AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m your sister!”
“Really?” I ask calmly. “You could have fooled me.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“When was the last time you called, Geneva?” I ask. “When was the last time we so much as met for coffee? I called you three months ago. Do you remember that? I left you a bunch of messages on your machine because you didn’t pick up. Ring any bells?”
She has the audacity to frown. “I was gonna call back. I got busy.” She brushes her hair out of her eyes. “Did you call to tell me you and Adrian broke up? ‘Cause that would explain why you’re shacked up with another man.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that Adrian and I broke up,” I say, feeling the lump in my throat get bigger. “The breakup happened somewhere in the middle of I-78.”
She frowns. “You were driving?”
“We weren’t.Hewas. I was at home, sleeping.”
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s because you didn’t pick up three months ago.”
She seems to realize that I’m unraveling, because her expression goes from defensive to concerned. “June…”
“He died, Geneva,” I snap. “He fucking died on me. He was driving drunk. He had a head-on collision with a truck and both cars went up in smoke. I was called in to identify his body, and I could barely do it because he was burnt to a crisp. I could actually smell his flesh.”
Her hand snaps up to her mouth. “Oh God…”
I start pacing again. Moving feels so much better than standing still and watching my sister’s pity float over towards me. If there’s one thing I hate more than her ridicule, it’s her pity.
“Fuck… June. I didn’t think it was—I’m sorry. That must have been hard for you.”
“It still is.” I stop pacing and face her. “But if you’re here to pretend to care, don’t bother. I’m fine.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, June.” She gnaws at her bottom lip, a gesture we both inherited from our father. Though I’m not sure if he does it anymore. I haven’t seen him in a long time. “I’m just… thrown, okay? I thought you were in trouble.”
“I’m not. I’m… I’m pregnant, actually.”
Geneva gasps. “You’re… Shit, you’re serious? You’re really pregnant?” She moves forward suddenly and grabs me. For a second, I think she’s going to put me in a headlock, but then I realize she’s hugging me.
She holds me so long that I get the whiff of spiced cherries coming from her dark hair. The residue of her perfume lingers, too. Sickly sweet and nauseating.
“June?”
“Sorry,” I mumble, releasing her and stumbling backwards. “I’m just tired. It’s late.”
“Right. And our hour’s almost up,” she says, glancing towards the door. “Listen, before I go I just want you to know that I won’t be contactable for the next few days, okay? That guy I told you about, the one who told me about you…”
A sense of unease sweeps up my spine instantly. “Yeah?”
“He offered me a gig. He has this huge event coming up that he’s hosting in Mexico, and he wants me to come help throw it. He’s cutting me a huge check at the end of it, and covering all my expenses. So I took a couple of days of leave and I told him I’d do it.”
“Gen—”
The door bursts open and Kolya stands at the threshold, looking like the devil at the gateway to hell.
“Time’s up,” he says coldly. “Say your goodbyes.”
Geneva turns to me. “I’m gonna call you, okay?” she says. “I know I have no right to ask, but pick up. Please.”
She squeezes my hand before she heads for the door. Right in front of Kolya, she pauses. “You better treat her right.”
