Page 2 of Here in My Heart (Here Together #2)

CHAPTER TWO

Adelaide Poole stared into her twin’s eyes, her knee twitching with guilt. “What have I forgotten?”

Stephanie frowned her familiar frown: a sign that Ade had fallen short again. “Dad just messaged to say he sent a package to the hotel in Paris. Did you not tell them we were leaving today?”

“Okay, did you really ask me to, or did you infer it and expect me to read your mind? Because either way, no, I didn’t tell Dad we were leaving Paris.”

Steph tsked. “I told you that Dad and Pops would be worried about us if they didn’t know exactly where we were.”

Ade blinked and nodded, remembering the conversation they’d had back home. “Well, that’s not asking me to do it. That’s telling me about their feelings.” She stiffened under Steph’s glare. “You couldn’t have told them yourself?”

“Are you for real? I had a million things to remember before this trip. You couldn’t handle one simple task?”

Ade wriggled against the seat of the train, the fabric scratching her back even though she’d worn two layers for the journey. She stared at the table, blocking the noise from the nearby passengers.

“Ade? Are you listening?” Steph tapped her shoulder.

The thirty-minute head start from their rent-a-womb had really given Steph the edge.

Ade was always catching up, trying to work out which conversation to prioritize or which tab in her overloaded brain to close.

It was a truth she’d long since accepted: she was the weak link in their family chain.

Despite her dads’ constant love and support, somehow, she managed to screw up. A lot.

Ade blinked against the harsh sunlight and tuned into the rumble of the train car against the tracks. She hadn’t eaten since the Gare de Lyon and her head pounded.

“We’ll be there soon, and we can grab a bite,” Stephanie said with a gentle nudge.

Ade bounced her knee out of time with the train’s jog along the track.

The apprehension of starting her new life in the South of France gnawed deep in her abdomen.

She’d been in her comfort zone at the Northern Californian college, which had shielded her from the realities of adulting for the last six years.

But she could only blame herself for the upheaval of spending a year abroad.

She’d spent far too long with her head down in the lab and had attracted the unwanted attention of her supervisors.

Looking after her marine animals wasn’t enough, they’d said; she had to take on other duties.

Peopling. Mentoring students. All the things she’d avoided since graduation.

She rubbed dust from the train’s window and revealed the horizon. The dry landscape of southern France reminded her a little of California. Not that she’d been further than the Monterey city limits that often. Places she didn’t know confused her, so she did her best to avoid that.

The train slowed as they neared the university town of Montpellier.

The window framed a patchwork of graffiti art, stocky condos, and concrete overhangs, before Ade glimpsed the city’s historic glory.

The balconies grew taller and more ornate, and with age came beauty.

Excitement fluttered in her stomach, combining with the acidic worry she’d been cultivating since they’d flown out of San Francisco on Wednesday.

“You okay there, Ady-baby?”

She cringed at her sister’s use of their family nickname. “This place looks kind of cool. What do you think?”

Stephanie beamed. “I think it’ll be the making of you.” The announcement of their arrival pierced Ade’s ears, and she cowered into the seat.

Steph rose to collect their bags. “You have your cell? Passport? Check around you.”

“Okay, Dad.” Ade huffed. She’d catalogued everything she’d brought and knew its exact position.

“I’m just being careful, honey. You don’t want to be lost in a strange place without your documents. I have no idea what the French police would make of that.”

Ade patted her pockets. “I’m good. Let’s go.” Stepping onto the platform, the evening heat hit her cheeks, and her shirt clung to her back beneath her oversized bag. “It’s hotter than home.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Steph led the way with the confidence of a seasoned traveler and checked them into a nearby hotel.

In their air-conditioned room, Ade peeled off a layer of clothes and collapsed on one of the beds, her heavy limbs exhausted from the day’s efforts.

She scanned the room for essentials. The door and window locked.

Adequate. The air-conditioning unit was a little loud for her liking, but she’d manage.

