Page 34 of The Bully Alien

Sometimes, you just want to snap. You reach the breaking point, and either you break something or else you break yourself.

I've been there.

It's not fun.

I'm not sure where Wyatt's gone off to, and that note... Remember him fondly. Not if he leaves Earth without me.

He might be where the spaceship is, he might not, but that's where I go to now.

And he is. Sitting in the middle of the wreckage, hands covering his face, not moving.

He's hit rock bottom. I can tell just by looking at him.

Most likely, he wants to be alone. Who wouldn't when you're at your lowest?

Tough shit. He's the only one stopping himself from leaving this planet. There has to be something he can do.

I stay quiet, but I take a few steps closer to him. He still doesn't look up, and his posture looks like he's trying to disappear into himself.

"Wyatt," I say softly, hoping not to startle him. "It's all right, you know."

He shakes his head. "No it's not." His voice is gruff and rough, but he's not trying to sound tough anymore.

"Yes, it is," I insist gently."You flew here despite incredibly odds. You survived. It has to be for a reason."

He snorts. "And what's that reason? To fuck you?"

"No. To get the fuck out of here. Back into the stars where you belong. You hate it here. You aren't going to let yourself die here, are you?"

He looks up at me then. His eyes are blazing with emotion - a mix of anger, desperation and determination all rolled into one. It takes a moment for him to process my words before he speaks again.

"Why should I even bother?" he asks in a low voice that cracks slightly on the last word.

"Why not? Unless you have given up on life. Was fucking me really that terrible? I thought you wrote that it was amazing."

"I didn't want you to come here."

"I know. You wanted me to abandon you." I grit my teeth. "Look, stop being a fucking coward. You need to get up. You can't stay here in the middle of this mess forever."

He doesn't move or respond, so I continue.

"Come on, Wyatt, you have to try again. There's no way that ship is going down without a fight. Nothing worth having is ever easy, right? You're too strong and resourceful to give up now. When no one else believes in you, you have to believe in yourself."

In the silence, I reach out and gently place my hand on his shoulder, feeling his muscular frame trembling beneath my touch.

I don't think he's frightened.

I think he's given up.

And honestly, that frightens me. Because if he isn't willing to try, we'll be stuck here. Sure, I can study and graduate and maybe become an astronaut, but the thought of going to the moon or Mars is no longer enough for me.

I want it all.

And the only way to get that is through this alien.

If I can't get him to get his act together, I'm going to be stuck here, and I refuse to have that.

He gave me hope for something beyond my wildest dreams, and I will not allow him to yank that out from under me.