This is my first story, written on a whim. English is not my first language but I am quite proficient, still I would like to apologize in advance for any grammatical errors or gaps in the story.
This story has strong elements of non-reluctance so please read at your own discretion.
Marla Reade, that is my name. Scientist, astronaut, and the first woman to have set foot on a planet outside of our solar system.
At least, that used to be how I described myself. Ex-astronaut would be a better description since I quit that part of my life, almost two years ago now.
After years in space, I am happy to now be grounded, teaching science and doing research at a renowned university. As a child it was my wish to discover alien life, fascinated by all the possibilities of what they could look like, but after having been stuck in a rocket for years and years with a small group of people, I am now just more interested in being amongst my own kind. Expand my world outside of the three others that were with me on that trip, all of which I have since cut from my life to be honest.
At least, on most days I am satisfied with my mundane life. On days like today, when a student knocks over a harmful substance in lab, days can be a little long. It took a few hours to clean the lab thoroughly enough to ensure potential future cross-reactions could be prevented. Luckily none of that happened today either, as I only now noticed how nasty the teacher who previously taught this class left this lab behind. Now, it was just me who needed to get a thorough scrub to get all of the cleaning chemicals off myself.
The only upside of having to stay behind and clean for a few hours, the school now empty, with complete privacy in the gym showers. That means I won't have to use the small emergency shower set up in the classroom, small victory.
The water in the showers runs hot, steam quickly filling the space around me and making my skin clammy. I step under the steaming water, letting it run over the expanse of my body and cleaning away any fluids that may be stuck on my skin. I brush my body thoroughly, and let the hot water do its job in sanitizing my body.
A click sounds somewhere behind me, and I whirl around, coming face to face with a figure standing in front of the now locked door.
"Rowen?"
The name escapes my lips before my brain even comprehends him standing in front of me. My ex-fiancΓ©. Ex partner and fellow astronaut too. Here. In my school. In the f*cking girls' locker room.
"Hello butterfly."
He just keeps standing there, staring at my naked body, eyes lingering on the butterfly tattoo between my breasts. I quickly turn off the shower behind me and cover my privates with my hands, staring him down, "What the fuck are you doing here Rowen?"
"Coming to see my wife of course. I haven't seen you in ages butterfly." He takes a slow step forward, slowly caging me in within the confines of the communal showers. "I am not your wife Rowen. I broke up with you. Two years ago, in fact."
He just shakes his head, tutting at my words as he creeps forward even further. "You see, butterfly, I don't agree with that sentiment. We were great out there, all those years floating around in each other's presence, so I don't see why you would push me away when we are back here, safely tucked away on earth. You said it was just the thrill of the adventure, but I know you. I know you butterfly, and I know just how perfect we are together."
"You are delusional," I scoff, trying to walk past him towards my towel and away from here, but he blocks my escape route completely. "Let me out of here."