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“No, I won’t,” I mumbled against the pillow. With a heavy sigh, I lowered the pillow to my lap. I couldn’t look at my sister, so I stared at the pillow, playing with the fringe around the edge. “It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t know it was Duncan I was supposed to meet at Mardi Gras.”

“Freyja.” Athena pressed me for more, bumping her shoulder against mine.

“When I broke things off with him, I told him there was someone else.”

“Oh, Freyja.” She shook her head at me and I felt worse.

“I didn’t know he was the someone else.” I stood from the couch and moved to the balcony. Hugging my waist, I looked out over the Quarter. “He practically begged me to stay. I thought a clean break would be easier. I’d already fallen for him and my heart was breaking.”

My phone rang, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew it would be Phoebe. Athena picked it up and answered, “She’shere.” She pressed the button for the speaker and set it on the table next to my abandoned teacup.

“Freyja, what happened?”

I repeated the story I’d already told Athena and waited for Phoebe to chastise me. She was good at doing that in the most loving way possible. She got that from our dad.

“Do you remember when I was going through all that shit with Shaw and you tried to read the cards for me? Only it was your deck, so the reading was for you?”

“Yea?” I wasn’t sure where she was going with this. It was months ago, and I had read my cards over and over and they always said the same thing.

“The first one was the Wheel of Fortune. A change through unspeakable chance. What are the chances you would run into Duncan on the two rare occasions he was in the city?”

“Three,” I whispered.

“What?”

“Three times. The third was after I broke things off. He wouldn’t speak to me, though.”

“Three times, Freyja. What does that tell you?”

I didn’t answer. I just shook my head at the phone, knowing she couldn’t see me. She didn’t need my response to continue.

“The second was The Fool. New Beginnings. A leap of faith. Take the leap, Freyja. It’s what you’ve been waiting for.”

“He doesn’t want me.”

“You don’t know that,” Athena argued. “He sent someone to follow you home and watch over you to be sure you were safe.”

“The third card, Freyja.”

Phoebe’s voice rang out through the phone. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I didn’t understand how I had screwed up so badly, and I certainly didn’t need her to remind me.

“Judgment. Spiritual Awakening. Rebirth. Freedom from inner conflicts. Freyja, all of that is available to you right now if you just trust in the universe.”

“It’s not that easy!” I snapped.

“No, Freyja, it’s not.” Phoebe’s voice was quiet. And I knew she was thinking about everything she’d gone through last year and the years she and Shaw were apart.

“I’m sorry, Phoebe.”

“Trust your path, Freyja.”

“Pheebs, come back to bed.”

Athena and I looked at each other. Our noses scrunched at the sound of the gravel in Shaw’s voice as he spoke to our sister.

“I have to go, Freyja. Think about what I said. I love you both.”

“Love you, Phoebe,” Athena said.