27. Gale
Gale
Istayed in my room the rest of the day, avoiding cameras, avoiding Ozrik, avoiding my sister and her questions. I packed my bag, intent on leaving. Forget the contract. They could sue me for all I cared. Then guilt surfaced, and I collapsed on the bed.
Had Olivia said those things? I doubted it.
Hugh wanted me angry. He wanted confrontation.
It was all a game. Yet, Hugh’s warning or threat or whatever it was meant to be wouldn’t leave me alone.
My life was under a microscope, being recorded for other people’s entertainment. I had too much to lose.
I should have left, but I stayed.
I tried to read, but my thoughts were a maelstrom. A real walk, snapping a few pictures, would have cleared my head. The sky was full of dark clouds. They leeched daylight and turned the afternoon unpleasantly gloomy. It would have looked great on film.
But they were watching my every move, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave the room.
Noah appeared around four, lingering by the door.
I avoided eye contact.
“Oz sent me to check on you.”
“I’m fine.”
“He thought maybe you’d like to join us for something to eat. We’ll probably have to hit the road in an hour or so.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Okay.” He hesitated, then turned to go, but with his hand on the door, said, “He’s a good person to have on your side. I know there’s hostility between our teams, but no one will harass you about… that kind of thing if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I didn’t respond.
Noah blew out his cheeks. “Okay, um… Is it okay if Olivia comes in? She wanted me to ask.”
I was shocked my sister cared about my opinion and hadn’t already barged in uninvited. Usually, she did as she pleased and damn my feelings. I wasn’t ready to talk but could only dodge her for so long. My energy was officially drained, and I didn’t have a fighting bone left in my body.
“It’s fine.”
Noah left, and a short time later, a soft rap sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
“I don’t have a key.”
My limbs weighed a thousand pounds as I dragged myself off the bed and opened the door. I couldn’t meet Olivia’s eyes and returned to the bed, flopping on my stomach and keeping my head turned away.
“What do you want?”
“You know what.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Are you moping?”
“No.”
“Are you upset?”
“Go away, Olivia.”
She didn’t.
Olivia invited herself onto the bed. The dip of the mattress jostled me. She settled, and a moment later, she raked her fingers through my hair, scratching my scalp like she used to do when we were little, and I was upset.
“Talk to me.”
“No.”
“Don’t you think it’s time?”
“No.”
“Roll over.”
With a heavy sigh and against my better judgment, I complied.
Leaning against the headboard, Olivia continued to massage my scalp. “I love you.”
“Do you hate being my twin?”
“No. Why would you say that?”
“Never mind. I love you, too.”
A long pause ensued, then, “Were you ever going to tell me?”
I closed my eyes as my throat clogged. “I don’t know. Yes. Maybe. Some day.”
“I had no idea before today.”
Tears burned my eyes. I took shallow breaths to ward them off, but they wouldn’t go away. “I’m sorry.”
“There is nothing to be sorry about. You could have told me.”
“I didn’t know how.” The words got caught in my throat, and my vision blurred. I pressed my face against Olivia’s leg so she wouldn’t see me cry. It was pointless. She knew me too well.
“Oh, Gale.” She slid down to lie beside me and pulled me into her arms.
The dam broke. My chest convulsed. It was so stupid. The relief of finally telling my sister caught me off guard. I’d been holding onto this secret for years, to the point of destruction, but I wasn’t alone anymore.
She let me cry, rubbing my back until I managed to pull myself together.
When I settled, she took my face between her hands and kissed my forehead before drying my cheeks. “Why are you crying?”
“I don’t know. Relief?”
“Oh, Gale. All these years, we could have been gossiping about boys.”
I snorted a wet laugh. “What was I thinking?”
“But seriously. You and Ozrik? Are you two a thing? Since when?”
“Since—”
She gasped, cutting me off. “Since you ditched the Jeep.”
I nodded. “He kissed me. It… was a surprise. I wasn’t… I didn’t… He saw through me. No one has ever seen through me, and it freaked me out.”
“That’s why you were upset when I found you.”
“Yeah. We’ve met up a few times since.”
“I always thought he was a jerk. Please tell me he’s not a jerk, or I will kick his ass.”
“He’s not so bad.”
“If that changes, let me know.”
“I can fight my own battles.”
She snorted. “Since when?”
I pinched her and shoved her away. “You brat.”
We both dissolved into laughter. When it calmed, she tugged me close again. “Are you okay?”
“I’m not ready to fully come out.”
“That’s fine. Who all knows? Does Dad know?”
“He suspects. I’ve never confirmed it. Noah knows. He… walked in on us this morning.”
“Shit. We didn’t know where you were, and—”
“I know. Ozrik trusts him, but Olivia? I think the show has an inkling, and I’m afraid they’re going to try to expose me.”
I told her about my interview and everything Hugh said off camera.
“Did he threaten you?”
“No. It sounded like he was fishing for information and may be riding a hunch. I don’t know.”
“He wants you scared. That asshole was trying to get us to turn on one another. Most of it was bullshit lies. I wouldn’t worry about him. I doubt he knows anything, and if he does, he can’t prove it.”
Olivia ruffled my hair. “Everyone went to the restaurant to eat. You should join us. You barely ate this morning after your walk.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And that must have been exhausting.”
I shoved her. “Shut up. Don’t be gross. It was a walk. That’s the story, and I’m sticking to it.”
“I know different,” she sing-songed. “Come on. Food.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“Oz is worried about you. I’ve been watching him all afternoon, and he’s exercising a lot of restraint by not coming over here and breaking your door down. You don’t want him to do that.”
In the end, I let my sister drag me to the restaurant.