Mia was surprised to find the knock at her door had come from Sloan. When was the last time they'd been alone together?

  "Hey," Sloan said, crossing her arms over a Lana Del Ray t-shirt.

  "Hey," Mia managed back.

  It had been weeks since they'd spoken, although the time apart had changed everything.

  "Can I come in?"

  "I mean, I guess," Mia said awkwardly.

  Sloan stepped inside and then immediately rolled her eyes after noticing Mary Jane sprawled on the floor.

  "Can we talk alone?"

  "Absolutely," Mary Jane said, rising to her knees to gather her books.

  Mia watched Mary Jane leave, feeling a sense of unease. Was Sloan about to kiss her or cuss her out for spending so much time with Trevor over the past few weeks?

  "Thanks for voting to launch on time," she said. "I heard what you said in the cafeteria today. I hope you meant it."

  Mia winced but managed a smile, hoping that would please Sloan.

  "Yeah, well, I can't stomach seeing Ms Lawrence tortured. It makes sense to go home. Things are starting to fall apart here."

  Sloan's lips twitched. Mia knew she'd rather have heard her say she'd voted to launch so Sloan could get back to Michael. But Mia couldn't care about Miachael right now. In truth, she didn't know if she wanted to launch. She just wanted the crazy to stop. Making General Stone happy seemed to be a catalyst for calm.

  "I think we should just be friends," Sloan said.

  Mia blinked, not expecting this rapid switch in conversation. She felt her face go red.

  "Okay, I'm fine with that," Mia said.

  Why was this hard? She'd never really wanted to be Sloan's girlfriend. Even now, she couldn't figure out how they'd gone there.

  "Cool. We're good, right?"

  "Yeah. I don't think I'm actually gay anyway," Mia said.

  Sloan laughed and arched an eyebrow, which made Mia feel stupid and regret the disclosure.

  "Oh, I think you enjoyed yourself. No need to label being happy."

  Mia felt instantly angry. This was how it always was with Sloan. No matter how hard she tried, Mia was always the less powerful voice in the relationship.

  "I mean, yeah. I don't think I'll end up marrying a woman."

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  "Way to overthink your entire life. Why don't you focus on getting back to earth and then figure out who you are?"

  "What does that mean?" Mia asked, almost livid now.

  "It means you're always trying to escape your choices. No one's coming to save you, Mia. This is your life."

  "Oh, that's perfect, Sloan. You completely abandon me up here and then judge me for it."

  "I'm not judging you. I'm just saying no relationship is perfect. People are fucked up. They do fucked up things. It's part of people. I need to put up walls right now. My brother is my priority. I thought coming here would set me up financially. But I never agreed to stay. I won't stay here."

  "We all got duped, Sloan. I get that you feel responsible for Michael, but right now, you're not in control. Michael lives on a planet full of people who have no idea what Red Rock's doing up here. We can stop it."

  "You think anything we do is going to stop it?"

  "I do actually. I believe humans do the right thing collectively when given all the information. What happens if they find hundreds of people like Rebecca Timberland to colonize Mars, and then those people reproduce and make babies who react like us and die anyway?"

  "No one's dying, Mia. Getting cancer and dying from cancer are two different things."

  "Nigel's wife died. She came to Mars on one of the early missions, and now she's dead."

  "That's not my problem and won't be a significant problem in our lifetime."

  "You don't know that. Perhaps your decision to come here wasn't just about a financial payout. Maybe we're meant to blow the whistle on this insanity."

  "Everything about coming here was a mistake. No money is worth this nightmare. "

  "Was I a mistake?" Mia asked loudly, "Was the way you shared your life with me a mistake?

  Sloan looked at Mia, exasperated.

  "No, you and I weren't a mistake. You may think of me as a huge deviation from what your life should look like, Mia, but I'm just me. You're not the first girl I've been with. You're just the first one I've trusted. Trust feels like love to me, so I acted on it. I don't let people in, Mia. Hell, I still love you, but you have a family. You have Trevor. Michael has no one."

  "I know I struggle with commitment, but you shut me out completely. If you still want to be friends, how is that going to work?"

  "I can be your friend as long as you don't jeopardize us going home. I know that's an ultimatum, but if I have to choose, I choose Michael."

  "You can't save Michael," Mia blurted out. "He's your brother, and you can try to help, but what about your life, Sloan? You get a life."

  "I'm saving us both," Sloan replied. "I keep my promises."

  Mia knew there was nothing she could say to change Sloan's mind, pulling her friend in for a hug to hide her disappointment. Sloan would never understand why she and Mary Jane had been fleshing out plans to boycott the launch all morning.

  When Sloan ended the hug, Mia saw her face wet with tears.

  "Hey, sometimes we make things bigger than they are," Mia said, hearing her mother's words tumble from her mouth.

  "Yeah, I can't afford to think that way," Sloan said. "I've always fared better when I make things work out."

  Mia forced a smile, trying not to dwell on what Sloan might do to make things go her way.

  "What do you think Camden is up to? I'm kind of proud of him for figuring out how to escape solitary confinement. He'sl iving in the ship, you know? Him and his M7 tattoo."

  "Camden's a dumb ass. I honestly don't give a fuck about a single person up here other than you."

  Mia had sensed this for a while, but wondered if it bothered Sloan to see what was happening to Peyton.

  "I can't believe what they've done to Ms. Lawrence. She should definitely press charges when we get home."

  "To be honest, she brought it on herself," Sloan said. "I need to go."

  "Oh, okay," Mia said, stepping out of the way.

  "See you on the ship," Sloan said.

  "Yeah," Mia replied, closing her door quietly.

  Mia looked at herself in a mirror they'd hung on the back of her door. Who was the person staring back? Was she gay, straight, committed to launch, or ready to stay? Sloan was right. She didn't trust her own ability to make a decision and stick to it. It was time to let go of doubt. She was a healer. The planet had chosen to gift her the superpower. There was a destiny in being a healer. It was her job to be ready for it, no matter how big a hurt the universe might thrust upon her.