Page 24 of Inception

I forced a smile.

“Tell me about yourself, Jemma.”

I shrugged. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Where are you from?”

“Lots of places,” I said and then shrugged. “The last place I lived was Florida, but we moved around a lot before then so I guess I’m kind of a nomad. Wait—how did you know I wasn’t from around here?” Hollow Hills wasn’t a metropolis by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t that small.

“Word travels quick in these parts.”

“Duly noted.”

“Do you have any siblings?” he asked. If he was curious, his tone wasn’t letting on.

“A sister.”

“Older.”

I nodded. “How did you know?”

He glanced down at me. “Lucky guess. And your parents?”

I could feel that suppressed sorrow thickening in the back of my throat as the memories flooded in.

“I don’t remember my mother, but I was very close with my father before he died. It was unexpected—a heart attack,” I lied, fumbling with my fingers as I relived the guilt of having to leave him behind. It was easier to tell that lie than the one listed on his autopsy report. “It’s just me and my uncle now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

“Thank you.”

He crossed his hands behind his back again. “Your sister, she doesn’t live with you and your uncle?”

I shook my head. “She moves around a lot.”

“What sort of places?”

“All over really. Chicago, Portland, Toronto…she’s even been to Dublin and she’s not even Twenty-one yet.”

“Impressive.”

“I think so,” I smiled proudly. I couldn’t wait to graduate high school and hightail it into the world just like she did.

“Does she visit you often?”

“She tries to, but you know how it is.”

“When was the last time you saw her?”

I thought back to the last time I’d seen my sister, when she came to visit me in the hospital and told me that I needed to start playing nice with the doctors if I ever wanted to get out of that place. Of course, I would be keeping that part to myself, for obvious reasons.

“It’s been...a while. A few months.”

He nodded without looking. “So that leaves you on your own.”

“Yup. Just me and my uncle.” Ugh, I said that part already.

“How about a boyfriend?” he asked.

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