Page 3 of Unraveling Rain
I stop walking and turn to face her, pulling down my sunglasses so she can see me raise my eyebrows.
“Gio? Obsessed with you? Nah, I don’t believe it.”
Ruin smacks my shoulder gently, and I laugh. Her husband made her fall in love with him again when she lost her memories after the accident. For six months, Gio kept his distance while Ruin recovered. But once he knew she was back on her feet, he moved to Azalea Creek. And as the old saying goes, the rest is history.
“So how’s it going?” she asks.
I sigh. “Did Mama put you up to talking to me?”
“What? No, why would she?” my sister answers—way too fast. Her telltale sign that she’s nervous.
“She totally did,” I say, louder than I meant, and Indigo fusses.
“Shhh, shhh. Babe, everything is okay. Auntie Rain just gets excited sometimes,” I tell him, rubbing his leg until he calms down.
“I promise you she didn’t, Raindrop. Why? Is something wrong?”
I look at my sister, who’s holding my wrist and rubbing my pulse point with her thumb, like we used to do when we were little. Anytime we were worried about each other, that was our go-to motion.
“Nothing is wrong,” I say, turning my gaze away and starting to walk again.
“Okay—maybe everything is wrong,” I admit, inhaling and releasing a deep breath.
We continue to walk in silence for a couple of beats. I know she’s giving me the space I need to gather my thoughts. We’ve always known what each other needs without speaking—it’s the twin bond.
I look down at my niece and nephew and can’t help but tear up at the thought of these two growing up thick as thieves, just like their mommy and me.
“I just feel like everyone has moved on with their lives, and I’m still here living in an eternal loop of the same day,” I finally say.
Ruin chuckles. “Like inGroundhog Day.”
Daddy used to watch that movie all the time. I think he knew the dialogue by heart.
“Yeah, something like that.”
I keep my gaze trained on the babies. I don’t want to know if my sister is looking at me with pity, or even worse, with disappointment.
“I know what you’re going through because I’ve been there. I remember those days when I didn’t know how my life was going to turn around. I thought I’d never smile again. I thought I’d never find love.”
I look at Ruin, and right on cue, her emerald green eyes fill with emotion.
“Twice,” she adds, her voice breaking.
“Ugh, dang hormones. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make this about me. I was just trying to say that I know how you’re feeling,” she says, drying the moisture from her eyes with the back of her shirt.
“I know, Ru. But you were able to get out of your funk—twice. I haven’t been able to. I’ve been in this funk since Daddy passed.”
It’s been longer than that. But she doesn’t need to know that.
I look away instead of making eye contact. I don’t want her to see me cry.
I don’t want her to see that I’ve kept a secret from her—a terrible one. We never keep things from each other. But I know if I tell her about this, it would break her—like it broke me.
“Well, how about you come join us at Serene Lookout?” Ruin offers, casual as can be.
I stop in my tracks. “What? No. I don’t need you to analyze me, Ru.”
I can feel my walls going up.
