AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is this the part where you lock us up in our rooms and throw away the key?” Geneva demands, ruining the first pleasant exchange I’ve had in hours. “Why can’t we share a room? Afraid we’ll put our heads together and try to escape?”
Milana heaves a tired sigh in Geneva’s direction. “If you want to share a room with June, that’s your prerogative. I’m only sorry for June.”
I grab Geneva’s hand and throw Milana an apologetic nod. “She’ll be in my room for the time being. Goodnight, Milana.”
I pull my sister into my room and shut the door. Geneva stands in the middle of the space, her hands crossed hard over her chest. When she turns to me, she’s got her fighting face on.
“It’s, like, three in the morning. How’re you going to see a doctor in an hour?” she asks.
“She’s… on call, sort of.”
“And you just jump up to the front of the line whenever you please? What about her other patients?”
I swallow the tang of guilt. “She doesn’t have any.”
Geneva’s scowl deepens as she leans against the bedpost. Her foot starts tapping, sounding like a countdown until she implodes. “Make it make sense, June. I’m sick of playing Twenty Questions with everyone under this godforsaken roof.”
Sighing, I sink onto the bed. “I’m her only patient. Kolya hired out her services exclusively for the duration of my pregnancy.”
Geneva’s eyebrows hit the ceiling. She looks mildly impressed for a millisecond before she wipes her expression clean and goes back to looking indignant.
“Is this how he got to you?” she demands. “The jewels, the clothes, the lavish lifestyle? He bought you.”
I bristle at that. “Do you really think I’m that shallow?”
“Sorry,” she mutters. “Low blow.”
An apology was not something I could have expected as a child, so this strikes me as progress. I try to remind myself that Geneva went through something traumatic tonight, too. I need to be more patient with her.
“Why don’t we change out of these clothes?” I suggest. “We can clean up and then… talk?”
Geneva plonks herself down on the window seat, her shoulders hunching with fatigue. “Let’s talk now.”
I nod. “Okay,” I say, shuffling over to take the spot opposite her.
There are only one or two garden lights on, so there’s not much of a view at the moment. But Geneva still continues to stare out the window as though she can see in the dark.
“I’m sorry,” I say, breaking the heavy silence. “About tonight. You’re probably not going to get paid.”
Her eyes snap to mine and I brace for a tirade. But then the angry energy surging through her seems to dissipate all at once. “You still have nightmares about The Accident, don’t you?” she asks suddenly.
My breath catches in my throat. “H-how do you know?”
“You had one on the flight when you drifted off,” she explains in a monotone. “You were tossing and turning, mumbling things. At one point, I heard you say,‘My baby.’You even grabbed your stomach.”
Heat floods my face, but there’s no point denying it. Every part is true. “This was the first one in a while.”
She nods, and for a moment, it looks like she’s biting her tongue. Which is weird, because Geneva is not one for holding back when she has something to say.
She takes a deep breath. “You never really talk about The Accident. The few details I know, I heard from Adrian.”
I flinch involuntarily. I wish my reactions weren’t such a dead giveaway, but they’re entirely out of my control. “I just don’t like talking about it.”
“That’s not exactly healthy.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve made it this far.”
Geneva looks at me with pursed lips and a pinched expression. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that she’s not telling me something.
