Page 88 of Gemini

Eve smiled at me. At first, I didn’t recognize her. Her hair was shorter and darker, and she was far less pale than I remember, less ashen with a glow about her, her eyes bright. “Hey, Lena.”

“Eve…” My voice cracked. “Holy shit.”

She laughed. Seeing her alive and looking so well nearly brought tears to my eyes. “I know it’s been a while,” she said.

“Are you—How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. It’s been…a long journey.”

I wanted to ask her so much. Where had she gone, where was she now, how she was holding up. Instead, I said, “I wanted to email you so much, but I also wanted to give you time. And things got a little crazy.”

“I know. Jamie didn’t exactly tell me everything, he said he didn’t want to trigger a reaction or stress me out, so he didn’t mention in his last email what happened this past summer.” She shifted in her seat, her eyes glancing away from the screen as she cleared her throat. “I found out from Micheal once Dom told him. It was more than what Jamie knew anyway.”

I glanced at Micheal and then at Dom. It should have been me that told her first, but I agreed with Jamie, she’d gone through so much, and a part of me wasn’t sure how she’d take it. Now I regretted that it hadn’t been me.

“I should have told you, I’m sorry,” I said aloud. “Things happened and…”

“You don’t have to explain. I’m not mad.”

“But what happened at the church…”

“It’s in the past. I’m…better from it now. I’m glad the twins helped you and your sister.” She pursed her lips as she glanced away again. A shadow moved beside her. “As long as you’re safe and happy.”

“I am.”

Leslie returned with a tray of drinks, setting them on the table. “Alright, let’s do this before Miranda finds us and demands shots.” He froze as he saw the look on my face. “What happened?”

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then Micheal leaned in, taking one of the glasses. “Eve has called to wish Lena a happy birthday. They are catching up. Why don’t you say hi.”

He glanced at me, and I nodded. He came around behind me to look at the screen.

“Leslie…” Eve said.

“Eve.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You look good.”

She smirked, glancing away again. “You think?”

“Yeah. Glowing. Loverboy must be treating you real good, and by real good, I mean—”

The hulking shadow that had moved by Eve now passed around her. A pair of yellow eyes glared in the darkness.

“Ah, there he is.”

“Watch what you say, Leslie, or I might be tempted to make a drive all the way back there just to strangle you.”

“Don’t go flirting with me, I’m taken.”

“So I heard.” The yellow eyes narrowed on me, and my stomach sank, a chill running up my spine.

“Hi, Emery,” I said, a little more clipped than I meant to. This felt so strange and surreal even after more than a year.

“Emery,” Eve scolded. “Come sit.”

He sighed and moved to take a seat beside her, his large hand engulfing her thigh possessively.

Trying to relieve the tension, I said, “Dom and Micheal are here too, see?” I flipped the phone around and they waved.

“One big happy family back together again. How wholesome,” Leslie added.