“I’ve turned on the shower. How about you jump in first, and I’ll get us a cold drink from the bar?” Steph scooped up Ade’s discarded clothes from the floor. “Please take a shower. Otherwise, you’ll get into something, and it’ll be midnight by the time we eat.”

Ade grunted. She could do without Steph bossing her around but chose to comply rather than stand her ground.

In the small bathroom, she wiped down the surface and laid out her products.

It was nothing like what she was used to at home, and she breathed through the discomfort, while her skin crawled.

Under the lukewarm jet, she closed her eyes. The journey had taken its toll on her, but the pent-up adrenaline of starting a new life quivered just beneath the surface. She was tired, for sure, but there was no way she’d sleep with the nervous excitement flowing through her veins right now.

Back in Monterey, she’d stuck a pin in life.

With the mounting pressures from her supervisors to be more of a “people person,” she’d accepted the rotation into the pastoral care team just to shut them up for a while.

She secretly hoped that taking care of the animals would take up more of her time than mentoring the amateur biologists she’d accompanied to Europe.

She closed off the shower and wrapped herself in a towel before opening the door just enough to let the steam out of the tiny room.

Steph held two champagne flutes in her hand. “Do you want to hit a couple of bars tonight?”

Ade groaned. Steph clearly wanted to start her gap year already. Whether Ade liked it or not, she’d be dragged along for the ride. What she really wanted was to tuck herself under the white cotton sheets of the hotel bed, scroll through her cell for a couple of hours, and get some rest.

Ade might’ve vomited over the realtor’s shoes if Stephanie hadn’t opened the window to take in the view.

Thank God for fresh air and personal space.

Her stomach lurched with all the force of a pirate-ship ride at the carnival.

It would be awful to spoil the crimson leather of those fancy shoes.

They looked French, but how would she know?

Ade had no clue what was typical in this strange new country.

“I like your shoes.” She realized by the scrunch of the woman’s eyebrows that she’d spoken the words out loud. The interminable monologue that played on a loop inside her mind every minute of the day sometimes escaped for air.

“They’re gorgeous, aren’t they? Let’s go check out the kitchen.” Steph pulled a face behind the realtor’s back and led the way to the so-called kitchen, which turned out to be nothing more than a sink and a stovetop in the minuscule living area.

Back in Monterey, Ade and Stephanie lived in the annex of their parents’ plus-sized condo.

They weren’t mega-rich by any means. But they were comfortable, and their California proportions dwarfed this tiny old-town apartment.

Ade stared at the gaping hole in the ceiling.

It matched one around the pipes coming out of the wooden floors.

Black voids out of which anything could appear. Maybe she could keep a pet rat.

“You okay?” Stephanie bumped her elbow. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Ade recalled her dad’s final words of advice at the airport a few days prior: “Think before you speak and try not to offend anyone.” He’d cupped her cheeks and forced her to look at him.

Then he’d kissed the tip of her nose and enveloped her in an uncharacteristic bear hug.

Steph had dawdled in the tearful embrace of Pops, while they both swiped at their damp cheeks and promised to call when they could.

“This is better than everything we’ve seen today,” Ade said, which was neither a lie nor offensive…she hoped.

Steph cracked a smile and moved out of the realtor’s earshot. “With a bit of a polishing, I think this’ll do fine. That last place was a total dive.”

“I can’t afford anything better.” The paycheck bump she was promised by the faculty would be eaten up in no time at this rate.

“Unless you sub-let, I guess,” Steph said.

“No way.” The idea of sharing a space with strangers was off the cards. Ade had only managed to co-habit with one person since conception. “I can’t have people in my space. It’s bad enough at work.”

“I know, honey. I was just kidding.” Stephanie laughed. “Dad and Pops will send you some cash if you need it.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Ade swallowed the taste of white wine that persisted on her tastebuds.

Last night’s dinner had turned into drinks and despite Ade’s protests, Steph had made some new friends, and they’d finished up at a club.

The only reason she stuck around was because going back to the hotel was impossible on her own: she hadn’t had the chance to map the route yet.

