Page 26 of Seeking Shadows

Twin connection is a weird thing because I swear he only thinks of meafterI think of him. How does nature even explain this? Psychic powers? Quantum entanglement? Sheer chaos?

I answer, already bracing myself.

“Hey, sis. How’s the trip?”

“Good.” I try to sound neutral. Bad idea. Turns out, I’m not great at lying to Seth. Which makes sense—I spent over half my life thinking he was dead, so I never really had to practice.

“Good?” He’s immediately suspicious. “I was expecting something more like, ‘Oh my God, Seth, I’m living the dream! I just skydived and made friends with a raccoon!’”

“You think I’d befriend a raccoon?”

“Yes. You seem like the type to feed raccoons and give them names.”

“I’d name them all Jorge,” I mutter.

“Exactly what I expected.”

Laura, who was probably eavesdropping, decides to join in. It’s funny to think—well, maybe notthatfunny—about the time I thought Laura didn’t even know Seth existed. Turns out, not only does she know him, but they’re actually close.Plot twist.

Of course, Seth swears up and down that he only visits her because of Nora, my niece, who is officially the cutest thing in this universe (tied with her twin brother, obviously—gotta be fair). But let’s be real. If he’s hanging out with Laura that much, it’s notjustabout the kids.

I mean, he can keep pretending. I’ll keep pretending to believe him. It’s a system.

"Mia, are you eating properly?" Laura asks in that soft-spoken yetverydiplomatic voice of hers—like she’s trying to gently guide a nation through a crisis, but the crisis is justme.

I pause, mid-scribble, staring at the flower I was just coloring in. What kind of question is that? Of course, I’m eating properly. I had coffee for breakfast, a questionable snack at some point, and maybe… okay,definitelysome candy. That counts.

"Define 'properly,’” I say, stalling.

Laura sighs. I can practically hear her adjusting her glasses, preparing a full nutritional intervention.

“So, you’renoteating properly,” Laura deduces.

“I ate something yesterday that had sauce on it,” I argue.

“Sauce doesn’t cancel out malnutrition.”

Seth grumbles. “You’re not in trouble, are you?”

“Why would I be in trouble?”

“Because you sound like someone trying to hide the fact that they’re in trouble.”

I laugh. “I’m literally just traveling with my husband. Relax.”

Laura remains skeptical. “Is your husband with you now?”

“Uh…” I glance to the side, where there is very muchnoZane. “Yeah?”

“Why did you say that like you were guessing?”

“Because sometimes he hides,” I improvise. “He’s sneaky like that. A ninja. You never know when he’s going to show up.”

Seth sighs. “Mia, if you ever need a rescue, send me a secret emoji.”

“Like what?”

“A dove with a baseball bat.”

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