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Chapter 8

Gemma

I was still trying to convince myself the night before hadn’t been just a dream.

After we’d left the restaurant, Ben had taken me to a nearby park. “Option number one, which was more of a safe option, was a movie. But I’m glad you went for option two. It allows for more privacy,” he’d said.

He’d wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer against him, only to smile as I readied myself for the kiss that never came. Instead, he had pulled away.

“You’re such a damn tease,” I’d told him, which had only resulted in his smile growing even wider.

“I told you I’m doing this the right way, which means taking things slow,” he’d reminded me.

Slow. Never had I hated a word so much.

We’d spent the rest of the night on the swings, talking. About Molly and how much we dreaded the texts we’d be sure to see from her the next morning. About us, and why it had taken so long for us to take the next step.

Nothing that had happened the night before had been what I’d expected, and yet everything had been perfect. If there was one thing I was beginning to learn, it was while we went in search of perfection, it was often right under our noses.

With Ben, I was at ease. I was comfortable with him. I was able to be myself.

Every fear I’d ever had—about ruining our friendship, about losing him—they all ceased to exist. The line had been crossed, and I hadn’t lost him. He was still there, and our relationship had only grown stronger.

It was the right choice, I reminded myself.

I went to reach for my cell phone when a loud knock sounded on my bedroom door. “Are you awake yet?” Molly called out, letting herself in.

“You do know most people—normal people, I mean—typically wait for the other person to respond after knocking. Ya know, instead of barging in.”

She shrugged it off and plopped down on the end of my bed. “Lecture me later, love. For now, how was your date last night? I need details. Spill it, Gems.”

I clutched my pillow and tossed it over my face. “Another thing normal people usually don’t do? Ask their friends about their date with their brother.”

“You do realize if you don’t tell me, I’ll just get the goods from him, right?”

The downside to Ben & Molly being twins? They were a lot closer than most siblings. Sure, there were certain things that remained off limits. But for the most part, they told each other everything. So I knew she wasn’t bluffing.

And in all actuality, I did want to talk to someone about the previous night.

“Fine,” I groaned. “You’re the worst, Mols.”

“Yes, but you love it,” she teased.

“I’ll tell you about our date, but you have to promise I can meet Liz soon.”

Molly’s eyes had widened for a moment before she agreed to it. “Details. Now.”

“Well, we started the night at Emilia’s, which, by the way, can you thank your co-worker for me? Because it’s kind of my new obsession.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Molly said, waving her hand at me. “I already knew about Emilia’s. Tell me something I don’t know. Did you guys finally kiss? Where’d you go after you ate? And please, for the goodness sake, please tell me you didn’t have sex in your car because if so, I’m never going to be able to ride in that thing again.”

I threw a pillow at Molly and sat up in my bed. “You are crazy, Mols. You know this, right?”

“We established this a long time ago, love. Now come on, what happened next?”

I paused for a moment, trying to compose myself. I was still giddy with excitement at the thought of the way Ben’s lips felt against mine. Everything about that moment had felt right.

I wanted nothing more than to feel his lips pressed against mine again.

But there was no way in hell I was going to tell Molly how eager I was to do it again.

“We kissed, yes, before we even made it to the restaurant, but Ben put a stop to that real fast. He said he wants to do things the proper way. He doesn’t want to rush things between us.”

“Just when I thought my brother couldn’t be more of an idiot,” she joked.

“It’s fine,” I said with a shrug. “I understand why, and I actually kind of appreciate it, honestly. To me, it’s his way of saying he’s serious about seeing where this goes between us.”

Molly smiled and repositioned herself so her head rested atop her hand. “I guess. But what else happened? You didn’t get home until late. Seriously, Gems, I got home before you. I don’t think that’s ever happened before.”

“Nothing scandalous,” I assured her. “We went to the park and talked for hours. After that, he brought me home with the promise he’d come by after work today.”

“Well, that sounds both boring and yet romantic,” Molly responded.