The realtor’s heels sounded against the boards.

Ade inhaled the woman’s impatience as if it were a strong scent. “ Do we need to do something right now?” The options exploded like fireworks in Ade’s mind. She didn’t want to offend the realtor or embarrass Steph.

“You don’t have to rush.” Steph touched her sleeve, as if she knew that the situation was sending her sideways. “We can always look around again tomorrow.”

Dragging ourselves around for another day? No, thanks. Endless real estate windows, half-translated, broken conversations, and a maddening midday heat had made for a miserable first day in her new city. “Can we just take the apartment?” Ade asked.

“Of course,” the realtor said, clapping her hands with a finality. “You’ll need to follow me down to the office to sort out some paperwork.”

The next hour proved to be the most tedious of the whole day. Ade found herself on the ground floor of a tall office block trying to focus on something that wouldn’t hurt her head.

She stared ahead, avoiding the overflowing filing cabinets. She shut her eyes, only for the brown stain of a coffee ring to appear on the back of her eyelids. The whirling blades of a fan did nothing more than send papers flying and disperse the stench of stale sweat around the room.

The realtor peered above a pair of scarlet spectacles. “Who will sign the lease for you, Mademoiselle…Poole?”

Ade wondered if she had eyewear to match all her footwear.

“Adelaide will sign it,” Steph said. “We can pay the deposit today.”

Ade nodded beside her sister, grateful to avoid taking the lead.

“You will need a French guarantor,” the realtor said.

“A what now?” Steph asked.

“Someone who lives in France to co-sign the lease with you. It is the way these things are done here.”

Steph shuffled in her seat. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. My sister and I are both adults. We can pay rent up front if that’s what the issue is. ”

There was much gesticulating from the back office as the realtor sought a second opinion.

“Some air,” Ade said. “I need some air.”

“Sure thing. I’ll sort this out and come get you.” Steph twisted the cap of her water bottle.

Ade paced the sidewalk, staying close enough to the shop window to keep Steph in her eyeline.

She stepped over the dog mess and gum and studiously avoided the cracks in the pavements.

The screech of tires and roar of engines filled her ears while exhaust fumes invaded her nostrils.

She counted to ten, just like Pops had taught her.

Would she ever settle and adjust to the new smells and sounds?

A rattle of foreign words distracted her across the road.

She looked back at Steph, and she was still there.

This morning on the way back from the club, the rising sun had bathed the city’s rooftops in an amber glow as the street cleaners washed down the sins of the night. She’d liked the cleaners. They’d been loud but effective.

Stephanie poked her head through the office door. “Okay, we’re all done here.”

“Do you need me? I don’t feel that well.”

“You need to sign some papers.” Steph held the door open. “It’s your studio, not mine.”

Ade’s shoulders stiffened as she stepped inside. Why couldn’t her sister stay with her a little longer? Soon enough, she’d be all alone in this strange city, starting a new job with a bunch of new people she’d no doubt annoy in her first week.

All their first days had been done as a duo: kindergarten, middle school, high school. They’d been hand in hand through every milestone: major to minor. Would Ade fall apart without the glue that held her together?

Ade didn’t want Steph to leave, but that had been the deal.

She’d come with her to France and go on traveling through Europe, which had been her sister’s dream since they’d been in high school.

A little part of Ade wished that Stephanie would be charmed by this little French city and stay for longer. Maybe even the whole year.

But the chance of that, based on the last twenty-four hours, was pretty slim. Ade had proven herself to be the perennial family burden, someone to be coaxed along, second-guessed, and occasionally rescued from the jaws of disaster.

Stephanie had done more than discharge her sisterly duty; it was time for her own adventures, leaving Ade to her own devices.

What would life look like then? Ade cleared her throat.

It did her no good to run off too far into the future.

The echo of her pop’s advice rang in her ears: “Stay here in the moment, kiddo, and deal with what’s in front of you.

” She drew her pen across the page, signing her name.

If only she had the certainty of that scrawl of black ink.