The drone sets my brother down, and I collide with him in a hug before I think he realizes what's happening.
"You're okay," I mumble, his hair getting in my mouth, but I don't care. As long as he's alive, that's all that matters. "You have no idea the panic that went through me when I saw that you were about to fall."
He squeezes me back. "You should have tried it from my point of view. Trust me, you don't know that kind of panic."
"Shut up and let me hug you."
My phone buzzes in my back pocket.
"You should probably take that," Alex says, trying to pull away.
I don't let him go.
"Ava, really."
"Fine." I release him, and as I pull out my phone, my parents and sisters crowd around him. Lee's name shows up on my screen. Relief sweeps over me immediately.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yes. The drones worked, Ava. Everything you taught me...the drones saved them. You saved them..."
A small smile graces my lips. I really do miss that boy.
"Ava," my uncle calls, and I look over at him. "You can't talk long. I still need your help."
"Got it." If it wasn't for the drones from Grenalla Industries, I hate to know where we'd all be right now. My family could be underwater, and I could be thrown into a tsunami of my own, but in my case, one of emotions.
I shouldn't dwell on that. Ever.
"Ava, I've thought about it..." Lee says slowly. "When I finish my term on the outpost, I'm going to stay on Grenalla. At least for a while."
"Why?"
"There are people on Grenalla who I care about. I want them in my life. Actually in it. I don't want to be separated from them."
I push my hair out of my face. "It was hard being at the University. It's difficult going eighteen years always being with your parents and then being pulled away from that— cut off from them."
"I mean you, Ava."
My eyes widen. My chest feels hit.
"Ava?" he asks.
"I'm here."
He laughs nervously. "I thought you may have dropped the phone."
"I didn't." I chew on my lip. "When you get back then, I guess there's some catching up to do."
YOU ARE READING
Raven's Flight
Science FictionAfter finishing her college journey, Ava returns home. For her, home happens to be a high tech island city, and her uncle has offered her a job working with him on drones. It's not long before she runs into her high-school boyfriend, Lee. There's s...