“You would think that.” I pulled my blanket up to my chest, and grinned. “It was far from boring. I feared the night would be awkward and that everything that could go wrong would, but honestly, Mols? It was one of the best nights of my life.”

Ever since Trey passed away, I found myself unwilling to open up to others, to take chances or risks in fear of what I would lose in the process. Ben was one of the things I’d feared losing, but the fact of the matter was he was my light in the tunnel of darkness.

I hated the idea of a woman being dependent upon a man.

But Ben had been my anchor when I needed him most.

And being with him, being around him, made me happier than I cared to admit.

“Last night was perfect, Molly. It really was.”

Molly reached for my arms and pulled me closer to her and gave me a hug. “I’m just glad to see you happy, Gems. It has been far too long. You guys have always been right for one another. I’m just glad you both realized it before it was too late.”

“What about you? What did you and Liz do?” I asked, knowing damn well chances of Molly actually answering were slim to none.

“Let’s just say there was more action during our night than there was during yours,” she said with a wink. Before I could say anything else, Molly had moved off of the bed and toward my door. “I believe you owe me a pool day. You have fifteen minutes to get ready.”

As she exited my bedroom, she shut the door behind her.

I debated on getting up. I still had fifteen minutes before Molly decided to barge in my room again, fifteen minutes I could spend sleeping.

Sleep sounded like such a good idea.

Screw it. I was going to take a nap.

Molly could wait a bit longer. The pool wasn’t going to go anywhere.

I lay back in bed, eager to get in as long of a nap as possible, only for my cell phone to start vibrating on my bedside table.

That better not be Ben, I thought to myself.

I reached over blindly and grabbed my cell phone, knocking over my alarm clock and my keys in the process. I took one glance at the name on the screen and paused as FATHER flashed across the screen.

“What the hell is he calling me for so early?”

My parents called a few times a week to check in, but they always called at night. They never called me in the morning. Not unless something was wrong.

My heart immediately sank.

Trey’s birthday was approaching. It was only a week away. Maybe he’d been calling to see how I’d been doing? Even as I thought it, I knew it wasn’t why he was calling.

After Trey had passed away, we decided we’d spend his birthdays out, together as a family, to celebrate his life.

I took a deep breath and hit the accept call button. I heard my father call out my name as I pressed the phone to my ear. “Gemma, are you there?”

“Hey, Dad,” I answered. “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

I tried to keep my voice calm, not wanting him to sense I was worried. But it was hard when I could feel my heart pounding as fear dug its way into my veins.

“Gemma,” my father’s voice broke as he spoke.

“What’s going on, Dad? Where is Mom?”

“I don’t know what happened, Gemma. I don’t know.”

“Did something happen to Mom? Dad, I need you to tell me where Mom is, right now.”

“She’s at the hospital, Gemma.” I listened as my father fought off tears on the other end of the line, and it took everything I had not to break down right then. He needs you, I reminded myself. Don’t fall apart now, Gemma.

“What happened, Dad? Why is Mom in the hospital?”

“I walked into the bedroom, and she was on the bedroom floor with an empty pill bottle beside her. They said if I hadn’t gotten there in time, she would have died,” he said, sounding distraught. “They think with the anniversary of his death just having passed and his birthday coming up, it was just too much for her to take.”

We sat in silence for a moment, as I wasn’t sure how to respond.

I wanted to hang up, to call Ben, to tell him what happened.

But I couldn’t.

My father needed me. I couldn’t give in to my pain, not now. I needed to be strong for him. I needed to be strong for my mother. This wasn’t about me. This was about them; this was about making sure they were okay.

“Are you with Mom now?” I asked him.

“I’m in the waiting room. They said it’ll be a bit before I can go see her.” As I heard the pain in his voice, I felt my heart break. “I just want to see her, Gemma. I need to see her.”

“I know, Dad.” I paused for a moment before continuing. “Listen, stay there, okay? I’m going to come meet you at the hospital. If anything happens, call me, all right? She’s going to be okay.”

“I can’t lose her, Gemma. Not after losing Trey.”

“I know, Dad. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Please, let everything be okay.

To Be Continued