Page 78 of The Twins

Remo licks his lips, cringing. His eyes are empty, and it worries me. “On his birthday… It… It was his birthday. When Grey came to San Ricardo? That day. His birthday! That’s the sign. She’s my gift from him.”

“Remo.”

He twitches, but he doesn’t talk to me. He doesn’t explain what’s going on inside of his head.

“He… He was my first,” Remo confesses, and I sit back, processing what he’s going on about. “He was. My FIRST.”

“Did you love… him?” I ask, and to my surprise, Remo shakes his head. He heard the question, but he doesn’t see me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be outing himself in this setting. It doesn’t change the way I feel about the kid.

Whatever he says.

He’s a stand-up guy.

“I didn’t looove him.” He drags out the word. He smiles, but it’s the smile of a clown. His lower lip trembles.

He’s a cute drunk, but I’m not going to tell him. When he sobers up, he can decide whether he wants to out himself in front of me.

“He was my entire world. And one day? It was gone. Like it never existed. Never.”

I take a deep breath, and I reach out to Remo. I grab his hand, and I attempt to be a man that cares. A man who knows how to comfort his friends.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” I say to him.

Remo sobs, removing his hand from mine. “I loved him. So much.”

---