy. I feel so embarrassed talking about this.

"I'm- I'm becoming jealous." I look away from her. Crap. My face is heating up again. Please, don't look at me.

"Of who?" She's messing with me.

"You really want me to say it?"

"Of course I do. I care about your feelings," She pats my cheek. Her ring is cold. It's oddly comforting.

"Urk, I'm jealous of how much time The director gets to spend with you. Everytime I see you, you're always with him. It's pissing me off. I'm sorry."

Farrah laughs. It's a beautiful sound. It reminds me of Summer. Weird, I know.

"You're so cute, my love," Farrah says, tapping her nose against mine. "Is that why you've been so angry?"

"Yes," I say, hanging my head. Farrah wants to laugh. Her shoulders are shaking. She folds her arms around me, pulling me into her chest. She strokes my hair.

"It's okay. I'm glad that you told me. This could've gotten out of hand." She kisses my forehead.

"Oh, yeah. Does Arron remember the letter that you wrote to him?" I say, intertwining my fingers in hers.

She shakes her head. "You know that I only wrote that letter because The director told me it would be easier on Arron that way. That's the only reason I was in that simulation, anyway. Thank goodness The director didn't look at it before Farbi gave it to Arron. I wrote some stuff that The director would consider "treason"." She laughs quietly. I put my head on her lap.

"It'll be okay. We'll get out of this mess that we made. We'll take Arron with us. I promise," I tell her.

Farrah doesn't say anything. A heavy atmosphere is starting to grow.