Earth Mars Love (The Marsikons)

Chapter 37

The rest of the evening for Marcus was like a blur.

The only happy moment during it was when Kos was back and talking excitingly. He couldn't spoil this moment for his friend with his grieving. It looked like Kos had forgotten about Melissa and was back to his previous self. Or at least as close as he could get after that kind of revelation.

Then they had dinner, but he couldn't remember what exactly was on the table.

He was like an automaton. When needed he spoke politely, but the rest of the time he was silent.

He didn't look at her at all. He felt her looking at him, but he couldn't return the favor. The scars were too fresh, and he feared they would split open if he dared even a look, and he couldn't be able to return to this state of calmness again.

Thank Mars no one noticed something unusual in him, and soon everybody went up to prepare for the night.

Marcus with Kos and Darius was in Regina's old bedroom. They watched TV for a while and then went to sleep.

After his talk with Marcus, Mr. President made a special release for his people, where he told them about mutants and where they came from, at the same time mentioning, that on Mars is another group of the population, the Marsikons and that they are humans, just like Earthlings. They've lost a lot today, but at the same time, they've gained new allies, who would help people on Earth to protect their planet. He also mentioned that in the near future it would be faster and easier to travel through space than it was before. Revelation calmed news anchors, for they didn't shout about massive alien invasion anymore, and gave another food for the mind. They started to speculate, who would be the first one to go to Mars and when exactly it would happen.

It was weird, how fast people can tune on to another perspective and almost forget what happened a couple of hours before. But if that helped to calm everyone, and stop their chaotic packing, and going as far as possible from Washington, then it was the right decision. Because some channels already have shown large traffic jams with people running.

Kos and Dar were snoring lightly, sleeping on the creamy carpeted floor with a lot of pillows splaying around them, while Marcus was lying on Regina's queen-size bed. Now he noticed all details, which he couldn't while he was talking with Mr. President. The room was spacy and done in light brown and blue colors. This room wouldn't fit Regina's personality if not for some accents, that adorned it. Everywhere around the room were hanging posters of different rock, pop, and techno musicians. There were also movie posters, such as The Fifth Element, Star Trek, and Star Wars. He was surprised that her taste in movies wasn't so eclectic as in music.

Earlier he'd walked around the room and found a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. She hadn't lied when she told him that it was her favorite character. These books were thoroughly used, while others looked almost untouched.

A lot of small photos were pinned to the intricate dressing table. Looking closer, he saw Regina and Clare in every stage of growing up. A couple of them showed them as babies, but more photos were in their teens, mostly from parties, as he could guess because they were in strange outfits. Or maybe they just had a different fashion style back then? Unfortunately, he had studied little about fashion in his preparation for coming to Earth. He'd have to rectify that.

But what amazed him more than anything was right above her bed. A small copy of the Solar System, with a bright Sun in the middle and eight planets around it, hung from the ceiling. The slightest whiff of air sent it rotating around in the air. So it wasn't just space movies that fascinated her. She was in love with all things in the cosmos.

He blew again on the Solar System and watched it swirl until he drifted off to sleep, wishing her love for the cosmos was enough to keep them together.

***

Regina was staying in Clare's room with her. When she got there, her head throbbed in rhythm with her heart. She wanted to do a lot of things, like weep, scream, and sleep, and didn't know what to start. But after a couple of minutes of standing and staring at one invisible point, she felt Clare's hands on her back and then a crushing hug. God, the woman had strong hands, despite the willow frame. Regina chuckled through tears in Clare's shoulder.

"What?" Clare asked in a hushed voice, a smile evident in her voice.

"How could you have such strong hands without an inch of a muscle?" Regina's body shook with laughter.

Instead of releasing her, Clare clenched her hands tighter, and both laughed.

"I don't like it when you're sad," Clare said releasing her with worry on her face.

"I'm not sad, it's just... The last couple of days were like an emotional rollercoaster, and now when everything ended, I just don't know what to do or what to feel."

Regina sat with a thump on her sister's bed and folded legs under her. Clare mirrored her pose, and it was like before when they were teens and could sit like that for hours and talk non-stop about everything in the world.

"I can't even imagine, what you've gone through." She was silent for a moment, then added, "Is there something between you and Marcus?"

"There was something, but I ended it. And I can't talk about it right now," Regina chewed her inner cheek, to stop herself from crying. She won't cry anymore, not because of Marcus or because of something else.

Before Clare could respond, Regina said, "But let's talk about something else," she put herself together for the sake of her sister.

Regina asked her how she coped with the news about adoption, and Clare said it was tough, especially when she couldn't share this news with Regina. But parents were very supportive at the same time giving her space and time to come to terms with it.

"But I guess, knowing that you too were adopted, made me finally accept it. Knowing that I'm not alone in this, that together we'll deal with fears and insecurities as we had before," Clare finished her story. "I'm sorry, that you've found out that way. I wish I were there with you when dad told you."

In the end, both sisters were crying and sniffing, and a bunch of used paper tissues was growing between them.

"I don't know what would be better. But in a way, I'm glad for this attack, and in some twisted way, I'm glad that Dad was injured. Maybe I'm a bad person after all, but seeing him there, on the ground and dying... It opened my eyes to many things that I did wrong. If there weren't Marsikons and Martians attacking, I would've probably just left all of you without another word and severed all connections. But what happened to me in the last three days, and especially today, changed me. And now I like my new version. I want to be better for you, for our parents, and for myself," Regina's breath hitched, and she hugged Clare.

"We wouldn't let you discard us, you stupid girl. Mom would've found you and dragged you back by your gorgeous hair," Clare was laughing through tears.

"Yeah, I bet she could," Regina laughed with her. Her heart felt a thousand times lighter, and she had a feeling that there was the beginning of a new life afore her. The better life.

She only wished, Marcus was in there with her, but she'd find a way forward without him.

She had to.