Page 7 of One More Round

"I really do want to know what's got you staring out the window."

She eyes me. "Why?"

I give this some thought. Why do I want to know so bad? Why do I care?

"Because I care?" Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Yeah, I can see that was the wrong thing to say when she snorts and tosses an eye roll my way. A laugh escapes her lips but there’s no humor in it.

"Yeah, you care. Since when, Simon? You can't even look me in the eye. You don't care. So, don't waste your breath," she spits out and starts shoving dishes in the dishwasher now, throwing all kinds of temper around with the task.

"Jeesh. Chill, alright? I guess old habits die hard. I can still tell when something is wrong. We do have a history. That won't ever change," I say, defending myself.

At this, she goes rigid. Ah-ha. Either bringing up the fact that we have a history or my telling her to chill—which she hates—has stopped her in her tracks; I'm guessing it’s a little bit of both.

"Just leave me alone, Simon," she mutters.

"Is it your brother? Does he live here in Chicago? Are things better between the two of you or is he still an asshole with problems?" I can't hold it in, I've got to know.

She puts the last cup in the washer and closes the door uncharacteristically slowly. She then wipes her hands on the towel, lays it down, and slowly turns to me.

Murderous.

If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under. She steps a tad closer to me.

"You … do not get to ask about him. You do not get to bring him up. Ever. Do not ever speak about him, or the past, to me or anyone." Her voice is so low it makes my skin prickle.

"Uh, OK." I gulp. This evil clone Gia is scary as shit.

She takes a step back, then turns to leave the kitchen.

Then as her words register, I realize.

"They don't know, do they?"

She stops. Looks over her shoulder at me. Instead of anger, guilt clouds her eyes.

"No," she says, and walks away.

Chapter Six

Gia

I'm still in a funk. It’s been two days since my mom's email and my first real conversation slash argument slash almost-smackdown with Simon. I'm rattled. Still.

My date that night was wrecked from the start. I was 15 minutes late. I loathe being late. I was in a shitty mood. I didn't laugh at any of the poor guy’s lame jokes and I fought several eye rolls.

Thankfully, I came home to an empty apartment. Morgan was out with Dex and the gang. So, I knew I would be alone. The last thing I wanted was Morgan to grill me on my date and why I came home early. That would have led her to ask what was really wrong.

I'm lounging on the couch, catching up on the shows on the DVR when Ruby jumps on me.

"Umph." A laugh escapes me. "What are you doing?"

"I've got you trapped. You can't get away. Now I'm going to question you about your conversation with Simon the other day," she says confidently.

I groan. "You know, I can get away if I really wanted to, and how do you even know about this conversation?"

"Word gets around." She shrugs.

I just blink at her.

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