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I grabbed my bag from where I had dropped it and went to my bedroom. I refreshed my supplies, then refolded and repacked all my clothes. Thank goodness they were wrinkle resistant. It was a must for my kind of work.
“Hey, Julia?” Alexi appeared in the doorway.
“Yeah?” I tugged on the zipper, straining until it closed.
“I forgot to tell you Mom called.”
My muscles froze, and my brain forgot what my hands were doing. “She called?”
I could feel Alexi nod behind me. “Yeah. This morning.”
Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply to calm myself. Once I was sure none of my feelings showed on my face, I turned around. “What did she want?”
Alexi pressed her lips together. “Just to catch up.” She shrugged. “She’s still in that rehab place. Wanted to know how we were doing.”
She was still in rehab. That was surprising. Usually, she could only last two months before she was back on the street. I folded my arms and looked away from her. “What did you tell her?”
“I told her you were working, and we were fine. She…” Alexi hesitated. “She wants us to visit sometime.”
Through sheer willpower alone, I kept the sneer off my face. “That’s not happening any time soon.”
Alexi’s face sagged a little. “We haven’t been on Arcadia Prime for years. I haven’t seen her since your graduation.”
I remembered my graduation from IPF training. Mom had shown up, to my surprise. At first, I was happy. I hadn’t seen her in ages, and I thought she was clean. She looked vibrant and happy, if a little skinny. But she had been with a guy. It had been several years since I had been part of the street world on Arcadia Prime, but I still recognized him as a lowlife drug dealer. He used to have a shop set up a few blocks from our house. I was surprised he had even come to Luna Abra.
Mom had hugged me and told me how proud she was. Alexi had been positively glowing. She only saw Mom a handful of times since we’d been taken by the Department of Social Services when she was three. Alexi didn’t know her the way I did. She didn’t realize how destructive Mom could be.
Within an hour, I realized Mom was still using. I had figured she was, based on her company, but she hid it well. It was the middle of dinner when I noticed her hands doing that telltale twitch. Then she started scratching at her arms and her behavior became erratic. So much for that round of rehab.
If Alexi hadn’t been there, I would have yelled at her in the restaurant. But Alexi was happy to see her mom and had no idea she was using. I couldn’t do that to her. So, I had waited through that awful day. She only stayed until the evening before catching a flight back to Arcadia Prime. Alexi had cried when she left, and I had hugged her and told her I loved her and her mother loved her too, even if she had to go. Lexi was only twelve.
I wasn’t going to let our mother ruin her life too.
“No.” I turned and pulled out my tablet, looking at my messages. That was just an excuse not to face her.
“No?” Alexi sounded confused and angry. “Just like that? No discussion, no reasons, just, no?”
Fighting for patience, I didn’t look up. “I’m in the middle of a case, Alexi. I can’t just pick up and go to Arcadia Prime for a visit. I have responsibilities.”
“Well why can’t I go?”
“By yourself?” My head jerked up. “To Arcadia Prime? With our mother?” I couldn’t keep the incredulity out of my voice. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” She was starting to sound like a petulant child. “I’m old enough to travel by myself. You taught me how to travel safely, what to say and do and where to avoid. You even taught me how to fight. I’ll be fine.”
“I have little doubt that you can navigate a spaceport, but there is no way I would leave you with our mother on your own. With the kind of people she knows? The neighborhood she lives in? No.”
“She’s in rehab, Julia.” Alexi folded her arms and squeezed her elbow with one hand. “I don’t think there is a lot of danger in a rehab facility.”
The last update I had received from the rehab center indicated Mom’s treatments were going well and they were thinking of establishing a release date. She was a good patient, they said, doing what they told her to, and she had been clean the entire time. I knew better. It was all an act. Mom knew how to make everyone think she was doing well, that nothing was wrong, and then as soon as they weren’t looking, she’d be shooting up again. She’d always been like that.
“You’d be surprised. There are dangers everywhere, Alexi. Mom doesn’t exactly keep the best of company.”
Alexi scowled. “She’s just reached the stage where she can have visitors. Her doctors think having family visit might be good for her.”
“Good for her? What about what’s good for you or for me?” I shook my head, feeling my temper flare up again. “You don’t understand, Alexi. Mom doesn’t need us to visit her, and I’m not about to let you go by yourself. I wouldn’t put you in that kind of danger.”
She scoffed. “That’s a cop out. You hate her and want me to hate her as much as you do! Well news flash, Julia: I’m not you, and I don’t hate our mother.”
